Besides a selection aero helmets our redaction also received some more technological gadgets to test for your information and entertainment. The powermeter is by far the most reputable in this category. Since quite some years this has been the gadget on training and in races, now we will introduce several different models. The first one: Stages Ultegra R8000.
In the meanwhile it is well known, this editor loves Team Sky and everything around it. Even though he will try to be as objective as possible, the Stages Ultegra R8000 is among them. Or maybe not quite... Team Sky uses the double sided version, at 3athlon.be we received the left-only crank. The why will be revealed later on.
Simplicity and disponability
You don't have to be a technical wonder to change cranks. Changing only the left arm makes the task double as easy. The only tools needed are a torque wrench and possibly a Shimano piece to remove the plate covering the crank hole. I say possibly because (in a good installation) this plate is only tightened by hand and can thus be removed by jamming your fingers in the hole. The changing of the arm takes about five minutes. Ten minutes if you do need some YouTube instructions.
The Stages crank uses a standard CR2032 battery, which I consider to be an advantage. This is one of the most common flat batteries in the world, allowing you to reanimate you crank where ever you may roam. Reanimate? Does it die? It does. Stages claims 200hrs of battery life (for the single sided, 175hrs for de double sided), we haven't got to testing up to that point, but if we can prove the opposite, we'll surely inform you!
Pairing and calibration
The Stages crank is both ANT+ and BlueTooth Smart compatible, which is good new for the Polar lvoers, who are rather short on third party powermeters. The pairing went smooth on both our Polar V650 and V800. The same went for my girlfriends Garmin Forerunner 920. But that's where the trouble started...
No data was transmitted between the crank and the head unit. Neither the Polar nor the Garmin showed any sign of life. Having contacted Florian Grafmüller, Sales & Customer Support Manager at Stages Benelux, we received following answer: "it's a known problem when cranks are paired with Polar head units which do not possess the latest firmware. These head units tend to change the settings of the crank, rendering it unusable." Armed with this info we connected our crank with the StagesPower App (both Android and iOS), performed a firmware update and, wonder wonder, data was displayed on screen. Something to take into account when troubleshooting.
As opposed to other powermeters, the Stages crank uses 'Active Temperature Control'. This means that the Stages will not have to be calibrated when used is varying climatological circumstances.
Comparison
Stages claims a 1.5% accuracy on the data. This sounds nice, but is something all powermeters tend to promise. We developed a test setup where the crank had to go head-to-head with an Elite Drivo and PowerTap P1. More info can be found in the in-depth-review, after publishing the PowerTap P1 review the resulting graphs from the test will be published as well. Both power and cadans.
Final thoughts
For the weight weenies among us, the new crank only adds 15 grams to your bike. This is, for as far as we know, the least added weight when it comes to powermeters. Aerodynamics are almost unaffected: the outside is the standard Ultegra crank, the inside only has a small cover to house the battery.
The nicest part about the Stages is the option to give yourself an upgrade from single sided to double sided at all time. An L crank is prefabricated to be paired with a R crank. I must admit, the total cost will be more elevated than I you'd have bought the double sided immediately, but nevertheless, Stages is one of the only brands to offer this option. To give you some figures, the single L costs 580 euro, the single R 650. Buying the double from the start would have set you back around 1000 euro.
Now why did we receive a single sided L crank? Interesting and not unimportant! If you are interested in buying a Stages, pay sufficient attention to groupset compatibility. Our example to illustrate: our bike is equipped with an Ultegra 6800 groupset, Stages wanted to send an Ultegra R8000 crank. In this case we came to the conclusion that the margin allowed by an Ultegra 6800 front derailleur is incompatible with the Ultegra R8000 chainring placement. As a left crank arm does not influence this ensemble, L was the way to go.
Are we happy with the Stages? Ease of installation, check. Looks, satisfied. Battery lifespan, presumed happy. Accuracy, to be confirmed...
We are happy.