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Looking for opinion: best option for bike comp/power meter for use with 935

I just went about making some much-needed upgrades to my bike in the last couple of weeks, but I'm about to start looking for a power meter and bike computer. Cost isn't a huge barrier, but functionality and how well it/they work with the 935 is. Just wondering which products work best within the ecosystem. Of course, Garmin products tend to work better (but I know not always) within the ecosystem but is there a benefit(s) of picking up something, not Garmin branded to fulfill my needs. I'm not training for something, but for personal reasons, I usually put between 100-200 miles/week when the weather is good and would like something that does turn by turn nav (comp). For power and something that measures power without having to have to do much, so pedals?

I've read things concurrently online from other sources, but people using the watch consistently might have a better perspective.

0 mrw_y2k over 6 years ago

For turn-by-turn navigation, I understand the 520 Plus does this. I own a 520 and it does virtually everything but is missing this feature. I'm hoping to upgrade to one of these in the next 3-6 months.

For power, Vector 3s if money's no object. Loads of data such as Cycling Dynamics and left / right power data, and easy to switch between bikes as well.

FWIW, my Stages power meter works perfectly with my Edge 520 and 935 (well, it does with FW 9.73) but as a single-sided unit only, it does limit the data you get back.

Also I can't comment on TrueUp - I only use my 520 as a unit to display maps and real-time ride data, I use my 935 to record the ride itself.

0 mcalista over 6 years ago

The firming up of ANT+ and BLE standards for power transmission mean that most current PM's play nicely with most current head units. Stages and the Fenix 5 have some well documented problems, but most others seem to work fairly smoothly.

At least with Vectors, Garmin can't pass the problem off to the PM manufacturer, but you pay for the privilege, and there are MANY cheaper options out there now. And certainly with Vector Gen 2, there were some significant design issues that took a while to iron out.

Cycling Dynamics spits out a lot of data, but most of that is pretty irrelevant and not really actionable. Even for something as basic as L/R balance, most cycling coaches ignore it that is not worth training to rectify. Garmin Vectors are the only ones offering CD at this stage, but it is now part of the ANT+ standard, and something Powertap and Favero (the other main pedal-based solutions) could implement via a firmware update anytime they choose to.

Personally, I'd choose a PM based on budget, single sided v. dual power, location on the bike and compatibility (eg. carbon cranks and bottom bracket compatibility can be an issue for crank and spider-based PM's). For a budget option, the new Watteam Powerbeat Gen3's look pretty attractive.

0 cristianomalibu over 6 years ago

I use Favero assioma for Power meter. Use 935 with tri bundles (quick release).

0 xv1234 over 6 years ago

Stages left side only, Gen 3 worked really well with my 935, I had a Gen 2 stages before, and had serious battery drain and could not use it in the wet, plus a few connection drop outs, but Gen 3 is perfect.

0 openbox9 over 6 years ago

My Stages L, Gen 3 works flawlessly with my Fenix 5 as well so it should be fine for the 935.

0 michaeljswann over 6 years ago

Another vote for Favero Assioma from me

0 Zako over 6 years ago

+1 for the Assiomas, although for not much more you can get the Vector 3's which are basically the same except they have cycling dynamics and do not have an inbuilt battery.
But I don't really get it: why do you need a PM if you're not training for anything? a PM is a training tool, you don't really get much from it if your trainings are not based on it.
Looking at your power constantly also deprives you somewhat from the joy of riding. I sometimes miss being able to just go out and not think about the numbers :-)

0 2goBeyond over 6 years ago

Thanks, everyone for the responses. I've held out for ages on buying a power meter and granted I'm not currently training for a tour or something like that, but with finer detail information I can better my baseline ability and have a better knowledge of what I do right, what I am doing wrong, etc... I was on the fence about running with power (Stryd) but after picking one up and using the metrics with that (and those on the HRM-Tri) I found that all those things made me a better runner, and cut like 2 mins off my mile for 5k's (Started around 8/min, got myself down to just under 6/min). As a side effect to bettering my form, I didn't injure myself nearly as much with the metrics as I had without the Stryd.

Yea I'm basing my logic from my experience with Stryd with Power from cycling and the additional metrics that come along with it. It's a costly gamble. I know which is why I asked for opinions here and had looked at other sources before I decided to do this. The cost has always been the first reason for me (and it kinda still is), but as I stated above, I just went about upgrades to my bike, now's a good time as any to do this.