It has been about 18 months since Wahoo announced the acquisition of Speedplay. Since then, the company has reduced about 50 different SKUs to 4 core models, relocated the factory, closed the factory, relocated the factory again, and started manufacturing Speedplay power meters. Even more surprising is that the vowels were not damaged in the process. Well, at least before they announced the upcoming power meter pedal, it sacrificed a vowel to the Wahoo voice god.
Therefore, the final result is five products, four of which we understand in detail today, and the power meter (the fifth product) we only obtained some limited details. Assuming all goes well, it will be fully launched in the summer. In fact, if you want to quickly understand all the power meter analysis based on what we have learned so far, please click the play button below:
So let’s take a look at these two announcements. First, use a non-technical pedal, and then dive into the power meter.
Here, I will not pay too much attention to non-electric meter bits. Largely because I don’t care about them. There are many people who can talk about pedals without electronics. But this is not my trouble. And for the power meter… you’d better drink a cup or two of coffee by yourself.
– Nano (titanium): 168g and $449USD per set – Zero (stainless steel): 222g and $229USD per set – Composite glue (chrome): 232g and $149 per set – Aviation (stainless steel): 224g and $279 per set
For the pedal itself, some changes have been made to match the Wahoo industrial design style, such as the appearance of the spindle. And some smaller internal bits have also been changed. They pointed out that you no longer need to refuel the pedals, because the new Speedplay pedals actually have custom gaskets (O-rings) designed appropriately, and are basically imperfect before the off-the-shelf pedals. The new pedals are fully compatible with the old cleats, and vice versa. However, on the contrary, you will no longer be able to install them with a foot spanner, instead you will need to use an Allen key (as with many pedal types).
Now, once I get tangled during transportation, I will take more beautiful pictures of Speedplay Zero pedals. They are somewhere, but they are not currently in my hands. this is life. However, this is the Wahoo image library, suitable for those who want to find their surroundings:
Now, out of curiosity, I looked up the price of Speedplay Zero in online stores in Europe. Previously, the original Speedplay Zero is now (currently) sold at 149EUR in most stores. Compared with now, Wahoo said the price is 229 euros. I asked Wahoo about this question and they said that the pricing should remain the same, but the prices I have seen before are basically discounted prices at bike shops. In Europe, this is usually quite substantial.
Now, while European law does not allow companies like Wahoo to directly set prices for retailers (in fact, there are huge fines for doing so), they can do so indirectly by only providing inventory through their specific dealer network. In other words, from my discussions with Wahoo, I fully hope that these discounts will disappear, because if we know about Wahoo, it is because they insist on discounting.
Next, as mentioned by Wahoo in the table above, Speedplay production has been transferred to Wahoo’s manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Previously, Speedplay was headquartered in San Diego (and manufactured in San Diego). Wahoo then moved production to Raleigh for a while before moving it to Vietnam.
Finally, when Wahoo announces the acquisition of Speedplay, I will quote Wahoo CEO Chip Hawkins: “We can produce cross-pedals and mountain pedals… and there are many opportunities. I’m very excited, I like mechanical gadgets!” – in In my chat with them yesterday, that sentence still sounds valid.
Now, most people here are interested in the detailed information of the power meter. Moreover, that’s where things get a little thin. But don’t worry, if I am good at something, it will color outside the line without interrupting the line.
First of all, officially speaking, Wahoo doesn’t publish much here. They basically gave us the official name, the tough season, and the fact that they will be dual induction pedals. Similarly, we get the weight of the pedal. All of these are easy to merge, as follows:
Pedal body: based on Speedplay Zero pedal spindle: still stainless steel case Power meter weight: total 276g (138g per pedal) Structure: dual induction pedal set (power meter on both left and right sides) Shipping: Summer 2021 Price: To be determined
Officially, the single contour image described above is the only thing Wahoo released in today’s announcement, especially in terms of power meters.
Irrelevant, I officially pay for Adobe Lightroom every month. Formally speaking, the following public events are very easy:
Of course, we can first see a pod there, but it’s more obvious now. In the power meter game, pods are nothing new. After all, the Favero Assioma (and the previous Favero BePro pedal) have pods. Just like Garmin Vector 1 and Vector 2, there are also the Look/Keo system and other systems that have never really become a reality. So, in fact, these two are glued together:
The reason why Wahoo may be equipped with a pod is that the key “selling” function of the Speedplay pedal is the reduced stack height, which in turn means the reduction of the space in the spindle and pedal of the electronic device. Compared with Vector 3, Favero or SRM pedals, it is small. That said, Garmin said that a few years ago, they believed it could be glued to the Speedplay pedal spindle/body. After years of learning, is it the same today-who knows.
