When users vote on the poll, they should be taking all of this into account based on their own intended use case.

I would add "vulnerability to theft" (pedals)

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Strava

Yep, another point ..

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having used both crank based and rear hub based power meters, i really like the idea of pedal based due to the ease of swapping from bike to bike. Hub based isn't too bad, but it assumes you have similar drive trains on all of your bikes, and you still can't beat pedal based for pure mobility.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

I said "other"...because I still think the BEST place is a proper implementation (i.e. NOT how Polar did it) of the chain vibration frequency based sensor. Purely "add on" (i.e. don't need to replace/compromise on any other equipment), and if designed correctly, should be easy to swap from bike to bike.

Oh well...one can only dream...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Glad you mentioned price. I'm a total fanboy of the PowerTap C1 chainrings. At $350 each I'd put one on each bike I had if I had more than one. Single sided power meters make absolutely zero sense to me when a dual-sided is that inexpensive and dependable. That said you do need a specific type of crankset (which are readily available) and the chainring wears out over time (so you just replace the chainring and mount the C1).

In an ideal situation I'd have one really hidden from the wind like the new Dura-Ace PM cranks are doing. I think they're on the right track with those but they still have some bugs to work out.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

.. the single real time data I'm able to change and that means choose for best efficency with my body while riding is surprisingly the cadence .. and that calculated with speed sums up to power .. depending on the air brake I set up ..

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I have no idea what that means but ok...

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

I think that the distinction between "built into the crank" and "added on to the crank" makes the poll confusing. As long as I can use the crank I want to use, why would I care? Pioneer's PM is added to the crank but it's not like that gives you a choice of cranks

let me help. infocrank has a power meter embedded in it. you can't use the crank without the power meter, or vice versa. it's all one unit. pioneer is a power meter that is added to the crank. you can hold the power meter in your hand, absent the crank. you can use a crank and never put the power meter on it. there are multiple versions of each kind.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

The best solution is to build it into the cleat. This is the most direct measurement of YOUR power output because minor issues like the bearing wear and/or grit in the pedals from that last ride in the rain, or the amount and type of chain lube you used are not relevant. It measures the force you put out for each leg. No issues with swapping between bikes. Left-right balance. One pair of shoes for all your road bikes....

I really was hoping Brimm Brothers would bring their product to market, but it didn't happen. Too bad Specialized or some other company that makes lots of shoes didn't buy out that technology.

Whilst I think a cleat based solution would be awesome for some people, there are others that would want a different shoe for road racing/track riding and triathlon. I don't think any one solution is going to suit everybody.

I would add that some of us want power measured in multiple spots for different applications. Aero testing for instance benefits from measurement at the wheel, but athlete testing is best at the other end of the drivetrain.

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

I voted Pedal but I should have voted other because what I really want is a Cleat based PM which doesn't currently exist as far as I'm aware and isn't an option in the poll.
I was waiting for the Brim Brothers speedplay cleat PM until that failed to materialise. Pedals would be second choice but I'm fond of my Speedplays and no speedplay based pedal PM is available. So it'll probably be a crank spider PM like the Power2Max.

I've always found the lack of cleat options a bit odd. Maybe it's down to licensing or something, but it just seems obvious to make at the very least a Shimano-based power pedal. (I know there's the Garmin 2 conversion kit, but it just seems like an afterthought)

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Strava

Where does SRM fall into this then? Built in to the crank or added to the crank?

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blog

Brim Brothers worked on a cleat based PM for Speedplay for years. I think it was called, Zone DPM and if I remember correctly they even made a first production run but were unable to solve problems with accuracy and the venture folded in the end. I had supported them on kickstarter but pulled out just in time when I reckoned they weren't going to get it over the line. I think they shipped what units they had to those still signed up when they went out of business; but the units weren't accurate.

So, I think cleat units haven't materialised yet due to technical difficulties rather than licensing issues.

Oh, I was talking about the cleat options for the pedal-based power meters. Right now there's the stock cleats are Keo (Garmin Vectors) and Powertap's custom cleats (which sucks). To me it doesn't make sense why no one makes a pedal based system that comes stock with Shimano or speedplay cleats.

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Strava

I don't follow.
I hadn't really though about it, but would have assumed Garmin or Powertap pedal based PMs could be used with any compatible cleat for that pedal type. Is that not so?

Those systems couldn't use Speedplay cleats since neither use Speedplay pedals.

Do you mean why don't Garmin sell Vectors in each of the popular pedal types instead of just Keos and likewise for other pedal based PMs?

Yes.

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Strava

Well sure, I guess I can hold the Pioneer in my hand without the crank, but that's only if I buy it separately and only until it has been installed for the first time. Installation of the Pioneer is permanent. I can't ever move it to another crank. So I don't understand what difference it makes. Or rather, I don't understand why there would be preference one way or the other. It's effectively the same thing.

I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just confused. Is there some power meter, that's added to a crank that I can then move to another crank?

If Garmin ever made a Speedplay power meter, you would see a ton of people buy it. I remember reading an article where Garmin said they wanted to control the manufacturing process so they made their own pedals.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

here's the difference. to me. if you choose a pioneer, you're choosing a product made by a company that is only interested in electronics. it leaves the crank making to crank makers. pioneer doesn't need to be a cold forger, or a composites specialist. it only needs to worry about what it does, and then rely on shimano, sram, fsa, et al, to make cranks. then it responds to that tech by tweaking its product to match that tech.

infocrank says, wait, sounds great in theory, you're never going to get the accuracy you want unless you control the whole process.

i'm not taking a stand on which is best. but there is a clear difference in approach. the poll is designed to give you the latitude to choose the tech you'd prefer if you could have exactly what you want.

and, i recall the brim brothers attempt, and the polar attempt, but i have my doubts about whether we'll see chain or cleat tech in the future. nevertheless, that's why i placed the "other" button on the poll.

we never really talk much here about what you gain and what you give by where you place the PM. every time you choose a tech you either limit your ability to move that tech to another bike, or you limit the capacity of that component to do what that component is optimized to do. for example, yesterday we published on a time pedal. you like that pedal? great. then place your PM somewhere else. i think it's a worthy discussion to have; hence the poll.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

The distribution of responses is interesting and insightful to me. I didn't expect the top one to have 49% . . . perhaps that will change.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

I'd probably be one of them.