what powermeter? Garmin Vector 3 vs power2max

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Kaboom
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:53 pm

by Kaboom

I bought a pair of secondhand Vector 1 upgraded to vector 2 this past august and I have ran them with literally zero problems, dropouts or weird power figures. I just swapped out my first pair of batteries last week.
Just this past week I purchased a pair of secondhand vector3 and even though the weather is sucky and I haven't gotten to try them for more than 40 miles yet they seem to have no problems or dropouts either.

Kaboom
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:53 pm

by Kaboom

Duplicate. Apparently I don't know how to delete posts, either.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



VamP
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:01 am

by VamP

Another P2M user with zero issues in three years. Battery change once a year too. Love it.

Had Powertap G3, Stages, Powertap C1 before and all had issues.

Kaboom
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:53 pm

by Kaboom

VamP wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:54 pm

Had Powertap G3
surprised to hear, I've heard most people raving about the simplicity and reliability of the Powertap hubs...
VamP wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:54 pm

Powertap C1 before and all had issues.
I very, VERY narrowly avoided buying one of these. I loved the idea but ultimately weight and aesthetics (and a very good offer) is what made me get the Vectors.

I'll forever wonder if I wouldn't have been better served by a P2Max NGeco though...

VamP
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:01 am

by VamP

Kaboom wrote:
Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:17 pm

surprised to hear, I've heard most people raving about the simplicity and reliability of the Powertap hubs...

Two bearing changes in three years, one complete rebuild strain gauge replacement, and spokes keep snapping, which I guess is a wheel build issue, but I don't snap spokes on any of my other wheels from the same wheel builder.

So it's been in the shop six times in three years, three of those to Paligap, my P2M has had zero issues over same timeframe.

It's currently residing at the back of my garage, waiting for me to forgive it enough to get rebuild into a new training wheel.

northwestern
Posts: 130
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2015 11:13 pm
Location: Phoenix,AZ

by northwestern

I've had P2M for 1 year now. No issues. It's self calibrating and it tells and has an accelerometer so it tells cadence without using a magnet.

The biggest problem that I can see with the Garmin is that you can damage them very easily. If you fall, clip a curb, rocks.

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

So with the p2m Type S, you basically get all the L/R balance, pedal smoothness etc etc as standard?
p2M NG-eco, you get the basic wattage only, if I want L/R balance etc etc I pay via the 'sodtware upgrade'?

Vector 3 has the Cycling dynamic which is basically L/R and pedal smoothness etc etc as standard
and Favero Assioma is the same, no extra cost required?

User avatar
ave
Posts: 2136
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:15 pm
Location: Hungary

by ave

P2M for sure.
I've had an type-S FSA carbon crank for 4 years, no issues at all. Always working, always accurate.
Moving the crank from bike to bike takes significantly less time than to move the pedals.
Of course if one has different chainrings/cranklength on other bikes, it's an issue. In that case I'd recommend to buy two P2Ms...

uraz
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:48 pm

by uraz

P2M is rather heavy (if it still matters for someone on this forum)

VamP
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:01 am

by VamP

uraz wrote:
Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:05 pm
P2M is rather heavy (if it still matters for someone on this forum)
My 130BCD P2M Type S spider adds 136g net to my Rotor 3D24. Is that a lot?

uraz
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:48 pm

by uraz

I guess that 3D24 + Type S 130 BCD + chainrings weighs over 800g. And yes, it's a lot.

VamP
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:01 am

by VamP

uraz wrote:
Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:07 pm
I guess that 3D24 + Type S 130 BCD + chainrings weighs over 800g. And yes, it's a lot.
So if weight at crank matters, you can go with one of the lighter chainsets and 110 BCD. There's a good few options available.

I like the Rotor, but agree it's not the lightest.

lovemyway
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:32 am

by lovemyway

I've been using power2max type S for 2 years now and I'd gladly recommend them to anyone - literally 0 problems, no dropouts, and all the numbers I've been seeing have been very consistent, and that's what I think matters the most in the power measuring departament. The NG (and Eco) are upgraded versions of type S and I'm pretty sure they are just as good (and better) than older models. I've got nothing but love for the power2max and would recommend them for anyone that can live with the "stationary" power meter solution.

However, I want the Vectors 3 to be good, really bad. For my new bike I wanted something more portable than crank-based power and pedals look good on paper. Thing is there are many people complaining about the new Garmin pedals - drop outs, strange power numbers, battery life issues, firmware problems etc. - you can read about these on the Vector 3 forums. I don't know if there are only few people complaining or if it's a bigger problem mainly because there's no huge sample size due to the availability of the pedals. DC Rainmaker was praising them; Shane Miller, on the other side, still didn't get them to work by now (at least I didn't see any updates).

Post Reply