SRM Launches $1,499 Power Meter Flat Pedals
Flat pedal fanatics no longer have to miss out on measuring their wattage through their pedals as SRM has launched its new flat pedal power meters.
While pedal-based power meters have previously been reserved for riders wanting to be clipped in, the German cycling brand now offers the technology for those wanting to keep their feet less attached to the bike. SRM previously released an X-Power pedal that was SPD compatible and the new flats use the same spindle containing the power meter inside a flat pedal body. It's definitely an odd pairing but there must be some riders there who want the feeling of flats but still want to keep track of their power.
SRM claims the pedals are accurate to +/-2% accuracy and should be able to keep track of your watts for 30 hours on a single charge. With only the pedal spindle containing the electronics if the pedal platform is damaged, there is no need to swap out the whole pedal system. SRM has also made it so the X-Power flat pedals can be run as a pair or you can just have a single power meter on one side with a meterless pedal on the other foot.
Each pedal is hand-assembled to order and they claimed a very light claimed 205 gram for each pedal. The low weight and power meter do come at a hefty cost with a price tag of $1,499 for two smart pedals or a single leg option for $1,199. You can find out more here.
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They're really hitting into this niche market.
Really want Shimano drivetrain but you already know stages isn't the best?
Have more than one bike?
Lots of little niches. I agree, for most people, just get a Quarq. Can't do that? Then pedals start to look real nice.
Right?!
Like they didn't even attempt to compete with NSB, one up, or even PNW. They took a dogshit Wellgo and put a computer in it.
Hell, I could even buy an eewings and put a stages power meter on that.
You can buy a rotor kapic/r-hawk with a power2max and change it from bike to bike and also have the possibility of choosing from a wide variety of crank lengths.
It takes way less time and effort to move the rotor-p2max from bike to bike than move both pedals.
The cost is massive for a power meter.
*apparently you can't
Also this:
"Flat pedal fanatics no longer have to miss out on measuring their wattage"
"While power meters have previously been reserved for riders wanting to be clipped in"
What the hell are you smoking, whoever wrote this press release? Power meter cranks are a thing, are cheaper than this and can be used with any pedals.
@bananowy from a manufacturing perspective, building another companies spindles with a design modification would be a huge pain. Trademarking aside, you're not guaranteed consistent tolerances as fit/form/function is almost always prioritized should something deviate too far from the nominal dimensions. That leaves you in an challenging place to make sure you can deliver a quality product. You'd also have to consider testing, how much would your modifications weaken the pedal, and how do you define an acceptable point of failure? Retrofitting new pedals could be a solution, but leaves the customer with questions like how do I get support should I need it, and will warranties be honored or ignored. Do you provide a replacement or repair service for pedals that the original manufacturer won't provide because of your product despite the failure being unrelated to your product?
Working directly with brands would be difficult but not impossible, and would lend you to possibly being able to influence design. Likely the biggest challenges would be selling the product to the brand, 1200 for pedals is steep. Can delaying their product and adding complications to their production be cost effective for something that's optional to the consumer? Is it still worth it when you providing that same offer to their competitors is part of what makes your product successful to a broader customer market?
Although we may not like the current pedal, I think it was wise to do so as a full unit to start. Perhaps they already have answers to making this for other better known pedals and this is simply to demonstrate that there's enough demand for it, or perhaps they will modify their offerings to meet our demands in future releases. I do think it's neat to see that someone has pushed the envelope outside of what is currently available for flat pedal riders.
It would be like asking why they don't make Enduro bikes as light as XC bikes.
But that reality probably should have led them to abandon product development. Not offer one of the worst pedals on the market for $1,500.
Bike industry: “Let’s get more people into biking”
New rider: “Pedals are how much?! I guess I’m going to stick with Frisbee Golf”.
"Bike industry: 'Let’s get more people into biking'"
I don't see efforts to get people into biking, but do see efforts to maximize profits and push outrageous prices as normal.
I guess once million dollar Bugattis arrived, everyone just stopped buying cars and rode razor scooters to their disc-golf games?
Im guessing the price is so that the guy who builds them in his garage has time to knock each on out on his miniature milling machine
Makes me wonder what kind of research they've done. Shape and durability are key, power data comes later. I doubt they'll find a target audience that has flipped these priorities and is willing to pay this kind of money for a pair of pedals.
And I'm sure Pinkbike readers will react FAR more positively to a $770 flat power pedal.
I was traveling for work for about 200 days a year and wanted to have the option to train on a hardtail that would break down to fit in a large suitcase using couplers. In the interest of saving space, I planned on ONLY bringing flat pedal shoes, since they can be used to go down to breakfast in the hotel or out to dinner after work. I was going to bring a Feedback Sports stationary trainer with me for those nights when there weren’t trails or decent roads near the hotel, or when I got done with work too late. Power meter pedals would allow me to use one of the many training apps like TrainerRoad, Sufferfest, or Zwift so I could keep the inside riding interesting and I could stay fit for when I got back home and could ride real trails.
Now that I’m old and fat, though, I see that would have been a waste of money.
The bike industry has lost it's mind!
although im now questioning myself where that power goes instead
Because a stiff pedal/show is more ergonomically supportive. Less fatigue, more comfort, better biomechanical efficiency (muscles and bones stay in more optimal orientations), etc. So while the rider on stiff pedal/shoe can deliver a given amount of power to the cranks with less energy wasted in muscular adaption to sub-optimal biomechanics, that doesn't mean power was delivered to the pedals that the meter isn't measuring.
EDIT:
This link explains damping somewhat clearly
rubber-engineering.blogspot.com/2011/07/rubber-properties-damping-properties.html
But the main reason you want stiff soles as a racer is so you can put the power doen through the whole foot instead of at a point. Try to put some serious power into an spd through a apir of sneakers and you will feel that you need to use all sorts of muscles in your foot.
Snap!
Cheers, I'll prob never.
Maybe flats for notOutsideCEO's gravel bike?
I will buy those pedals..
The day two fools met!