At the Eurobike 2012, Rotor presented the simple Power mentioned power meter before his first power meter. This should be very accurate and also provide important details on pedaling efficiency. According to the manufacturer, it only weighed 30 grams more than the normal rotor 3D-Crank up? How can that be, we asked ourselves, especially since other well-known manufacturers often state an additional 200 grams for their devices.
Over the past few months I've had the opportunity to... Power undergo a detailed test and also benefit from the new service update.
Rotor integrates the 8 strain gauges directly into the two crank arms. This makes the system extremely light. But it remains so also on use with the the 3D-crank limited. The batteries are also located directly on the crank. These are easily interchangeable. Thanks to Rotor's new bottom bracket, the Power-Crank with stiff 30 mm axle compatible with almost every frame standard.
Installation is quite simple and takes less than ten minutes. The system can also be easily calibrated using ANT+. Rotor enables the power meter to be compatible with many commercially available bicycle computers. I used a Garmin Edge 500 for my test because it has the function of displaying the right-left distribution of the force applied. This puts the device on the same wavelength as the rotor Power.
Both power, cadence and right-left balance are displayed on the first try. After that, up to the service update, eight minor problems often occurred, which manifested themselves in a display delay or brief failures. However, with the current service update nine, Rotor has managed to eradicate these problems.
If, despite the new service update, there are still problems the first time you use it, this is most likely due to a gel-like liquid that can be found in the battery compartment. According to Rotor, this is production-related and will disappear relatively quickly. In my case this was also the case.
The performance measurement is relatively accurate, even compared to other devices. Rotor states an accuracy of 98 to 99 percent and points out that the system is unaffected by the weather. According to Rotor, this is due to the placement of the measuring strips in the crank arms. In fact, it shows Power reliable and largely accurate in use. So are compared to a calibrated ergometer or a PowerTap, the data largely concurring. The deviations here are usually less than one percent. Only in the lower watt ranges were these slightly larger during my test.
Intervals, which are part of the training to increase performance, can be used with the Power targeted control - as the example image shows. The right-left balance also works excellently.
I have the Power during my test with Rotor's new ones QXL rings combined. These stand out in comparison to the well-known Q rings characterized by a much more oval shape. The switching performance of the QXL rings allows no criticism. The assembly and fine adjustment does take some time. After that you get used to it relatively quickly else pedaling feeling, although I felt the unusual strain after the first training sessions with the QXL rings had slight muscle pain. The shape of the chainrings is optimized for the best possible pedaling ergonomics and should lead to a reduction in the amount of lactate in the blood and thus to an increase in performance with the same wattage. In addition, the closed design of our test version should improve the aerodynamics.
//Conclusion
the rotor Power With a weight of 520 grams, it is an extremely light power meter that has a large number of useful features and a high level of device compatibility. The recording of the performance is relatively accurate and independent of the weather. Compared to other devices, the possibility of dividing the measurement into right and left seems particularly exciting (display depends on the combined device), as this allows a much more targeted training control. That's why Rotors turns out Power, despite the purchase price of 1.695,00 euros, as a reliable and useful addition to everyday training and racing.
//Product highlights
- low overall weight
- very well coordinated right-left balance
- high device compatibility
- largely accurate reproduction of the performance provided (with system update nine compared to calibrated devices)
//price and web
- 1.695,90 euros (without leaves)
- www.rotorbike.com