Garmin Vector Press Release
To those that are holding out for a pedal based power meter...
"Vector will be available in March 2012 and will have a suggested retail price of $1,499.99."
Here is more info:
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To those that are holding out for a pedal based power meter...
"Vector will be available in March 2012 and will have a suggested retail price of $1,499.99."
Here is more info:
Comments
that is pretty slick!
This is cool...
Get an ‘Edge’ on the competition: For users already using a Garmin Edge® 800 or Edge 500 cycling computer, adding a Vector power meter will take their training to the next level. Not only will the Edge display total power, left and right leg power, and cadence, it will now also display in real-time the widely adopted power metrics from TrainingPeaks™: Normalized Power (NP ™), Intensity Factor (IF ™) and Training Stress Score (TSS ™). The Edge 800 adds a new interval summary page to enhance the power-based training experience.
Isn't this what most of you Garmin users didn't have prior? Wonder if they'll allow those metrics for any ANT+ powermeter, not just their Vector?
For $1500 retail tho, that's a little more pricey than I thought it would be.
The vector is priced competitively to a Quarq ($1800) and SRM (~$2400 IIRC), however almost double a PT hub. There original target of sub $1000 would have been a home run in my opinion. of course this all assumes the vector works correctly and is reliable. I plan to test one with my quarq and will report back with my findings.
I like the idea of left/right power. Interesting to see how it will pan out in practice.
I was hoping that this would come out in the fall, for a cheaper price. I'm going to get a PT hub and an Edge computer, assuming that the Edge computer can calculate TSS/IF/etc for non-Vector powermeters....
That being said, now that they've finally answered a lot of big questions about the Vector, I have to say I'm pretty impressed. The slick integration into the Garmin head units is something that we've been speculating for a long time now and to see it confirmed definitely sways me. I agree with you Matt, I had a Joule for a while but I ended up ditching it and going back to a 310xt while waiting for a Garmin unit with TSS/NP/IF.
Honestly who knows if they could have gotten this out the door for sub-$1k, but I'm not the least bit surprised that they are targeting the price point that they are at. There are cheaper options, but those options come with some pretty major drawbacks in comparison. At the current price point, they are priced very competitively to the competition and I still think they'll sell very well.
Very glad I went with a Quarq when I did and continue to happily use it, but I'm also definitely interested in the Vector. Assuming the feedback is good on it, I'll likely be selling the Quarq and getting on the Vector train in short order.
This way they can get the people that really want the features bad to upgrade to a newer device, and the current customers with legacy devices still get the features, just a little later.
I get why they would want people to buy newer devices but Garmin would be silly to not release a firmware soon with real-time power metrics. Apparently it has been working so why the delay? They are saying March(?) release for the Vector. Well Cycleops is releasing their newer Joules at a Garmin price point in November, right in time for the Christmas season. Also, the current users of the Edge series would be the Beta testers to hash out the metrics before the release of the Vector, which I assume will have a whole host of bugs to deal with on its own.
So if someone wanted the data, why would they wait till March to get it? Especially now with a GPS Joule. Wouldn't Garmin want to compete for computers now, instead of waiting for March?
Just my thoughts.
If it is a quality product with no technical issues it will be very successful...swapping pedals is less hassle than swapping a crank (Ancona may disagree !!), and it allows for massive flexibility in terms of what cranks can be used.
Once the bugs are ironed out I'd seriously consider going from the Quarq to the Garmin system. But I won't be an early adopter.
Getting realtime NP, IF and TSS will be a good addition to the Edge, although if you ride a nice low VI does it really add that much? That said, I'm sure Garmin's entry into power will be accompanied by updates to Garmin Connect that will allow for better power analysis (i.e. NP, IF, VI, TSS, etc.), and THAT will be really much appreciated.
Polar is also trying to launch a similar product that will work with Look pedals... These have also been delayed. The Polar ones will not be ANT+ so you'll be required to use their crappy head unit with it.
