I’m thinking to buy a Powertap P1 that measures R and L legs.
For those who already has it, any complain ? Pros and Cons ?
Can I use my current KEO Cleats or I need to switch ?
I saw some comments here in ST, but apparently many comments from people that doesn’t have it.
tks
You will need to get different cleats.
I have zero complaints about my P1 pedals.
Have you ridden with them in the rain much?
No. I would not ride in the rain unless it happened to rain during a race.
There have been some complaints about under-specced bearings, and various reports of people having bearing issues, at times after surprisingly modest amounts of use. It’s hard to gauge what fraction of users this applies to, however, and therefore how concerned to be about it. It is a little disconcerting that Powertap appears to warranty only the electronics, not any mechanical aspect of the pedal.
Early on, there were fairly widespread reports of huge erroneous power spikes. That appears to have been fixed with a software update. Relatedly, there have been some reports that at higher power levels the P1 power readings skew a little high. There are credible sources both making this claim and reporting no evidence for it.
I have P1s, and my only issue with them is that they are significantly more awkward to clip into than the Keo-style pedals I used before. I think this is mostly a function of a ridge along the back of the Wellgo pedal Powertap uses, whereas Keo-style pedals are smooth on the bottom. On my old pedals, I could slide my foot forward across the pedal, the front would hook, and I’d put downward pressure to clip in the back. On my P1s, if I try that the cleat hangs up on the pedal rather than sliding into place. So instead, I have to position my foot in just the right spot and push down to clip in. This is easy enough under normal circumstances, but under more dicey circumstances–a red light on a hill, for example–I find the P1s clumsy to get into. Oddly, almost no one else has reported this issue, which makes me wonder whether there’s some clip-in technique they’re using that I’m missing or whether they’re just used to pedals that are less intuitive to clip in to.
One other minor issue is that the Wellgo cleats were made out of fairly soft plastic that wasn’t very durable. Powertap is now apparently shipping cleats of a more robust plastic.
Have you ridden with them in the rain much?
Used during IM Mont-Tremblant this year and that was much worse and wetter than anything I would train in. No issues on my side.
I’ve had mine for over a year and very happy. I’ve ridden them in the rain with no issues and even smashed them into a corner and . The smashing into a corner had nothing to do with the pedal; went into a corner that I really shouldn’t have been pedaling into. I’m using the cleats that came with them and entry is very easy.
Only minor issue I have right now is the new PowerTap app isn’t finding my left pedal for some reason. I haven’t tried contacting tech support yet but I’m sure they will have a fix. Strange thing is it’s working fine with TrainerRoad and Garmin 500.
I don’t have experience with any other power meters but I don’t see why anybody would go with anything else, other than perhaps the complete dislike of the cleat type.
I also figured into my decision the future resale ease. If for whatever reason I ever what to sell them I figured they’d be easier to sell than say a crank based meter where there are variables for crank-arm length and BB type.
I had some issues initially with big power spikes, was a real pain, but this was resolved with a firmware update, since then all is great - the main benefit is that you can easily switch them between bikes.
Garmin offer the vector system, but this has ugly plastic pods on each pedal, plus calibration is far more complex before each ride with the Vectors.
Don’t stress about rain, have used them in some fairly wet conditions and never a problem.
The double sided system is worth spending money on IMO, I found that I have quite an inbalance in power left vs right, having dual sided measurement helps me to focus on correcting this issue. But if you know for sure you don’t have a balance issue, then go with the new single sided version released earlier this year, they are a LOT cheaper.
PowerTap strongly recommend to only use lithium batteries, it’s not clear why, but it is always the first question they ask when there is any issue with the pedals, so seems to be a big deal.
They recommend you use their cleats, Look cleats will also work, but are not recommended by PowerTap. Wellgo cleats are identical, they actually make them for PowerTap, so buy Wellgo replacements as they are cheaper than PowerTap branded ones. A set of cleats do come with the pedals.
A few months with mine and they have been flawless. Ridden in the rain a few times and saw no issues at all. Transmits fine to my 920 and my 500. I really like the true L/R balance data as it appears I have a variable imbalance depending on the type of riding I am doing (hills vs flat).
I came from having only ever ridden on Speedplays so the single-sided pedal was new to me but I got used to it quickly. I now prefer the more solid clamped feeling to the Speedplays I had before.
Have you ridden with them in the rain much?
