Any experience with 4iiii precision on Sram Red 22 cranks?

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gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

I can further save a good chunk of grams by going 4iiii on left Sram 22 crank rather than Quarq setup.
While I LOVE and will keep quarq on one bike, on my sub 5 bike goal bike, I would like to make this switch.
I've used 4iiii before on left only Duraace setup and have been very happy with reliability and accuracy.
Wanted to check if there's anyone here who has gone for the factory install on Sram left crank.

by Weenie


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garbageman
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:08 am

by garbageman

I had the Podium rechargeable version factory installed on my Red 22 crank in July/August last year. Installation took twice as long as expected (higher than normal volume + covid) and I had cadence/power drop outs above 130 RPM. Sometimes the RPM (and thus power) would drop out completely, other times it would read 60s-70s RPM while I was spinning out. I had thought 130 RPM was the advertised max for the left-only PM when I bought it, but noticed it was (now) 150 RPM, so I contacted their customer service in April. They offered to replace the PM, but I asked if a firmware update might fix the issue to avoid downtime. They sent me a custom firmware version through their app and the cadence now reads up to 150 RPM.

Other than those 2 issues, I've been quite satisfied with the Podium. I haven't had any other imprecise or obviously inaccurate readings. 4iiii customer support has been helpful and responsive. If you can live with the limitations of 1-sided measurement, I think it's a good weight weenie option. I chose the combination of Red 22 BB30 + 4iiii because it was light, narrow q-factor, and allowed use of my (light and cheap) Time Xpresso pedals.

I'm considering having a Precision/Podium installed on a set of Quarq D1 crank arms and pairing them with a Gearoop 48/30 direct mount chainring for a sub-500g crankset with power for a gravel bike build, but might just go with a Quarq spider or perhaps Sigeyi.

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

garbageman wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:53 pm
I had the Podium rechargeable version factory installed on my Red 22 crank in July/August last year. Installation took twice as long as expected (higher than normal volume + covid) and I had cadence/power drop outs above 130 RPM. Sometimes the RPM (and thus power) would drop out completely, other times it would read 60s-70s RPM while I was spinning out. I had thought 130 RPM was the advertised max for the left-only PM when I bought it, but noticed it was (now) 150 RPM, so I contacted their customer service in April. They offered to replace the PM, but I asked if a firmware update might fix the issue to avoid downtime. They sent me a custom firmware version through their app and the cadence now reads up to 150 RPM.

Other than those 2 issues, I've been quite satisfied with the Podium. I haven't had any other imprecise or obviously inaccurate readings. 4iiii customer support has been helpful and responsive. If you can live with the limitations of 1-sided measurement, I think it's a good weight weenie option. I chose the combination of Red 22 BB30 + 4iiii because it was light, narrow q-factor, and allowed use of my (light and cheap) Time Xpresso pedals.

I'm considering having a Precision/Podium installed on a set of Quarq D1 crank arms and pairing them with a Gearoop 48/30 direct mount chainring for a sub-500g crankset with power for a gravel bike build, but might just go with a Quarq spider or perhaps Sigeyi.
Thanks so much for the input. It's good to hear they resolved the rpm issue for you.
Yeah after trying a dozen or so PM's I'd say Quarq has been amazing and one of the best but I think I gotta go that last WW mile :lol:

Hexsense
Posts: 3270
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

Hmm, 130 RPM is certainly not good.
I noticed my Quarq to drop off around 180rpm when using TrainerRoad app. It shows 0 cadence and auto pause activated when I spin faster than that.
I have yet to spin faster than 180rpm out in the real world so I don't know if it's Quarq or TrainerRoad or my phone that don't accept over 180rpm cadence. I wouldn't care if it's a hard limit of Quarq at 180rpm honestly because 180rpm is plenty high that I can only achieve it if I try hard.
But 130RPM is pretty normal sprinting cadence that should be recorded properly.