The $1,500 price surprised me at first because there was always talk of a $1,000 price point. Still priced less than a Quarq, way less than SRM and about $1,000 less than the non-Ant+ Polar pedal system. Polar sure looks uber-stupid in all this.
[8/19/2011, Friday - Update on the firmware questions:
1) Yes, the FR310XT will get left/right power for Vector. The Edge 705 will not. But the Edge (like all ANT+ power meter compatible units) will still get total power from Vector. Note that other vendors can add L/R power, as it's part of the ANT+ spec, there's no Garmin Special Sauce there.
2) The Edge 705 will not get TSS/IF/NF fields, though the FR310XT may - they're getting some clarification there for me, hope to have that shortly.
3) The Edge 800 will get the new power fields in a firmware update by end of summer, and the Edge 500 shortly after that.
4) The TSS/IF/NP fields will work for any ANT+ power meter that's paired, and are not limited to just Vector.
5) During past conversations with Garmin regarding Vector, both pedals were required to work, as one is ultimately considered the Primary and one the Secondary, so splitting would not be functional.]
Thanks for sharing Tucker. I've glad I was wrong.
To Matt's point, I agree that the vast majority of the time I do not need TSS/IF/NP on the bike as when I ride my typical 1.03 - 1.05 IF the NP is just 3-5% more than the average I see on the display and I can do that math in my head. Sure if I did a roadie ride that wouldn't work, but I don't do those.
I tried the Joule and found the drawbacks when paired with a quarq and the limited display options where more of a downside then the advantage of having TSS/NP/IF..... that said, I am excited that I can now have my cake and eat it too with the garmin edge devices having TSS/IF/NP.
But I'm still glad to have them come to the Garmin anyway, I'd much rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Speaking of Garmin's though, when I sold my Joule I went back to just the 310xt waiting to see what the next big thing was going to be. Now I'm sorta starting to want an Edge 800. To me, it's not worth the extra cost versus the 500 alone, but I have a few friends at Garmin who could help with that. I don't want to hijack this thread into an 800/500 faceoff, but it's got me interested now for sure.
I know that I am compairing apples to oranges but I am wanting to save for a power meter next spring. Would I be better to build a wheel for the power tap or go with the Vector? I was wanting to stay around 1500 but if I am getting a better product in the long run, I will spend the 1500 for the vector and then other 500 for the computer. The good thing with the powertap is that it already comes with joule but is its funtionality not that great compared to the edge?
We have no idea how the new Garmin will be. Hopefully it is great but it may take anywhere from a few months to a year to sort out any bugs it may have. So you have that with the Garmin.
Many people have a powertap myself included. Have had no issues with it. Slap on a cover and you are golden to race on it. Also Cycleops is releasing newer powertaps come November that will also be cheaper. So I think you could come in under you $1500 with a great PT plus the computer.
Another thought is that there should be many new "old" PTs on shelves that you may be able to get for a steal. I wouldn't want you to rush in and buy something you didn't want but if you were able to get a great deal sooner rather than later it may be worth it. Training with power in the OS is very helpful.
Snort!
Grumble, grumble.... I would *love* to have NP/IF/TSS for next weekend's race..... Oh well, hopefully it will be out by October 1st!
William is correct, I have both an Edge 500 and 800 and both can do courses but only the 800 can provide turn by turn directions to a point from your current location.
As William said on an Edge 500 you simply get a black line to flow, if you go off course you are no longer on the black line and have to find your way back. It starts beeping when you are off course.
On the 800, that line is drawn on top of a map and has street names, an aero shows each turn and there is a field that list the distance to the next turn. Plus you can review the route or read it like a cue sheet. Also, you can simply enter an address and it will route you there from your current location. One other plus is if you leave the pre-programed course you setup, it can also route you back to the course (however I've found this feature not to always work the best as it brings you back to exactly where you left the course, not the next closest point on the course.
Basically the 800 works like any car navigation system, and the 500 is very basic, but will get the job done if needed.