Originally Posted by
Bah Humbug
Did you use the C1? Very few people seemed happy with them.
Part of the problem with the hubs is that it disallows using the same PM on a wheel-off trainer, as is becoming popular, and isn't as permanent as you might hope with changing brakes, axles, tubeless, freehubs, and so on. Much of it depends on how many bikes you have and regularly ride. For me and my wife, we'd rather have two bikes with their own PMs and never worry about it, and if that means running Ultegra or 105 + PM instead of DA, that's a fine allocation of resources.
I suppose a wheel off trainer that is not smart would pose a concern. I always figured any Zwift compatible trainer would know power & speed on it's own. But it's not anything I've had cause to look in to.
All my bikes go on a standard Qubo Elite/Traveltrac dumb fluid trainer. Some times I use a dedicated "trainer" wheel I picked up from Craigslist. Other times, I just set a bike aside for a few months with a trainer tire mounted. It really depends on what the current state of my stable is.
I do use a C1 chain ring. The day before yesterday, in fact. It's on my Rolhoff touring bike. I used it with the dumb trainer, even. To do so, I pulled a random hub mounted speed sensor from a drawer in my garage, mated it to my Garmin with the GPS off & it worked just fine. Speed, power, cadence all a-ok. I really don't understand the issues internet people claim they have. Thus far, they (my wifes & mine) seem to work fine.
I still like the idea of selling a bike in the future & keeping the powermeter wheelset. Considering my wheels cost nearly as much as the bike.
All's I'm saying is: Swapping wheels between bikes should an unexpected events or a change in situation occur is a compelling option. Who would buy a bike minus the crankset if you want to keep the meter? Any ol' set of wheels makes it sellable.
As an example: My wifes Cervelo has my old 30mm carbon G3 wheels now because her Zipp 404's proved too unstable in crosswinds for her tastes. The swap was easy & available. As another: I'm re-hubbing an unsellable (repaired) carbon wheelset for gravel use right now. I can use that wheelset for any disc gravel bike in the future...whatever that bike may be. You can have that freedom too for little more than the cost of the meter ($599 +a wheel builders time.)
But, yeah, a dedicated gravel & dedicated road wheelset or similar arrangement does not always make sense unless, like me, you have parts laying around. A single crank based meter per bike is sensible in that regard. Especially if you are keeping the bike for a long time or intend to upgrade wheels or churn through rims regularly.