Again, I am super new at cycling. Like, really new. I don’t know what I don’t know. And I know even less than what I know when I know I know but knowing is what I know that I don’t know. You know?
Anyway. Opinions? Anything. Just throw it out there. I’m thinking it might be a treat for my first century. Or something. I love tech. I don’t know how all the numbers and metrics jive but I’m learning. And as a medical professional, I love telemetry. It’s probably THE best tool for evaluation and treatment (in this case, training).
I know my wife is going to shoot me for even showing her. But I wanted the Suf and minion opinion.
I don’t own a pair myself, since most of my riding is done indoors. They are a good addition and can be a helpful tool, but don’t let all the metrics confuse you.
IF you are new to cycling and haven’t done so: Do a proper bike fit first (sounds unrelated but is higher on the must-invest-list). IF you want to spend even more, go for the pedals - but make sure you invest in the right system.
I recently switched from Shimano SPD-SL to Wahoo Speedplay and couldn’t be happier.
They don’t have a proper powermeter yet but announced that one is in development.
I don’t have much time for a proper reply but want to recommend some additional reading:
Ray Maker is one of the best sources for fitness technology and reviews.
I bought exactly this model of power meter a couple of years ago. Although the earlier release of Vector 3 had a few problems I believe they are now a mature product.
I had no real issues with my set and I’ve been very happy with them.
Initially I had two bikes - one for outside and one for my dumb trainer indoors - and found it the least inconvenience to swap the pedals over between the two bikes.
Recently I had the fortune to acquire a 2018 Kickr model cheaply, so the Vectors are now a permanent feature on my outdoor bike.
This is what I wanted to hear, Sir Brian. I am a pretty loyal person when it comes to products. Wahoo has already given me great support and customer service on top of making and selling a high quality product. I have a Kickr, Tickr, and Blue SC. I really like their product. I can wait for Wahoo power pedals.
It could depend on what your looking for from the data. Perhaps a Stages PM (gives both power and cadence), only one sided but does mean that you can use any pedals on them. Also looking forward to the Wahoo speedplay, swap the stages onto the other bike etc
I have a Garmin Vector 3s, works really well, but had random hickups here and there with random disconnections…
At this point because I’m not willing to have two different powermeters I’ll stay stuck for now, but totally would give the Favero a try, should I have the chance
I’ve currently got a set of the new Garmin Rally pedals on my road bike, thanks to the cycle to work scheme they weren’t stupidly expensive!
The amount of data they provide is mind blowing but I’ve not quite got my head round it all yet.
So far they’ve been faultless but this post has reminded me that I need a spare set of batteries for them as they aren’t a regular battery.
I use Shimano ultegra pedals, it has a wide football and so I assumed them to be both more comfortable and cheaper than speedily. I would be interested to hear your riding experience of using both pedals. I do not mean to hyjack OP subject, my apologies if I have
I have Favero Assiomas, one of the benefits is (like the new Garmin Rally) you can convert them between body types, so you can have “road” or “MTB” style pedals.
One of the benefits of pedal based power meters is that if you have multiple bikes they are really easy to switch between, so your big investment isn’t stuck on one bike or a pain to move.
I love the Faveros, they’re really well made, reliable as anything and rechargeable. The batteries last for ages, but then you just recharge them rather than replace, which is cheaper and nicely convenient.
@alchurch I constantly see people talking about road type pedals or pedals with platforms being more comfortable, but personally I just don’t see it.
I’ve got Look Keo type pedals and SPD-SLs, but these days I am running on only Shimano “MTB” SPDs on all of my bikes because I like the convenience of “walkable” shoes.
I’ve ridden both back-to-back to test and, personally, I don’t feel a difference in terms of control, comfort, stability or ability to put power down.
I’ve heard people say “Yeah, but it’s more noticeable if you put out more power”, well I can turn out ~1200w in a sprint and I’ve never felt the pedal… I’ve heard people say “Yeah, but it builds up over time, longer rides you’ll notice it”, but then I’ve ridden ~150 mile rides and not had any issue at all.
