No. Just no.

Signal is not strong enough to send to tt bars especially if you have arms like in the way and stuff.

Moved mine to roady and thought that would do but still see loads of drop outs.

You're only half reliable data will be indoors on turbo with no items in way.

Or else you can use outdoors but set your garmin to exclude zeros and know your data will be compromised by any free wheeling.

I used my Stages to pace TTs. Garmin 510, mounted on extensions by my wrist. Never had a drop out problem. Very close match to my G3. Other issues, which Stages handled professionally through customer support led me to move on.

I've got one as I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago. I wouldn't again. I thought I was saving money but it was a false economy, they were too much hassle: too many drop offs, too many battery drains found on race morning, too many times the signal has been lost on the tribars. It was just such a pain in the arse combined with left leg only power tracking (I'm right side dominant)

I've moved across to powertap pedals. Much better.

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Swim. Overbike. Walk.

Wow I'm surprised to hear those bad reviews about the Stages. I've heard in the past that people had some problems w/ them, but I figured they would have worked out the issues by now. What's the best, reliable, power meter? It sounds like the P1 pedals are aewsome, but I can't drop $1100 on them

If you've already got a shimano crank, you can add a pioneer single leg to the unit for a reasonable price. Nice thing about that is if you get more into it, you can upgrade to a dual leg down the road really easily.

$754 gets you a BB386 Power2max

Just a little over your budget for a real power meter

I had a Quarq that was dead reliable. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a power meter.

Sadly the Quarq didn't fit the BB386EVO bottom bracket on my new bike and I decided to try a Stages instead. Utterly useless doesn't even begin to describe it. See the first reply to your question - that was also my experience. The data coming out of the thing are useless. Ended up going with the full dual-side P1 and I like those. But if you are able to fit a Quarq on your bike I would go that route.

If you can wait, wait. There's a bunch of new products coming out for the start of the N Hemisphere race season which should push down prices of legacy products.

Generally though, I would go with powertap wheel or pedal system, or a crank based powermeter like a quarq. That's just my opinion.

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Swim. Overbike. Walk.

Do you have a link where to buy from??

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power2max.com, but I don't think it includes chainrings.

To the OP, Praxis has a left side only crankset (including rings) for 499. 4iiii meter and you have to purchase the proper bottom bracket. Cranks weigh about the same as an Ultegra 6800.

You can get the Powertap C1 power meter for $700 or the Powertap GS hub for $400.

Im shocked there has been bad reviews on the DA stages. I have the same one you are looking at and I have never had a problem. Got it used on here a year ago and its worked like a charm for me every day I have used it. Only problem I had was the connection I had with my tablet. Turns out it was my tablet. Not the pm. I would recommend it! I use it mainly with Trainerroad indoors and also on my Garmin outside. No real problems. Good for pacing and tracking power. I feel like it pretty accurate.

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2020 Team Zoot MTN

Friends don't let friends buy stages

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I wish someone would have told me this before I got it last spring. I never had power readings issues when my Garmin is close and the data was very close to my new P1's. The issue is, it doesn't connect with the 920xt at all. They won't help you solve this issue. Other Garmin devices are slightly better, but not great. The signal just doesn't get unit if you have a long reach/big arms. If you have both, don't even try. My advice is just save a few more weeks, months, whatever and get the P1's or something else.

I've run my Stages Ultegra on my road and tri bike for 3 years now with Garmin 500 and 920XT. The only issue I've had was the battery cover. A quick email, and reply on a Sunday, and two replacements were shipped and have not had any issues since. No drops, even in the aero bars.

I was looking for something that was easy to swap between bikes and wasn't willing to pay the price to put something on both bikes.

My Stages Gen2 has never caused me a problem, riding upwards of 7 hours per week.
I was worried when I first used my computer on top of my bta bottle, but even that worked perfectly.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely, without hesitation. Would I like a like an all singing all dancing model at twice the price? Again, absolutely!
I'd also like to ride a top of the line bike, but budget plays a part.
For the price, I think stages are great.
I probably have a dominant leg when running, and a dominant arm when swimming as well, but I won't lose any sleep over it!

