Not good news, part a billion: Stages

[mtb_frk]

Originally Posted by benb

Maybe I should check for firmware updates, but why fix what isn't broken? I know I updated the firmware on both mine at least once but it was 5+ years ago for sure.

At least one of those times I used the app was when one went haywire and went +50W and that one got warrantied right away, it was like a month after I got it.

Yeah idk about updating the firmware. If it breaks something there is no further support to unbreak it.

In the apple world at least for the app development I've done (n=1) you have to pay the annual license and update to the latest version of Xcode. Once that 1 year is up, the app no longer works. That was building it directly onto my phone which is different of course.

[benb]

Originally Posted by mtb_frk

Yeah idk about updating the firmware. If it breaks something there is no further support to unbreak it.

In the apple world at least for the app development I've done (n=1) you have to pay the annual license and update to the latest version of Xcode. Once that 1 year is up, the app no longer works. That was building it directly onto my phone which is different of course.

This is totally off topic but I've done that too, did they make Xcode or the developer program paid more recently? I have XCode on 2 macs right now. I wrote an iPhone program for the hell if it a looong time ago and don't remember having to pay anything. I never released it. I know iOS/iPadOS stuff has changed a lot since then.. I wasn't crazy about Objective C and the way they did memory management.. definitely to the point I wasn't going to do it for fun.

But good point, a firmware update can go bad. My guess is there is no new update for mine anyway, it sounds like there are different versions of the stages PMs and mine would be old ones they stopped working on the software for.

[mtb_frk]

Originally Posted by benb

This is totally off topic but I've done that too, did they make Xcode or the developer program paid more recently? I have XCode on 2 macs right now. I wrote an iPhone program for the hell if it a looong time ago and don't remember having to pay anything. I never released it. I know iOS/iPadOS stuff has changed a lot since then.. I wasn't crazy about Objective C and the way they did memory management.. definitely to the point I wasn't going to do it for fun.

But good point, a firmware update can go bad. My guess is there is no new update for mine anyway, it sounds like there are different versions of the stages PMs and mine would be old ones they stopped working on the software for.

The last time I did it was a $100 for a annual developer license. I haven't in 4-5 years at this point. It would be once it expired the app would stop working and I would have to rebuild and deploy it to my phone again. The details are a bit foggy at this point.

[Matt92037]

Just read about this today and I also hope the SB20’s will have replacement parts moving forward.

Originally Posted by Turkle

I bought a Stages power meter for my new road bike because I have the Stages SB20 indoor bike and I figured it would be easier to just have one app ecosystem to worry about.

Huh!

Hope I can still get service on these things if anything goes wrong!

[peanutgallery]

They should make the four folks who jumped to giant run a gauntlet of people in the bike biz who have been laid off during the past year

It would be quite a spectacle

[glepore]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

I suspect he means crank spider based power meter, instead of crank arm based power meter. Asian brand spider based power meters can be found on Amazon or Ebay, but they can also be found at bike specialty retailers like Power Meter City. Power Meter City has several Asian brand spider based power meters (Magene, Sigeyi and XCADEY) starting at $330 for the spider alone, or starting at $400 for entire crankset.

Correct on both counts. My bad, meant spider. And yes, there are any number of sources, ebay retailers, Power Meter City, Sigeyi and Magene directly thru Aliexpress. They are known reliable and accurate. I've been running a sigeyi for more than a year and and happier with it than my Stages (of which I've had 4). The xcadey gets mixed reviews but mostly firmware related and these companies tend to develop out those issues.

[Philster]

Interestingly, Power Meter City isn't discounting Stages product. They just have a pretty low key warning that you may be out of luck if you purchase.

[Mr. Pink]

Damn. I'm not a power meter user, but I was in the market for one of their indoor spin bikes, which my gym uses. Love them.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by Philster

Interestingly, Power Meter City isn't discounting Stages product. They just have a pretty low key warning that you may be out of luck if you purchase.

Imagine if they wrote a similar low key warning about the accuracy of the native Shimano PMs.

[benb]

Originally Posted by Philster

Interestingly, Power Meter City isn't discounting Stages product. They just have a pretty low key warning that you may be out of luck if you purchase.

Didn't know about this site.. cool.

It is interesting looking through there that there are plenty of other options but Stages seemed to have stayed pretty affordable right up till now.

For me personally I would really like to continue to use cranks that actually matched whatever group I picked that just have the PM added. Either OEM or something like what Stages or 4iii do, not stuff that is a completely new/different crank design that doesn't match anything else.

[FriarQuade]

The bike industry is a giant game of Jenga at the moment. Most of the big guys are turning the corner on their inventory situation but it's going to continue to play out for a while. From the inside, you're always waiting for spring and hoping that will fix all your problems. When it doesn't you're out of options. I imagine there's a couple more of these announcements that will come before mid summer.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

For me personally I would really like to continue to use cranks that actually matched whatever group I picked that just have the PM added. Either OEM or something like what Stages or 4iii do, not stuff that is a completely new/different crank design that doesn't match anything else.

There are power meter cranks that will completely match the rest of the groupset from all 3 major makers (Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo), but there are serious disadvantages to all 3 options. Shimano's power meter crank has major accuracy issues, so it is more of a power guesser than a power meter; the SRAM power meter crank appears to be accurate and reliable, but it is disposable - the power meter is built in the chainring, so when the chainring is worn out you'll need to replace the power meter; and Campagnolo's new power meter is not only very expensive, but first reports are that it has poor accuracy.

The next closest option is to use OEM cranks with replaceable spiders, and use an aftermarket spider. Several SRAM cranksets have replaceable spiders, and there are multiple makers of SRAM compatible power meter spiders (both 3 bolt and 8 bolt). The same crank arms used in Campagnolo's power meter cranks are also used by SRM and Power2Max, so these will also closely match Campagnolo drivetrains. For Shimano, the only options I'm aware of are Stages and 4iiii, which will mount their power meter modules to OEM crank arms. A single sided crank arm system will be cheaper, but it may provide less accurate results if a rider's legs have different power outputs; a double sided crank arm will be more accurate (and can show how much power is contributed by each leg) but will be more expensive than a spider based power meter.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

There are power meter cranks that will completely match the rest of the groupset from all 3 major makers (Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo), but there are serious disadvantages to all 3 options. Shimano's power meter crank has major accuracy issues, so it is more of a power guesser than a power meter; the SRAM power meter crank appears to be accurate and reliable, but it is disposable - the power meter is built in the chainring, so when the chainring is worn out you'll need to replace the power meter; and Campagnolo's new power meter is not only very expensive, but first reports are that it has poor accuracy.

Sram offers 3 types of power meters, one that's built into the chainrings, one that's built into the spider, and one that's built into the spindle. Only the chainring power meter is inseparable from a wear component.

https://www.sram.com/en/sram/road/pr...levancy&page=1

[Old School]

Originally Posted by benb

one went haywire and went +50W and that one got warrantied right away, it was like a month after I got it.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would have kept a gem like that.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Sram offers 3 types of power meters, one that's built into the chainrings, one that's built into the spider, and one that's built into the spindle. Only the chainring power meter is inseparable from a wear component.

https://www.sram.com/en/sram/road/pr...levancy&page=1

The $483 option is tough to beat. Rock solid in my experience.