I did it for a few years with a Quarq. Left arm should be easier . It wasn't bad with a 1-bolt setup. Though that all ended when my crank came off mid-ride because the threads eventually stripped from so much use. Crank bolts tend to be pretty high torque, and I had been doing it properly with a torque wrench. After that I just bought another Quarq.

I did that for a few years, with a Power2Max so I had to swap the entire crank over. Since I was already using the same FSA cranks on both bikes that the P2M was built on, there wasn't any derailleur adjustments needed when switching. That worked fine, I just got tired of constantly switching and got a second PM...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

I did this when I first got a TT bike years ago. Swapped the left from the road to the TT.

It sounds as easy as pedals, but it's a lie. I hated it. Also anytime you install a crank based power system you need to "bed" the hardware by doing some solid digs or sprints before re-doing the zero cal thing. Otherwise figures can be pretty bad. A Shimano left crank arm is: loosen 2x bolts, lift up the safety retention flap, remove the plastic end nut thing, swap over, install plastic end nut thing, tighten screws, lower the safety retention flap, go do a couple digs, then re-cal. Pedals are 30 seconds of an allen key or pedal wrench.

The combo of time and needing to do that dig/cal, I gave up and bought more.

I'd go Speedplay power if I were you.

this is exactly what I do, I have 2 right side PMs 4iiii and one left side 4iiii and I just swap over the left side when I switch bikes takes all of 5 minutes when fast 10 if I am slow. The Shimano crank system is very easy to swap so I specified that it had to be Shimano.

Well that sucks! I don't think I'd be swapping that often but it's definitely something to keep in mind

This seems like enough reason for me! lol, thanks

I still do that with one of my quarqs - swap between TT bike and the zwift/trainer bike. GXP BBs so a single bolt and a torque wrench. Been doing it for years (since 2012) with zero issues of thread wear yet. At one time was swapping twice a week. Less now, but have no intent to change my approach.

I can see the shimano one being fiddly, but the GXP is something I do in less than a minute, and have done in less than 30s when I decided to time it for shits and giggles.

Note that I did buy a big torque wrench and really high quality allen bit to reduce the risk of rounding bolts.

I did a gxp quarq between two bikes for a while. It’s not too bad but is slightly annoying. I was also swapping wheels too which added to the annoyance. I have two powermeters on the two bikes now, it’s just way simpler. Just depends on your budget and how often you’ll be swapping them. At this point in my life I’d much rather just spend the money on 2, but 10 years ago I wouldn’t have ever bought a second one.

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My Strava | My Instagram | Summerville, SC | 35-39 AG | 4:41 (70.3), 10:05 (140.6) | 3x70.3, 1x140.6 | Cat 2 Cyclist

I have been doing this since 2013 with a left Stages PM, Shimano. I added another GXP for my road and fat bike. I prefer the GXP, one bolt that doesn't require special tools. I used to do it fairly often, I'd switch between road and MTB, but now the road bike has the GXP. It takes 5 minutes, but can be a pain if you're in a hurry.

12 years ago I was doing it with a wired SRM, I quickly saved up money & bought a Quarq (multiple quarq's) and then eventually to pedals.

If you're wanting to switch between multiple bikes, I'd find a pedal system that you're happy with before exploring crank options.

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-Brad Williams
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