Velocomp Powerpod ANT Power Meter

To begin with, I set it up properly, read through the manual, and spent considerable time (hours) reading and rereading through DC Rainmaker's review of this Powerpod... which ultimately led me to purchase it in the first place. The review is very convincing and the science and even the developer and his responses intrigued me a great deal. I am an avid cyclist, riding 3-4 times per week, train for races, etc. I was looking for an affordable way to measure wattage for my training. I regularly check my wattage on other bikes/units, so I know where I typically fall... at least within maybe 50 watts or so at long consistent efforts especially.The Powerpod is a waste of money. I didn't have some of the other issues that I read with other reviews (it turning off at stoplights, etc.). Mine actually synced up fairly easily... I think at least in part because I followed the instructions carefully. And in fairness, I did have a few rides (maybe even several) that I believe the unit provided accurate numbers. But unfortunately, they were a small percentage of the rides... and the majority of them the Powerpod provided wildly inaccurate data- especially toward the end of my use of it. For example, 0-10 watts on stretches where it should be 200-225. I know when I'm pushing 10 watts, or 200! On one of my last attempts to use this unit, I sprinted up a hill and it showed 50 watts... when normally this would be a 300-400 watt climb. Then occasionally, when coasting down a long hill, it would register 600-800 watts. It's so frustrating and distracting that I would just turn it off. I tried several times remounting it, etc, to no avail. What's the point of a power meter if it's not reliable even some of the time... not to mention most of the time?I also used it with my stationary trainer... and they make you guess as to which 'curve' to download to work with the trainer I have since I guess there were a few updates to the trainer. Through no fault of Powerpod, they won't know exactly which model/updated trainer you have exactly. But unfortunately, that means it's a wild guess which one to download. I tried a couple and they seemed off... based on perceived effort... and I found one that seemed pretty accurate. But the last time I used it on the trainer, it showed 0-50 watts for regular stretches were it should be in the 200-250 range. I also don't like how you have to manually connect it to a computer and open up their software to turn on and off the 'trainer mode', but it is what it is and I knew that going in. It would be well worth the hassle if the unit was reliable. But it's not.It's just a terribly unreliable unit and I'm really bummed about this because I had high hopes based on what I read.

Update: After figuring out a couple of issues it is working MUCH better. First off, there is a screw that mounts the meter to the clamp, if you get this in backwards the meter will be loose and able to move back and forth a few degrees. This absolutely screws up the data. Flipping the screw around solved this. I also did a firmware update and moved the speed sensor to the front of the bike. If you are having dropouts in data, try this. I have not had a dropout since. My only gripe is that the meter seems to be off when there are certain strong crosswinds. I am feeling a 200W effort in my legs, but it is reading around 110W. The funny thing is this always seems to happen at the same place on my rides. However, most of the time it reads very believably -- especially after updating my bike and personal weight, tire pressure etc. using the software. Another reviewer said the software was amateurish. I disagree. Its visual interface looks dated, but it provides a lot of data.I was a little dissapointed by this item. I read an online review that made it sound like it was nearly as good as the sprocket based power meter. I guess it is better than nothing at all, but there are times it is obviously wrong. A few times it has been wildly erratic, and sometimes it drops to zero even though I am peddling uphill. I like that it does take in account for headwind, so that it is marginally better than allowing Strava to derive power data from the gpx. I am probably going to get a cranked based power meter at some point.

This is an updated review after having a dialog with the company. After my emails to the email address when unanswered I tried the phone number on the website and was immediately able to speak with a technical resource that diagnosed my problem as a hardware issue. I sent the powerpod in, it was fixed, and returned to me all within a week. The powerpod is now functioning again.I have updated the review to 4 stars. Thanks Tom.--------------------I've been able to get the PowerPod to collect power data on 3 rides out of 8 attempts. I purchased the PowerPod after seeing a positive online video review where the reviewer performed a side by side comparison of the PowerPod with hub and pedal based power meters (DC Rainmaker). It did well in this comparison for the most part so I can't say the methodology is flawed, but the execution in terms of the product reliability, hardware interface, and software it lacking.1. Reliability - The primary issue is reliability. I charge it the same way every time, but sometimes it won't come on even after being on the charger for hours.2. The hardware interface consists of a single button and a small light that flashes multiple colors. A lack of an LCD display that might indicate device status (charge level) or show an error code would have been welcome.3. Although it is possible to configure the device for use by following some pretty straightforward directions any adjustments after that are done thru Isaac software. I would describe the Isaac user interface as technical.It's a great concept, but unfortunately is hasn't worked reliably.