It’s been a long wait for Garmin to release their pedal-based Vector power measuring system and now that it's finally been released, I jumped at the opportunity to take it for a spin throughout the last month. Let's take a look and see how it performed.
A Silicon Valley upstart called MetriGear originally developed the technology for measuring power via the pedal axle. They started showcasing it at Interbike back in 2009 and originally used Speedplay as their pedal. It was due to be released in Q1 of 2010 but then Garmin acquired MetriGear and began to productise it. Here we are over three years later and the Vector has finally come to fruition.
If you ask me, the holy grail for a powermeter would be that: 1) It doesn’t add much weight, 2) it measures left and right leg power so that pedalling efficiency can be analysed and improved, 3)it’s easily swappable between different bikes, 4) It’s affordable.
Garmin nailed three out of four of those with the Vector, however they fell short on a few places as well.
Features and benefits
The pedals themselves are Exustar PR-3’s which are similar and compatible with the LOOK Keo. This is a proven pedal design with cleats that are inexpensive and easy to replace.
In my view, the biggest benefit of the Vector is the ease of installation and how it can be transferred to different bikes with no difficulty. Setup and calibration are dead easy once you’re familiar with the process.
You’ll notice that there are basically four pieces in total: two pedals, and two “pods”. The pods contain one CR2032 battery and an accelorometer. To install, you simply put the pedals and pods (along with a washer) onto the crankarms and you’re nearly there. A couple calibration steps on the head unit is all that’s left and then you’re rolling with power. Note: you will need a torque wrench to ensure the proper tightening so that power is measured accurately.
Other unique features include left and right leg independent power measurement. This doesn’t really mean a lot unless you have good software to put it into context, however for someone who suffers from an imbalance or is coming back from a leg injury and wants to see their progress might have good use for this. For me, it’s a passing interest, but the novelty quickly wore off. That said, the potential applications could be very interesting. The Vector not only measures the intensity of the power being produced, but as the name indicates, it also measures the direction in which the forces are being applied. Some interesting and useful pedal stroke analysis could result with the right software. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how much energy you’re wasting throughout the pedal stroke?
Besides displaying raw power, there are many other measurements that can be diplayed including L/R power balance, TSS score, Pedal smoothness, watts/kilo, torque effectiveness, etc.
If you’re a weigh weenie, you’ll appreciate that the Vector adds only about 55g relative to a non-Vector equipped bike. A set of Exustar PR3’s weighs ~300g and the Vectors weigh a total of 355g.
355g total for the pedals, pods, and washers. The Vector only adds about 55g of weight to the pedals themselves.
For an excellent in-depth review of all the features the Garmin Vector has, head over to DC Rainmaker for a complete guide. There’s nothing I can add to this and I highly recommend giving it a read if you’re in the market for a Vector powermeter (or any powermeter for that matter).
Accuracy and reliability
Garmin claims +/-2% accuracy which is similar to other systems on the market. However, it’s not the absolute accuracy that’s key; it’s the unit’s consistency with itself. A number of independent tests have verified Garmin’s claims and have successfully stacked up against other power meters, so I won’t go through that exercise again. In my experience with the Vector, the power readings I’ve seen are exactly what I’d expect judging by feel. Note: Again, one thing to take note of regarding accuracy is to make certain that you use a torque wrench to tighten to Garmin’s specifications or else the readings will be out.
Read BikeRadar’s accuracy testing here, and DC Rainmaker’s here.
When riding over rough roads and cobbled back lanes, I don’t see power readings dropping out and the Vector seems to perform every bit as good as my previous Quark or Powertap devices. The verdict is still out on longterm reliability, but read on for more detail on my concernes with this.
The the pod connector connects to the pedal through the spindle hole in back of the crankarm.
Alternatives
Garmin is late to market with the Vector and devices such as SRM, Quark, and Powertap are the standards for powermeter enthusiasts. We’ve seen many systems come and go, the highly expensive LOOK/Polar pedal system (which is similar to the Vector) doesn’t appear to be a glaring success, and we’re also seeing the emergence of Stages and Pioneer systems. Pioneer looks to be very pricey ($3100USD) but Stages appears to be promising at their <$1000 price point.
