InfoCrank power meters

Was wondering if anyone has any experience with infoCrank power meters. I came across them on the internet and saw the had a quit a bold Clam on their website ( InfoCrank is the most accurate cycling watt meter. But you’ve heard that from every other bicycle power meter on the market, right? +/- 1% or +/- 2% doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a bit deeper than that. Unlike any other power meter, we have proven our accuracy through external certification to validate our claims. And, because InfoCrank doesn’t drift, it’s always as accurate as promised) just Curious because no one has any reviews up on them that I can see.

I trust DCRainMaker and GPLama and I don’t think either of them have reviewed any PM’s from this company.

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I thought similar but it turns out he did Verve Infocrank Power Meter In-Depth Review | DC Rainmaker

@HLaB , wow, great find. That review is from 2015, before I started cycling. Good to know!!

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‘Accuracy’ doesn’t really matter if you’re just using it to train. I just moved from an Infocrank to a Garmin Rally (L only), it reads 10W lower but it doesn’t really effect my training…

But yes the infocrank was fine, its a bit old now tho - I picked mine up second hand for 350 euro - the bolts on the battery covers can break if you over-tighten, but it wouldn’t have happen if you were aware of it (I wasn’t).

Id rather buy L only 4iiii and secure a decent warranty

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I asked GPLama his opinion on it and he said he asked them if they wanted to send out one for him to review. And he said the didn’t want to work with him

That probably very telling.

I have one. Bought it in 2016. Have never had problems with the power side of things and don’t have to calibrate it all the time but always get a really high Max cadence (going over a bump gives you a Max cadence of 200+) not that that’s very important. I paid a fortune for mine and I only get basic power not the fancy metrics you get from garmin pedals if you are into that sort of thing. I find the company themselves a bit Meh to be honest and wouldn’t spend that sort of money again now that pedal based power meters are around. Overall though I’ve never had a problem with the unit other than the Max cadence thing.

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Good to know. Thanks :+1:

Further on this… since I’ve been quoted.

I reached out to them around the time I was working on the detailed Shimano dual sided crank report. Infocrank have no issues taking aim at their competitors so I assumed they’d want to get involved in being a ‘quality’ baseline for me to use… showing that my protocol is solid and their crank simply works… and works better than their competitors.

The CEO/owner was happy to get involved in a detailed conversation. Nothing ever eventuated in getting a unit in my hands for testing. There wasn’t any interest there.

The other day over on LinkedIn someone who works for/with them was boasting about the Infocrank again being the most accurate power meter (this was in regard to Wout van Aert claiming he lost the worlds TT because his Shimano meter was incorrectly calibrated). Someone from Shimano asked if Ray or I had tested their claims of accuracy… the response was textbook Infocrank. Again something along the lines of “how do you test something that’s already perfect” and also claiming that our testing with smart trainers was invalid as they only ‘estimate’ power, not directly measure it.

I attempted to clarify a few things about my testing and testing protocol. I pulled the ripcord when Infocrank official started commenting about being the only power meter on the market to measure power not estimate it… I didn’t probe that any deeper. I honestly don’t think the end user/consumer cares about what’s happening at the propellerhead level. They just want a power meter that’s reliable, accurate, and compatible with their bike/GPS/iPad/etc. There’s a lot to choose from that tick those boxes. Those other options have been reviewed, tested, and discussed a LOT more than Infocank.

As far as I can tell they’re positioned exactly where they want to be in the market. Trying to sit alongside SRM… but things have changed. A lot. SRM are no longer the go-to ‘gold standard’. The result for Infocrank is they’re rarely (never) a company name raised when people are discussing which power meter people should get. They’re sponsoring ex-pros and ex-Olympians here in AU, even one of the top esports teams who use the units to dual record against… wait for it… smart trainers for data validation. imo, their marketing needs a tweak.

Technology wise as far as I can tell from a distance - Their units are relatively heavy Praxis crank arms and are ANT+ only. Why would anyone choose that when there are lighter, cheaper, and more compatible options to go with? Beats me.

Anyhow… that’s my overshare of information for today further reducing my chances of getting one to test. :man_shrugging:t2:

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MUCH appreciated for all that, Shane. Great info :+1:

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LOL, upon reflection, some distinct hints of CompuTrainer in much of that. “They are the best. Anything else is not worth the time of day.:wink:

I have one, used it on my CX bike for a while and then the trainer bike. It’s a good PM, truly dual-sided. As Shane said, it’s ANT+ only and the software (Windows only) is woeful at best. As a power meter I can’t fault it, but owning Garmin, Favero, Stages, and Quarq I’ll agree with the comment that they are much better options. The only PM as bad the InfoCrank for software is/was Pioneer. :face_with_spiral_eyes:

My offer still stands, you can use mine. :slight_smile:

The only accurate and trusted measurement system for a powermeter is the “Lamathrust”

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I mean it IS nice to have a power meter that does reflect closely to accurate numbers (or so I’d like to believe). Like my XC 100’s being 10W lower than my infocrank is kind of annoying… but is it worth the premium for that? Probably definitely not… Also the infocrank is hideous.

Also one + for the infocrank (especially in the UK) if you have any issues you can speak to David from HaloCycles and he’d do repairs pretty cheaply with quick turnover, I believe he’s an ‘official’ infocrank repair-ist. I’m not sure if all PM companies do this, but infocrank has been great to me :slight_smile:

I think the thing we’ve seen time and time again, is the notion of “gold standard” companies supposedly being the only companies to do something accurate, is simply garbage.

Similarly, putting something in a scientific lab and measuring how it goes round and round by a perfectly still and slow-moving machine is largely useless. That’s not where power meters fail these days. They fail at human-triggered sprints. They fail at rough roads, or even minor bumps. They fail at temperature shifts. And they fail with humidity/moisture getting into them due to poor seals. A lab with a fancy certification doesn’t test any of that. Real world people, doing real-world things inside and outside do.

Plenty of companies make perfectly accurate power meters. Not just casual accurate - but accurate by any metric you want to measure it against, including pro/Olympian/TdF levels. In fact, until basically this past fall, SRM themselves couldn’t do temp compensation on their cranksets (only their pedals). It is hard to claim being the the gold standard when a simple non-stop climb will show substantially inaccurate data.

Still, accuracy in power meters today is the starting point for a conversation on which power meter to choose these days. Once that box is checked (which many brands/models check), you move on to the next item. It’s not the end-point. The next point is other features. Things like dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart capabilities. Or weight. Or compatibility. Or…price.

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I got a reduced price unit from a fire sale for a pro team that was folding. Customer service when I managed to water damage one side through incorrectly closing the battery cover. Said battery cover doesn’t feel like the best bit of engineering tbh and takes a specific silver oxide battery which are easily available from Amazon but not on your average high st.

Use mine for true LR on TT race bike so it’s mostly on a dumb turbo or in good weather and I’ve never had any data issues. Never used the software, not sure why you would need to unless troubleshooting, which I’ve not needed to do in 3 years of use. It’s just been fit and forget after the initial misuse I subjected it to.

The accuracy isn’t that important to me, nor the weight on a TT bike, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for general road riding - the RRP is bonkers, the options in terms of crank length, being stuck to M30 bottom brackets…I agree with Shane there are cheaper, lighter and more mainstream options out there.

I would pay to see a debate between Keith Wakeham and whoever wrote that wonderful line.