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Quarq Pricing

post #1 of 15
1/20/12 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 

Has there been a relatively recent price hike on Quarq power meters?  That prices seem to be a couple hundred payolas higher than I remember.  Maybe my memory is faulty, and I am dismembering things.

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post #2 of 15
1/21/12 at 5:24am

It seems that way to me too. I looked at the Quarq before getting a new PT wheel built last season. I cannot remember the price exactly for the SRAM crank, but looking at it yesterday it seems like it is at least one hundred higher than I remember. And last season's price seemed higher than the year before that. Maybe my memory is faulty as well.

 

There is another crank based PM Power2Max in Europe that I just recently heard about. I like it that more people are entering the PM market to give us more options.

 

http://www.power2max.de/power2max.php?lang=en

Here is a review of the P2Max

http://jibbering.com/sports/power2max-review.html

 

With Powertap the prices seem to be flexible or discounted at times from various sources. The builder that I used had a sale going on that was real enticing for me by offering an upper level hub model for the same price as the base model. That wheel cost me just a touch over $1K (less that considering the sell of my old PT wheel) and for the decent PM's out on the market that seemed like a fair deal.

 

When I looked at the Quarq there was also a waiting period to get the device. I suppose they were out of stock on the particular one that interested me.

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post #3 of 15
1/21/12 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 

One review I read--I forget where I read it--found that Power2Max' readings drifted over the course of ride and that Power2Max was aware of the issue.  According to Power2Max, it's a temperature induced drift, one for which they recommend letting the bike acclimatize outside for  a while (much like iBike recommends or at least used to recommend).  I've been watching Power2Max developments and will continue.  They are one I've been considering.

 

I beginning to doubt that SRAM's purchase of Quarq is going to be a good thing for people interested in Quarq.

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post #4 of 15
1/25/12 at 7:36pm

I'd have to give these guys a quick call as I'm a bit lost.

 

As far as I can understand, the pricing was indeed roughly a couple hundred lower than what's displayed at the mo. But I think that what's different is that they seem to include the price of the cranks now. Before, you'd have to add up the price of all parts + the 1500 which was the price of the cinqo per se.

 

If someone is fortunate enough to have no need for extra parts, then I like to think that it's still possible to order a naked cinqo for 1.5k (quietly standing to be corrected)

 

Quote:
I beginning to doubt that SRAM's purchase of Quarq is going to be a good thing for people interested in Quarq.


So far I am yet to notice any diff. Same crazy fast and competent service, chillout people easy to deal with. We'll see...

 

Including the crank cost within the price shown on the Internet, well I donno. Technically, it's unlikely that this has any impact on sales. You need cranks or you don't. It could as well be a simple follow up on repeated complaints maybe? People complaining it's hard to get the big picture when they don't include it? I donno.

 

 

 


Edited by SolarEnergy - 1/25/12 at 7:48pm
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post #5 of 15
1/26/12 at 4:42am

That was part of my correspondence with Quarq when I asked them if I could use my SRAM Red crank. Their response was no so one would need to have exactly the same crank (of the selected brands) as they use in order save some money. All I could have sent them is the big ring as they do use the same Red rings for the SRAM crank they are using. They do seem very cordial and prompt in their response to questions and I read a lot of positive comments to their customer service.

 

I thought at first the SRAM red crank would be the same, but at closer inspection it is not the same as the SRAM crank that they use.

 

It is or was nice that they were allowing folk that use the particular type of cranks to send in to be retrofitted with the PM, but I suppose there are few that will have that opportunity.

 

I suppose they must be doing well to keep their price up higher. I have never seen a sale on their items like with Powertap.

 

I hope that Power2Max will be able to hang in this market because I imagine they will improve their product to the level of Quarq and I hope that will allow them improve their website to international sales or make it more efficient to order.

 

The Garmin Vector does not look as hopeful at this point. From what I have been reading with those responding on other sites many do not want to switch to Look Keo cleats. The price seems high and another was that it appeared that the module hanging off the pedal could be easily damaged. In other words I have seen very little positive talk from potential consumers. But unlike the Vector, the Brim Brothers PM is getting more positive comments.

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post #6 of 15
1/26/12 at 6:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felt_Rider View Post

The Garmin Vector does not look as hopeful at this point. From what I have been reading with those responding on other sites many do not want to switch to Look Keo cleats. The price seems high and another was that it appeared that the module hanging off the pedal could be easily damaged. In other words I have seen very little positive talk from potential consumers. But unlike the Vector, the Brim Brothers PM is getting more positive comments.


I think there's sufficient interest in the Garmin Vector and the Look/Polar pedals, although there's also speculation that just can't be backed up.  First, no one has tested them yet.  Second, I don't see how the module hanging off can be easily damaged.  Second the angle of lean required to strike the module on the ground is far beyond  what anyone can lean without crashing.  According to Brim, their pedal isn't due to be released in the near future.  Moreover, if people are concerned about transmitter pods on Vectors and Look/Polar systems being damaged, they should also be worried about Brim's bodge with the wire running form the sensor unit to the shoe-top transmitter.  That wire is at least likely to be damaged as the pods on the pedal systems.

 

I can see benefits to the pedal based systems and the Brim unit.  Until all the Look/Polar, Vector, and Brim units are for sale and in use, positive or negative talk from potential customers has no real value.

 

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post #7 of 15
1/26/12 at 7:51am

The one good thing about Garmin in my experience (long time Edge user and other Garmin products) is that one can typically find good deals with online retailers and on ebay. So even if the price is at first intimidating to onlookers I imagine if it follows the same path as other Garmin products the Vector may be found for a good deal in the future.