Many powermeter offerings have now broken the $1000 price barrier, which the Vector was rumored to be when first announced. However the Vector has a RRP of $1695 AUD. You might ask, why would I buy the Vector over a $2800 SRM, a $2200 Quark, a $1000 Powertap G3 (don’t forget you need to build it up with a rim and spokes which adds $200-$300), or a $700-$900 Stages (soon to be released in Australia).
Again, the thing that the Vector has going for it is the ability to easily change bikes. As far as the price goes, it falls right into the middle of the range of powermeter choices. Garmin has indicated that the Vector is in fact two powermeters, and might offer a less expensive option in the future by only having the powermeter functionality on one pedal (similar to Stages only having power measurement fixed to one crank arm).
Known Issues
I’ve spoken to a few mechanics about the problems they’ve seen come through their doors in the past month since the Vector was released. There have been a few that you should know about:
- The pods are quite brittle and have been know to break off. The recommended set-up proceedure is to ensure the pods are facing down away from the top of the pedal so that your foot doesn’t kick it when clipping in. However, one of the first things I noticed when testing the Vector was the pod protruding out of the crankarm which would be possible to hit it with your foot. Also, you don’t realise how many times you knock your pedals on walls, doors, etc until you have a $1700 set of pedals on that you’re trying to be careful with.
- Certain cranks are not compatible with the Vector. The reason for this is because there needs to be 5mm clearance between the chain and the pod connector (plugged in at the back of the crankarm) when the chain is in the 53×11 (or else there’s risk of the chain hitting the pod connector when the frame flexes). Some models of Specialized cranks have seen problems as well as some FSA and Rotor cranks.
A Specialized S-Work crank fixed with the Vector pedals. Notice how the pod connector is less than 5mm away from the chain with the gear is in the 53-11t. This may hit the chain when the frame and crankarm is under stress and is flexing.
- Personally, I had difficulties getting my Garmin 510 to work properly with the Vector because of firmware issues. After multiple firmware updates along with pod battery changes I finally got the unit to pick up the power properly. I do understand these things happen, but I nearly gave up until I was advised that the pedals needed a firmware update as well. Most people who have bought the Vector haven’t experienced these problems, but I did and it was frustrating.
- A widely held view is that pedals take the brunt of the damage during a crash and that having an expensive powermeter in this vulnerable place of a bike is not ideal. I called Garmin to ask about their crash replacement policy and since the product is still new, they don’t have a replacement policy in place yet (in Australia). Of course warranty items fall under standard procedure (2-year warranty, which covers manufacture defects), but not crash replacement. Replacement pods cost approximately $99 AUD and replacement pedal body assembly is $199 AUD (replacement procedure TBD). The part that is not available as an accessory is the pedal spindle (this is the brains of the system).
Final thoughts
If you’re in the market for a powermeter you will choose the Garmin Vector because you have multiple bikes that you’ll want to switch between often. The installation process is quick and simple. You’ll have these swapped between your road bike and TT bike in less than a minute.
That said, there are a number of issues I see with this system. The pods are susceptible to breaking off (and frankly, don’t look very good) and for me, this is a deal breaker at the $1695 price point. If the price were to come down to under $1000 to appeal to the entry level user, I would say this would be a powermeter to consider. However, until the price comes down and the pods are integrated into the system in a more tidy way, you might want to wait to see what Vector 2.0 has to offer. In the next version I hope to see different pedal options, better pod integration, and different pricing options. There’s no doubt that Garmin is onto a good thing, and this is just the start.
Do you own a Garmin Vector? We’re keen to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to login and leave your review alongside our ratings.
WRAP-UP
There's no doubt that the Garmin Vector measures power accurately and its biggest value proposition is the ability to easily and quickly swap over to other bikes. That's all we ever wanted in a powermeter, right? Unfortunately the price is too expensive for where the Vector falls into the market and the protruding pods will be a turn-off for many enthusiasts. It's a good start for a promising powermeter system and I'm looking forward to their next release.
GOOD STUFF
- Ability to swap bikes quickly and easily.
- Simple installation and calibration.
- Measures power accurately in many different ways (left/right balance, directional forces, etc).
BAD STUFF
- Far too pricey.
- Pods are fragile and are an eyesore.
Robert Merkel
- 04.10.2013
These are the first power meter that I've owned. They're paired with an Edge 510.
