JUMP TO:

A look at the new Power2Max NG power meters

DSC_9339

Each year at Eurobike we see Power2Max make evolutionary changes to their power meter lineup.  In doing so, they’ve continued to climb the market penetration ladder – despite not being a household name.  One only needs to look at the annual Ironman Kona bike count numbers from last year to see the impacts of that.  They’ve surpassed both SRM & PowerTap in terms of units on bikes, leaving only Garmin, Stages, and Quarq above them.

(As a side note, I completely expect the top 6 to shuffle quite a bit again this year, though, I don’t expect to see Power2Max’s placement shift significantly.)

What’s new:

DSC_9338

This year at Eurobike, Power2Max shuffled the deck themselves when it came to their power meter lineup.  They’ve introduced a new NG series (Next Generation), which adds in a bunch of new features.  In many ways, their announcements mirrored that of Quarq and their new DZero units – with both companies adding nearly identical features and shipping timelines.  All within a few hours of each other (technically Power2Max beat Quarq by four hours in terms of press embargoes).

The new features for Power2Max are:

– Dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart broadcasting
– Increased accuracy, claimed at +/- 1%
– Changed to USB battery power vs past coin cell
– You can now update your own firmware
– Slightly lighter in weight than before
– Inclusion of torque efficiency and pedal smoothness metrics

The company says the new units are a “totally new build” than the previous generation Type S power meters.  Those units I’ve tested in the past and have done well.  Whereas these ones the company is claiming a +/- 1% accuracy level.  That’d be the highest claim in the power meter realm, where most folks hover at the +/- 2% claim.  They noted that from testing it’s producing more accurate levels than that, but that’s the stated claim they’re going with for now.

DSC_9352

In many ways that mirrors statements I’ve seen from others in terms of technology advancing to the point where companies (well, good ones anyways) are able to get higher and higher accuracy claims for the vast majority of scenarios.  But there’s always an odd-ball scenario that would go above that lower level (for example, one scenario that tops out at .75%), that pushes the envelope.  Wahoo and Tacx both mentioned similar things on the trainer front too.

Power2Max is doing a dynamic calibration of their units, which means they’re calibrating across the entire pedal stroke (rotation).  This is similar to what Garmin does with their Vector units in the factory, where they calibrate at numerous points around the pedal stroke.

Ok, in any case, the big ticket item here for most folks will be the Bluetooth Smart compatibility, allowing you to pair it up to head units from Suunto and Polar, as well as Bluetooth Smart power meter capable apps.  In this case, I just plopped out the Wahoo Fitness app, which easily found it:

DSC_9346

The company says they’ve also tested with the Wahoo ELEMNT.  They’ve had beta testers use other apps and devices, but didn’t have a more detailed compatibility matrix built out yet.

The second most notable thing is that change from a coin cell battery to a USB powered battery.  This is almost akin to the move that SRM has been trying to make for a few years, but hasn’t quite nailed (released) yet.  In SRM’s case they were aiming for a wireless charging type system.  Whereas in Power2Max’s case they went with standard micro-USB protected by a cover:

DSC_9358

You’ll remember that Power2Max is hardly the first micro-USB powered power meter on the market, as bePRO introduced theirs a year ago without issue.  Similarly, so did WatTeam, though, they’ve yet to resume production after halting things this past spring.  The Power2Max USB battery is stated at 150 hours of battery life between charges.  That’s substantially more than bePRO and WatTeam.

In addition, the units got the ability to get firmware updates, should they be released down the road.  Previously that required sending the units back to Power2Max.  Though for the most part I don’t expect too many updates, as Power2Max has tended to keep things pretty vanilla when it comes to changes in software.

Availability and such:

DSC_9355

So, how much will these new units set you back and when will they start shipping?

Well the current plan is a bit flexible on the shipping date.  They won’t open pre-orders for another 2-4 weeks, and then from there expect shipping within the November-December timeframe.  Historically speaking Power2Max has been pretty disciplined when it comes to announced dates and shipping timeframes.  Note that the mountain bike variants won’t be on the immediate docket.  Rather, those will come “sometime in 2017”, but they declined to state whether that’d be the first half or second half.  Obviously, that’s a pretty big difference.

As for pricing, right now Euro pricing is available, and the units are definitely more pricey than the existing Type-S units, about 43% more actually.  That’s honestly fairly substantial, and may put a solid dent in their sales.  For example the cheapest offering of the NG units is 990EUR, while the cheapest Type-S is 690EUR.

