If you thought the new Garmin Vector S power meter made this training device more affordable to the masses, wait until you hear about the new Precision power meter unveiled by Canadian innovation powerhouse 4iiii. Priced at just $399, the one-sided power meter version comes in at half the price of others on the market, while amping up the precision and ease of use factor in the process.
Garmin power meters just got a little more affordable with the announcement of their new Vector S. At $899.95 (including a pair of pedals), the new pedal-based power meter runs off a transmitter on the left crank only, rather than both sides.
With current power meter solutions from companies such as Rotor and SRM costing $2000 or more, power training has generally been out of reach to the cycling masses, until now. Boulder based Stages Cycling has designed a more economical crank based power meter they hope will break down some of the barriers to using your power output as a measure of progress.
Engineer Gennady Lubarsky has come up with a new power meter technology. Called Laser Spoke, the power meter uses the rear wheel of your bike as a torsion spring to measure power output. Mounted on the rear hub, the Laser Spoke power meter can easily be installed on any bike, whether it be road, mountain, cruiser, or BMX.
Power meters appear to be the Holy Grail of cycling, with the ultimate quest of creating a system that is not only accurate, but dead simple to use. Last week we profiled the new CycleOps heart rate based power meter, which is definitely simple, but the jury is still out on accuracy. Dublin based Brim Brothers believes they have the solution with their new cycling shoe based power meter.
California company MetriGear is working on an embedded power meter that will calculate your power output based on force applied to the pedals. Embedded in the hollow pedal spindle, the power meter requires no modification to your bike and is easy to set up, use and transfer between bikes.
