[Vin829]

Looking to add a power meter to my bike so I can nerd out on more stats. I have no idea where to start or what to look for. Seem like a lot of them are made for road. Any advice?

 

[Lone Rager]

Yes! Go to the following site for an excellent overview of PMs. You are right that most are for road and options for mtbs are more limited. For mtb you're looking at crank based and spider based PMs, left only and total power. I use pedal based power on the road but there a no pedal based mtb PMs, likely due to the abuse they would take due to rock strikes. I'm getting a spindle based left only PM for the mtb.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/11/power-meter-buyers-2018.html

Here's a good place to check out to buy PMs. They have a section on MTB PMs:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=power+meter+city

 

[Le Duke]

Plenty of good options out there now.

A couple of opinions:

1) SRM is still the gold standard. I bought mine on eBay. I've sent it in for battery replacement once every 24 months or so since I got it. You can calibrate it at home. Reads both sides. Given the spider-based design, they are incredibly durable.

2) Stages. Doubles left side power, so if one of your legs is more powerful than the other, it might not give you true values. For me, this was good enough for my road bike, which mostly sees long rides, recovery rides, and the trainer. New, they are a great value. They have a lot of options, and I think they even let you send in your crankarm to have the strain gauge installed. Pretty cool.

 

[Vin829]

I have a SRAM crank but I believe it doesn’t use a spider. The chain ring is splined on. Direct drive I think they call it

 

[Sidewalk]

Have a Race Face on two of mine, seem to be working fine.