There is no doubt that the design based on the pod is largely inclined to a rechargeable design rather than a button battery. This may be a wise move. Historically, compared to Garmin with button batteries, such batteries have a longer battery life for Favero, but at least they don’t have to deal with button battery hell like the Vector 3.
As far as ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart are concerned, I hope it will follow the same specifications as their latest TICKR heart rate watchband. In other words, it will provide unlimited ANT+ connections, while also being capable of dual Bluetooth smart connections. This has been the norm among their trainers for several years, so I don’t think it will be any different. However, it is very interesting how they will deal with the dual induction pedal challenge on Bluetooth Smart. Some companies such as Favero & SRM provide “single channel” Bluetooth broadcasting so that applications such as Zwift will not be confused. Garmin has made some Bluetooth Black Magic, which makes it work to some extent without user intervention. The choices they make here have an impact on other watches and apps. For example, Polar watches cannot (still) be used with PowerTap pedals.
Before we conduct some technical Q&A analysis, it is worth pointing out that I asked Wahoo if any professionals or professional teams are currently using Speedplay POWRLINK Zero (power meter). They said no, not yet. It sounds like this is relatively recent, but it hasn’t been there yet. I do suspect that there may be some low-level or off-season professionals who may be helping Wahoo to test it (people who are not in public view), and of course Wahoo’s broader beta testing team, which includes employees from other regions.
However, there are still many questions on the table, and my analysis of these questions:
I’m not here to declare the required specifications (eg +/- 2%), but to talk about the accuracy on day 1. There is no doubt that this is the elephant in the room. The power meter is hard, and the pedal power meter is hard. For most companies in this field trying to manufacture power meters based on V1 pedals, their development phase will take 2-3 years. There is no doubt that Wahoo has engineering talents in meter-related technologies and systems. Therefore, this is not a new field, but it is still an important new field. Wahoo’s current products related to power sensing will not actually move anywhere. They don’t have to face peculiar forces, moving ground and rain/heat/humidity/environments. For most companies, this pressure is not enough.
I would say that the smart money is that their price matches the Garmin Vector 3-about $999. They may try to make up for this, but to be honest, there is no reason. Of course, the price of Favero is $719, but they exist due to zero commercial reasons. The solid products they produce can currently compete with Garmin’s products, and the price is even slightly lower. At the same time, Wahoo is a so-called “premium brand”, so there is no reason to underestimate itself to gain market share. Of course assume it is accurate.
The Favero Assioma pedal also comes with a pod and a rechargeable battery. The battery life is said to be 50 hours. Vector 3’s Sans-pod battery with button cell has a claimed battery life of 120-150 hours, and SRM’s X-Power battery has a battery life of 30-40 hours (rechargeable). Now that we know that they are using Pod, and may be using charging technology, then I guess it is probably in the range of 50 hours, maybe even higher. Currently, Favero’s equipment is based on fairly old battery and component technology. It’s not a bad way, it’s just a way of “time is moving”. Just like the latest update of SRM’s pedal internal battery, they hope that the battery life will basically double due to fewer internal components. To reiterate, my bet on Wahoo is 50-75 hours after the product stabilizes (most companies finally focus on the optimization of battery life).
Both Garmin and Favero have cyclic dynamics. Garmin includes more indicators, but both are based on the same ANT + Cycling Dynamics device profile. Currently, Wahoo does not support this feature. However, a few years ago, before Shimano acquired Pioneer, Wahoo did establish a partnership with Pioneer, and the partnership did include Pioneer’s advanced stampede indicator variables. In many respects, these indicators are very similar to “bicycle dynamics”.
I can see this is a toss. Although I doubt that Wahoo’s long-term application will undoubtedly adopt the Cycling Dynamics standard, I am not sure about the short-term application. Back in the early days of Wahoo, they often led the adoption of industry standards for the protocol-in fact, even led the efforts of ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart. However, in the past 3-4 years, they have almost dragged their feet. Whether it’s Bluetooth FTMS (*FINALLY* was added to KICKR last month after being sold for many years in the market), or Running Dynamics (which was also implemented in TICKR mid-2020 after the promised launch), or even a few years later Also supports ANT + radar. .
Of course, I think Cycling Dynamics is still more useful to ordinary people than to more people, but in the competitive field of pedal-based power meters, Wahoo may give priority to this. Keep in mind, however, that it is unlikely that Wahoo will launch this feature until they correctly launch Cycling Dynamics standard support for ELEMNT / BOLT / ROAM / RIVAL units.
