Favorite Things: Power Meters

I know, a bit general. But one of my favorite things has less to do with the brand and more about the idea. Numbers are my thing. I like seeing numbers, measuring things, comparing things, seeing progress. Since I don't do any regular time trials, getting baseline measurements could be tough. Then when you factor in changing conditions, it's hard to see if a change is working or not without power.

Power helps me to not just see how I am doing, but guides almost all of my workouts. Power helps me gauge fitness and pace myself.

Speaking a bit less generally, I'm a fan of crank-based power meters; SRM and Quarq to be specific. I have a lot more saddle time with Quarq, indoors and out.

With the Quarq compared to riding on the Computrainer, I consistently see a less-than-2% variance between the two. Like anything though, there are pros and cons to each system.

Quarq Pros:
$1000 less than a comparable SRM
User-replaceable battery
Change wheels whenever you want
2% +/- accuracy
Excellent customer service

Quarq Cons:
Must calibrate more often (easy process though)
Has to be sent back to change to different chainrings
New company still working out some bugs
Limited crankset options

When it comes to the SRM, it's a bunch of pros with only a couple of cons. The SRM is the gold standard in the industry, professionals use it for a reason. Accuracy is as good or better than anything else on the market.

SRM Pros:
Change wheels anytime
Change chainrings on your own
Best accuracy in the business
Proven to withstand any conditions

SRM Cons:
$1000 more than anything else on the market
Has to be sent back for battery changes (granted, only about once every two years)

There's a third major player in the market right now, probably the biggest one, Power Tap. Their method of power measurement is at the hub. The down side is that power is built into your wheel, so you need to choose your rim wisely. The huge up side is price, as Power Tap blows everyone else out of the water! The range is $850-1850 if you ignore the wired version, which we recommend doing.

The beauty in all of this is that the industry is moving to ANT+ protocol, which means your Garmin 500/705/800 will work with any of these.

Ideally you'd want to sit down and decide one thing: can I live with power laced into one rim? If you can, Power Tap is certainly the way to go if you don't have tons of cash burning a hole in your pocket. If you want the ability to change wheels but don't drive a Range Rover with a Porsche parked in your garage for nice days, maybe the Quarq is for you. Have that Range Rover and Porsche covered, have a bunch of race wheels, and are ready for the Porsche of power meters? Pony up for the SRM.