Initial setup was a bit problematic with very low readings and dropouts, but seems to have been down to a lack of torque on the pedals . Now that I've mastered the transfer, they seem to be giving plausible and consistent readings (but I haven't done any cross-meter comparisons).
They're perfectly fine as pedals as far as I'm concerned, but I've been using Keos for years. YMMV if you're used to another pedal system, of course.
I am concerned about the vulnerability of the pods, but, hell, I'll live with that for the dead-easy swapping between multiple bikes.
David Johnstone
- 04.10.2013
Performance: Based on everything I've seen and read, they are as accurate and consistent as anything else on the market. Garmin is promising additional features (such as pedal smoothness and torque effectiveness) via firmware updates in the future. The pedals are fine too, but I've always been a Look pedal user.
Presentation: The pods aren't going to win any beauty contests, but overall I don't think they're any worse for my bike's looks than the fat silver PowerTap hub they're replacing. (And who knows, maybe Garmin will someday release pods that aren't nearly as ungainly…)
Value for money: They don't revolutionise power meter pricing, but the price seems quite okay to me, especially as they're currently available for $1500. They're cheaper than SRMs and Quarqs and roughly the same as Power2Maxs. Stages and PowerTap devices are cheaper, but the Stages device has a disadvantage of only measuring the left leg, while you need multiple PowerTaps if you are going to use multiple wheelsets.
Design: Having the power meter in the pedal is good, as it allows for more information to be recorded that is lost when power is measured further along the drive chain. This isn't yet being exploited (except that left/right power balance is correct, unlike other systems that make educated guesses), but Garmin is promising many updates over the coming years that will make the system much more powerful. It's probably possible to damage the pods (although I suspect the danger is less than it looks), but they can be replaced for a hundred bucks, so I don't consider that much of a drawback. Their accuracy depends on them being correctly installed, which isn't the worst thing in the world, but they're a lot less idiot-proof than a PowerTap.
Having a power metre to switch between road and track bikes is a god send. I understand
some of the issues you've outlined, but don't see them as being anywhere near as significant
as just being able to have one system switched between two bikes - which I do on a regular basis.
I had no such issues syncing with my 510 and have found the whole process seamless.
Worth the wait!
Marcus Nyeholt
- 07.10.2013
Have had a set for about a month now. The accuracy and technical side of things is well documented elsewhere so there's not much I can add there, other than as someone who has knee / hip issues on my right leg, it's been interesting having the L/R ratio displayed to remember to do some of the right-leg exercises my physio suggested.
The pods aren't good looking, but I've never had them get in the way at all, and assuming they're pointing down on front pedal when installed, I'm not sure how you'd be able to hit them with your foot unless you're twisting quite a lot. As for brittleness, the only things I've seen online about broken pods appear to be caused by over-tightening or not using the included spacer washers to properly spread the load. I've managed to knock the pods a couple of times (like putting the bike on a car rack or having an overzealous 3 year old nearby), and they feel that they have a reasonable amount of elastic flex to them - not that I'm keen to test one to its limit!
I've got an Edge 500 head unit, and there's been a couple of times I've had issues trying to get things going
- when swapping the pedals between bikes, removing the battery or the sensor connector, if I don't run through the 'setting installation angles' step (90+rpm for 10 seconds or so), the head unit wouldn't display any power or acknowledge the existence of the pedals
- I had occasional trouble doing a static calibration of the pedals if my head unit was still searching for my heart rate monitor.
Annoying the first time, no problems since.
From a value point of view, $1700 is a bit too much, but if you look around you can get them under $1500, which is more reasonable. If in future they change the firmware to allow you to use just a single pedal (from what I understand they both could both technically transmit to a head unit, but at present the left transmits to right, which transmits to head unit), I'd change "Value for money" to an 8(.5?)
chris howard
- 07.10.2013
These pedals are terriffic once they are up and running. It seems the POD issue for mine is a bit overated and will not be a big issue, possibly just an aesthetic one.
Like a few others from the reveiws, I initially had problems getting them to pair with my edge 500 head unit. The instructions were far from detailed and was mainly targeted at those that had an edge 810 to pair them to.
The issues I encountered were getting the firmare update and ANT wireless facility right with my PC so I coud adjust the crank length from something other than the factory default( Microsoft). Once I overcame this with help from Aussie distributor FE sports who incidently were great to deal with, I was good to go.