There are still many things to consider. Do they support automatic zeroing (or turn it off), do they support manual calibration through static weight testing, do they correctly issue a low battery warning, do they have active or passive temperature compensation, etc.? Most of them only matter when the company messes up other things. For example-as long as the compensation is correct, I don’t care whether you are actively or passively making temperature compensation.
In the same way, as long as I don’t auto-zero, I don’t care about turning off auto-zero. The low battery warning is an important warning, but most companies can now do this correctly.
For readers who play long games at home, when Wahoo first announced the acquisition of Speedplay, I asked Wahoo if it would grant a license for Speedplay to a third-party company (ie, electricity meter company) if they wanted to use its pedal design (previously after the acquisition, Speedplay as a company under the previous owner is considered to be the happiness caused by the lawsuit).
At the time, Wahoo’s founder and CEO said: “We have a large number of patents covering all aspects of pedaling and fashion. But I think we will be more open with others and we will not be regarded as litigation… We will not It will be difficult to work with.” He went on to say that he would not object to cooperation with other companies, just like Wahoo works with many other partners on various projects today.
So in the end I asked again, fast forward 18 months, and now announced my own power meter on Speedplay, whether this offer is still valid. To be sure, it still works. He replied: “I will not refuse.” But he pointed out that the complexity is much higher because the main axis is much higher. But finally pointed out, “If someone comes to us, I will entertain it” and made a request. Obviously, the reality of business and technology may not be able to combine to complete this work, but I found that it is still a choice on the table.
Regarding COVID-19, one of the quirks that are hardly mentioned in professional cycling is that there are actually no reports of meaningful gear spy shots of new equipment. Currently, there are a large number of unreleased pre-release products in the plan, and no one can cover it because no one can cover it. Of course, when the racer is flying at 50KPH, there will be TV footage, but this is not when you get interesting reports.
The scope of the report is for media personnel to pre-compete, carefully check the bicycles on the bicycle rack outside the team bus, or chat with the mechanic on the rest day. Today, none of these exist. In most cases, the pre-match area of ​​any major competition is sealed, and besides-most journalists cannot participate in the competition anyway.
I mean, even though Wahoo stated that no professionals are currently using the system (and most of me believe it), I think 2021 will be a strong meter launch year for consumers. From Favero to Garmin to Shimano to SRAM/PowerTap, etc., almost every brand has passed or is in its typical update cycle. I will spend a lot of time in the saddle, and there are many headrests on the handlebars.
There is no doubt that if you only look at the Speedplay power meter pedal, then frankly, Wahoo will be your only choice. They haven’t licensed anything to other players, so the only company that makes power meters based on Speedplay pedals is Wahoo. However, more competition is good-not only in terms of price, but also in terms of product stability and functionality, and even helps to make the market more mature.
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It’s time for us to have the next generation of power meters. I think we all believe that Garmin has something to wait for when they need it, only they need to announce it, because at this stage, I have to believe that this will hurt the sales of Vector 3 that people are waiting for. In fact, I am surprised that Garmin has not yet made a rechargeable battery door-they have tried enough on the button battery door. I must say that all Vector 4 needs is an internal rechargeable battery to make it more stable.
Are there any signs that Wahoo can provide longer spindle lengths? Essential for me and my American 15-foot duck feet.
Yes, in the subtitle at the bottom of the chart above, it indicates that more spindle lengths can be obtained from Wahoo/Dealers.
missed! Need better glasses. Hope to gain a good market in the unnamed Chinese-made titanium ingots (such as Wahoo’s previous pedals).
According to the chart, only the zero model has different main axis lengths available. There is no doubt that Wahoo is working hard to simplify the product line here.
Does this mean that if you want a longer spindle length, you have to hollow out the undesired spindle, then throw it away, take out another spindle, and install it yourself-really!
In the past, you could order pedals in the required length. I have got. Not sure about Wahoo now. However, make changes after owning a pair of shoes instead of paying a heavy burden and leaving the spindle
What is the price of the longer spindles and are they compatible with the power meter version? (Does the power meter version have the same Q factor as the standard?)
I think the reason for Favero’s pricing is that they want to compete with non-pedal power meters (especially Power2max/Powerbox, Quarq). They are, and I think this has greatly affected their sales.
Can definitely help their sales. But from a business perspective, their last substantial price cut two years ago was largely unnecessary. At that time they were already far below the prices of other products, and then they dropped again.
From a consumer’s point of view, this is great. But from a business point of view, if you can take advantage of these extra profits (about $100 more per unit) and use it to develop more products, increase production, add more engineers, etc., it is impossible . Any units with a significantly reduced number are sold, but coverage may be expanded.
