Remember you have to add the cost of cranks if you buy a Quarq to compare apples to apples. The price difference is not too bad at that point. I purchased the DA7900 SRM for $2500 which is a great deal. The Qaurq would have cost me around $2000 after I added in the cranks (and cranks that I did not want). $500 more a DA 7900 SRM was a no brainer for me.

I too was very interested in the quarq but ended up getting a powertap instead of waiting for a better head unit... then another powertap so I could have race wheels.

Anyway, when I was comparing all the options, I decided that the srm's price and battery situation were both non-starters. About once a year, you have to send it back to the factory to replace the battery.

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Erik
Strava

I've been using SRMs for 12 years and have never sent them in. I do the battery changes and calibrations myself. Some of the batteries have lasted up to 5 years. Quarqs cannot be calibrated by the user. Guess what happens more often, battery changes or calibrations?

Wired SRM's on Ebay are a great deal. A Dura Ace SRM ended yesterday for less than $1400. You can get a standard SRM for less than $1000.

I went wtih the SRM knowing what the battery situation was like and am so glad I did. The extra money is worth it I feel. It is such a sold piece of kit and the head unit has never missed a beat. Cannot recommend it enough. The calibration process takes around 20 mins from start to finish once you have sorted out your weights and there is plenty of advice out there about using the SRM. Nothing whatsoever agains the Quarq but I think they missed an opportunity when they provided a replaceable battery on an ANT wireless system then made them factory only calibration. Either is better than powertap IMHO.

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He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

I went with Quarq and am very happy with it. I've used it for about a year without problems. The Garmin head units are really great and there are many head unit options out there. I haven't had a lot of experience with SRM but they seem a bit more fiddly to me with pedal backwards protocols, constant recalibration requirements, etc. You can do the same with the Cinqo but I have found it to be a waste of time. The Cinqo is no hassle easy to use and wakes up instantly.

For me it came down to this: the Cinqo is the same or better than SRM for a lower cost and from an American company that excels at customer support. Yeah, if you are stuck on DA cranks or Zipp cranks you will have to look at other options. Outside of that issue and unless you enjoy calibrating things all the time, get the Cinqo.

Nothing against SRM, they produce a great product but now have some competition.

Maybe for an SRM ;-)

Seriously...I think your opinion might be slightly skewed by the SRM torque cals typically drifting over time.

Aside from chainring changes (e.g. going from a regular chainring to a solid TT chainring) IME the Quarqs tend to be highly stable in their torque curve calibrations.

Actually, it IS possible to change the Quarq field calibration "in the field". You just need an ANT+ dongle for your computer and download a copy of quarq-d ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

There's calibration as in the factory setting it, and there's calibration as in 'calibrating your unit before the ride.' I can calibrate my Quarq in about 12seconds before a ride, an SRM takes MUCH longer.

Also, I can pedal 4 revolutions backwards to zero the torque setttings, which you can't do with an SRM. (You can with a Powertap, but it takes a few buttons).

The Quarq is built for home replacement of the battery, whereas the SRM isn't. Can you? Yes, but it's an ease of use thing.

Finally, I had an issue with my Quarq while at a race. The next afternoon, I had a new one on the doorstep where I was staying. The standard (non emergency) turn around time is a couple of days, versus weeks with SRM, from what I've seen with friends.

If you already have Cinqo compatible cranks, or if you can source them cheaper locally, you just send them to Quarq and that alleviates some of the cost concern.

If you change rings frequently then yes, sending it back for calibration could become irksome. (Kinda like hanging a 50lb weight off your crank!)

I loved my Powertap for years, but I've drunk the coolaid and am a Quarq convert. It's a great product, and the customer service is exceptional. You know the name of the person answering the phone every time you call.

Full disclosure: Some coaches are Quarq dealers. I'm one of them.

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Steen Rose
http://www.athletesontrack.com

You seem to be confused. What you are describing is not calibrating the strain gages, but setting the zero offset. With the SRM this is accomplished by pressing 'Mode' and 'Set' at the same time, then 'Set', then 'Mode' to return to normal function, which takes me all of about 2 s (no, I don't have a video <g>, but I did just time myself).

As for the back-pedal-four-revolutions-to-automatically-set-the-zero-offset idea, it is kind of cool, but I'd like it a LOT better if it were easy to monitor the process. At the present time, unfortunately, you either have no way of doing so, or you have to dig through a number of menu screens on your Garmin or whatever to see the result.

My bad, you're right.

What is the 'stop and fiddle with it' routine lots of my buds with SRMs go through?

Never used one, but they just seem way finicky. With either the P-Tap or Quarq, I've always spent less time hassling with mine than anybody with an SRM.

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Steen Rose
http://www.athletesontrack.com

I agree...SRM is finicky from what I hear.

