Lots of confusion about the supplied washers. Wahoos own video appears to not have the washers on as the sensor is too close to the pedal. A reviewer installed it. BikeRadar did not. So which one applied to my use of Shimano DA cranks?
With the washer installed I am 3mm out and the axle screws in about 75%. If not using the washer it is flush at the rear, threads .
Back in the day, there were no pedal washers. When carbon cranks came out, pedal washers made their appearance because the exposed diameter of the threaded aluminum insert in the crank arm was sometimes smaller than the diameter of the shoulder on the pedal spindle, and the shoulder would hit the surrounding carbon before bottoming on the aluminum insert. Pedal washers were made available to prevent this if it was occurring and the crank instructions said to use the washers if needed. It seems nowadays, using washers have become the default and I use them as a matter of course. With power pedals that have pods, as long as the pod doesn’t touch the crank arm, it’s OK. Any extremely minute deflection of the spindle that is used to measure power occurs beyond where the base is adjacent to the crank arm. That said, always follow the instructions of the power pedal manufacturer.
From the installation manual:
Use the provided washers to allow for at least 1mm space between the POWRLINK ZERO power pod and your crank arm. Repeat on the opposite side.
It seems like you’d be safe to remove the washer as you should still have sufficient clearance. The Shimano manual for Dura Ace cranks doesn’t mention pedal washers, so you should be all clear to remove them.
Thank you Tyler, when possible, verify with Sean C. I sent his these same images, and with the washer, the pods are over 3.1mm away from the crank, and the spindle does not thread all the way through. Sean was adamant using the washers, (and all Shimano based youtube reviewers do not). without the washer, it is a 2.1mm clearance…As long as it does not cause power reading issues, there is no concern with the sensor touching the crank arm
Hence the confusion. One Wahoo CS rep may say do not use, another, “always use.” When the Subject Matter Expert is on vacation, riders do get (and told me getting) another CS answer. If CS says “use the washers to ensure 1mm clearance” then the 2.1 mm clearance without a washer is ample. 3.1 mm is really noticeable and the axle does not thread in the last 15%. However, if the algorithm was developed with washers in mind, and why riders report higher figures with washers, then using them matters as it is clearance + sensor measurement…Anyhow, I am using them with the 3.1 clearance and Q factor effect, no issues there.
Thanks for the update, I also want to know it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write it in brief. I really appreciate you.
Hey Scarlett, on a Shimano crank the washer makes not difference if not to weaken the axle thread. The spindles are already longer than regular Speedplay and washers add 2 more mm. Without washers there is a nearly 1.9 mm gap already ! But what you should know is that my Wahoo PWRLINK ZERO died last Sunday, day 25 of ownership. left pedal battery they went blank no response no lights. The Left is also the control and transmitting pedal. We had tried 4 in store previously each with a DOA pedal. So that made 5x1300$ worth of dead Wahoo PWRLINK zero and a presumed industrial failure rate of 90% or higher. The store was aghast and just refunded me. As the Left side was slightly erratic - and apparently they are erratic 4-5 cycles before they settle - the death of this 5ths set does not bother me too much, it is consistent with the poor stories folks post here. If you wonder why wahoo no longer pushes the 1.0.6 firmware, is because it bricked an unknown number of PWRLINK ZERO units. Overall I cannot recommend and I strongly condemn this product. DC rainmaker and Arthur UK got carefully selected new units that did not have a chance to see their battery dead. Either or if if you want to use wahoo Speedplay I can recommend that through SRAM QUARQ PM . After that there is Favero Assioma, a terrific unit.
