Does anyone regret getting a single sided power meter vs dual sided?

Not based on my experience. I have a 12 year old powertap wheels that is always within 1 watt of my dual sided favero pedals. It’s not unusual for good powermeters to measure within a watt or two.

I have a somewhat consistent 46/54 L/R balance issue. I would def regret getting a single sided.

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I disagree. I wouldn’t compare data between PM’s of even same brand model if you want consistency. But to each his own. If we should learn anything from people like GPLama I feel like it’s that PM’s are not 100% perfect tools. Yes, there are more reliable models out there and won’t hurt your training comparing data but this would not be something I would suggest someone who’s not interested in comparing 5 PM’s to eachother and finding out which one’s perfect etc.

25 watt difference is outrageous and wouldn’t say common. You might be way off balance. It’s not mine or most people’s experience. Blaming single sided PM’s for this would be inaccurate info.

Also, if you think smart trainers are 100% correct, you would be wrong again. I had a kickr consistently 30 watts off (not joking). and my Neo 2T is around 10-15 watts lower than known good sources.

Sorry don’t mean to be that guy. I’ve changed more PM’s than I care to count at this point. Have seen good ones, bad ones and everything in between. There’s no such thing as single sided bad, double sided good. Smart trainer accurate, single sided bad. Generalizations pretty much end up wrong in this topic because the data is dependent on so many different things.

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Not saying it’s not possible. Just can’t recommend it with a good conscious to someone who doesn’t research PM’s like insane people. Next thing you know is posts that are like : “OMG MY POWER DROPPED BY 20 WATTS. WHY?” Because you used two different pm’s…

No regrets at all. When budget allowed for dual-sided, I still went left-only. I got bigger fish to fry.

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I would guess more than 90% of people would be fine with single sided. I think if you have a massive disparity, it’s likely due to serious or recent injury, or something you’ve known about most of your life. I’d guess the vast majority of people are within 2% long term, which is probably as much about power meter accuracy as actual imbalance. Only my opinion, though.

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Running a single sided Assioma and I honestly can’t justify spending 430€ to make it double sided.
It is ~10 watts off at 250watts compared to my neo2 and the power measurement might be a little more erratic than a dualsided version. But over an interval it evens out and barely makes a difference.

Considered getting the upgrade kit once, looked at the price and never thought about it again.

I had a single sided Garmin Vector for years and loved it. When it was time for a change, I switched to the dual sided P2, and am happy with these as well. Buy yourself something else with the extra $$.

If you’re worried about left/right leg imbalances find a gym with wattbikes and do a few workouts, you’ll be in formed about any imbalances. A lot of people are talking about Stages dropping their prices but check out 4iiii’s they’ve reduced some of theirs also. I’ve used single sided (4iiii’s) for years and they’ve worked brilliantly.

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Zero regrets (4iiii left-side 105 crank). The three bikes on which I install it are all Shimano circa 2005 (one Dura-Ace, two Ultegra), but they all work with the 2018 4iiii 105 crank because they are all Hollowtech… thanks Shimano for making a standard and sticking to it!

I don’t really like moving it from one bike to another even though it only takes a few minutes.

Maybe I have a leg imbalance, maybe I don’t. I really don’t care… I’m still able to do structured training and pace myself on non-training rides, and that’s all I really care about.

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I’d rephase that to be “Power meters ARE precise and accurate tools. Producing a precise and accurate tool is hard. Not everyone gets it right.”

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Doing single leg drills during TR workouts is kinda awkward :slight_smile:

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Both sides (hah get it?) are making great points here. I think also, deep down my fear would be that nagging voice in the back of my head saying “what if you have a 40/60 % imbalance?” I’ll never know with a single sided. Maybe ignorance is bliss.

Yes! I was gonna add somewhere in my post that has to be the goal and get what we pay for but forgot. Thanks :slight_smile:

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I have Faveron Assioma Duos. With the exception of the first few rides after I bought them, I’ve never looked at the data comparing my left-right balance, so I wouldn’t buy dual-sided for that. Is the dual-sided more accurate? I’ve never had a single sided, but I can say that I frequently compare the Assiomas with my Kickr Core and there is usually a 2-3 watt difference at the most. So I’m very confident in the accuracy and consistency of the numbers I get and that is valuable to me.

I had a left side stages PM. It was nice, but my l/r split varies with power, and the imbalance can be 5% and up. I sold it after about 9 months. Maybe I the future I’ll get a quark or something else dual sided, but for now I’m fine having no PM on outside rides.

Yes, regrets.

Like many I started my powermeter career with Stages. Rode them on my bikes for about 1.5 years. Then I got a dual sided pm. And I started noticing huge differences, especially when riding longer or when riding SST intensity (which happens to be my main race intensity, as well). The key moment was when I compared two race files from the same event. Same course and so. The one sided wattage did not make sense.

I got so intrigued that I bought an additional pedal pm to get a real L/R balance. What I noticed, my weak right leg would fatigue quicker. And this was also the explanation why it cramped more often. I spent an entire winter to fix this imbalance and was quite successful with that.

What really annoys me, should have bought a dual sided right from the beginning. I consider FTP tests and zones and these things as highly irrelevant. However, understanding what wattage I can produce under which conditions is the real value in a pm for me. The more quality data you have the better. I’ve lost over a year with the one sided because I got crap quality data from it.

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I am very happy with my 4iiii Precision left-sided power meter.

Very accurate and it improved my training over the 2-years so far.

Highly recommended.

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Single, no regrets.

Fortunate enough to own 2 actual power (hub, spider) units and 2 left side (stages) - no regrets or concerns and the left side get the most use by a large margin. While I prefer the actual power in use (quicker readout, for example) the left side still get the job done.

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It’s funny reading this thread you can walk away with no solid answer. Most who have single seem perfectly fine with it, those who have dual seem perfectly fine and can justify the extra cost. You get a small percentage that found out they do have large imbalances and they benefit from a dual. My opinion hasn’t changed, if you get a consistent number then that number is good enough to train with. If I come across a good deal on a dual (maybe used) then I’d probably go for it. If I come across a good deal on a single then I’d go for it. For me, if I ever buy a new dual PM I’d go with the Assioma Pedals at their price point.

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