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

Hexsense wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:48 pm
Hmm, 130 RPM is certainly not good.
I noticed my Quarq to drop off around 180rpm when using TrainerRoad app. It shows 0 cadence and auto pause activated when I spin faster than that.
I have yet to spin faster than 180rpm out in the real world so I don't know if it's Quarq or TrainerRoad or my phone that don't accept over 180rpm cadence. I wouldn't care if it's a hard limit of Quarq at 180rpm honestly because 180rpm is plenty high that I can only achieve it if I try hard.
But 130RPM is pretty normal sprinting cadence that should be recorded properly.
Unless I misunderstood, it seems like that issue was fixed for him. Agree it would be a deal breaker at 130rpm. I rarely hit 130 if I ever do but it's pretty close to what I'd consider my max necessary rpms.

garbageman
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:08 am

by garbageman

Correct, the cadence drop outs were fixed by a firmware update and I wouldn't expect to have the same issue on a new unit. 4iiii specifies a cadence range of 30-150 RPM.
I only ever experienced the issue on my Feedback Omnium overdrive trainer where I can spin out the 52-11 in a few seconds at ~700w, never on the road where my cadence would not increase so quickly during a sprint. My cadence was probably 140+ RPM during the drop outs, but the last data point before the drop out would usually be 130 RPM or slightly higher. The highest recorded RPMs I found prior to the fix were 138 and 142, both in the second before drop outs. After the fix, I have been able to sustain 140+ RPM with no drop outs in my testing.
Even so, if very high cadence and sprint power measurement is a priority, I don't think the 4iiii or any left-only PM is the right choice. The error in measurement of doubling a single leg at high wattages could potentially be quite large given a strength imbalance/asymmetry. A true dual-sided or total power/spider PM would be preferable.

Maddie
Posts: 1532
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:44 am

by Maddie

Very interested in that as well. I have a set of Red 22 BB30 cranks on my lightest bike and I would like to add a PM there without adding too much weight.

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

Maddie wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:17 pm
Very interested in that as well. I have a set of Red 22 BB30 cranks on my lightest bike and I would like to add a PM there without adding too much weight.
well if you feel like waiting, I pulled the trigger and let you know my experience.
should be a month or so though. crankset is on its way. Sending to 4iiii and getting it back should be another 3 weeks or so?

iamraymond
Posts: 624
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:59 am

by iamraymond

gurk700 wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 2:10 pm
well if you feel like waiting, I pulled the trigger and let you know my experience.
should be a month or so though. crankset is on its way. Sending to 4iiii and getting it back should be another 3 weeks or so?
How are you getting along with the 4iiii + Red crank setup? Did you go with the Podium or Precision? I was thinking to do get a 4iiii Podium installed onto a SRAM RED 22 BB30 crank since my other two bikes already have 4iiii left sided Podiums. It would be a fairly light power metered crank (540g with Praxis Buzz chainrings).

Yoln
Posts: 965
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:26 pm

by Yoln

4iiii is utter crap. Period

Had power drop happening pretty frequently with the Precision (10/20secs drop every 15/20mins, VERY annoying if it happens in a middle of a climb or worse, a short effort)

Took their customer service for ever to finally acknowledge the issue and ask me to return the crankset (at my expense). Took them a month to send back the crank with allegedly a new sensor. Exact same drop issue with the replacement one.

Now I'm just trying to get my money back and run away from this scammy company. Stay away from them. They are the bottom of the barrel in terms of price, but you get what you pay for... bad product and even worse customer service
Litespeed Gravel Ultimate : https://tinyurl.com/zvxxy8zk
Wilier “Cento Ramato“ : https://tinyurl.com/29vs8vre
#RETIRED# Lynskey “the Do-it-all Helix” 🧬:https://tinyurl.com/bdmb5y24

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

Yoln wrote:
Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:45 pm
4iiii is utter crap. Period

Had power drop happening pretty frequently with the Precision (10/20secs drop every 15/20mins, VERY annoying if it happens in a middle of a climb or worse, a short effort)

Took their customer service for ever to finally acknowledge the issue and ask me to return the crankset (at my expense). Took them a month to send back the crank with allegedly a new sensor. Exact same drop issue with the replacement one.

