Arofly, the worlds smallest power meter and only $129?

[malbecman]

From Lennard Zinn's article:

http://www.velonews.com/2017/09/bikes-and-tech/arofly-worldss-smallest-power-meter_448731

They claim +/- 2% accuracy. Time will tell if it really works or not

[Iansir]

http://road.cc/content/review/227916-arofly-power-meter

No thanks

[eBAUMANN]

http://road.cc/content/review/227916-arofly-power-meter

No thanks

bwhahaha, pathetic, and it requires a proprietary $250 headunit...
too funny

[velofinds]

Not to mention, it reminds me of dice valve caps:

http://store.ruff-cycles.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/r/u/ruff-dice-valve-caps_ruff-parts_3.jpg

https://vitalvegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dice_valve_stem_caps.jpg

Not exactly the look I'm going for on my bike.

[fbhidy]

From Lennard Zinn's article:

http://www.velonews.com/2017/09/bikes-and-tech/arofly-worldss-smallest-power-meter_448731

They claim +/- 2% accuracy. Time will tell if it really works or notI heard somewhere these (along with several others on the market) should be called power "estimators" rather than meters...

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

[berserk87]

bwhahaha, pathetic, and it requires a proprietary $250 headunit...
too funny

Yeah, even if it sorta worked, I think that the total price of $400 would sour the deal.

Most folks probably have a head unit that would measure power at this point (heck, even me as of last week). Having to buy another would be non-sensical and the total layout would be compatible with other, more proven systems.

I like the innovation and one day it may lead to something that works, and is more affordable.

[R3awak3n]

Arofly, the worlds smallest crappiest power meter and only $129 *


*plus a bunch more money for a crappy head unit. No one is probably reading this and no one will probably be buying this.

[trener1]

Considering you can get a Wattteam for $249 and a 4iii for $399 that work with any head unit, this doesn't make sense on any level, net even make sense from a price saving perspective, let alone form a power measuring perspective.

[mrvnmrvn]

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1cZxVQFXXXXXPXXXXq6xXFXXXm/1pair-Bicycle-Bike-Wheel-Safety-font-b-Spoke-b-font-font-b-Reflector-b-font-Reflective.jpg

i'll stick with my spoke reflector power meters

[uber]

Sounds pretty good unless you need it to work.

[false_Aest]

It's not for folks that seriously train with power but you already knew that.
Just like you know that a flat-less tire that sells for $19.99 is not a solution for any of our training rides.

This is perfect for the guy that bought a HR power estimator a few years ago and realizes that he wants a better, (slightly) more accurate power reading. (Similar idea to iBike).

It will get better over several iterations (if the company doesn't go the way of Brim Bros) and, eventually, it will be a decent tool.

I like that companies try this stuff. I think something like this could have an awesome application with e-bikes (data coming from a smaller/lighter unit). And, while you might scoff at e-bikes, most brands are off 10-20% this year + the only growing segment right now are e-bikes.

[SoCalSteve]

It's not for folks that seriously train with power but you already knew that.
Just like you know that a flat-less tire that sells for $19.99 is not a solution for any of our training rides.

This is perfect for the guy that bought a HR power estimator a few years ago and realizes that he wants a better, (slightly) more accurate power reading. (Similar idea to iBike).

It will get better over several iterations (if the company doesn't go the way of Brim Bros) and, eventually, it will be a decent tool.

I like that companies try this stuff. I think something like this could have an awesome application with e-bikes (data coming from a smaller/lighter unit). And, while you might scoff at e-bikes, most brands are off 10-20% this year + the only growing segment right now are e-bikes.

You make a lot of really great points!

To all the posters in this thread...did you not read that it can be used with a free app on your phone? And yeah, it’s not for people training for an Ironman, but it could be a useful inexpensive tool for the weekend cyclist who is trying to push himself to be faster. A few simple metrics may help him train better and let him see his improvements.

I hope the company succeeds. Great concept!

[chiasticon]

it it worked, the price wouldn't be bad. mainly because it would by far be the easiest power meter to swap from bike to bike. other than maybe Powertap wheels, but those can't go between various different bikes (road, cx, mtb, gravel, single speed, etc.) as easily.

[hobbanero]

Curious to see what real world tests show for accuracy. Measuring power is a big challenge and very few of the established power meters are truly accurate within 2%.

The study referenced in this article, http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/huge-scientific-study-shows-inaccuracies-popular-power-meters-330322, basically says the current state of power meter accuracy is poor.

Is measuring power badly a help to the less serious cyclist? No, imho. Better to just test on a hill against a clock as a measure of fitness.

[MesiJezi]

Quoting a useful comment on the road.cc review:

Air pressure in tyres is a red herring. It doesn't measure tyre pressure. The only reason that it attaches to the inner tube stem is so that people think something magical is happening.
The unit will work equally well or more accurately equally terribly if you selotaped it to a spoke.

The unit contains an an air pressure sensor that measures atmopsheric pressure rather than tyre pressure. It also contains an accelerometer to detect wheel rotations. The device gives a power estimate by calculating your forward speed and acceleration combined with climb rate. It then uses an arbitary value for your cda and crr combined with your mass to come up with a power figure. At best it will give a result similar to strava estimated power algorithm.
The schematics are here -
https://fccid.io/2AJGD-AROFLY01/Schematics/Schematics-3197365 (link is external)
It will never produce anything better than you get direct from strava.

[tedbarbeau]

You make a lot of really great points!

To all the posters in this thread...did you not read that it can be used with a free app on your phone? And yeah, it’s not for people training for an Ironman, but it could be a useful inexpensive tool for the weekend cyclist who is trying to push himself to be faster. A few simple metrics may help him train better and let him see his improvements.

I hope the company succeeds. Great concept!

I wholeheartedly agree here. Although people will probably mock the idea, as a weekend warrior mountain biker, I'd love to add a power meter but can't justify the cost.

I've ridden my local loop so many times that it's hard to estimate how good of a workout I've done aside from the amount of time it took me to complete it. A heart rate monitor would probably be useful but I like the idea of a single number to track performance.

I'm all for the democratization of this type of technology.