These days, it seems as though everyone wants in on the pedal based power meter game – Polar/Look Keo, Garmin Vector, and most recently the launch of StageOne at Interbike. Australian company Power Pedals is the latest entrant with a spindle based power meter they claim can work with any pedal system.
The spindle based power meter from Power Pedals measures the vector force you apply directly to the pedals over 120 times per second, returning a continual representation of your power output. Unlike current power meter solutions, the Power Pedals system captures every type of force you apply to your pedals, not just those forces perpendicular to the crank responsible for generating torque and moving the bike forward.
As a result, the Power Pedals system can show you the amount of ineffective force present in your pedal stroke, for both the right and left leg. The diagram at top represents a pedal stroke in real time, with green showing effective forces applied to the pedals and red ineffective. This diagram clearly indicates the rider is not pulling up at the back of their pedal stroke.
Power Pedals are installed just like a pair of normal pedals. A small electronic unit is attached to each crank and connected to the pedal spindle. There is no need for specific alignment tools, just a 15mm pedal wrench. The spindle based power meter will supposedly work with any pedal systems in the future, even mountain bike pedals, but the company is currently testing the units with Shimano SPD-SL pedals.
The total additional weight to your bike is less than 50g. Power Pedals will also measure your cadence, eliminating the need for any additional magnets or sensors on your bike. The power meter system is ANT+ compatible, so will integrate seamlessly with your bike computer of choice. The company hopes to have an accompanying smartphone app at the time of launch.
No final release date has been set but according to Bike Rumor, the company hopes to sell the Power Pedals at around $1500.