Power meter options?

Brim Brothers have been working on a cleat based system since forever

Why can't the cycling shoe makers incorporate a power meter as part of the shoes. Anything is possible with technology advancements these days. Just a weird thought I had

Another +1 for power2max. I have one on my road and one on my TT bike and my coach sets all my training by them.

It will be Vector for me too, once the there is a Mk2 version and the sting come out the price.

I can't help thinking though, that at some point someone is going to come out with a 20 quid insole that does all this and is calibrated on a Wii balance board.

I've just publicly announced this, don't steal it.

I've just taken the plunge and bought Garmin Vector and I'm really pleased with it. I'm resolved to avoid bad crashes but it could happen. I usually find that my body cushions my equipment pretty well!

Vector is a bit pricey but it seems to be a quality product and works well. It's very easy to set up and any cyclist could switch it between bikes quickly with pretty simple equipment most of have. I had mine up and running within half an hour.

I know it's not universally popular (what is) but I like Garmin Connect and I already had an Edge 810.

I originally wanted a Stages meter but I got frustrated by the (lack) of availability. I went to the US over Easter so I contacted some bike stores over there in the hope of picking one up but the feedback I got was that they were just as hard to get over there as here.

Anyway, I decided that I wanted a meter for the season as I'm not getting any younger and I'm really pleased that I was forced down the Vector route. I like the separate readings for each leg and Garmin have introduced strike smoothness, as well. I didn't want a hub or crank based system because, rightly or wrongly, I felt it would be too much hassle to switch between bikes/wheels. I can have Vector on my winter bike in 15mins, ready to go.

Have you looked at the ibike Newton Power Meter?

I had a look at one of them at Eurobike last year, tested it out versus my own Quarq and was highly impressed.

Because it uses opposing forces, the wind resistance is an extra data layer that I really enjoyed seeing and it acted like a wind tunnel effectively. Overall it was accurate and it's at a nice price point.

I had issues with the elite+ in the rain, but at the moment the G3 performs well. I would agree the bearings are not the best, but I get them changed once a year when I get it serviced.
Out of the three brands of powermeter I have used the powertap gives the least questionable numbers, although none of them have been bad. The service turnaround times are the main problem with powertap from my experience.
The quarq would edge it for me, mainly because you get UK based support and the ability to change the slope. The only thing I do not like is having to stick a magnet on the frame which can be a pain depending on your bike.
My power2max reads 10 watts higher than the others, which is a real pain even if it is a consistant 10 watts.

Has anyone broken a pedal in a crash?

I'd put a flag up for Power2Max. I can't afford a power meter full stop right now, but given a choice it would definitely be a crank based system.

A number of my team mates made the leap from Powertap to Power2max last season, and none of them have leaped back.

Powertap is a great system, however in addition to the limitations listed above, it is not the most robust in our moist climate (to quote one powertap employee "I can't believe you guys ride in the rain so much over here), and the bearings are susceptible to any machining errors... I'm sure that is the same for any cartridge bearing hub, but for some reason (once explained to me but since forgotten), the Powertap is particularly bad.

Personally, I am not a fan of pedal systems either... they are so susceptible to crash damage (although I know Garmin can replace all parts of the pedal for you in this instance), that I don't think they are worth the risk.

'For me the downsides were too large to ignore. If you use a turbo and like to swap wheels to use a dedicated trainer tyre, not a great solution. Same if you later decide you want a fancy set of wheels and a training set'

As a PT user, those thoughts went through my head too before I took the plunge.

And in the end, the benefits of the Powertap far outweighs the occasional tyre change, and in terms of 'race wheels' - well, you can have whatever you want on the front, and I have found WAY more benefit from having a power readout than I would from losing a couple of hundred grams from the rear. Not really 'downsides' in my book.

If you're not prepared to spend Garmin money or change your crankset, then really the PowerTap is the only option for you (unless you're prepared for the more esoteric options like the iBike Newton). I've used a PowerTap in the past and it does exactly what it says.

For me the downsides were too large to ignore. If you use a turbo and like to swap wheels to use a dedicated trainer tyre, not a great solution. Same if you later decide you want a fancy set of wheels and a training set.

If it was me I would seriously changing crankset for a more practical solution. Have you considered getting the Power2max rotor 3d (non plus version) model? This will probably fit your Bianchi, and can be had for broadly similar money to the PowerTap.

Powertaps are good and relatively affordable. The only disadvantage is that most people will want different wheels for racing and training so will want more than one power tap.
Another alternative is Quarq Riken, the price has recently come down a touch to around £1000, or power2max which is slightly cheaper again. These have the advantage that you can swap wheels as you want.