Guide To Cycling Power Meters
Buying a Power Meter often represents the step from taking your hobby into something more serious. However, knowing which one is best for you is important especially when it's one of the bigger purchasing decisions we as cyclists make. We run you though the different types available, such as crank based, pedal based and even hub based and all their pros and cons which will allow you to decide which will be best for you.
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00:00 A power meter is the best way of objectively telling you how hard you're pushing the pedals
00:04 on your bike.
00:05 This is done by measuring your torque, how hard you're pushing on the pedals, multiplied
00:09 by your cadence, how fast you're turning the pedals.
00:12 This will appear as a number in watts which will appear on your cycling computer while
00:15 you're riding.
00:16 But, what do you do with those watts?
00:18 Well, we need an entirely separate video to really go into the details, so I've dropped
00:22 a few links below to some of our guides.
00:25 Now you know what a power meter is, I'm going to run you through the different types that
00:28 are available.
00:29 I'll run you through their pros, their cons and anything else worth mentioning.
00:37 First up, we've got crankbays which, as you can imagine, are located in and around the
00:41 cranks.
00:42 Now, they can be positioned in multiple different positions.
00:44 First up, they can be on the crank arm, like so.
00:46 Then, you can also have them in the chainrings itself or potentially on the spindle.
00:51 Now that's just completely dependent on which brand you buy from.
00:54 The pros for crankbay systems are that traditionally they've always been some of the most accurate,
00:58 so you can be really confident with the data.
01:00 They can also include pretty cool tech, like being able to measure wattage from each leg
01:05 so you can see if you've got a power imbalance.
01:07 The cons tend to be that they've been on the slightly pricier end of the market, but those
01:11 prices have been coming down.
01:12 The other thing which isn't so great with them is that they aren't as easy to switch
01:16 between bikes.
01:18 Power meter brands like Stages and 4i do also offer single-sided only options, which helps
01:23 keep that price a little bit lower.
01:25 However, what it does to get your power reading is that it takes the reading from one leg
01:28 and then doubles it, so it's not quite as accurate.
01:31 That being said, if you do want to dip your toe into the power meter market and you don't
01:35 want to spend a fortune, then a single-sided power meter might be the way to go.
01:44 Next up, we've got pedal-based power meters, which, as you'd expect, locate all the cool
01:48 tech within the pedal.
01:50 The pros for pedal-based power meters are that they are also accurate and reliable.
01:55 Similar to the cranks, you can be confident with your data.
01:57 Also, with pedals, they're much easier to switch between bikes, so if you've got multiple
02:01 bikes you'd want to use pedals on, that's something that's a lot more easily done.
02:04 The cons, though.
02:06 Pedal-based power meters can be expensive.
02:08 They're also prone to crash damage due to being in a much more exposed area compared
02:12 to their crank counterparts.
02:14 Depending on which brand you buy, you might find yourself locked into a specific pedal
02:17 platform, so if you're particular about the pedals that you use, you might find that those
02:21 cleats aren't compatible with any pedal-based power meter.
02:24 Finally, if you're sensitive to things like Q-factor or stack, you might find that these
02:28 values increase when you go to a pedal-based power meter.
02:32 These things can be altered with a bike fit, so what I would recommend is if you do go
02:36 for a pedal-based power meter, go see your local bike fitter to make adjustments for
02:40 those changes.
02:46 Before we get onto what might be right for you, a quick word about hub-based power meters.
02:50 You don't see too many of them, but the way that they worked was, again, by measuring
02:54 your power through the hub.
02:56 Powertap was a well-known hub-based brand, but they were discontinued in 2021 by their
03:00 parent company, SRAM.
03:01 Now, there may still be a few for sale out on the market, but I would probably steer
03:06 clear of them, purely because you won't be able to get parts or the support should they
03:09 go wrong.
03:10 However, SRAM might bring them back in the future, so that's something we'll just have
03:14 to wait and see for.
03:21 Which power meter is going to be right for you?
03:23 Well, I think for those of you that are on a budget and maybe just want to dip your toe
03:26 into the power meter market, then a single-sided crank-based system could be really good.
03:31 They might not be as accurate, but with a discrepancy of a few percent here or there,
03:36 I think that's going to be good for most of us.
03:38 If you have more to spend and potentially more bikes that you want to switch a power
03:41 meter between, then I think this is where a pedal-based system comes in superior.
03:46 Just remember, you might be limited on the different pedal systems that you can use.
03:50 If you only have one bike and don't mind a little bit of mechanical faff and want to
03:53 spend more, then I think a dual-sided crank-based system is going to be a really good option.
03:59 Crank-based systems are used by the vast majority of pros, and as the old saying goes, if it's
04:03 good enough for them, it's good enough for us.
04:05 Hopefully now you're all clued in with the ins and outs of power meters and you've got
04:09 a good idea on which one you'd like to buy.
04:11 If you do have any questions, though, drop them down in the comments.
04:14 If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
04:17 and I'll see you again very soon.
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