Here’s the NG unit chart.  No, I didn’t choose lime green as the font color, it came that way from their PDF.

image

Compare that to the Type-S prices (a line that will be retained):

image

It’ll be interesting to see how this lineup fares with the higher price point.  Looking at Quarq’s new Euro prices, the cheapest is at 679EUR.  Historically Power2Max has always been cheaper, and at this point they’re still 20EUR more expensive for the Type-S (non-dual ANT+/BLE), and 320EUR more expensive for the NG.  Eeks.

Still, I’ll be looking forward to checking them out later this fall once they start shipping and see how they fare.  It’s good to get more dual ANT+/BLE options into the market.  Plus, Power2Max typically has more crankset compatibility options than Quarq does, largely due to not being tied to SRAM (maker of their own cranksets).  So that’s certainly a factor as well to consider when choosing.

With that – thanks for reading!

FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!

Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.

Support DCRainMaker - Shop on Amazon

Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked.
If you would like a profile picture, simply register at Gravatar, which works here on DCR and across the web.

Click here to Subscribe without commenting

Add a picture

*

113 Comments

  1. Bertram

    For me, the reason I haven’t got a powermeter isn’t the lack of features, or the battery type. It is price. And that goes, I think, for most of the non-pro riders that haven’t got a powermeter. So while those new features are nice, new meters are not that interesting unless they bring down the prices of the old ones.

  2. TriDave

    Think u missed one new feature, NG site says: “offering “complete” (dual-sided) power measurement”. Would be interesting to know how they achieve that, qualified guessing or indeed true measurment. If it’s like type stuff it’s really not a new feature.

    • Nope, that’s just marketing spin. It just means that just like the Type-S and Classic units before it captures all power, but doesn’t offer a method to capture both left/right accurately. Rather, it just does the same split of left/right as estimates like others have. So basically, exact same as before. :)

    • TriDave

      What I was afraid of but thanks for clarification!

  3. Dr_LHA

    So these are one-sided only PMs? What’s the benefit of this over a left-arm PM like a Stages or 4iiii which can be had for half the price? Accuracy?

    • No, they capture both sides power, but they just can’t accurately split it apart. So it’s no different than a Quarq, SRM, or PowerTap C1. Same-same.

      Whereas a Stages is purely left-only and captures no part of the right-leg.

    • Dr_LHA

      Ah, OK, understood. I hadn’t realized that Quarq and SRM couldn’t do accurate splits like this.

      So PMs that can do an accurate leg split are presumably pedal based (P1 and 2-sided Vectors), and dual strain gauge crank-arm solutions like Pioneer and the upcoming 2 sided options from Stages and 4iiii.

  4. Ben

    Is it safe to assume the track (144mm BCD) option will come “sometime in 2017” as well?

  5. Jeff

    Will be interesting to see how the USB stands up to water (on-bike & washing), perhaps P2M have a “line” about this (perhaps getting a little water/condensation in doesn’t matter)?

    The zwatteam magnet/sealed rechargeable charging method looks a great system from a water ingress POV which I would have loved to see on the NG.

    I don’t hesitate to recommend P2M to anyone that cares, but the NG is pricey. Perhaps they are keeping the S Type so they have a 2nd Tier product for when prices drop again?

    One last point, as the 1979 french disco classic by Ottowan goes, “D.R.I.V.O”!

    • David (frostbyteva)

      I’m also curious about the battery replacement plan. Historically, batters loose 25-30% of the capacity per year. At least for me, this is the type of purchase that I’m going to want see many years of service. 5 years down the road when I have to charge it every other ride, can I get it replaced or do I have to buy a new power meter? For a $200 watch, it’s not as big of a deal but for a >$1,000 power meter…

  6. Erik

    I’d be really interested to see if there’s any pricing changes coming for the Type S. I know that when they brought out the Type S, they lowered the prices on the Classic, but they were also discontinuing the Classic at that time, so it was more of a clearance thing. Based on the writing above, it seems like they’re going to offer the NG and the Type S side-by-side. If that’s the case, they may not change the pricing much, or at all. I myself am looking to buy a PM this fall/winter, based on sales and what my Overlord Ray tells me to do. I had my sights on the Type S, dependant upon a price drop coming with the NG (oh, and the buyer’s guide, of course). All hail Ray, tell me what to buy!

  7. Tim

    Also most bummed about the price point.

    I’ve been eyeing P2M as an option for a new power meter given their pricing for type-S units. Still, I’ve been waiting because I really desire dual BT and ANT. It really is a wish, while ANT+ is my requirement (thus the type-S is still possible).

    Maybe by the time I decide on a new meter they will have changed course… otherwise I’m probably considering the new quarq or powertap’s chainrings (wish for a 50/34 option there though).

