Quark and Pionner have both announced a decrease in prices for their power meters. This is most likely in response to Powertap’s recent announcement of a new powermeter (C1) set to be available to the general public in the following months. A
lthough it has a very attractive $700 price tag, this new crank-attached power meter will unfortunately only be adaptable to compact crank sets. There are already several cost accessible power meters on the market (Stages Cycling). That being said, with the exception of Power2max, none of these have received a unanimous vote of confidence from its critics.
Indeed, a powermeter which runs on a ‘one-sided’ power measurement system can be seen as problematic because of the variables of power output that a cyclist will show from one leg tot he other. The advantage of Powertaps new system is that it boasts compatibility to both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart. This will allow the consumer a flexibility when it comes to choosing which system they want to run their power meter with.
Smart watches will inevitably gain in popularity in the near future (bluetooth), and so manufacturers have acted in consequence by offering more than just the previously standardized ANT+ protocols.
Bluetooth’s main advantage lies in its rate of transmission. It reacts better and quicker when it comes to statistical display and shows superior and more exact power measurement during peak power outputs. Thus, we can expect that both Quarq and Pionner will eventually follow suit in offering a Bluetooth smart compatibility to their systems. For a second straight year, Quarq has lowered its prices by 20%.
You can now purchase a Quark SRAM Red 22 for $1299 and a Quarq Riken R for $1099 (prices do not include chainrings). The Japanese made Pionner system has had a harder time making it’s place on this increasingly competitive market. This is most probably due to the fact that it’s system is only compatible with the newer Shimano cranksets with 4 armed spiders.
Their price decreases sees their system lower to $999 from the previous $1299 price point. In contrast to Quarq which includes the crank into its pricing, Pionner only includes its two sensors and their installation. It does however offer up several novelties when it comes to the analysis of your pedal stroke. To use it to its full potential, however, it needs to be matched with the Pionner SGX-CA500 head unit which sells for $299. This unit will display power vectors of your pedal stroke in the form of a graph.