Remind you-I think Favero is great. They have been floating on my bike as test platforms, but I still believe that price changes are unnecessary business mistakes.
Market share changes. Enough to move me from the malfunctioning Vector3 to two sets of Duo. Favero’s battery life is only slightly shorter, because once the battery power is less than 50%, even if there is only one battery in Vector3, it is inevitable. There is no shortage of Garmin V3 units. The only bad Garmin product I have had a customer for 20 years.
Hi Ray, I want to know if it is possible to make an electric pedal with a replaceable shell. Therefore, you will basically have a pod and a spindle to hold all the electronic equipment and power, and be able to install any pedal body (SPD, SPD-SL/Keo, Speedplay). Considering the Favero hacking, it is possible at least between SPD and SPD-SL/Keo.
Generally speaking, the spindle can be separated from most pedal power meters. For example, the aforementioned Favero and SRM X-Power SPD pedals and the Garmin Vector series (including Vector 3). Only today, no one offers other types of body interchange kits.
However, if you go far enough, Garmin actually offers a Vector 2 Shimano SPD-SL interchangeable kit for Shimano Ultegra pedals: link to buy.garmin.com
It’s weird because all the products they sell on wahoofitness.com (including pedals) are US dollars to Canadians, but when I check out, I get “We’re sorry, currently we can’t turn the pedals Or their accessories are shipped to Canada.”
I know a person who works in Wahoo’s marketing department. He mentioned that the Speedplay power meter pedal was only tested by a few professional tour knights about a month ago. They had tested it at the UAE Tour and Paris-Nice. I asked him how much it would cost, and he estimated it would cost an extra 1,050 dollars.
Is it me or someone else is missing the product announcement that ends with “should be available in nearby stores starting today”? Of course, Ray should not be blamed here at all, but if Wahoo intends to launch a pedal-based power meter, then my personal preference is that they do it once the product is actually available or at least about to start shipping.
In addition, when I can buy the SRAM power meter spider web for less than 500 euros, it is difficult for me to justify the potential $999 price (I certainly can’t easily exchange it between bikes).
The Speedplay power meter pedal has not been announced yet, this is just a mockery. Wahoo did not release any details, just a blurry photo and a release bracket. Everything else is speculation.
As for the price, the price of a dual power meter is about twice that of a single power meter, which is really not a shocking price. Spiders can indeed measure total power, but require less hardware.
I don’t want to think that the price will follow Garmin’s vector series. The only reason is that the “normal” high-end speed gameplay has exceeded the price of a normal pedal. (And the garmin vector pedal is definitely not a super high-quality pedal, more like a standard ultegra level)-Speedplay caters to specific types of cyclists, even if they do have a “cheaper” version. Cheap has never been their mantra, and people are willing to pay for it. Even if Wahoo knows a bit of knowledge about pricing, I do believe that those power links will be more like SRM-level pricing. (So ​​it’s more like a 1K Euro price tag)
The only case I would consider these vs. more affordable options is in case they release Zero Aviation with a power meter. The aviation function is the main reason most “top athletes” (definitely triathletes) choose Speedplay.
Sorry to be an annoying internet correction expert today…but the comparison table is not a chart, but a table.
At first glance, I said: “Hehe, they do permit and/or let Favero make spindles for them”, but then I’m not sure what Favero will get from it (other than increasing sales and sharing their burden) own R&D , Then they may be unavailable for a period of time.
I can’t imagine how this works. You screw the spindle onto the crank and then tighten it…using the 8mm wrench on the back of the crank (frame side)?
So please note that if you plan to do this on a regular basis, it is indeed more painful to change pedals between bicycles. One time is fine, but it is not something you want to do every day.
If the position of the crank is correct, you can place your foot on the pedal and press the Allen wrench with one hand, and then release the pedal with a heavy object. It is difficult to explain in words! However, it can provide you with greater leverage and keep your knuckles away from the sprocket teeth (it can also be used in conjunction with a pedal wrench).
Also, before trying, make sure your chain is in the big chain link. I have learned a painful lesson!
It seems that the new pedal body design will reduce the wear there and eliminate the chance of the shoe swinging from side to side.
Excited about the power meter, but not optimistic, these first-generation variants will not have any problems, and there is no need to worry about becoming an early adapter. I may wait and see how everything is diluted and stick to my stage L crank PM.
I think the “old” speed skating cleats can be used with these “new” pedals? Also, is there news in different colors?
Very good, you don’t have to refuel them every few months, but unfortunately they are no longer produced in San Diego, but does Wahoo want to charge more? disappointing
Do not make jokes. Make more money in Vietnam than in San Diego. I want to see that my power profile is consistent with Wahoo’s profit margins.
And explanation