  8. Bryan

    New power 2 max ng looks way too expensive compared to new quarq dzero, and the extra metrics on the p2m ng like pedal smoothnes you won’t realy use anyway. So for me the quarq is the one!

  9. Mark

    Why all comments about the price? Power2Max did exactly the same thing when they introduced the S-Type meter, early adaptor pay the premium price, they can sell the old type for a proper price and when old stock is gone they drop the price.

    Current S-type crank is exactly the price the original version was earlier.

    • Well, sorta. But not really.

      When Power2Max introduced the Type-S it was at a 27% premium.

      This time, it’s at 43% premium over the previous generation. Which makes them instantly overpriced in the current power meter market with Quarq and PowerTap C1 being direct competitors with equal capabilities. Technologically the three products are a wash.

    • Mark

      When the Type-S was introduced the price for just the spider was €940. So the current price is €50 more, would say this 5% price increase isn’t too bad. The entry level complete crank is still the same price of €690 (FSA Gossamer).

      The new features are for me personally not of use, so any premium is to much for me. With the introduction of the S-type this was different with for example the new form factor which was a major improvement.

    • Except the Type-S spider doesn’t cost 890EUR these days. It cost dramatically less, 690EUR for just the spider. Times have moved on, 940EUR is no longer competitive for the spider.

      It’s funny, I was able to go back and look at my previous posts from the announcement of the Type-S to find the difference in pricing then: link to dcrainmaker.com

  10. Ian S

    Love my type S, it’s been the most reliable power meter I’ve used. So I’ve been excited to see what the next iteration would look like. It looks great but it’s the price is a tad nuts.

    Prices will have to drop 20% within the next 3 months, most people will know it’s coming and wait. Doubt many of us will leap at this price point.

  11. Nissim

    Just one comment:
    990EUR for NG comparing to 690EUR for type-S is more likely 50% more.
    Or, type-S price is 30% less than NG’s.

  12. Paul Dixon

    It would great if they offered a Shimano 4 bolt version built around the Shimano FC-SR70 arms. These are the
    actual standalone cranks arms found on recent SRMs not the older machined DA7800 cranksets.
    Here is a FC-SR70 picture
    link to flickr.com

    • Jeff

      That would be interesting. Doubt Shimano would get onboard considering they are entering the market.

      Wonder if a 4 Bolt version will be available to for Rotor?
      Sadly FSA Carbon cranks, as pictured require a “slightly wider” 24mm BB aka an FSA one.

  13. Erik

    This pricing structure feels like when, as a teenager, my parents gave me a new lawn mower as a birthday gift. I wanted to see the new Power2Max PM and a lower price on the Type-S… what I got was a new higher priced Power2Max PM. Happy birthday; now get to mowing.

  14. Joshua Parks

    Ah power ethers and pricing. Two of my favorite things. Yes expensive, yes looking accurate and interesting.

    As noted above will be interesting if Power2Max lowers the current Type S prices. If tradition holds look for a sweet deal on those come Xmas time. Last year wasn’t as good as 2014/2015 winter.

    Another vote for them eventually/soon taking down the price to meet competition.

    As noted in Ray’s review these (type S) units are rock solid. Install, link head unit, pedal, and never worry about them again. For me so much better than my experience with Stages – plus captures all your power without calculations…

    Im happy to see them continue to innovate.

  15. Andy CS

    In other powermeter news, do you have any details on the new in-shoes powermeter by Luck (and/or plan on reviewing them)?

  16. Andy

    Massive let down for me, mainly on price.

    I see this a lot with smaller companies though, in all walks of life. They start off small, offering good products, well produced and priced in a competitively way, sell a few units, get a name for themselves, produce the next version and ramp up the prices. Why?

    Everyone knows that power meter prices need to come down in order for the amateur masses to go all in, but they still keep trying to pull the wool over our eyes by telling us they are premium products. They aren’t.

    I won’t be buying anything from P2M now, they are taking the piss putting prices up.

    Why can’t someone realise that all they need to do is knock out a cheap power meter, one or 2 sided, keep it real cheap and watch it fly off the shelves.

  17. TriDave

    Well P2M have a great product why shouldn’t they sell it for a price that people would pay? Hard to argue that they are doing it wrong as any successful company would increase their prices as long as they sell sufficient.