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http://www.howesgreg.com

Fixed your post for you. ;)

I couldn't agree more

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Buy a SRM off eBay and you will be worry free, seems like you can find a Shimano one with 7900 rings that works fine with 11sp for that price. It's well worth it.

The new FSA Powerbox is a Power2Max powermeter with a BB386 crank for less than $754.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/...AkM-8P8HAQ#pid=36922

If you can stretch your budget to $590 + cost of new Bottom Bracket, get this.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/...alloy-road-chainset/

Powerbox Power Meter Alloy Road Chainset
FSA Powerbox power meter chainsets use proven power2max® power meter technology for precise power measurements, combined with proven FSA chainset construction featuring the innovative BB386EVO / BB392EVO 30mm spindle system that fits any frame.
The Powerbox chainset power meter measurs both left and right leg outputs and sends the information to your cycle-computer via Ant+ protocol or via an optional Bluetooth upgrade.

while I might not buy it again because I prefer non-left side only... I don't have dropouts to my Garmin on my TT bike. I also have Version1 and once the battery door was replaced, it's been pretty trouble free.

Don't just don't.

The V2 may be better but I went through 3 devices before I gave up. It wouldn't connect properly to my old 910 - was fine with my 510 though - it also went through batteries like no tomorrow, and would sometimes just not work.

I now have P1 pedals and they are great. Used to have a G3 hub and that was awesome as well.

If I was to suggest a power meter I'd go with some of the suggestions here other than stages.

http://www.power2max.com/...er-meter-and-cranks/

That is with choosing expedited shipping, chain rings and no BB since I don't know what the OP needs or what tools they have.

This is the answer. I see 2nd hand Shimano SRM PM's going for around $700. Great deal.

x Whatever on not getting a Stages. I had the DA 9000 version for about a year mid 2013 to mid 2014.

It was terrible. It literally worked half the time. I know because I kept a log that I sent to Stages tech support detailing the problems. I had to send it back twice for replacement. I think I finally sold the last replacement and moved on. Signal drop offs and battery drain happened more often than not. I used it for two Ironman races and it didn't work at all for one and worked for about half the other. Training rides were a mixed bag.

Maybe things have gotten better but I still read a lot about signal dropoffs.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

This is based on my experience only. I have three power meters, all from different brands. A C1 from powertap, a 4iii Precision and a Stages. The Stages power meter was sent for repair once, got replaced by the Gen2 and I still struggle with battery drain. The battery lasts for like two weeks maximum.

My fellow ST friends, please don't say I never update the thing, it is updated with the latest firmware and I still have the battery draining issue. The stages support is let's say "attentive", but they say now that the unit is working as expected... and comparing with my other power meters, draining the battery every two weeks is not something I would consider "working as expected". If I were you, I would buy anything else but stages. Or you may be at risk to buy a headache instead of something to improve your ride. Good luck!

I really like the C1 as well as the Precision. The C1 has compatibility requirements (check carefully), but offer you the left/right balance analysis as a plus. Precision is left only, with the limitations of that approach.

I have the one I bought last year for $359 (New). I haven't paired it with my 920XT, but it's never dropped anything - paired with my 510 (mounted between the AB's of my P2). I'll probably change the battery before my first event, but the original is still working just fine. I guess I should probably check to see if there's an update for it, too.....lol.

My success with this unit may be an outlier (who knew?). I also (almost exclusively) use it as "A" pacing tool.

I purchased two Stages PMs last year for my wife and I and they work great. Never had a problem and the power readings are not far off from my powertap hub. I go a couple of months without having to change the battery and upload the rides easily to my Garmin 510. Several friends in the area also have one and have been very happy with it. The earlier version was a bit of trouble, I've heard, but the most recent version is great.

I have stages for last 3 years on my cyclocross bike, no issues at all, I did try on TT bike it worked fine... Battery drain is most likley due to battery door not sealing properly and moisture accumulation inside. I took silicone grease and applied all over the rubber ring, I have no issues at all, battery last for a full season.
This power meter was submerged not once, covered in mud, takes massive beating and it is still going strong.

I also have PowerTap P1, Garmin Vectors and PowerTap wheel, I would never take Vectors and P1 for CX race, they are simply to nice and delicate.