 

I saw a close up pic for the Brim Bro yesterday and noticed that wire. I would probably rip that off just getting my shoes out of my gear bag. I am like a bull in a china shop. :-)

 

 

 

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post #8 of 15
1/26/12 at 7:57am

Apparently the pedal will make contact with the ground before the Vector unit during extreme cornering. When a bicycle pedal makes contact with the ground during a corner the result is usually catastrophic.

 

The unit is a little pricey, but I would be more interested in how the pedal's carbon footbed will hold up to wear over a few years.

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post #9 of 15
1/26/12 at 9:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by danfoz View Post

Apparently the pedal will make contact with the ground before the Vector unit during extreme cornering. When a bicycle pedal makes contact with the ground during a corner the result is usually catastrophic.


I did a calculation a while back and found that it will take a lean angle of about 47° to get the Garmin pod to touch down during cornering.  That's not angle that's attainable without wadding everything up.

 

 

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post #10 of 15
1/26/12 at 10:35am

I am not a member on this site, but found this yesterday doing some research. I thought there was more discussion about the concern of it being damaged, but looking at the discussion again there was just one comment.

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post #11 of 15
1/26/12 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felt_Rider View Post

I am not a member on this site, but found this yesterday doing some research. I thought there was more discussion about the concern of it being damaged, but looking at the discussion again there was just one comment.


Of course, in a crash all bets are off for any component.  With that said, I believe I read that it will be possible to buy a replacement pod if one does get damaged in a crash.  I know they'll also be selling pedal bodies, so that if the pedal dies, you don't have to replace the axle and attached sensors.  I am disappointed that Garmin went with those particular pedals.  Choosing a pedal with a metal plate on the body would have been a nice touch, as would have a pedal with better bearings.  I believe that particular pedal has one bearing and one bushing, although I could be wrong.  Xpedo pedals would have been a better choice since they at least have a metal plate (the higher models anyway).  Still, I've never actually used Exustar pedals, so maybe they'll be ok.  Choosing the particular pedal is a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  Choose one and you immediately exclude possibly a large number of users.  Just consider how many Speedplay users there are.  Garmin pretty much had to choose Speedplay, Keo compatible, or possibly Shimano.  Shimano may not have played nice and likely has the smallest market share of the three (just an assumption).  Keo compatible probably has the largest market share, so that's prolly how they made their decision.  Look having already partnered with Polar ruled Look out for Garmin.

 

I'd jump on the Look/Polar wagon if Polar didn't use that damned W.I.N.D transmission spec.  Polar has indicated that they're going to transition to low energy Bluetooth sometime in the future, which is better (especially if you're using a smart phone as a bike computer), but for us folks that use dedicated bike computers, it's not any more helpful because it will again be incompatible with Ant+.  I certainly don't understand Polar's stance on Ant +.  I dislike their software even less than I understand their choice of transmission standards.

 

What would be really nice would be a company with a pedal axle based power meter that only made the axle and sensor unit.  Such a company could then make axles and sensors for any pedals and could either give the customer instructions on installation or do the installation for the customer.

 

 

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post #12 of 15
1/26/12 at 10:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by alienator View Post

Has there been a relatively recent price hike on Quarq power meters?  That prices seem to be a couple hundred payolas higher than I remember.  Maybe my memory is faulty, and I am dismembering things.

The price of our powermeters hasn't gone up since we started shipping the CinQo Saturn models in December 2008. We actually lowered the price of the FSA SL-K package by $100 about 1.5 months ago to bring it in line with the SRAM package.

 

The confusion on pricing may stem because we now list the SRAM, FSA and Rotor models as packages that includes cranks, powermeter and chainrings. We found that customers were getting really confused by our website with everything broken down into separate pieces to buy. The Quarq CinQo Saturn spider has always been $1495 if purchased separately. That is still an option if you have compatible cranks already (such as SRAM S900, Specialized Carbon FACT, Cannondale Hollowgram and Rotor 3D).

 

Mieke Meyer

Quarq Technology

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post #13 of 15
1/26/12 at 11:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by spearkat View Post

The price of our powermeters hasn't gone up since we started shipping the CinQo Saturn models in December 2008. We actually lowered the price of the FSA SL-K package by $100 about 1.5 months ago to bring it in line with the SRAM package.

 

The confusion on pricing may stem because we now list the SRAM, FSA and Rotor models as packages that includes cranks, powermeter and chainrings. We found that customers were getting really confused by our website with everything broken down into separate pieces to buy. The Quarq CinQo Saturn spider has always been $1495 if purchased separately. That is still an option if you have compatible cranks already (such as SRAM S900, Specialized Carbon FACT, Cannondale Hollowgram and Rotor 3D).

 

Mieke Meyer

Quarq Technology


Thanks for the clarification.

 

As I understand it, Quark will be moving toward selling only SRAM crank based set-ups.  When that time comes, will Quark still sell the CinQo Saturn spider separately?

 

 

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post #14 of 15
1/26/12 at 11:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by alienator View Post


Thanks for the clarification.

 

As I understand it, Quark will be moving toward selling only SRAM crank based set-ups.  When that time comes, will Quark still sell the CinQo Saturn spider separately?

 

 

I think there is some misinformation out there. Currently there are no plans to stop selling all the other crank models (though we did discontinue the Lightning model late last year which had nothing to do with the acquisition by SRAM). That being said, Jim and I no longer make the final decisions, so I cannot say for sure what will happen long term as we become more integrated into SRAM's operations.

 

Mieke Meyer

Quarq Technology
 

 

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post #15 of 15
1/27/12 at 1:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spearkat View Post

I think there is some misinformation out there.

 

Mieke Meyer

Quarq Technology
 

 


Thanks for clarification on the pricing.

 

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