    I think the biggest problem P2M has is that their current customers products still works. I have had most power meter available, have bought two quarqs (owned 6 due to malfunctions/warranty replacements), I’m happy to report that my P2M S-type is still going strong after two seasons! I see no need to upgrade, but once beaten to death I will surely buy the NG-version cause of these reasons:

    *USB-charging (good to know it’s always fully loaded before competition, that is a hassle with the s-type where you needed to remove the crankset to change the battery)
    *Better (claimed) accuracy
    * BT (more a nice to have)
    * Reported to report torque, type-S only reports calculatedWatt (ant+ specifics..)

    And my point is if it manage to do two full seasons I would gladly buy it for the extra price they have added for the NG modell.

    • Zoltan

      Without checking ANT+ specification I doubt that the lack of reporting torque due to any ANT+ restriction.

      How can Powertap hubs report both pedal and hub torque? I mean the former must be simply calculated using cadence, but hub torque must be what the strain gauges measure directly

    • Hi Zotan, in working with many types of power meters for use with our ProShift Automatic Shifting system, we’ve learned that a manufacturer can select different “pages” of data to be transmitted – all of which are ANT+ compliant. Some pages however, do not explicitly transmit Torque, but, as you rightly state, it can be calculated from power and cadence.

    • TriDave

      To be technically correct: P2M S-type only deliver ANT+ values of calculated power source (AntPlusBikePowerPcc.ICalculatedPowerReceiver) meanwhile for instance Quarq also deliver: AntPlusBikePowerPcc.IRawCrankTorqueDataReceiver which you will have a hard time to derivate from cadence I would say.

      However this is a minior in my book, any day of the week I would prefer P2M over Quarq. But if you develop ANT+ apps it’s kinda cool to have :)

      So this has absolutely nothing to do with ANT+ restrictions, just what P2M sends.

  18. This is a bummer. The NG looks great, but the price puts it out of reach. I’ve been waiting on my power meter purchase, and Power2Max has stood out from the pack in terms of quality/price. I was hoping the new version of their power meters would add Bluetooth, keep the same price point, and simply replace the older models.

    I still can’t purchase a power meter for many, many months. So, maybe the NG will be more within reach, price wise. But from the looks of it, it likely may not (in my case).

    Power2Max has a very appealing product, but potential customers encounter some serious friction when they dig into the P2M website trying to find a product that’s compatible with their bike. If you’re a complete expert, I’m sure it’s no big deal. But, for anyone else, it can be very difficult.

    I have a Giant Defy 1 Disc 2016 with a Shimano 105 groupset (albeit with a non-series RS500 crank). Still, my bike is as about as common as a road bike can be, and I have terrible time trying to figure out which P2M product is compatible with it. I suppose it’s the 4-bolt version that’s been mentioned in these comments, but the P2M site certainly doesn’t make that clear. And, according to the chart in this post, the 4-bolt NG costs 1690 Euros. I bought my entire bike new for $1150 USD (equivalent to 1022 Euros). If that’s the only way I can get an NG for my bike, it’s just far too expensive for my meager budget.

    I was hoping for a compelling Bluetooth-equipped solution from P2M to slightly upsell me away from the cheapest meters on the market. It’s too bad it didn’t happen. Oh well. It will be a while before I can buy one anyhow. Maybe things will change.

    • LC1981

      Of the current crop (the Type S), the Rotor 3D24 is your best bet. There’s not currently a model that fits Shimano cranks, but the Rotor cranks will fit your Shimano bottom bracket.

  19. Robin

    First, I’m a physics guy, not a marketing/economics guy. With that said, what are the possibilities that P2Max priced their NG cranks so that when new PMs from new manufacturers finally hit the market, they have the ability to make significant price cut to suddenly make their product look even better? No one can have missed how rapidly changing the PM market has become, and the P2M folks have played that changing market well.

    Is it possible the higher price is designed to draw the riders who would normally only be looking at an SRM as a next purchase? A claimed ±1% accuracy would have to draw the attention of those that prize SRMs. It is still claimed by many and the perception of many others that SRM is the manufacturer non plus ultra in terms of quality and accuracy. We all know that in virtually every market there those that only want what is known or perceived to be the best or most exclusive.

    It just doesn’t seem to me that the P2Max folks would price themselves out of competition, especially given the trend in PM pricing over the last 2 years. With all that said, at current rates the Rotor 3D version of the NG is only $1273.52 when I convert from Euros to US dollars (yeah, I know US pricing won’t be calculated like that). Sure that’s not small change, but I’d pay that price before I would pay for PM equipped pedals or crank based PMs built on cranks that don’t tickle my fancy. Of course I could also just be smitten with P2Max.

    These are the salad days for people looking to buy power meters.

