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The future of the power meter
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I'm looking for speculation from the ST collective on this one.


What happens to crank and hub based power meters when/if the pedal-cleat power meters become relatively affordable? Would they die out if Garmin, Polar, and BrimBrothers dropped their price below $1k?
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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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Doubt they'd die out you still have to want to use that pedal type, which kinda limits the options right now.

Although it makes SRM look incredibly over priced and hopefully it will drive the prices down at somepoint. Its kinda like computrainer though, its pretty much the gold standard and they haven't had to drop their prices yet because no one has really been able to compete with them.
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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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%FTP wrote:
I'm looking for speculation from the ST collective on this one.


What happens to crank and hub based power meters when/if the pedal-cleat power meters become relatively affordable? Would they die out if Garmin, Polar, and BrimBrothers dropped their price below $1k?

I'm thinking there's a good reason the Garmins aren't priced below $1K...and I don't think the Look/Polar offering could ever be sold at anything close to that price point...

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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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%FTP wrote:
I'm looking for speculation from the ST collective on this one.


What happens to crank and hub based power meters when/if the pedal-cleat power meters become relatively affordable? Would they die out if Garmin, Polar, and BrimBrothers dropped their price below $1k?

No, because you are (for now at least) locked into one pedal choice. What if you prefer Speedplay, Time, Shimano, etc?

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Re: The future of the power meter [Power13] [ In reply to ]
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I eventually think things will move towards strain gauges being laminated into frames and/or cranks during construction. Even the stiffest component flexes when the rider pedals allowing the torque to be measured. Knowing cadence the power output can then be inferred.
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Re: The future of the power meter [Rouleur] [ In reply to ]
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Rouleur wrote:
I eventually think things will move towards strain gauges being laminated into frames and/or cranks during construction. Even the stiffest component flexes when the rider pedals allowing the torque to be measured. Knowing cadence the power output can then be inferred.

This. My prediction that this will START to happen in the next 18-24 months. The technology is pretty accurate and relatively affordable.

Power will be like cadence in two years - everyone will have it. Not everyone will know what to do with it.

___________
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Re: The future of the power meter [Rouleur] [ In reply to ]
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Whoa there a second. A strain gauge in the frame isn't going to be anywhere near as accurate as on the pedal or in the driveline. You really want your power numbers going up just because you rode a bumpier route? FWIW, this is also why I'm not exactly sold on pedal based power meters, either. Especially for mountain biking.

In fact, pedal based power meters may ultimately hurt power meter pricing by adding a third type to the market. Now the market is split even further and the economies of scale on production can't rise as fast because they are split three ways instead of two. SRAM buying Quarq and the fact that they have crank based meters for both road and mountain at a grand less than SRM SEEMED like a game changer. In reality, $1700 is probably just as unobtainable to most as $2700, though. We need *some* type of power meter to get sub-$1000. If you could get a crank based one to that for road and mountain, you'd REALLY be on to something, I think. Or a pedal based one, but ONLY if you offered it in most all the popular pedal types, too.


--Donnie
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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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%FTP wrote:
What happens to crank and hub based power meters when/if the pedal-cleat power meters become relatively affordable? Would they die out if Garmin, Polar, and BrimBrothers dropped their price below $1k?

give the vector some time and i have a feeling they'll end up being on ebay closer to $1k.
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Re: The future of the power meter [djb_rh] [ In reply to ]
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djb_rh wrote:
Whoa there a second. A strain gauge in the frame isn't going to be anywhere near as accurate as on the pedal or in the driveline. You really want your power numbers going up just because you rode a bumpier route? FWIW, this is also why I'm not exactly sold on pedal based power meters, either. Especially for mountain biking.

- You don't really know very much about signal processing and filtering. What you describe isn't a problem.
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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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I don't know why this hasn't been done, but I'd like to see one of the PM companies design a "modular" system. Instead of a power meter that costs let's say $1500, how about you buy modules that are much cheap for maybe $500. You install these modules on several different bikes (this modules probably contain the strain gauges etc.). Then you have a device that contains the "brains" (PC boards, ANT+ transmitter) and batteries that costs maybe $1000. This device plugs into the modules and moves from bike to bike as you need. That way you can add power meters to other bikes without having to move around major components.
Last edited by: manitou820: Jan 17, 12 8:07
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Re: The future of the power meter [manitou820] [ In reply to ]
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It already works more or less in this fashion. You can buy many cranks or many hubs, and only one head unit to be taken from bike to bike. You cannot decouple the strain gauges (be them in the hub, cranks or pedals) from some sort of transmitter: you have to get the signal 'out' of the gauges somehow; at this point, you already need a battery, basic electronics, and since you already have all that onboard, you may already transmit it directly to your head unit instead of adding a second 'brain' in between.

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Re: The future of the power meter [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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What I'd like to see is a powermeter inside a freehub body. You could take the freehub body from one wheel to another, provided they're built on a hub that's compatible with the freehub body. No tools required. Of course the problem is there is not a lot a room in a freehub body for batteries and a transmitter.
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Re: The future of the power meter [Rouleur] [ In reply to ]
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I work in signal and processing and have been hanging strain guages for many years.

I can see how someone may be able to measure the chainstay to BB tube strain, that would be an interesting experiment.

I think a better option would be to strain guage a link in a chain and have it power up like a rfid.

jaretj
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