It may have taken a bit longer than expected but he did his usual extremely thorough job.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/06/stages-review-update.html
Hugh
I love all his write ups. He’s very helpful! He’s the reason I got the fr60 over the 310xt garmin and I love my fr60.
The stages looks much more consistent than before. Great review! Good product!
If my PT ever dies I will consider this.
Been looking for a powermeter while on a grad student budget. Rainmaker’s review definitely makes the Stages enticing.
"We see that the Quarq is the highest, which is logical – it’s measuring power closest to my legs. "
Isn’t the Stages measuring power closest to the legs? Or leg, rather.
But a compelling review. Now I just wish they’d actually produce some for track bikes. Been on the “notify me when in stock” list for what seems like nearly a year.
So with the Stages PM is there ever a need ever to do a calibration with the head unit, or is that completely automatic?
I bet there are some engineers somewhere breathing a sigh of relief…
"We see that the Quarq is the highest, which is logical – it’s measuring power closest to my legs. "
Isn’t the Stages measuring power closest to the legs? Or leg, rather.
But a compelling review. Now I just wish they’d actually produce some for track bikes. Been on the “notify me when in stock” list for what seems like nearly a year.
There should be no significant difference between power at the crank arm versus power at the crank spider.
Hugh
Phew. I picked up an Ultegra one a couple weeks ago so I can use it on a few bikes with Shimano cranks.
@ray thanks for making me feel smart. And installation really is “silly easy”. Makes changing a flat look like brain surgery.
"We see that the Quarq is the highest, which is logical – it’s measuring power closest to my legs. "
Isn’t the Stages measuring power closest to the legs? Or leg, rather.
But a compelling review. Now I just wish they’d actually produce some for track bikes. Been on the “notify me when in stock” list for what seems like nearly a year.
There should be no significant difference between power at the crank arm versus power at the crank spider.
Hugh
Correct. And with that quote, I was referring to the fact that the Quarq would be capturing both legs output, and in my case there appears to be a tiny (very tiny) right-leg dominance, thus why the Quarq is higher than the Stages. If I was left-leg dominant, we’d see the Stages higher.
"We see that the Quarq is the highest, which is logical – it’s measuring power closest to my legs. "
Isn’t the Stages measuring power closest to the legs? Or leg, rather.
But a compelling review. Now I just wish they’d actually produce some for track bikes. Been on the “notify me when in stock” list for what seems like nearly a year.
There should be no significant difference between power at the crank arm versus power at the crank spider.
Hugh
Correct. And with that quote, I was referring to the fact that the Quarq would be capturing both legs output, and in my case there appears to be a tiny (very tiny) right-leg dominance, thus why the Quarq is higher than the Stages. If I was left-leg dominant, we’d see the Stages higher.
That…plus the fact that you can’t check/modify the torque slope of the Stages (at this time? Are they planning on changing that?)…so, you don’t know if it’s reading low to begin with.
Good job on the update Ray! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more this time…and, it looks like that WASP unit is a fairly handy device, huh? 
BTW, did you get a chance to run a test over a fairly “rough” course? My concern would be if there’s any possibility the Stages accels could get “confused” with large random vibe inputs. This might be a concern for off-road/gravel uses.
There should be no significant difference between power at the crank arm versus power at the crank spider.
Right, the Stages is effectively as close as the Quarq, making the statement that the Quarq is “closest” a little odd.
I see DC’s further comments, where he explains it as something unique to his stroke…not worth nitpicking.
I bet there are some engineers somewhere breathing a sigh of relief…
I think this review probably was a make or break for Stages. Given that I just got an email that they are off backorder, and since my local shop is a retailer, I might be picking one up sooner than later.
Someone’s gotta hook you up w/ some CeeGees!
Congratulations to Ray. Sorry I couldn’t help much with the updated review – real life intervened. I was able to see the results of the initial round of Stages updates based on data that Ray sent out, and they looked very improved compared to the initial release, which relieved the pressure on me. It speaks well of Stages that they pushed out the updates so quickly – and it speaks well of our initial analysis/criticism, too. It means the methods we used to spot oddities in the data were validated.
Yep, looks much better. Also evidence of the anecdotal drift problems you hear about quarqs having in that review was interesting.
Congratulations to Ray. Sorry I couldn’t help much with the updated review – real life intervened. I was able to see the results of the initial round of Stages updates based on data that Ray sent out, and they looked very improved compared to the initial release, which relieved the pressure on me. It speaks well of Stages that they pushed out the updates so quickly – and it speaks well of our initial analysis/criticism, too. It means the methods we used to spot oddities in the data were validated.
So the question is other than doubling left leg power being problematic for some, is there any definite reason to choose PT or Quarq over the Stages PM?
Dangit - I was just thinking I was going to be able to save money for race fees - now, unfortunately, that may not be possible.
twomarks
So the question is other than doubling left leg power being problematic for some, is there any definite reason to choose PT or Quarq over the Stages PM?
Perhaps. Depends on your usage and needs.
If I’m looking at getting a power meter, what would make me choose a quarq over a stages? Just considering the powermeter and ignoring that as a start up they might not be around next year.
They say the best camera is the one you have with you. This rings true for me with a power meter, as I do most of my riding on my commuter and road bikes and my Quarq just lived on my TT bike. I’m hoping a higher percentage of my mileage now has power data.
I put the Stages PM on my commuter bike and the test will be if I actually swap it back and forth before I go ride.