    We’re pretty damned lucky to have you, Ray, doing the work you do with electronic exercise bits. I’ve not seen any other exercise journalists, magazines, or websites that go to the lengths you go to in order to collect quality data and to present that data in way that is meaningful to readers. You’d make an excellent experimental scientist or engineer.

  20. Erik

    Ray, not sure if you saw, but Power2Max is running some crazy (as in, it seems like a deal and its kinda complicated) sale where, if you buy an NG, you get a Type S for free… or, more accurately, if you buy a Type S, you get an NG for $350 more. Might be a good deal if you have more than one bike that needs power or if you have a friend and you want to split the cost…

    link to power2max.com

    • Robert

      I took advantage of this deal, as I have been looking for an excuse to upgrade the PM on my track bike from Stages to P2Max. I have another bike that can use the NG.

      So let’s say you have 2 bikes or a buddy… here’s how the economics work with the deal using Rotor 3D+ cranks as an example.

      You buy the Rotor 3D+ Type S cranks now for $930 and add the $1 for the NG option. So you are out $931.

      When the NG is released, you pay $350 for the NG spider. But since we are trying to arrive at the cost of 2 complete P2Max powermeters, let’s add $290 (the price P2Max charges to add the crankset to the spider) so your complete Rotor 3D+ NG powermeter is going to cost you $640. Add that to the $931 you spent and you have 2 complete Rotor 3D+ powermeters (one Type S, one NG) for a total of $1571.

      That’s averages out to $785.50 per complete powermeter. Most people I think would agree that is a great price for a Type S, much less the new NG.

      If you were splitting the deal with a buddy, maybe you say the Type S buyer pays $650 and the NG buyer pays $921. Something like that. But however you slice it, it seems like a great deal on two P2Max PMs.

    • Indeed, it’s a good deal. Albeit, kinda confusing from a number standpoint until you do the numbers. But yes, definitely solid if you’ve gotta friend.

    • Alex

      I went for that deal.
      My girlfriend wanted a power meter and I wanted another one for my CX and I’m super happy with my Type-S.
      Since we already have Rotor 3D+/3D30 on the bikes this was a no brainer. She gets a Type-S for full price and I get an NG for €299. :D

    • Nenad

      Hello Robert,

      I am going to do Prologue deal with P2M and now I am little confused.

      Can you explain to me in a little more detail part: “let’s add $290 (the price P2Max charges to add the crankset to the spider)”.

      If I get NG power meter only for 350$, for Rotor 3D30, why should I have to pay additionally 290$? I will replace the spider of my existing cranks. I do not need any professional assembly for this.

      I am going to bay Type S for Rotor 3D30 power meter only and NG later. I calculated 1071$ for both including 2 time shipping cost and secial tool. (640+350+25+25+30+1).

      Am I wrong?

  21. GH

    I have an SRM currently and it’s been great but I am going to try the NG. I am concerned that SRM will disappear and that we won’t be able to replace batteries without them. Hopefully other folks will be able to offer that service. I have friends who run P2Ms and love them. Service at SRM has not been great and it is obviously that they need to be more liberal with their trade in program if they are going to keep customers.

  22. Kevin

    Hello,

    I am looking for a while now to but a Pm. I was hesitating to choose between stages and p2m but made Up my mind and Will invest a little more in a p2m instead of stages. Was waiting for stages to release its campy model but as it is constantly being delayed I read more reviews and I think the p2m is the way to go for me. Any of you type s Users experiencing a lag in cadence? Should I want for the new NG model or should I take the deal they anounced today and go for the 100 euro discount?
    Thanks in advantage for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

  23. Ben

    Any news for power2max NG? No more than 10 days until the first delivery but there is silence. No one had received a promotional code yet from prologue offer.

    • I chatted with them last week about units, and it sounds like things are on track. They’re looking to get me a unit in the coming week or so, though, with my January travel schedule (gone all by 1 day), there likely won’t be a review of it till February.

    • Ben

      Hope I will be able in February to write a review after 1000 miles :)

    • Yeah…basically…I need either:

      A) More bikes
      B) To take it with me to Australia and put it on a rental there

      Otherwise, I expect you’ll beat me on the mileage front.

    • Nenad

      NG coupon code is comming on next Monday :)

      Power2Max: “We wanted to let you know your NG coupon code will be sent to you on December 12th! Keep an eye on your inboxes on the 12th so you can place your order.”

    • Ben

      They will not send NG to buyers before mid january. They confirmed this.

    • Alex

      Noes! I was hoping to get it before christmas. :<

  24. Ben

    It seems that NG is available in Europe

    link to power2max.de

    • Ben

      Interesting for 990€ you can buy PM only, without cranks, but you will not get the USB Battery Recharger for it! You must buy recharger separately for 20€.

