Stages Power Meter Battery Life

[msngr]

I am only getting 3-4, sometimes less, days per battery change for my Stages. Yes, I ride a lot, but not that much. Not only is this annoying and affects my training, but it costs $7 a pop for those 2032s! So I am spending $7-14 per week into my power meter, and the whole point of Stages for me was a cheap alternative.

Does anyone else have this issue, or so you think there is something wrong with my meter?

[parallelfish]

Every three to four months here, doing about 250 miles a week.

[John H.]

Start a ticket with Stages.
Don't settle for less than them agreeing to take it back to check.

I have a Stages as a backup for my SRM.

I have been using it lately because the battery died on my cross bike.

The Stages sucks- it is so inaccurate. Average power and kj for a ride might be somewhat accurate, but the second by second power is terrible.
It would be really hard to use a Stages to train to a specific power number.

When I installed my Stages 2 weeks ago I started with a brand new battery- I also put an extra battery in my saddle bag.

I am not impressed with the Stages.

[bpiecuch]

Definitely something wrong. Even at 50 mpw, I haven't changed mine in over a year. Contact Stages.

[false_Aest]

battery life is inversely proportionate to how hard you're working. Take that number and multiply it by 3 then divide by how much you're being overcharged for those batteries.

Once you get that number call Stages and talk to them.

[stien]

They should warranty it for you if youre the original owner. We sent two arms back twice for this issue and on the third new set I sold them and broke even (got them on sale, then they upgraded us to new DA).

But yeah, if you like the format then get a Pioneer left side. Theyre great.

[dton]

Sounds like a hardware/software issue. Mine doesn't get the stated 200hrs but its roughly around there ~150hrs

Get that fixed first, then Amazon is your friend: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XBK7PG...=1HT2L8P9BHNTU

[DavidC]

Same thing happened to me. I contacted them, they sent me out a brand new one, and I returned the problem crank in that shipping container. They were very quick about it.

Be prepared: they will want to verify you have the most recent firmware, and that you're using brand name batteries.

Also, buy the batteries on Amazon or eBay. They shouldn't be costing you more than 50¢ each.

[73Bronco]

Good to hear they seem to take care of it but it seems to be more than an isolated issue. I've been eyeballing a used one but this has me concerned.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[kramnnim]

Originally Posted by 73Bronco

Good to hear they seem to take care of it but it seems to be more than an isolated issue. I've been eyeballing a used one but this has me concerned.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Get a second gen pod and you'll be much less likely to have problems.

Arrow.com for cheap 2032 batteries that aren't useless fakes like the ones from ebay/amazon

[woodworker]

Do you have the campy, shimano or something else? I just purchased the campy unit when it came out--around two months ago. I had the same problem and went through the whole evaluation process, and they agreed to exchange for a new one. I've now had that one for a month, and it does the same thing: three or four rides and the battery is gone. The first time around, they thought that it was from the unit not turning off after use, but I've been checking that, and it seems to turn off ok, I think.

Also, what head unit are you using? I'm using an Edge 520. I do wonder whether the Edge unit keeps the Stages unit running, although I'm careful to recharge the Edge unit in a room some distance away.

In any event, I put a new battery in the Stages unit and will give it another try--and if that doesn't work, I'll be back to customer service again.

[DavidC]

Originally Posted by woodworker

Also, what head unit are you using? I'm using an Edge 520. I do wonder whether the Edge unit keeps the Stages unit running, although I'm careful to recharge the Edge unit in a room some distance away.

Stages -> Edge 520 is a one way street. The edge doesn't send any information to the Stages via ANT+. (Bluetooth is a different story, that's why you can update the crank's firmware via the app.)

Also, FWIW, after you plug in the Edge 520 to charge, you can power it down. It'll keep charging.

I agree, contact Stages again.

[shoota]

I’m willing to bet you have a first gen model huh? Grey door? Mine did that too. Basically it’s just not going to sleep when you stop riding it. An easy test is To put your bike away after a ride, don’t touch it for a good while, then use the Stages app on your phone to see if the app sees it. It shouldn’t. If it does then it’s not going to sleep. Stages is really good about handling this problem.
The general concensus is that it’s the crappy battery door that isn’t keeping the battery in good contact with the pod internals. I’ve had good luck with taking a nickel and placing it on top of the battery door and taping it on there as tight as possible. This creates enough pressure on the door to hold the battery in place.

[msngr]

Thanks. all. Good stuff here.

The meter is 2 years old, so I hope Stages does the right thing. Shimano, btw.

And, yes, I have been buying the batteries in bulk, but it is hard to keep an extra on me all the time, so I have probably bought 10-20 batteries at bodegas on the fly -I am a bike messenger and Coach needs to keep track of all my kJ.

I cannot say I have been thrilled with the meter in general. But at the time of purchase, it was the most economical option -needed one for road bike (and to frequently switch from road working bike to trainer bike) and one for fixed gear (and need to frequently switch from fixed gear working bike to track racing bike).

[Bwana]

https://www.amazon.com/SkoTeRy-CR203.../dp/B01MATFBRH

$12 for 50 batteries.