It all depends what you are using your power meter for, if just for simple pacing stages might be fine, but there are much better options on the market now.

Would I buy Stages again? For CX bike yes/maybe (I would try to get Pioneer), for road and TT no.

For training: dual leg power meter like Vectors, P1s, Pioneer, are much better an provide very valuable feedback on your pedal stroke, you can really increase your efficient quickly based on that feedback.

P1 are great for TTs, but way to thick for road races.

My Stages is barely three years old and only worked for all of about 5 weeks in 2016. It was in the shop more than it wasn't, and when it was sent back to Stages for repair it took months to get it back.

I've had a Stages for at least 3 years...maybe 4. Really no problems and very consistent numbers IMO. Had to replace battery door once when I popped off a tab - my fault. My wife has had one for two years. Absolutely flawless. Each paired with Garmin Edge 500 on extensions. No complaints, good battery life, has been excellent training/racing tool, would do it again. Both my legs visibly still appear to be the same size...

I wanted to try 165mm cranks on my tri bike and went with a Power2Max - not because I didn't want a Stages again, it's just the P2Max had full GXP 165mm crankset package at decent price as mentioned above. It's been working flawlessly and numbers seem very similar to Stages based perceived exertion and comparison to similar workouts - FTP test within few watts. The only difference I've noticed is the "accuracy" metric Trainer Road shows during the workouts is significantly higher with the P2Max than the Stages by a factor of around 2x which has gotta be a one side vs two side phenomena I'm betting.

I have had three stages, two Quarqs and a Powertap Hub on different bikes. I have had no issue with any of the Stages and recommend them over the other options because of price. I find little to no benefit of both leg power after you see it the first few times. I find it varies very little. I am on a XL Felt IA with my Garmin 810 mounted between the extensions on top of a X-Lab Torpedo....pretty much worse case scenario distance-wise.

Have been training with a stages for year and a half, battery last around 1000km or so and I never get drop outs with my edge 510, but with my fenix 3 connection is really poor, but don't really know if it's a stages or fenix issue. Dad got a pioneer left leg pm a year ago and haven't change the battery since, and says it works pretty good, so also a good option.

I've had a stages Ultegra 6800 for I think..... four years now.... I did send back the 1st one about a year into its life as it died (I believe the same well covered problem of the battery door not sealing properly). However, since then I've had no issues with the replacement. I love that I can just swap between my roadie and race bike with ease, I'll change the battery every now and then but I honestly cant put a finger on how often (so must not be terribly frequently). I've got it paired it to a Garmin 500 and ANT+ FOB on my laptop (trainerroad) and don't have any drop out issues (that I can easily see) on either bike. Its one of the best (and economical) training tool investments I've made.

As a note I do 100% of my training rides indoors so the stages does seem 'limited' outdoor exposure (basically race day).

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Taylor Rogers

2024: IM Hamburg

I have one of the original DA Stages and would get drops in the beginning when using my 910 and 500. Once i went to the 520 never had another drop and keep my 520 about 3" from the end of my aero bars.

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Twitter@Forsey37

I know you are probably banging your head without a straight answer, but I'll offer my Stages experience.
Di2 9000 170mm crank arm and been using Stages for about 4-5 months. I know there are a number of factors that effect power numbers, but my general experience has been that Stages reports 25-30w lower than other sources (at most efforts).

I took a 20min FTP last Autumn on a Computrainer+Quarq on a road bike and had 236w. After about 3 months of pretty consistent training, I re-tested on some different products. Tacx Neo + Stages on a Trek SC and Wattbike at work. Stages said 188w FTP (though maybe I was tired?) and I was so upset that I re-tested on my work Wattbike 2 days later at got 246w. My guess is the Neo is in between b/c I've been training at 213w FTP for the past month and it seems more realistic.

When I do intervals on the Neo and track Stages on my Garmin, it consistently is 25-30w lower at power ranges of 180-220w. At 120w or below is pretty consistent with the Neo.

If I had a choice, i would go with a dual side power meter option. My old Quarq Riken is Ant+ only, but I have to say that it's been pretty consistent. Also, heard good things about Power2Max. If Stages is the ONLY thing you know or use and it's consistent, then it's a pretty good affordable option.