Used during IM Mont-Tremblant this year and that was much worse and wetter than anything I would train in. No issues on my side.
Mont Tremblant was a damn monsoon the whole time i was on the bike course!
Noofus–I currently have a new set of P1’s Im about to sync up with my Garmin 500. Do you find the 500 does what you need it to or would a bump up to the 520 make sense now for me? Thanks
Noofus–I currently have a new set of P1’s Im about to sync up with my Garmin 500. Do you find the 500 does what you need it to or would a bump up to the 520 make sense now for me? Thanks
I only use my 500 as a head unit while riding, I never upload the data off of it. It’s easier to look at the 500 on my handlebars while riding than a 920 on my wrist. That said, it does everything I would need it to do regarding display of power metrics. Current power, NP, Average power, etc.
I use my 920xt as my main data collection device since it will automatically upload a workout upon saving. The only reason I can see to upgrade to a 520 would be to get that bluetooth upload feature. Otherwise the 500 will do everything you need.
PowerTap strongly recommend to only use lithium batteries, it’s not clear why, but it is always the first question they ask when there is any issue with the pedals, so seems to be a big deal.
Among a number of technical advantages, lithium batteries do not rupture and corrode like alkaline batteries. An alkaline battery rupture would probably end-of-life a P1 pedal.
Hi there-
I’ve had P1’s since August 2015. Ridden in the rain a lot with no issues.
My complaint is that they are ugly and heavy. I move them between 3 bikes, though, and the process is so quick and easy I’ll be sticking with them for the foreseeable future.
damen
My Right Pedal constantly goes missing. My Garmin keeps telling me it can’t find it. Apparently there is a fix on the app, but the app is terrible and I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to fix it.
Minimal complaints.
I replaced the battery caps, thanks to the guys at Saris-- great customer service, especially when I thought I had a battery life issue. I burned through a lot of AAA batteries because (I suspect) the weight of the bike resting against the P1 was registering and broadcasting a power signal when not in use before I realized I was being dumb.
power seems to read a tad high (probably higher than explainable drivetrain loss) vs computrainer. Hard to isolate which one is in error. Consistent readings, though. Able to switch between bikes seamlessly, especially now that garmin 920 seems to be supporting crank length settings again from the GUI.
I’m thinking to buy a Powertap P1 that measures R and L legs.
For those who already has it, any complain ? Pros and Cons ?
Can I use my current KEO Cleats or I need to switch ?
I saw some comments here in ST, but apparently many comments from people that doesn’t have it.
tks
I have both P1 and Garmin vectors.
Get Vectors, they will show you not only balance but also:
platform center offset and power phase.
First will let you adjust cleat\foot position based on the real life numbers not some crystal ball readings or “symmetrical logic”, second if you combine with eg: Golden Cheetah it will show you how you leg muscle engagement changes when you are fresh or pushing hard. You will be able to determine your dominant “cycling muscle” and also the compensator that kicks in when you are going pretty hard. Based on that you will see how “efficient” your pedal stroke is and will be able to improve in case you are not most efficient at it.
I think the updated Powertap mobile app allows you to see power phase and other advance pedaling metrics when you connect the P1 to it.
I think the updated Powertap mobile app allows you to see power phase and other advance pedaling metrics when you connect the P1 to it.
only in their app and they are slightly different no platform offset, P1 metrics do not get recorded by Garmin as in the case of Vectors, and that is deciding factor. You can’t really analyze your race data. Well, you could if you race with iPhone.
Having said that, nice thing about P1s they give you real live view on turbo when you are working on optimization, you can really nicely experiment with your pedal stroke.
I would still get Vectors if I could have only one system.
I think the updated Powertap mobile app allows you to see power phase and other advance pedaling metrics when you connect the P1 to it.
only in their app and they are slightly different no platform offset, P1 metrics do not get recorded by Garmin as in the case of Vectors, and that is deciding factor. You can’t really analyze your race data. Well, you could if you race with iPhone.
Having said that, nice thing about P1s they give you real live view on turbo when you are working on optimization, you can really nicely experiment with your pedal stroke.
I would still get Vectors if I could have only one system.Given there is virtually zero practical application for the data the Vectors give, and how tricky they are to swap between bikes I’d go for P1 every day if the week and twice on Sunday.
I have a pair and love them, my 520 shows power balance on one of the screens which is very interesting and I personally don’t have an issue clipping in. Plus swapping between road and TT bike really is a breeze.