rumatt

I'm back into cycling after several years off. I'm buying a new set of wheels for my commuter / training bike and was hoping to avoid buying a powertap hub. I have several on all my other bikes and they're great, but they're also ugly and locks you into that wheelset.

I was excited to see pedal power meters seem to have boomed. I love how easily I could move them to a different bike if needed. But I currently have shimano pedals on all my bikes and shimano cleats on all my shoes. I am not switching them all out. It seems my only option for pedals is a Garmin Vector 2 + 6800 cleats + conversion kit = around $950. Yikes.

I don't like crank meters either (my cranksets on the various bikes are different gearing and arm length - intentionally) so I guess I'm back to powertap G3... or I'm leaning toward skipping power for now. Get some white industry hubs, enjoy the ride... and if I decide I need power on this bike I'll hope someone makes a better option for shimano cleats.

caloso

Hmm. I'm not sure I understand the aversion to crank-based PMs. My understanding is that they measure torque and cadence and multiply those data to get power. I thought they didn't care about gearing or crank length.

rumatt

Oh, I just meant that I have different types of cranks on different bikes so I wouldn't be able to swap it. At that point I might as well stick with a powertap.

CliffordK

Hmmm... there appear to be quite a few different 3 bolt cleat styles, but generally not Shimano compatible.

It looks like IQ2 is making an a pedal spindle adapter power meter.

https://www.iqsquare.com/onlineshop

This might be one of the few ones that would be compatible with 2-bolt cleat types.

One issue, of course, is that it will naturally increase the crank Q-Factor by a bit. However, the size may be small enough that the shoe could overhang it a bit, if the spindles could be shortened or cleats adjusted to compensate.

Cyclist0108

Thanks for posting that!

Darth Lefty 

I've been looking for a power meter that's easy to add to an existing bike without upgrading some other part that doesn't need it, because I don't want to make the bike fancier, just measure power. Pedals seem to be what I want, and there are a couple of brands. Favero Assioma one-sided, plus roadie shoes = $500+. This is still less than a Stages which would need me to change out for a compatible crankset.

rumatt

Yes the existing pedal options seem great if you aren't using Shimano clears. DC rainmaker has done several comparisons and reviews that are very thorough.

BonkonFleet

I don't know if they've actually started shipping these yet. I also don't think they have released any power data, or have had any reviews done on their power meter yet either. Not saying it wont be a good product, just that nobody knows anything about it yet.

spelger

Darth Lefty 

CliffordK

I'm surprised that nobody has made one yet. I presume the belief is that MTB users would be too hard on them.

But, I think there is wide usage of the pedals with other disciplines.

I'm thinking of the IQ2 + a shorter pedal spindle (if one could make/acquire one).

Darth Lefty 

RChung

If you have several on all you other bikes and they're great, why don't you just swap one of those wheels over to your commuter/training bike?

Marcus_Ti

Whether it is a good product or not...+16mm per side is an entirely different zip code in Q-factor...and I don't think any pdeal OEM makes axles with narrower Q-factor (so that you could compensate), only slightly larger.

spelger

Riveting

If/when my PowerTap G3 hub dies (going on 15,000 miles), I will not replace it. Instead I will wait patiently for a SPD compatible pedal PM, whenever that happens. The ability to move the PM between the 4 bikes (road1, road2, mtb, and commuter) is important to me.

WizardOfBoz

No, you are spot on. From Wikipedia: " the distance between the pedal attachment points on the crank arms, when measured parallel to the bottom bracket axle. " Affects your body mechanics and such.

CliffordK

I just got an update from IQ2.

Apparently they've decided that the screw-in based power meter won't work. So, they're re-designing to make pedal based power meters.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/c...=#/updates/all

https://www.iqsquare.com/
https://www.iqsquare.com/onlineshop

And, they are supposed to be making both SPD & KEO pedals (single or dual sided).

The new design looks cool. Although all of their photos appear to be CGI, rather than actual photos.





They likely are already halfway there, already having most of the electronics and software ready, although the layout will be affected if they get rid of the pods.

But, they're running about a year behind already. So... maybe Spring 2020? I find their Fall goal is dubious, although perhaps they'll get things rolling quickly soon.

Marcus_Ti

Jeeze....that is a glaring design flaw that they should have found in designing or even prototyping, not testing mass-production units. If someone on their design team knew how a strain gauge power meter worked...they should have known in the initial design phase the original design would not work.

Talk about inspiring confidence?

CliffordK

It doesn't say how big of a production run they did. Perhaps producing a few hundred products. But, presumably they were already scaling up their assembly line to go from a few hundred demo products to a few thousand pre-sales.

They'll likely re-use many of their microchips (that weren't installed), but need to make new circuit boards, and a bunch of new stuff.

Undoubtedly this will be a costly error for a small company.

Although, I'm not sure how they could have made essentially 20 or so "finished" products without being halfway to their production.

If I was them, I would have already been researching full pedals while they were still working on their screw in spindles. So, this may not be as big of a setback as it seems.

They haven't stated how they're dealing with pre-sales. I presume that those who have ordered double-sided pre-sales will get an offer to choose SPD vs KEO, also double-sided.

Kickstarter was closed quite some time ago. But Indiegogo still seems to accept bulk purchases (or one can buy individually on their website, or just wait).

Wilmingtech

Looks like iQ2 will be shipping pedals.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/05/...ng-pedals.html

Marcus_Ti

DCR mixed/mashed his language...they aren't "(now) shipping" they "(will now be) shipping". The unrealistic timeline for actually shipping is August 2019 something they don't even have prototypes yet of--only computer renderings.

redlude97

Uh doesn't that say Aug? They don't even have a working prototype, how are they shipping?

CliffordK

No shipping now. And, DCRainMaker concluded exactly the same as I had that fall 2019 is unrealistic, and we'll be lucky to see them for spring 2020.

I'd have to read the fine print to try to figure out how far along they are with a prototype.

Presumably any early prototype looks more like Frankenstein than anything one would wish to ride (perhaps using stolen proprietary parts). Thus, the "fake photos" sent out to their customers.

For SPD on a road bike, DCRainMaker's concerns about added durability won't be an issue, but perhaps MTB riding will be different.

The idea of a Speedplay pedal is interesting. Initially it would probably be a bit bulky, but could quickly be improved with Gen2 or Gen3. But, no moving parts, it could be a reasonably durable platform. And even a good shape.

Darth Lefty 

Well I can’t say I’m surprised. Even if the original product worked as designed the added Q factor would be a killer for a lot of potential users.

i hope they succeed with their SPD’s before they fold for lack of selling anything.