New Quarq for $500 - would you do it?

Dawn Cass

With only 4 weeks until race day, my Quarq Elsa decided to die on me.  It's only 3-4 years old however out of warranty so it's been sent back to see what they can do.  If they can repair, great.  If not however, they have offered me a new (not refurb) one for $500.

Given the price I am tempted to tell them yes however given the popularity of some other PM's out there I thought to ask for thoughts from the team.  Also, I didn't expect to have it die after that amount of time.  I know power tap do pedals that people seem to love...but expect the price tag is more than double what quarq are offering.  Any other options out there people feel are better than the Quarq?

What would you get if price tags were the same?  

If Quarq is $500....don't think anything else can compete and quite honestly I have been very happy with it until it died?

Thanks!

Brad Marcus

@Dawn - Disclaimer: I'm a fairly satisfied Quarq owner. I've used a Riken for the last couple of years with little to no issues. Your question is a good one. $500 is a good price for that PM. But, I guess you need to decide what is important to you. Do you plan to move the PM from bike to bike? Is left/right power something that you use or is it important to you? As I'm sure you know the Elsa that you've used measures left and right power (as opposed to my Riken). You are correct that Power Tap pedals (with left/right power) will be more than double the cost of $500. However, they also offer a cheaper option of a pedal based PM for somewhere around $600. That might be a good option if you're either fed up with Quarq or want the pedal based option. The pedals weren't perfected when I got my Quarq. If I were to replace mine, I'd seriously consider getting them. I know DCR has a review on them and/or someone on the team can probably give you a first hand account of their experience. Then...there's always a host of other options (Stages, powertab hub, etc).



Here is a link to an REI offer for the Garmin Vector 2s @ $600

https://www.rei.com/product/891591/garmin-vector-2s-power-meter-pedals?cm_mmc=cse_PLA_GOOG-_-8915910001&CAWELAID=120217890000892387&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=15877513960&CATCI=pla-132753101080&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG&gclid=CI6-nuei_s0CFclkhgodp-cKnA



DCR's review:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/tag/garmin-vector2

thekidduxc

Dawn - $500 is an incredible price. Given my situation I would go for it - but as Coach P says we are all beautiful but unique/special little snowflakes. Essentially you are getting a top tier L/R PM @ a middle tier L only ticket price. What is not to love?! If you have been in the power game with the Quarq before, I think it may be difficult to transition to a one-side-only PM system.

If you are inclined to a PM that provides you the ability to swap between bikes, I would recommend P1. I am not a fan of the Garmin pedals. I recognise they have taken strides to address the torque related issues... but still!

John Withrow

I think it's a super great price for a really solid "new" PM. I think you must have had bad luck with yours. I know of many Quarqs that are still going strong after 5-6+ years. Let's hope there's a way they can fix it. Might they give you a new Riken for even less? Do you actually use the L/R balance?

Yes, I like and endorse the P1 pedals, but for 2x the price it's hard to justify 2x the utility, unless of course you want to travel with them a lot and use them on rental bikes. Or if you have multiple different bikes with vastly different drive trains (i.e. Campy and Shimano, or 10spd and 11 spd). I bought the P1s for riding on the roads on my Fat Bike because they were literally the ONLY PM that would work for that. But if it's basically just for your tri bike and maybe swapping to a road bike that has a similar setup, then I'd just get the discounted new Quarq.

Coach Rich

+3 for the Quarq. That's a great price and I've always preferred proven systems.

Dawn Cass

Thanks all for the responses! I am leaning towards the new Quarq based on all of the above. I don't really need to move them around to different bikes so not to critical to have pedals. Historically I have not used L/R balance in general until this season where I see a change in the distribution.. Recently favoring the right and guessing old injury on the left is causing that. Not sure what I do with that "data" however if I can get an elsa for that price I might as well keep the features.

Hope it was just bad luck with the one I got as I would have expected more life than it gave me.

As a side note, as I am hooked on power, really struggling with workouts recently as I feel blind. I am using HR however don't feel as effective recently in my workouts. As these weeks are super critical, I really miss it.

Phil Mills

Back in 2013, I purchased a used Quarq off of e-bay. About a year later it started burning through batteries every couple of days. Quarq offered me the same deal. Send in my crank and they will upgrade it with the new Riken PM. I took their offer, as I was already into this unit for some $$. By shear luck it was still 1 month within warranty. I had it back within a week.