I would suggest the one thing that can make a difference here is that even though I ride MTB style shoes I have ones with a carbon sole-plate. If you wore fully flexible shoes then I could imagine the above complaints to be valid, but if your shoes are comparable, for me, I found no difference between the pedal types, but MTB SPDs are just massively more convenient because then you can have a shoe you can also just get off and walk around comfortably in.
Power pedals are nice and give good data . I think it all depends on what you use power data for and as others have said how many bikes you use as well as your indoor system. If you use any of the wheel on or wheel off indoor trainers ( I find my kickr has been bulletproof) a fixed indoor system like Watt bike or kickr bike you won’t need another indoor power meter . That being said outdoor power is good for some outdoor training depending on terrain and I feel really helpful for staying out of “ the red” on climbs or group rides so I don’t blow up. I have a set of power pedals and a crank based system. Other than chainring wear if you take care of cranks they will last years. Pedals do wear out because of clipping in and out so your investment may not last as long. Both can do cadence and left right balance, and with right software give you more data than you can ponder. So it depends on your system and what you want as well as number of bikes and goal of power data. Also be aware of calibration- some are one and done unless you replace batteries or recharge and some are before every ride. That’s probably too much information- basically it adds some fun and improves your ability to suffer intelligently.
All great information. I like to be educated before I invest in anything. It took me almost two months to bug my bike. And about as long to buy my Kickr. I love every bit of input from anywhere and there is no such thing as hijacking a post of mine. I like the activity and discourse is provokes, @alchurch.
I can say enough how new I am at all of this. And I dove in head first. And the more I know the more I want to be good at this. In all aspects: performance, knowledge, technical, mechanical… all of it.
Suf, KoS, Minions, and everyone else (whether I engage with them directly or not) help to further my knowledge of cycling.
FYI, the price on crank meters like Stages and 4iii has dropped significantly. I’ve had Garmin Vector 3 pedals for three years and would swap them between indoor, road and TT bikes. But after some research I recently bought a refurbished left-only Stages crank at a discount for my TT bike. It was precise enough for pacing a rolling 10-mile TT, and will certainly suffice for triathlons where the goal is to keep power within a window that provides for your best time, but leaves you enough in the tank to have a solid run. For most road rides I ignore it in real time and only look at it in hindsight - to see what power I averaged over the ride vs. how I felt, or how I did on a particular climb. But for long events where you can get caught up in the moment, it can help keep you from starting out too hard or blasting up hills early on and blowing up later. It helps me keep myself in check on what is supposed to be an Endurance+ ride.
4iii is buying used cranks, so you can get a little cash back (or donate it to charity if you prefer) and have one less thing floating around in the spare parts bin.
I own Garmin Vector 3s (single sided) and Favero Assioma Uno (single sided). Between the two, I have to recommend the Favero first. The issues with Garmin require the utmost of patience and attention. If you have signal drop outs, try applying mineral oil to the batteries inside the compartment (this is in fact recommended, you just have to be patient enough to sift through their website). I found myself applying once every two weeks. Also the whole “which battery to use” topic is such a pain. The Favero’s are rechargeable and last a long time on a single charge (I’ve gone up to 3 months with regular use).
All in all, I’m very happy I went with pedals instead of a crank arm set up. I have Campy on my out-door bike and I have a vintage Suntour Gruppo on my indoor trainer bike so the pedals are a great option if you can’t (or won’t) make modifications to your gruppo.
Any particular oil brand you could recommend for the garmin? Not that I have tried yet, but haven’t look too deep into the issue yet (never had issues, until one or two months ago, since I got them…)
The thing that troubles me the most after going down this rabbit hole is how many people said that the two batteries didn’t create pressure against the battery door. I worry that this was because the door was over-tightened and compressing the metal bit too much making it bend away from the batteries. In short: very carefully tighten and do not over tighten the compartment.
Take your time with all this . Between technical
Aspects of equipment and science of training this is probably hardest sport to get a handle on as the aspects vary with your goals and riding ( trails , gravel road etc and racing or general fitness ). The main thing is enjoy the ride - it’s a long term process. Join a club or find a riding group that fits with your meeds and ask a lot of questions . Keep monitoring the forum etc
They are nice.