Hypothetical: Swappable power meter options & why

Triathlon Forum
1

Hello all,

I’m at a decision point for a new crankset/powermeter and would like your opinions. I already know my answer, but if you’d share what YOU would do and why, it might help me think about something I hadn’t and would be value-added. If you’ll entertain a scenario, it would be a great help!

I currently have two bikes: A Felt DA TT bike and a Boardman Air Elite 9.8 roadie. I would like a single powermeter to swap between the two bikes fairly quickly. There is currently a Rotor P2M Type-S (I’m trying to sell), but I do not like it because swapping the cranks is a real pain. The one bolt is easy to back out, and I’ve already messed up a crankarm. While I learned from the mistake, it is still time consuming and stressful to remove the cranks. Also, replacing the coin cell battery is obnoxious because it requires complete removal of the cranks.

Also, I have Rotor Q-rings, which may or may not influence any choices. Love em, and no intent to go back to round rings (sorry PowerTap C1)

Option 1: PowerTap rear wheel. I recently bought HED Jet 6 racing wheels last season, and would like to keep them. So I would buy a powertap hub and have to find a wheelbuilder who can convert my rear wheel for me. This would also effectively make my race wheel a all-rounder race & training wheel.

Option 2: Quarq powermeter. I don’t know much about the differences between the models, so I’d have to educate myself on these. YouTube videos make it seem like installation and removal is very easy, and I am not likely at all to mess something up because I loosened a pinch bolt half a turn too far. Which is nice.

Option 3: Favero Assioma powermeter. New pedals that came out, I’d have to wait because they’re backordered and stuff. But these also seem like a good option. I don’t believe they have torque requirements, and swapping between bikes would be easy. I hand tighten my pedals and turn them another quarter turn usually, so stripping the threads or the slots for the wrenches are very unlikely.

Play between prices on all three are fairly similar, but if one is crazy more, don’t let that be a factor. I’ll just eat out less and pick up a few odd jobs for a month. Like put some artsy photography in a cool frame at a local diner I know for cheap! Thats a fun one.

2

Well I went the PowerTap route and while they are certainly the most swappable I kinda find myself wanting different wheels. I now have 3 PTs in the fleet. HED Jet6+ (easy swap and my Wheelbuilder reused the stock spokes), Flo 30 training wheels (I picked up a new PT SL+ for 200$), Jet disc.

Now if you will use the 6+ for Tri and can live without the disc, then just stick a PT in and be happy.

3

Went the powertap route, mostly because the GS hub was on sale at a ridiculous price last year (about 250 or so) and I needed to maintain my main wheels. Happy with it, rock solid but sometimes I miss power data when I need to use the backup wheels. Should have bought 2. If I had to decide again with normal retail prices, I’d probably go through the pedal route (Vector 3 or Favero). But for swappability nothing beats the wheel when you decide which bike you take on the fly.

4

Hypothetically, wheels are easiest to swap so if swapability was the primary concern, that’s the way I’d go.

Practically, if I already had a power meter I’d just buy a second one for the other bike and have power available on either bike anytime I wanted to ride without having to swap anything. Lots of single-side options now in the $300-$400 range, and dual-side options start at ~$500.

5

I’ll throw in the Garmin Vector 3 pedals. I have had PowerTap pedals as well as Vector 2 pedals. The Vector 3 pedals are the most accurate of the bunch, are lightest, track well with my SRM and easy as can be to install. The PowerTap pedals were easy to install, but big and bulky and I also had weird data always when standing and when sprinting. The Vector 2 pedals were just not very accurate and the pods were atrocious.

6

I honestly find removing and swapping my crank with my quarq to be easier than swapping pedals
.

7

I just went with PowerTap Pedals, which were on sale at the time and in stock… I feel like pedals are the most interchangeable across road bikes. Crank based, you could buy a bike with a different BB and run into compatibility issues. Wheel, you could someday convert to disc brakes (heaven forbid /pink) and/or want to upgrade your wheel/rims, OR you could want to use a direct drive trainer with a consistent indoor/outdoor power source.

