Here we go. Battle of the cheap spider PMs. Are they actually that different from each other? Magene is slightly cheaper but they’re all not bad right around $300-350. Would you choose one over the others? Can they compete with Quarq or Power2Max?
I purposely left off the left sided PMs (4iiii, Stages). They are similarly priced but theoretically the spider should give you better left/right readings.
I have an Xcadey spider pm that I got for around 200€. It’s OK, roughly the same as power estimations that I was using before getting it. 3s power jumps around a lot but I think that’s me. Cadence is reliable. Battery lasts for ages - at least 6 months before I remember to check it.
I honestly never look at right/left power balance, since I realised that it’s stable, and I’m not going to do anything about it. If I was buying again (that I expect to have to do quite soon, as the xcadey is now over 2 years old…) I would go for a single sided power meter.
Why? I have Quarq and Power2Max units from 2014 still going strong.
Xcadey
Power readings i think it’s ok.
At the mtb spanish fórum, they said that he first generation has a problem with waterproof. Many of them died it and warranty/customer service options it’s not good…it’s very very bad.
4iii left side are the same price or less. i think they have a litle lag acordsing to Shane Miller, but with 3s don´t notice at all.
4iii Review: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSE04DNfAY)
xcadey review: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gLgB98FP7M)
When I was shopping for my MTB, I found a 4iiiii new for $180. Stages and SRAM giving you OK data around $200. Power2max and Quarq used at $250-300 and new at $420. I don’t see the point of the upstarts at $300 when they aren’t giving gold standard data.
I don’t have the same confidence in cheap direct-sell electronics compared to companies that may have proper QC.. Standard warranty in Europe (where I bought it) is two years, so now that I’ve gone past that I am expecting some sort of failure at any moment. Although it’s been good for all that time so I feel like I’ve got my money’s worth.
I have a Sigeyi for my Orbea Occam, the calibration value is always high (in comparison to my road Assiomas and gravel InPeak) but is consistent.
During use the power meter seems accurate and consistent with no issues regarding dropouts etc. Seems to very much be plug and play, and have read about no major issues in comparison to the plethora of issues regarding Garmin Rally pedals which I also considered. I take a huge amount of reassurance that unless I have a big off the power meter is unlikely to be damaged, but that’s specific to spider based power meters full stop as opposed to the Sigeyi.
I couldn’t justify the expenditure for Quarq or P2M, but I ride for fun with occasional races for participation rather than results.
I’ll happily vouch for Sigeyi. Got one on road and MTB. No issues and great value for money.
I’ve got Sigeyi AXO power meters on my XTR equipped mountain bike (104bcd) and on the cross bike’s Rotor cranks. Both have been excellent.
I did a test between the MTB variant and my Assiomas which I posted about 18 months ago: Sigeyi Power meter? - #93 by themagicspanner
Mike
You didn’t mention what cranks you’re trying to use. Not everything is compatible with every crank.
Most recent SRAM MTB cranks can’t be used with crank arm power meter because they don’t have any flat surface on the backside of the crank arm. So I had to do a crank spider solution. I ended up using Sigeyi and I’m satisfied with it. The only real downside is them charging extra to unlock the more advanced software features, but they are up front about that. [Edit: not true. That’s the Power2Max NGeco].
If you’re interested in it watch GPLama’s video
Where did you buyed? Ali?
Link to this? I haven’t seen that.
My bad. I was thinking of the Power2Max NGeco.
The Sigeyi doesn’t charge extra for any features. It has left/right, cadence and total power. BT and ANT+. They also just added BT one-to-many capability in the most recent firmware, but I haven’t tested it (potential video idea @gpl ).
On the flip side Sigeyi don’t have Torque Effectiveness and Pedal Smoothness, which you can buy as expensive software upgrades on the NGeco. The NGeco also costs extra just to have left/right power, which is IMO dumb for a spider power meter.
Smoothness is next to useless, but I do make use of Torque Effectiveness on my Assiomas. It helps me improve my pedaling technique.
I bought the first one from the UK importer who are no longer importing them. The second one was from BikeINN, a Spanish retailer who shipped to the UK without additional charges.
Mike
Failure for electronics follow an exponential distribution. In other words, if it doesn’t fail up front, it won’t for a very long time. The 2 years just allows the customer to be compensated for an anomalous failure. In other words, you are fine.
Not sure what happened with the flag on your prior post, but I restored it.
-Left/right balance (kinda, see below)
-Many Shimano road cranks can’t read power from the (edit: drive side) crank accurately
-Some frames and cranks don’t have enough clearance
-Many SRAM MTB cranks can’t use a crank PM due to no flat surface for mounting
-Not buying another crank arm (or altering an existing one)
-Generally longer battery life and rechargeable (see many issues have with coin cells)
-Probably More aero
Thanks for the answers. I guess I figured the spider would be more accurate. If you’re doubling a left power, any error is then doubled. Is that correct?
The 4iiii actually does look nice and I have an iPhone so Find My would be cool. I vaguely remember GP Lama showing the new PMs to be a little off though. Did they fix that?
Edit: Looks like Xcadey has a crankset/PM combo that’s designed to be a straight swap with Shimano. Looks nice but around $100 more expensive.
You’re right. It only affects the drive side. Edited