Stages Power Meter - The advantages of a Stages Power Meter for your Bicycle

A power meter has become commonplace on every road bike in the pro peloton. One of the most beloved brands of power meters is Stages. Team Sky has been riding with double sided Stages power meters for years now. And up to now, Team Sky was the only one to have access to those double sided Stages power meters. But the double sided power meters are now available for everyone. These days, you can use one of the best power meters to constantly monitor the wattage in both legs.

The Stages power meters are always mounted in the original crank arms of various manufacturers. Stages buys the crank arms itself from the manufacturers and delivers them completely finished.

So you can always keep cycling with your favourite brand. Besides, the appearance of the crank arm hardly changes. The Stages power meter is mounted on the inside, so on the outside you can hardly see any difference.

Lightweight power meter

The third generation of Stages power meters weighs only 15 grams for the left crank and 20 grams for the right. So with a maximum of 35 grams for a double-sided power meter, even the most enthusiastic weight weenies won't mind.

The power meter is located in a polycarbonate housing in the crank arm. You can only get a complete crank arm with pre-assembled power meter. Fortunately, you can easily replace the battery yourself. But that is only necessary once every 175-200 hours.

How does Stages’ power meter work?

Stages determines the wattage using strain gauges. These strain gauges give a higher or lower resistance when deformed. Because of your force on the pedals the crank bends minimally. The strain gauges then deform and this deformation is measured very accurately by the power meter.

This distortion is used to measure the force you exert. The device then uses this value to calculate the wattage output. In the third generation of power meters, Stages has increased the accuracy to a maximum deviation of only 1.5 percent.

This 1.5 percent maximum distortion is achieved in both the single and double sided power meters. Thanks to the automatic temperature correction, you do not need to recalibrate your Stages power meter when cycling. It automatically adjusts to the temperature.

And calibrating for your ride is very easy. Just hold your cranks vertically for a few seconds and you're ready to go!

No cadence sensor needed anymore

In addition to the wattage, the Stages power meter also registers the cadence using acceleration sensors in the unit itself. Which means there’s no need for cadence sensors or magnets anymore.

The acceleration sensors provide a fast and reliable way of measuring. When you start and stop pedalling, it is registered immediately. So you can see on your cycling computer, either right away or afterwards, exactly with which pedalling frequency you produced what wattage.

Send data with ANT+ and Bluetooth

Stages’ power meter transmits the measured power and cadence wirelessly with ANT+ or Bluetooth. These are two standards, one of which can always be found on every modern smartphone or cycling computer.

So you can easily pair a smartphone or a Garmin Edge cycling computer. Since this summer, Stages even has its own bike computer with the Stages Dash. Chances are that you already have a device with which the Stages power meter can be connected.

Pros and cons of a Stages power meter

The placement of the power meter in the crank arm has both advantages and disadvantages. A major advantage is that it doesn't matter which wheels you have on your road or mountain bike. The power meter is placed in your crank arm and you do not need to change it per race or training.

But that advantage is also a disadvantage. You can’t exchange the cranks of two bikes so easily. The two bikes must have the same brand and type of crank.

Another benefit of the Stages power meter is its weight. With only 35 grams for the double-sided version you can never go wrong. Especially when you consider that the Stages power meters are among the cheapest you can get.

Furthermore, we do have one more important detail: the Stages power meter is not suitable for all bicycle frames because of the minimal protrusion on the inside of the crank arm. Are you unsure about the compatibility for your road or mountain bike? Feel free to ask our customer service.

Which brands are supported?

You can get Stages power meters with crank arms from Shimano, Sram, Campagnolo, FSA and RaceFace. It goes without saying that they only work with the more expensive high-end models. Nobody wants a Shimano Claris crank arm with power meter...

For the time being, the double-sided Stages power meter is only available in two Shimano versions: Shimano Ultegra and Shimano Dura- Ace.

Double-sided Stages power meters

Single-sided Stages power meters

Expand your current left Stages power meter!

Naturally, at Stages they have not forgotten that many people already cycle with a single-sided Stages power meter. So they have made it possible to buy a separate drive-side Stages power meter. However, only the second generation of power meters can be used together with the third generation.

So do you have a first generation power meter of Stages? Then you can't use it with a third generation power meter from Stages.

Stages power meters for Campagnolo

For Campagnolo enthusiasts, Stages has launched three variants on the market. You can get a single-sided Stages power-meter for the Campagnolo Chorus, Campagnolo Record and Campagnolo Super Record.

The installation of Stages power meters for Campagnolo is as simple as with the Shimano Cranks. The same power meter is processed in the crank and the weight and other specifications are also the same.