The only compatibility issues with the pedals that I can foresee is going to cyclocross or mountain bike. Neither crank nor wheel is likely to work with a mountain bike anyway. If I were into cyclocross however, I would perhaps consider going the crank route, I donno. At this time, I have no plans to race cyclocross, but you can never rule it out.

8

I only have 1 PT wheel for 2 bikes now, but now that I’m 40+, have disposable income (not a lot, but some), but a scarcity of time:

  • I would myself abandon all pretense of swapping pedals. I would just get a 2nd powermeter. That’s what I’m going to do in the near future if I ramp up biking more.

  • My Kickr is good stuff, but I’m so time crunched and busy now with family and work that I am seriously considering just buying a $600 Schwinn ‘upright gym bike’ for the quick 20-40 minute hard-power time crunched workout, which I’m finding is a very realistic and useful way to get in good quality work. Even the bit of time it takes to get onto my bike-Kickr, set the erg watts, mess with the phone or computer while riding (or setting it up) is enough to be enough of a drawback. 30 mins at tempo+ pace is a really good workout!

  • I thought I’d love the wheelcover to make my PT wheel a disc - turns out I get seriously annoyed with the 15-30 mins it takes for me to remove the cassette, tape it on, etc. Enough that I won’t go this route again if I upgrade - it’s going to be powertap pedal/crank permanently, and dedicated race wheels, no annoying setup required.

I’ve def decided that all time-related barriers to training that I can removed within reason, should be removed, and then training (and racing) become much more doable.

9

I’d buy a 2nd powermeter and stop swapping
.

10

I have a power tap wheel that stays on my rain bike and a Quarq on my principal bike but that is not by design, just chance (I lucked into a killer deal on a used wheel). If I was going to go with just one PM knowing what I know now, I’d go pedals, not because they are easy to switch but because pedals give you the most options as they work on any bike, even a spin bike at the gym if you are traveling. I don’t like being locked into one wheel as I like having a backup and some quick and easy tire choice, not to mention race wheels. And while I love my Quarq, a crank PM is always going to limit your bike choice a bit in the future and it is never going to fit everything in a well rounded bike stable. Pedals give you the most options, not just any easy swap now.

11

I was in a similar situation. I was once a powertap guy, and had a racing wheel and a training wheel. I sold them about two years ago and got a P2M crank-based PM for the tri bike. This left me w/out a pm for the roadie. This fall I got another P2M pm for the road bike too. Both bikes are BB30, so I could have swapped them. However, I just made the decision that I could afford a second powermeter - cost was just over $600 - and in the long run it’ll save me lots of time in not switching the crank back and forth between the two bikes.

In terms of pedals, it depends what system you use. I use Speedplay pedals, so power wasn’t an option there for me.

12

I was in a similar position and after talking with some experienced mechanics they raised an issue I hadn’t considered. Where you live can have a pretty big impact on what will work best.

I live in the UK and PowerTap service is a real hassle. My understanding is PowerTap only certifies a single location in the UK (in Wales if I remember correctly) to conduct official maintenance on the internals of the hubs. Given the bearing should be serviced somewhat regulatory this can be a real PIA and an additional significant expense. If you are in the US I am sure this is much less of a problem, but I wouldn’t expect any and every shop to be able to service the hubs.

I don’t have any direct experience with Favero but I would guess the European customer service is easier to deal with than the US side and there are shipping cost to think about. As a potential comparison Elite is certainly pretty good from my experience in the UK but I have heard they are a real hassle to work for from the US. As for quarq I would just check as see what the local support it like.

In the end I went with the Vector3s. They couldn’t be easier to move across bikes and I can easily work with my LBS should any issues arise. The obvious downside is that you are stuck with look keo cleats.

13

I have a power tap wheel that stays on my rain bike and a Quarq on my principal bike but that is not by design, just chance (I lucked into a killer deal on a used wheel). If I was going to go with just one PM knowing what I know now, I’d go pedals, not because they are easy to switch but because pedals give you the most options as they work on any bike, even a spin bike at the gym if you are traveling. I don’t like being locked into one wheel as I like having a backup and some quick and easy tire choice, not to mention race wheels. And while I love my Quarq, a crank PM is always going to limit your bike choice a bit in the future and it is never going to fit everything in a well rounded bike stable. Pedals give you the most options, not just any easy swap now.