Another issue I have encountered(which is not really anyones fault) but just a learning experience with a new product, is the compatibility issue with cranks.
I have a set of look Zed2 cranks, and while there were maximum crank width tolerances mentioned in multiple reveiws such as Dcrainmakers etc, this mainly focused on specialized cranks.
After much investigating and adjustemnt, I have been able to make them fit, but involved in this was machining off 2 mm of the taper nut for crank length adjustment on my cranks. Also to further accomodate this, I had to get washers that were 0.6mm thick which is half of the thicknes of the supplied washers.
So what can other zed2 crank owners learn from this?
1. You will need to take the taper nuts to an engineering shop and get them machined down by 2mm to allow the recess to be large enough to accomodate the spindle plug.
2. I would also recommend getting a 0.6mm washer for spacing the pedal out from the crank to mitigate the fact that in the case of these cranks even 0.6 mm difference in thickness will affect the plug being secure enough to give a consistent reading.
Since sorting out the above, I am very happy with the way these are reading and performing, no issue there9accuracy etc), however Garmin need to lift the game in helping with instructions for setting these up with older model head units.
I understand with any new product things are learnt after the product comes to market, however a pretty simple provision of suplying different washer thicknesses would to me make sense when you are paying what you are for these pedals.
Would I buy them again? Absolutley, as it is very appealing to be able to swap these between bikes(this is why I waited so long) which for me is an absolute godsend. I am however less impressed by Garmins back compatibility instructions which tested my patience.
First of all, as mentioned in the article, read the DC Rainmaker review--the guy is crazy thorough: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/09/garmin-vector-review.html
I have had these for over a month, and have been riding around like a jackass version of DC Rainmaker comparing them to my other powermeters, with 2-3 head units on board for every ride. I was a bit worried in the first few rides as they were reading lower than my Powertap, SRM and Quarq units. This, of course, means they must be wrong. ;)
I re-read DC Rainmaker's review and he mentions that they are sensitive to the tightening torque on the pedals. I don't have a torque wrench for pedal flats, but I did tighten them down a bit more and that seemed to improve the consistency relative to the other power meters. Also, I usually run Rotor Q Rings, which can mess with powermeters. On my one bike with round rings, the Vectors are very close to the Powertap and Quarq, especially if I recalibrate during the ride.
They are really easy to install, so moving them across bikes only takes a couple of minutes. Really just a pedal change with a couple of extra fiddly bits that you have to get in the right place.
I have had 3 major issues so far:
1. I have seen so far is that they seem to read much lower during sprints....100 watts lower on a 1,000w effort, for example. That is a major discrepancy from my other power meters. If you have a fragile ego, these may not be for you.
2. They don't work on Specialized carbon cranks (too thick), but that is being addressed, allegedly, in a few months.
3. My left pedal often dies.....looks like a battery issue. I should be getting around 200 hours of battery life, but instead I get about 10-20 on the left side. Obviously a glitch, and I will have to contact Garmin about it. My experience with Garmin support is not good, but hopefully they have improved that.
4. More quirk than issue: they seem to read "slow". That is, when watching the 3 head units, the Powertap and Quarq will be moving in unison, but the Vectors seem to be a second or two behind. Odd.
They seem relatively future-proof to me, which is a plus. We are at a point where Bluetooth is going to be the transmission standard for a lot of head units--particularly smartphones. The pods, which are cheap and easy to replace, contain the batteries and transmission radios, and should be easy to swap. A big advantage for bluetooth is that is transmits much more data. Ant+ only transmits 1 data point per second, even though the powermeter is measuring more often. That introduces a small amount of error.....a larger amount for non-round chainrings. Think about it....you are only getting a reading every 1.5 revolutions. Bluetooth uses more battery life, but can transmit hundreds of times per second.
It seems likely that at some point Garmin will introduce a one-sided version, a la Stages, to bring the price down. There are some cool things you can do with the Vectors that don't have a user interface for them yet. For example, you could measure how much force is actually being applied in the direction of crank movement.
Some people don't like the aesthetics of the pods, but I don't mind them. I have already smacked the pedal itself in a corner and it seems durable enough.
I have a few bikes and I like to use non-round rings. So, there is a huge benefit in being able to move them around and use whatever cranks, rings and wheels I want.
