I purchased an IA4 (still waiting to get it) and decided I am going to put a power meter on it. I have narrowed my options down to 2 choices. Either Power2Max or Stages. In both cases I will have to purchase a new crank.
I THINK I have narrowed my two options down further to…
Stages: Either Ultegra crank or Dura-Ace crank
They currently have a new Dura-ace crank on sale so with the stages I am looking at about $1500. To go with the Ultegra set up I am looking at about $1250. Is the extra $250 worth going to Dura-Ace?
Power2Max: Rotor 3D crank with the Power2Max Classic (Wanted the plus but the 110 is sold out). The price on this is $1175 US so after exchange I am around the $1300 or so mark.
My IA4 is a 54cm frame and come standard with a 170mm crank (according to the Felt website). The bbike shop recommended a 172.5mm crank arm length (I am about 5’8" / 5’9").
Personally I am leaning towards the Power2Max because I like the idea of left/right leg power.
Some questions I have are:
Will the bike perform better with the Shimano crank because the derailleurs are Ultegra (this is what my LBS told me).
Do you guys think a 172.5mm is the way to go?
Any thoughts or feedback anyone has to help make my decision even more confusing would be awesome!
For that kind of money why not get a Quarq? If a Stages + crank was $1500, you can buy the new Quarq Elsa RS for $1600 if you want to keep the Shimano look https://www.quarq.com/store/item/1740/
You will need Dura Ace chainrings however
Don’t change to smaller cranks unless you are having fit issues. You won’t generate any more power. If you have an aggressive fit and need smaller cranks to make the fit work, that’s why you buy smaller cranks.
I prefer not to mix SRAM/Shimano. This is why I waited for Quarq to release a Shimano version of their power meter. Yes it’s a SRAM crank but the chainrings are Shimano. I’m buying mine next week
Buy a new Riken or Elsa on eBay. Hell you should even be able to get Red for around $1300 or less. L/R power? What is it going to tell you and what would you do to correct whatever information it did tell you?
You should have zero issues going with a SRAM crank on performance vs. dura ace. I’ve had zero on my P5.
I ride 172.5 cranks and am 6’2" so I think you should go a bit shorter. But to each his own.
You could buy my Quarq Elsa that’s listed in the classified section. It has 170 arms, which would probably be a better fit for your height than what your LBS has recommended. I’m 5’10" and was more comfortable with 170 than 172.5. It allowed me to raise my saddle slightly, getting better saddle to bar drop, and helped eliminate a catch in my pedal stroke near top-dead-center.
The weight difference between Dura Ace 9000 and Ultegra 6800 crank is roughly 130g (a bit more than a quarter lb), so the cost for a lighter crank is ~$2 per gram. You can compare that with your other options for losing weight on the bike.
There is something to be said for making the bike complete Ultegra, since you’ve already got the other Ultegra components. You should also know that a 105 left crankarm weighs the same as Ultegra, so if you just get the Stages left arm you can save $100 that way. The black 105 nearly matches the dark gray Ultegra finish, it’s hard to see the difference at first glance. Or get the Dura Ace crank with a 105 Stages left arm, most of the weight savings from the Dura Ace crank is on the right side.
If you’re only 5’8" or 9", I strongly suspect the shop is stuck in the decades-old mindset of ‘longer crank for TT is better.’ Since that’s been discussed ad nauseam here and elsewhere, no need to go into that. I also echo what others have said about getting a fit from someone who is an expert in fitting people for the type of riding/racing you do before making final component decisions.
It’s not a decades old mindset. Crank length corresponds to fit. You won’t generate any more power switching to smaller cranks. This has been discussed repeatedly on these forums
Having been involved in cycling since the 80’s, I can assure you that the longer-crank-better-for-TT mindset has been in existence for decades. As for the rest of your statement, it appears we are in violent agreement.
Also, Damon’s article references the old “longer is better” mindset in the very first paragraph: “traditionally longer cranks were thought to be better since they give more leverage.”
My apologies than. You and I DID say the same thing just differently. I thought you were making the argument about crank length and power which is what you hear so much on these forums. Fit will determine your crank length!
It is absolutely insane to pay 1250, let alone 1500, for Stages. It will actually be more than that in the end because you will also need to pay for the adapter to run the shimano crank with the BB30 bottom bracket that comes with the IA. The Rotor would also require an adapter.
I would suggest a quark riken BB30. This will not require adapters and just take the chain rings that came with the IA off the vision crank and put it on the riken. The quarq also allow you set the slope of the powermeter, the power2max and the stages do not allow this.
I’ve ridden my power2max in every imaginable condition, including 10+ power washings during muddy CX races. It just can’t be killed. You can change rings and be back in action in a matter of minutes. I have come to take for granted that it will work 100% of the time under all circumstances. The batteries last forever and are easy to replace if they do ever wear out. Frankly, I WANTED to find a way to buy from SRAM as they are a US company and do a lot to support CX, but buying an inferior product for more money just because you like one company more ends up sending the wrong message to the company and they are hurt in the long run.
It is absolutely insane to pay 1250, let alone 1500, for Stages. It will actually be more than that in the end because you will also need to pay for the adapter to run the shimano crank with the BB30 bottom bracket that comes with the IA. The Rotor would also require an adapter.
I would suggest a quark riken BB30. This will not require adapters and just take the chain rings that came with the IA off the vision crank and put it on the riken. The quarq also allow you set the slope of the powermeter, the power2max and the stages do not allow this.
That was my thought on the cost of the stages. If the bike was coming with an Ultegra crank then it made sense to me to go that route but for the price I was thinking it was a little out there.
Can’t speak to Power2Max, but on Quarq or Stages it’s a 1-2 minute operation with a widely available 2032 battery. No tools required, although the battery cover on the Stages (depending on what version) can be a bit finicky.
I’m in the same boat but I just placed an order for the 4iiii, which is the cheaper version of stages. Left leg only, which isn’t a concern to me. I’m hoping to get it by December but the website says orders now will be filled in Q1 2105.
DC Rainmaker has done a review and the initial findings were positive.
Im about 20000km into my Power2Max Rotor 3D+ and have had zero issues and perfect consistency. I had a Quarq prior to that and I had all sorts of problems even at a higher price point. One big winning point for the P2M is you don’t need a bloody cadence magnet which was a nightmare of putty and frustration with my Quarq.