Shoot I didn’t even think about the bottom bracket issue and compatibility. I was looking at Quarq to be honest but that’s a point I’m glad I got yalls feedback on.

I’m fine without running a disc. I ran one in the past but only because it was loaned. A deep wheel is a 95% solution and totally fine. It sounds like powertap or vector 3s are the way to go.

I like the idea of just a single meter because it’s simpler with device connectivity, one less battery to change, and I know they’re tracking exactly the same (so it’ll be neat to know my avg power differences between two posotions).

14

I was (am) very happy with my Quarq but since I bought it, 2 things have happened - pedal PMs have gotten bit cheaper and better and my last kid graduated from college so there is now a possibility i could add some bikes to my inventory. I’m thinking of getting a mountain bike and/or gravel bike and an indoor velodrome just opened locally with rental bikes which might be a nice break in the winter from the trainer. While Quarq would likely fit a gravel bike, it won’t fit an mtb or a track bike. I’m probably not going to do either one of those seriously enough to justify the cost of a new PM but if I already had a pedal PM, I could have power on any new bike for $0.

15

In the end I went with the Vector3s. They couldn’t be easier to move across bikes and I can easily work with my LBS should any issues arise. The obvious downside is that you are stuck with look keo cleats.

Howdy, I don’t want to derail the thread but am curious why you mention keo cleats as a detraction. I’m not saying I disagree, but I wonder what your perspective is because I’ve found them to be essentially the same as shimano cleats. I ultimately moved to shimano as I had an easier time finding cleats with rubber pads on them to aid walking, but after buying 2 new sets of pedals I learned there’s such a thing as padded keo cleats (padded is probably the wrong word). Thanks!

Back to the thread at large - I used to use stages, as it was really easy to switch from bike to bike. But after getting a new bike that wasn’t readily compatible with my then existing PM and moving to a new crank size, I bought a quark. Then after being irritated by erratic differences in values between my 2 PM’s at various effort levels/cadences, and wanting to once again ride the same crank length on both bikes, I flipped out and bought a 2nd quark. Moving entire crank sets between bikes was never a consideration. Wicked simple to move just the crank arm but I personally draw the line at moving the whole crank, particularly as I currently ride each bike at least once a week. Not an inexpensive choice but, , there it is.

Oh, and just so it’s clear, I’m not recommending stages if you (the OP) are prone to being easily frustrated; just back slowly away (unless you want to buy my used one and 2 crank sets!).

16

I have PowerTap P1 pedals and swap regularly. I would choose pedals over crank or hub PM any day of the week. Here is my take…
Swapping cranks is more of a hassle to me. Some opine that crank swap is easier than pedals. To me, it is a hassle, and I can probably build a bike blindfolded.The cranks on my road and tri bike are not easily compatible. And, locking into a particular crank somewhat ties the crank to a bike forever due to various BB standards.Going with a hub PM locks you into a specific wheel. For me, I have very different wheel preferences between bikes.
I prefer different chainrings for my tri and road bikes.I may eventually prefer different crank lengths between my road and trike bikes (today they are the same).Cranks give you total power, which is good, but I do like seeing actual L/R power when I am doing one-leg drills.
If I were buying a PM right now, I would get the Vector 3. I love my P1 pedals, but the Vector 3 look a lot cooler and seem a little more advanced.

If you have a particular type of pedal (Speedplay, for example) that you prefer, I would go with a pedal PM for swapability.

17

Tsunami—keo or shimano would be a disadvantage if you are on speedplays and love those.

18

Yep, most certainly. Thanks!

19

Powertap C1 chainrings are now $350 for the full setup. That’s quite a value if the limited options fit your needs.
I’m looking pretty hard at putting those on two of my bikes.

20

I couldn’t agree more in regards to the disc cover. I also then have to switch tires… It was a good answer initially, but after 7 years of doing it, I am ready for crank based with a dedicated disc.

  • I thought I’d love the wheelcover to make my PT wheel a disc - turns out I get seriously annoyed with the 15-30 mins it takes for me to remove the cassette, tape it on, etc. Enough that I won’t go this route again if I upgrade - it’s going to be powertap pedal/crank permanently, and dedicated race wheels, no annoying setup required.