      That is shameful

    • I’m wondering if it comes with a cable though, just not the power brick portion? Either way, $20 for a simple micro-USB cable is pretty steep, should be a couple bulk at bulk purchasing rates, and thus I agree, included in the cost.

    • Alex

      It seems as if the micro usb cable is bundled with the package but not the power brick itself.

    • Ben

      Everyone has micro usb cable, also everyone have power brick for mobile phone or something else, but the question is whether it is appropriate with NG because we do not know NG power requirements and we may damage the battery.

      I agree with Rainmaker it should be included in the PM cost.

    • Ben

      But if we can use any power brick, we do not need to buy it from them :).

      This is question for power2max people.

    • Detlev

      Just asked them the question today. You can use the standard loader for your mobile phone or the Garmin, so no need to buy anything special.

  25. Tom Hadinger

    Campy prices are DOWN for the NG by $500. Spend more, save more, no?

  26. Big DZ

    so, why not buying the PT C1 instead?
    has dual Ant + and BT options, less expensive, accurate according to your reviews…

    • No specific reason not to for most people.

      Like anything else, plenty of options on the market. One area though that you’ll often find when comparing Quarq/Power2Max/PowerTap C1 is really around crank arm/spider/bottom bracket compatibility. That’s where they tend to differentiate and drive someone to one solution versus the other.

  27. Mark

    Does any has shipping information for NG. I see some delay of delivery???

    • Alex

      I emailed them and asked about my order prologue order today and they said that they’ll start shipping this week on first come first served.

  28. Daniel

    I ordered my NG power meter December 14th, they still don’t know when it’s going to be shipped. Total headache, I would stay away, order something else.

    • Marko

      For now, they deliver NG only for new buyers. Prologue buyers are on Stand By :(

    • Dan

      Even in December, when you ordered, they very clearly stated it wouldn’t even start shipping until mid-January. What did you expect?

    • Marko

      I can not agree with you. Until now they should have to send all NG units according Prologue offer.

      P2M: “Shipping of the first units will start on the 15.12.16 but, due to production limitations, it may take up to 4 weeks to ship all 250 units. It will be first in, first out.”

      link to power2max.com

  29. LE

    The email below was forwarded around today. Not good news – nice job P2M. Poor customer service and communication – especially as this is the first word of delays after plenty of “sit tight don’t worry” messaging. P2M NA especially should be ashamed of themselves for misleading customers who were prepared to pay up for an unseen product.

    —————-

    First off, thank you again for your order and for your continued patience. We recently had a conversation with our Head Office regarding the status of our NG power meters. As a result I’m glad to say we do have an update, though it’s not the positive news we had all hoped.

    NG power meters are indeed leaving the factory in Germany, however, none of them to North America at this point. The original timeline given to us operated on the assumption that the power meters would receive FCC approval in similar fashion to the previous models we had launched (as an aside, FCC approval is needed for any device that emits a radio frequency in North America). Unfortunately this was not the case and certification has taken longer than expected. According to our head office this final approval is due to arrive within the next 10 days at which point they will begin shipping to North America.

    Compounding that issue is the production bottleneck. Each NG power meter that leaves Germany will have been tested on our dynamic calibration device. While this is not nearly as efficient as spot checking production runs it should, at the very least, instill confidence that the power meter you receive is operating as it should. As a result of the production delays we anticipate that all power meters ordered prior to January 1st should be delivered no later than February 24th. Orders placed after that date will likely arrive early March.

    We understand that this delay may be a significant inconvenience for you and sincerely apologize for the wait. It was certainly not our intention to advertise an earlier delivery and then impose delays. Unfortunately we can only operate with the information that we’ve been given. Since you are ultimately in the same boat, we will endeavor to send another update on February 1st.

    Thank you again for your understanding.

    Sincerely,

    Power2max North America

    • Robin

      P2M is known for great customer service; however, every company has moment when things don’t go as planned. Since P2M didn’t provide a timeline of when they knew that FCC approval would take longer, it’s impossible for customers to assume they know said timeline. The bottleneck? Crap happens sometimes, no matter how prepared a company thinks it is.

      While the delay is definitely sub-optimal and customers can rightly be disappointed, P2M will come through.

    • LE

      It’s not the delay that should concern people, it’s the inability to be honest with customers about the timeline. Look above. In mid January, well after the initial commitments to get these out in December (which will be two months off), P2M NA was lying to people about timing. And I don’t believe the FCC / production bottleneck issues are related, which suggests that either one of them would have caused the delay. P2M managed to get BOTH wrong.