I own multiple bikes and have powertap, quarq, stages and SRM powermeters already. When I bount
my latest bike, the Vector pedals were finally available and I thought they'd be a good answer to having so many different power meters. Finally, one solution not bound to my crank type or wheelset etc.. ell so far I'm not impressed, especially given the cost. First off, given the width of the wrench surface on the pedal it has proven problematic to actually find a crowsfoot wrench thin enough to use to torque the pedals with a torque wrench. I have one on order but it will be another 4 weeks before I will get it, assuming the model that Garmin recomends actually works. I bought several in hopes of finding one but they've all proven to be too think to utilize. In any event, I installed the pedals and hand torqued them the best I could comparing the feel with an actually torque wrench. I don't believe I can be that far off in torque. I've ridden these pedals multiple times at this point and just don't believe the read accurately they also seem to wander alot with temperature variation. All of my other power meters agree within about 2% for both ave and normalized power for entire rides and ride segments. The Garmin power meter consistently disagrees by ~13%. It also seems to read substanntially lower as it gets cold. On a ride today, the delta between my powertap and my garmin grew from 10% to 13% over the course of a 2.5 hour ride as a cold front came in and dropped the temperature about 20deg. I'm likely to just return these pedals, build a new wheel with a G3 hub and consider it lessons learned.
Adrian Rollins
- 06.02.2014
If I had written this review in the first two or three weeks after getting the Garmin Vecttor unit, the score might have been quite a bit lower. To be frank, getting the pedals installed and operating was a major undertaking, not helped by the sparse information provided by Garmin (both with the pedals and on its website). Garmin should be embarrassed that it was only through the efforts of an independent reviewer (DC Rainmaker, who was an absolute lifesaver) that I was able to get them set up and installed. Responses to questions from Garmin support we're slow and not very helpful.
The biggest issue I encountered was getting the pedals to sync with my PC (a Mac) to ensure crank length was correct and firmware was up to date. After that, getting the pedals to sync with my head unit (Garmin Edge 800) was pretty straightforward. The other trick to the set up was to get the pedals set to the correct torque. I had to get a torque wrench and a crow's foot spanner head thin enough to fit between the pedal and the crank.
All that mucking around took two or three weeks.
But ever since, the pedals have performed virtually flawlessly. These are my first power meter device, so I have no way of comparing them with other systems for accuracy. But perhaps the wisest advice I've seen about power meters is not to get too fussed about comparing readings between systems or riders - the most important feature is that they are internally consistent, so you are able to compare changes in your power profile over time with reasonable confidence.
One of the most attractive features of the Vector system for me was the ability to easily swap between bikes, and on that front they have been a big success. I've used them virtually every day since I got them last October, swapping them between three different bikes ridden in two different states/territories, and the installation/swapping process has been virtually flawless.
That said, I have encountered a couple of problems. I had to order in a new pod after cracking the bracket for one when I over-tightened the pedal. The replacement part arrived very quickly. The second issue was that one of the little sensor contacts between the pod and the pedal axle got pushed in and was not working. But a trip to the local jeweller got that sorted out.
Overall, I am very pleased with the pedals - once you understand their quirks they are a handy piece of kit (and no, the appearance of the pods does not bother me in the least).
I bought the Vectors with the Garmin 1000 after using a Polar RCX5 system for the last 3 years (no power option). I agree with the above reviewers comments regarding you don't realize how much you bang your crankset/pedals when moving the bike around the house, on the car, out of the trunk etc. This puts them at significant risk for damage especially in relation to triathlon racing with the bike racks, bike falls from the rack and missed shoes/mounts on the flying mount out of transition, etc. I have had no issues with damage or dysfunction over 4 months of use/abuse but I have talked with those who have.
The most impressive quality over the last 4 months is that they work...every time and when they don't it's because I've done something wrong not the pedals. The instructions are clear, the set up is easy and I am not particularly tech savvy or patient ! These are not cheap, but if spending a few extra dollars to save time and for a product that works well, its a reasonable investment. Training with power on the trainer will keep you honest and your training will be exponentially more effective and efficient.
Additionally, the Garmin product support, online, phone or at the store, is OUTSTANDING. Heads and shoulders better than Polar (which is essentially non-existent) and by reputation has been very helpful to those have had some issues.
Thank you to
Garmin Australia for sending the Vector in for review.
Disclosure: Garmin advertised with CyclingTips for the month of September.