I don't know - what's this coast-and-backpedal cat. 4 s*** that all my buds with Quarqs go through? ;-)

For zeroing "on the fly" the Quarq theoretically has the advantage, as you don't have to touch the handlebar computer. That makes it very much a blackbox operation, though, so you have to count on it working perfectly each and every time. Me, I'd rather be able to see the result and reject or repeat it if I deem it necessary, even if it means I have to push a couple of buttons.

Full disclaimer: I own two SRMs (and a PowerTap and 1.5 Velodynes) and have use of a Quarq (and iBike).

Then you heard wrong.

They certainly seem to do so at first (or at least they used to). Looking over the calibration data for my two cranks, though, there hasn't been any discernable change (over 5+ y).

I bought a (barely) used Wired DA SRM about 1.5 years ago for ~$1700. It is fantastic, fantastically robust piece of equipment.

SRM is the "Gold" standard, and I cannot comment on QUARQ. However I did buy my SRM after I had a negative experience with an Ergomo. After the Ergomo I wanted something with a proven track record, and from a company that will likely be around for a while.

SRM DA 7800 crank set is great. I can swap it between my road and tri bike in a few minutes.

Best of Luck in your choice,

Mike

Over a year ago I stupidly fried the head unit on mine again, and haven't bugged Bruce Sargeant to repair it due to other things in the works. In the mean time, I've been using my wife's (IOW, we have two working resistance units but only one controller).

Another happy SRM owner here! :)

As far as the 'zero offset' setting, there seems to be a slight drifting in the zero offset between rides, hence why one would want to zero offset the unit for accurate data. However, this seems to be mostly temperature dependent (ie: larger change in offset with larger temperature swings) Not a deal breaker, but notable over my last few years of SRM usage.


Does anyone know if the Quark has this same sensitivity to temperature change on the offset?

SRM is the Gold standard insomuch that it has existed longer than any other power meter on the retail market. If there is any objective proof that demonstrates the SRM is a more accurate, more reliable or quantitatively superior in anyway to the other main competitors, e.g. PT and Quarq, then I would love to see it.

With all due respect to Dr Coggan, what is it that you do not like about the Quarq other than it's lack of a dedicated head unit? I understand (and yet I don't) SRM user's love of the PowerControl, but I honestly can not fathom how people pay $950 for a computer that lacks many features found on dedicated computers that are a full quarter of the cost. I am aware that it does some things, such as intervals, very well. But this just further illustrates the point that the preference for SRM is often based out of a personal bias of familiarity, if you essentially 'grew up' training with power on an SRM and PowerControl of course it will always be the standard by which you judge others.

My argument is not that the SRM is inferior to the Quarq, nor the opposite. I understand the appeal of SRM, especially for previous users, however, fully acknowledging any personal bias I may have, I honestly feel that there is no objective reason that a user new to power meters would be happier with an SRM/PC combo over a Quarq + any number of modern ANT+ head units. In fact, I think if you polled new users you'd find that people were happier with say a Quarq and an Edge 500 over the old guard.

Ride Cycling Review did a comparative test between a number of powermeters a year or so back. Quarq wasn't one of them as they weren't available I believe.
The SRM was calibrated at the Australian Institute of Sport and used as the benchmark for power comparisons. Only the powertap was consistently close to the SRM. Everything else showed considerable variations in readings.

I own a SRM, Ergomo and Quarq. I have used the ergomo in conjunction with a powertap. I have a garmin 705 and and Ibike. With all that included, I really prefer the quarq/705 combination. I have a specialized transition triathlon bike.

I like the garmin with the features combined with the quarq so much more than the SRM. All things being equal, I like the data I get and the ease of use.

I am not an Andrew Coggan or anything special. I probably don't even know better but....

I think the bottom line is you are talking about training with Power and that is the key. Go with what works for you. No matter what you hear or what I heard, I went with what was good for me. I never thought it was the quarq and garmin 705, which BTW was AFTER I had the SRM.

Just my two cents.

Steve

I have had 2 PT's, 2 SRM's, the first Polar PM and now I have a quarq on order. After I got charged like 250 for changing the battery in 1 crank and the PCV and shipping I sold it. I would rather be able to change my own battery and not have to ship it in and go with out a PM for 2-4 weeks.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

It's easier to change the battery in an SRM at home than to calibrate a Quarq at home.

Well, I guess the difference is that you can ignore having to calibrate but can't ignore the battery when it runs down.

Only that - but for me, it is enough of a buzz-kill that if I had to choose which to buy, it would be a tough call.

Of course, that would change instantly if and/or when someone introduces a reliable, simple-to-use ANT+ handelbar computer that enabled easy access to the raw torque data and adjustment of the slope by the user at a price that keeps the Quarq package less expensive. So far, though, that hasn't happened.