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Pioneer launches £600 single crank arm power meter to rival Stages

Electronics giant ups power meter game with cheaper left crank arm product

Electronics giant Pioneer joined the burgeoning power meter market a couple of years ago with its crank-based device, but it has now added new single crank arm power meter to rival the popular Stages power meter. And with prices starting at £599.99, it's a lot more affordable than its previous offering.

Called the SHY-PM910HL, to give it its full name, the power meter is available in Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 and Ultegra 6800 versions. It uses ANT+ to send data to a compatible computer, and of course it works with Pioneer’s own SGX-CA500 cycle computer.

- Review: Stages Power meter

The power meter provides the same benefits as the Stages power meter used by Team Sky. It can be quickly fitted to the bike, and can be swapped between different bikes easily. It can also be combined with Pioneer’s current SGY-PM910HR crank-based power meter if you want to upgrade at a later date for left and right leg power capture.

Pioneer claims calibration is quick and easy, and the CR2032 battery is replaceable and lasts a claim 180-hours. It’s water resistant and is IPX6 and IPX7 rated, and has an safe operating temperature zone of -10°C to 50°C. The power meter adds 22g of weight to the crank arm.

- Pioneer get into the power meter game

One appealing attraction of the Pioneer power meter is force and direction of force measurement. It measures and displays results for every 30˚ of pedalling rotation, with 12 locations per revolution. The Pioneer cycle computer can display this data real-time, so you have the opportunity to really look to improve your pedalling efficiency.

To analyse your data Pioneer has developed its own Cyclo-Sphere Data Analysis Web Service, which provides ride summaries and a detailed metrics.

The price for the Ultegra version is £599.99 and the Dura-Ace one is £699.99. The Pioneer power meter costs £1,099 or you can buy the crank as an upgrade for £599.99.

Stages has recently dropped the prices of its own power meters so the market really is hotting up right now, with more choices and lower prices.

Pioneer power meters are being distributed in the UK by i-ride.co.uk.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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4 comments

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DrJDog | 9 years ago
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How much is the computer, because it seems like that is necessary.

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fukawitribe replied to DrJDog | 9 years ago
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DrJDog wrote:

How much is the computer, because it seems like that is necessary.

The power meter supports the ANT+ Power Meter device profile so, as the article says, that can be picked up by any compatible ANT+ head unit / software, e.g. Garmin, Mio, Bryton and so on.

http://www.thisisant.com/directory/pedaling-monitor-sensor-sgy-pm900h79/

The article also mentions that added metrics look like they are only available on the Pioneer head unit - which figures as the ANT+ device profiles for some of those hasn't been finalised AFAIK and others don't exist as such - which has an RRP of about 229 UKP.

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Valryfiets | 9 years ago
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USP over Stages? I'm on my 3rd Stages PM now (2 warranty replacements), if the Pioneer battery cover is robust and provides a good seal in the wet that will be a USP.

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markovich | 9 years ago
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Interesting and always good to have some competition. So what is the USP of Pioneer over Stages? think you only get the force angle info if you swap out your Garmin for the Pioneer head unit. In doing that, Im guessing you might lose some of the Garmin benefits, mapping etc?

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