      It’s not like people are getting these for free – customers made decisions and committed real money based on what P2M said.

      DCR points out above that these are priced above alternatives like quarq. So be it – some people will pay more for what they perceive to be a premium product. Those customers are likely to be loyal repeat customers but when you screw them or treat them poorly they remember. There are plenty of power meter options out there – P2M screwed this one up.

    • Marko

      They said that they need FCC approval. FCC approval is not needed for the rest of the world. Why they are not sending NG units from Prologue offer in EU also? They are sending NG to people who bought NG only. I think they have some production limitation and problems.

      I agree with LE and would ask DCR to check what is going on.

    • Alex

      They are sending units to Prologue buyers though. I got mine two days ago and I payed for it December 14.
      I don’t think they expected to get as many orders as they’ve gotten.

    • Marko

      I payed for it (in Evrope) before 14/12/2016 and I am still waiting

    • Wojtek

      I did pay on 15th and still waiting too.

    • Wojtek

      Actually I wrote to power2max support today and here’s the answer I’ve got:
      Thanks for your mail.

      We announced a delivery time of about 4 weeks for the NG. Due to the high demand, we have a little delay. The production is running on its highest level but we also want to make sure, that we don’t make any compromises regarding the quality. The first devices have already been shipped and we expect your order also to be shipped during the next three weeks. We hope for your understanding and kindly ask you for a bit more patience.

      Thanks and best wishes
      michael

      I am from Europe and paid for my NG on 15th of Dec.

  30. Marko

    DC Rainmaker:
    ” Well the current plan is a bit flexible on the shipping date. They won’t open pre-orders for another 2-4 weeks, and then from there expect shipping within the November-December timeframe. Historically speaking Power2Max has been pretty disciplined when it comes to announced dates and shipping timeframes.?”

    Yes, they are very disciplined when it comes to announced dates and shipping timeframes. Hahaha

    • Django

      Paid on 15th and still waiting for my NG. I’m from Germany too. Advertised waiting time was 4 weeks and we’re well into the 8th week now. Whats more that theres been no word from them so far. It would have been nice at least to get back to Prologue Buyers with an updated ETA.

    • Waiting

      Ordered mine in November – Customer service in Australia is pretty woeful. have been told late february – have a race in early March……not holding out hope that I will actually have it by then

  31. LC1981

    What sorts of calibration values are people getting from their Garmins with the new NG model?

    • Alex

      I’m getting about -3 to 0 on mine. But it gets calibration error quite often though.

    • LC1981

      Thanks for that. I’ve been getting 21-26 and was initially confused that it was so different to the values on my Type S, but I suppose there’s no reason to expect them to be similar. I’ve also been getting errors, which I’ve never had with the Type S. It seems to be working, though.

  32. Tobias

    Two and half weeks ago I asked customer service about my Prolouge order (from Dec 16th) and was told It was estimated to ship within two weeks, which didn’t happen. A few days ago I received a 50€ voucher and a letter stating that they could not give an estimated shipping date.

    I´m getting seriously concerned over their ability to deliver at all (have done a bank transfer of the payment).

    • Wojtek

      Same here, and yet another 2 weeks of waiting (at least I guess)…

      Thanks for your mail.

      Due to the high demand, we have a little delay. The production is running on its highest level but we also want to make sure, that we don’t make any compromises regarding the quality.
      We expect your order also to be shipped during the next two weeks. We hope for your understanding and kindly ask you for a bit more patience.

      I´m totally understand that you are disappointed, but we will do our best to make you happy. Did you received our mail with the coupon?

      Best regards
      Michael

    • Dan

      I ordered one too a few days before you and it just came in the mail last week. Got it installed on Saturday, did a ride on Sunday, and it works great—super accurate, easy charging, etc. No voucher, but I’m more than happy to have waited for a product that works and has been quality-tested.

    • Ben

      But they regularly supplied new customers with NG, without waiting. Customers from Prologue offer can to wait for months. It is extremely unfair and hypocritical.

    • Dan

      Ben, what are your sources for this? I was an existing customer and purchased the offer.

    • Wojtek

      For those who still wait on their NG Prologue offer. I have received mine yesterday (paid on DEC 15th). They sent me wrong color of the stickers however promised to send correct ones today…

    • CH

      Which model did you get? Rotor 3D?

    • Wojtek

      Rotor 3d+ 110BCD

    • Tobias

      I received mine last week as well, Rotor 3D+ 110 bcd.

