aham23

^^^^ you are correct. i stand corrected. reading isnt my strong point. later.

dgasmd

Well, from reading a couple of articles of Interbike on that same site, it seems the "shoe/cleat based power meter", if it ever comes to actual life and sales, would be the even better product. No need to change any hardware on the bike at all, no need to add weight to the bike (although it adds weight on the shoes), and can be used across several different brands of pedals. The real questions for it are:

1. Will it be vaporware forever?
2. Cost?
3. Reliability?

Nobody has an answer for any of those questions about anything anyway!

kleinboogie

Apparently.

va·por·ware/ˈvāpərˌwe(ə)r/
Noun: Software or hardware that has been advertised but is not yet available to buy, either because it is only a concept or because it is still being written or designed.

ancker

Apparently you didn't read the rest of the definition. It is NOT only a concept, there are many actually working products out there being tested, it is WAY past the 'concept' stage. It is not 'still being written or designed'. The design phase is over and retail release is scheduled for March 2012.

It was vaporware up until they started showing off the final design at bike shows. Now it becomes pre-release.

kleinboogie

Unless I can download the firmware and pre-order the units, it's vaporware. Demo models and screenshots don't impress me. Even if/when it becomes a real product there will likely be the normal hiccups like availability, firmware issues, etc. All a part of the game.

btw, I own a PT and a Cinqo (so I'm not in a wait and see mode, it's just we'll see) and I may get a set IF the issues I brought up in the other thread get solved. At the top of the list is a "SpinScan" mode which I highly doubt they'll do primarily because of battery life.

People who need a PM have one. People who want one don't need too big of an excuse to wait and see. Cheers

Inertianinja

it is hilarious to see the extent to which people will debate whether or not something is vaporware before the release date.

kleinboogie

This is pretty light stuff compared to the other threads. I'm more interested in the firmware since Garmin tends to exclude/delay the really cool stuff they could do. That affects all my computers. But I'm glad we could entertain you.

merlinextraligh

Brim Brothers approach would be really cool. However, unless they get an Angel investor, I doubt it ever sees the market. They've been at that for awhile now, and still seem pretty far from market.

My bet is that they don't have the capital, and manufacturing expertise to bring it to fruition, particularly if Garmin does in fact release their system in March.

achoo

And whose word do we have for that?

I could announce that in March 2012 I'm going to flap my arms and fly to the moon. Doesn't mean it will happen.

The fact that Garmin's announcement came right on the heels of Polar's makes Garmin's very suspect in my mind. To me, it's more of a "Don't by Polar's non-ANT+ pedals because we're close!" plea than it is a true product announcement.

Either way, I figure I'll let someone else work out the bugs.

achoo

Truth be told, I'm pulling for the Brothers Brim.

But I too suspect it will be a fairy tale that never comes true, for the reasons you mention.

I also suspect that if their product were viable, they would have been snapped up by now. And if they've refused to be snapped up, we're back to your guesses.

dgasmd

I agree with you, and it is likely the case too. It is too bad because of all the PM designs currently out, it is the only one that is non-obstrussive and allows you to use all your other choices of hardware.

I have a powertap, but it limits me to use that heavier set up. I run Campagnolo, so until now I could never get a campagnolo SRM or a comparable crank for a Quark, both of which would also add weight. I run TIME pedals, so I don't want to change to a LOOK compatible pedal to use the Garmin one. The shoe/cleat based PM is the only one that would allow me to use everything else as I please without having to change anything to accomodate it. In the end, realistically it personally won't matter much as I am not likely to get any new PM anytime soon. Besides, I think the whole notion of knowing how much my left vs my right is putting out won't change anything. I will admit I don't know as much about PM based training as the pro in this arena, but I suspect it ultimately won't change training regimens. It will just be something else to look at.

merlinextraligh

1) the timing of Garmin's original announcement was when the acquired Metragear. Admittedly that acquistion may have been motivated by Polar's annoucement, but Garmin's announcement was tied to an actual development. Also the announcement you're referencing is last year's announcement, not this year's announcement of the expected release date.

2) Garmin is a large publicly traded company. There are legal limits on what forward looking statements such companies can make, and financial consequences for not making good on the ones you do make. So the neither the in house lawyers, nor the finance guys would let them announce a March release date if there wasn't good reason to believe they will make that date, or at least be close to it.

3) They're displaying a working finished product at the bike shows, and people are actually riding with this; it's not just a rough prototype.

When Garmin says they'll do something there's much more reason they will do it than a tiny start up