I’m looking to buy my first power meter for my triathlon bike. I’ve never used a power meter before and I know there are a lot of different options out there. I’m curious if a pedal power meter (ex. Garmin Vector) is better/worse than crank power meters. I’m looking to see what others recommend. Thanks in advance.
A two-sided pedal power meter is comparable to a (two-sided if crank-arm based) crank power meter.
Some pedal power meters have had various reliability issues. So have some crank power meters, but I think the current generation of name-brand crank power meters are all pretty darn reliable (whether spider-based or crank-arm based).
I like Rotor cranks with their power meters.
The power meters themselves (from the main players) can be considered equal as far as I understand. See https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/11/power-meter-buyers-2018.html
What makes the most sense for each person depends on a few things.
Do you have more than 1 bike?
Do you plan to change groupsets/crank arm length soon or somewhat frequently?
How long do you plan to have your bike before buying a new one?
Do you have a cleat type preference?
I did a lot of research and tradeoff analysis and settled on Favero Assioma pedals. I switch these between 3 bikes almost weekly so it was the best solution for me to avoid the cost of several power meters but have power on all rides. I also like having the exact same power meter on all my rides so I’m not left wondering if one measures differently than another. I have complete flexibility to switch any part of my crankset without impacting my power meter and can travel with the pedals and use them on any bike I rent or borrow or buy in the future.
I’m looking to buy my first power meter for my triathlon bike. I’ve never used a power meter before and I know there are a lot of different options out there. I’m curious if a pedal power meter (ex. Garmin Vector) is better/worse than crank power meters. I’m looking to see what others recommend. Thanks in advance.There is not a material performance difference between pedal versus crank power meters.
If you just want to set it and forget it on a bike, then crank is good. Or, if you have a particular pedal system setup, then crank.
If you have multiple bikes and want to switch between them, then pedal power meter is the way to go.
Garmin has had a horrible history with their power meter products, so I am not convinced the Vector 3 is equal to Assioma yet in quality (and performance). Assioma is hands-down the best of the three (Assioma, Speedplay, Vector).
Agree with others here - if you want to swap at all, go with the Assiomas. I don’t have them and have never used them, but have only heard good things. I use Power2Max - currently have three bikes with their crank power meters and had two others I sold. Other than changing batteries every few thousand miles (maybe 3x a year) they have not had a single downside. You don’t have to worry about recharging them (the Eco is definitely cheaper and as reliable and uses the coin cells), and they take a small battery that is only a little larger than those in most HR monitors.
I’d recommend the assioma pedals, especially for those who aren’t too keen to work on their own bikes.
Assioma pedals seem to have a good reputation, ‘reasonably’ priced, relatively simple installation (pedals are easiest of all PMs), and comes in either Look or Shimano compatible pedals.
Crank based PM, while also ‘great’, require a little more thought (BB compatibility, committing to a crank arm length), and little bit more wrenching knowledge.
I went pedal based so I can swap easily from road to tri bike. Garmin V3’s.
They are decent enough. Report power higher (10-15%) than my Kickr, but who knows which is correct.
They have been reliable, but if I had it to do over again, I buy the Assimo purely because they are rechargeable. I’d rather plug them in to recharge than buy/change batteries. I originally broke the tie because everything else I have was Gamin (watch, head unit, Connect) and I wanted to keep the ecosystem tight so everything would play nice together. Looking back, that wasn’t necessary.
I have two Powertap G3 wheels, a pair of Powertap P1 pedals (dual) and a pair of Assioma pedals (dual).
Of these, the Assiomas are my favourites, for ease of installation (and transfer between bikes) and setup, reliability and because they are rechargeable rather than requiring batteries.
If I was starting from scratch, I’d go with Assiomas.
I’ve never tried crank-based power meters.
Robert
I’ve got 5 Power2maxs and 2 sets of Garmin Vectors on my bikes.
The only issue I’ve had was the battery doors on one of my Vectors, Garmin sent replacements free of charge.
I’ve had a few Powertaps with no issues but haven’t used them in years.
why did you stop using the powertaps - not having separate data for each side? rim brake? or something else?
i have 2 powertaps - both must be close to 10 years old; one built into a Jet60 (it is 28 spoke and from before wide rims) and other an early generation 404 firecrest (16.25 internal rim). Both have G3 internals now. Both generally work fine, and i use the one built into the Jet60 on almost every ride; but i am considering moving on as the wheels are a bit 2008, with a narrow internal rim. particularly the Jet, and i think i could make my old rim brake bike more comfortable with a different rear wheel. I’d ideally like to put a modern Jet or equivalent on the rear - and building a wheel to accommodate one of my powertaps seems like adding to sunk costs.
…so probably a new wheel ($600) and a set of pedals that i can also use on my disc brake bike.
I also used a Powertap wheel for about 10 years before buying Assiomas. It worked great when I had a tri bike and a road bike both with 10 speed cassettes and rim brakes. I switched the wheel back and forth and added a disc cover for triathlons.
However, I now sold the road bike, use the 10 speed tri bike on the trainer, and added an 11 speed tri bike with rim brakes and a gravel bike with disc brakes so now a shared Powertap wheel isn’t possible. It made pedals the easy choice.