Now I'm just trying to get my money back and run away from this scammy company. Stay away from them. They are the bottom of the barrel in terms of price, but you get what you pay for... bad product and even worse customer service
Yeah this is a one off incident. I've lost count how many 4iiii cranks I've had over the years. Every single one of them has been top notch.

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

iamraymond wrote:
Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:24 am
gurk700 wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 2:10 pm
well if you feel like waiting, I pulled the trigger and let you know my experience.
should be a month or so though. crankset is on its way. Sending to 4iiii and getting it back should be another 3 weeks or so?
How are you getting along with the 4iiii + Red crank setup? Did you go with the Podium or Precision? I was thinking to do get a 4iiii Podium installed onto a SRAM RED 22 BB30 crank since my other two bikes already have 4iiii left sided Podiums. It would be a fairly light power metered crank (540g with Praxis Buzz chainrings).
0 issues. Ignore the post right below you.
I've since moved to Favero Assiomas because I have too many bikes and I swap the pedals between them and kinda gave up on the weight weenie setup and parted out the bike. But in the time I've used those cranks, they've been perfect.

iamraymond
Posts: 624
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:59 am

by iamraymond

Thanks for the input, gurk700. Faveros would have been on my list also but as a SPD-SL user, I'm weary of the Q-factor of the Shimano PM spindles.

My experience with 4iiii has also been positive which is why I'm looking at them again. My first PM was the 4iiii Ultegra crankarm, then last year I did the factory install on my DA crankarm. I've only ever used 4iiii PMs so I don't have anything to compare it against except for my smart trainers (Tacx Flux and Elite Direto) and those numbers seem to match up pretty well. I haven't had any drops and even subjected them to some pretty wet rides.

Yoln
Posts: 965
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:26 pm

by Yoln

gurk700 wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:57 pm
Yoln wrote:
Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:45 pm
4iiii is utter crap. Period

Had power drop happening pretty frequently with the Precision (10/20secs drop every 15/20mins, VERY annoying if it happens in a middle of a climb or worse, a short effort)

Took their customer service for ever to finally acknowledge the issue and ask me to return the crankset (at my expense). Took them a month to send back the crank with allegedly a new sensor. Exact same drop issue with the replacement one.

Now I'm just trying to get my money back and run away from this scammy company. Stay away from them. They are the bottom of the barrel in terms of price, but you get what you pay for... bad product and even worse customer service
Yeah this is a one off incident. I've lost count how many 4iiii cranks I've had over the years. Every single one of them has been top notch.
It's two incidents. They replaced the whole thing at some point and I still have the same issue on a brand new product.

Just google 4iiii power drop... definitely not a one off issue
Litespeed Gravel Ultimate : https://tinyurl.com/zvxxy8zk
Wilier “Cento Ramato“ : https://tinyurl.com/29vs8vre
#RETIRED# Lynskey “the Do-it-all Helix” 🧬:https://tinyurl.com/bdmb5y24

gurk700
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:40 pm

by gurk700

Yoln wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 4:18 am
gurk700 wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:57 pm
Yoln wrote:
Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:45 pm
4iiii is utter crap. Period

Had power drop happening pretty frequently with the Precision (10/20secs drop every 15/20mins, VERY annoying if it happens in a middle of a climb or worse, a short effort)

Took their customer service for ever to finally acknowledge the issue and ask me to return the crankset (at my expense). Took them a month to send back the crank with allegedly a new sensor. Exact same drop issue with the replacement one.

Now I'm just trying to get my money back and run away from this scammy company. Stay away from them. They are the bottom of the barrel in terms of price, but you get what you pay for... bad product and even worse customer service
Yeah this is a one off incident. I've lost count how many 4iiii cranks I've had over the years. Every single one of them has been top notch.
It's two incidents. They replaced the whole thing at some point and I still have the same issue on a brand new product.

Just google 4iiii power drop... definitely not a one off issue
Guess we can talk anecdotes all day. As mentioned, I've had 4 units over the years. I've owned every power meter under the sun. 4iiii has been one of the top notch.

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



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