    • CH

      I just got mine today. It looks great! I live pretty close to the P2Max office and went there to pick it up. They seem pretty busy fulfilling orders so hopefully they will all be shipped soon!

  33. Ben

    I know couple people got it. They are bought only NG. All of them are from Europe and ordered NG in January and February.

    • Dan

      I’m from the US, ordered around December 12th, and received my NG last Thursday. I purchased the Power2Max Type-S with the prologue offer.

  34. Brian Bailey

    I was curious what Power2max will fit my setup. I have a 2012 Cervelo S2, 68mm BB with Shimano di2 Ultegra Cranks. I don’t mind replacing the entire crank if needed but was curious what options will work with this setup? Do i need new crank arms? I’d like to stay with a 50/34 setup too.

  35. Ben

    After almost three months of delay and without any explanation and apology, they sent orders in Europe. This is my last purchases with them. In fact, I’ll probably sell both of ym power2max PM, Type S and newone NG..
    I just wonder why DRC no comments on this, they are probably one of his sponsors

    • No, they aren’t a sponsor. Also – your post actually isn’t correct regarding them having ‘three months of no explanation’.

      I’m not really sure what you want me to say? They’ve replied numerous times to folks (which people have pasted above) on their delays. Also, they even apologized in that and appeared to offer some people coupons above (just a few weeks ago).

      Obviously, they’re delayed. I’m not sure what you want me to add to that.

    • Ben

      P2M gave us explanation only when someone ask them. In most cases these were false deadlines. Also they were angry when we re-send support request and ask them about again about delivery.

      P2M in november 2016: Shipping of the first units will start on the 15.12.16 but, due to production limitations, it may take up to 4 weeks to ship all.
      P2M in december 2016: Delivery time is minimum 4 weeks for the NG
      P2M in mid january 2017: We have a little challenge with the delivery time, right now we hava a delivery 3 weeks, faster is impossible
      P2M at the beginning of February 2017: Due to the high demand, we have a little delay. The production is running on its highest level but we also want to make sure, that we don’t make any compromises regarding the quality.
      P2M at the end of February: Delivery time is three weeks now

      I unsubscribed from this topic and this web site

    • LC1981

      I had a much better experience. I ordered my NG on 10 December, and when I hadn’t heard anything by late January, I e-mailed and received a reply on 23 January saying that there was a delay but that the power meter should be sent within two weeks. I then received a notification from UPS that it had been sent on 24 January.

    • John

      Ordered the Campagnolo version end Januay, took 3-4 weeks to deliver (in Holland).

  36. Jordan

    Any ETA on your official P2M NG review, Ray? I’m torn between this and the Type S, and I think you’re going to get the deciding vote;-)

    • Rupert B

      In exactly the same camp. Trying to workout if the NG is worth it. Very little in the way of reviews online.

  37. Matt

    mine arrived a couple of weeks ago finally. all seems fine but for one thing- when sending data to both a fenix 5 and edge 820 the power will drop out every few minutes for a few seconds or so on the edge.

    DC – if you are testing can you do the above scenario and see if you experience similar so I know if its a firmware thing or if there’s a problem with my unit?

    • Interesting. I haven’t tested that scenario, but will certainly do so next week when I return.

      Generally speaking a sensor device has no idea how many head units are picking it up – so it almost sounds more like an interference issue.

    • Joost

      I have the same. Power drops to zero every couple of minutes for a few seconds on my Edge 520.

      Anyone with a solution so far?

    • Dan

      For me, the problem was Bluetooth. After disabling on the Edge 520, the dropouts stopped.

  38. Nenad

    I ask P2M support about torque and pedal smoothness data with NG units and EDGE 520. They answer that the ANT+ protocol only allows a certain amount of data. In Bluetooth we will see all. This means at this point only a Bluetooth device can see all, and that we need bluetooth compatible device or apk for smartphone or notebook.
    Then I ask them to recommend app for android smartphone or windows where I can see and folow torque and pedal smoothness and I did not get answer.
    I do not know what the value of data that we can not see and follow?

    I have both Type-S and NG and for now I really do not see any significant difference between the two devices except the price.

  39. raf berger

    Hi all,

    Is the prologue offer still valid?

    Cheers,
    Raphael

  40. Dennis

    Hi DC Rainmaker,
    Have you had the time to test the new P2M NG or do you have it in your pipeline? I have the old S type and consider upgrading. But I am in doubt if fx the USB cap will keep water out!? Have you haf any experience with this or any otter issues?

    • It’s next on the list. I returned back this Sunday afternoon from three weeks travelling, and the P2M NG will go on the bike probably by this weekend.