Pioneer Just Updated Its Status to ‘Single’
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September 15, 2015 – When Hi-Fi brand Pioneer made its somewhat surprising leap into cycling and the power meter game they did so with what they called High Def Power Metrics. The dual sided meter provides 24-point force and force direction measurement, once every 30degrees of pedal stroke for each leg, and graphically displays it in real time on its in-house head units.
peloton/images: Pioneer
The meter and head unit are definitely expensive, $1850 for a Dura-Ace 9000 meter and crankset. Add $500 for the top of the line Pioneer head unit, $300 for the entry level unit, and it’s a serious purchase. As the power market has exploded and Stages Cycling, with the help of Team Sky, proved left side only is a valid and effective way to measure power other brands, like Rotor, have jumped in capitalizing on the lower price point single side measurement offers.
RELATED: Watch Leading Edge with Pioneer Power.
Now Pioneer has released a left-side, single leg meter. Essentially half of its dual sided system, the price drops considerably. The left side only Dura-Ace power crank costs $900 and Ultegra is $800, which is identical to Stages Power. It does offer an upgrade kit for a rider supplied, professionally installed left crank meter for $750. Pioneer still offers force and force direction measurement assuming you purchase one of its head units.
Since only the left leg’s power is being measured, and presumably doubled like Stages, how these force vectors are calculated for the right leg we do not know, but Pioneer does say instead of the 24points measured with a dual system, it tracks only 12 points on the left leg. Riders with other brand’s ANT+ computers will not get these force vectors with either single or dual leg Pioneer power cranks. Pioneer will also offer a dual sided upgrade package to riders that decide they would like to add right leg power in the future.
The meter requires a magnet to be adhered to your frame to calculate force vectors, weighs 22grams, is water resistant and runs for approximately 180hours on a CR2032 battery.
Ultegra 6800 Single Leg Power Meter: $800
Dura-Ace 9000 Single Leg Power Meter: $900
Professionally Installed Upgrade Kit: $750
More: pioneerelectronics.com