We know Pioneer Electronics for producing what was one of the best plasma TVs on the market. Sadly those days are in the past but the company is rolling forward with other exciting products including a new bicycle power meter system that includes an updated SGX-CA500 Cycle Computer that displays power data. It features built-in Wi-Fi as well as ANT+ and as it is black and white instead of color has fallen in price from $900 to a down to earth $300.
Dual-Leg power meter cranksets
Pioneer’s system measures torque, force location and force angle at 12 points of the rotation. Its computer communicates each leg’s power output, pedaling efficiency and power loss through six independent sensors — three on each side of the crank. Torque data is captured every 30 degrees of rotation and transmitted wirelessly through ANT+.
The power meter is offered as complete cranksets with both Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 and Ultegra 6800, and in varying chainring and crankarm lengths. It adds 66 grams to the original crank weight and operates up to 120 hours on replaceable batteries.
SGX-CA500 Cycle-Computer
The company’s new computer has a 1.87-inch black-and-white LCD touch screen and displays left and right power output, pedaling stroke efficiency, power loss, force vector analysis, torque, cadence, heart rate, GPS positioning, speed, distance, elevation gain/loss, barometric pressure, temperature and more. Up to nine data points can be displayed in the same window.
It features six programmable screens, six bike profiles and offers up to 4 GB of memory. Data can be uploaded through Wi-Fi or micro USB.
Online cloud service
Riders can share and store data on Pioneer’s online cloud service, Cyclo-Sphere. The free service provides history management and route viewing by date, map or ride list.
Pricing
The Pioneer power meter will be available as a complete crankset for $1,850 (Dura-Ace 9000) and $1,550 (Ultegra 6800). The SGX-CA500 Cycle-Computer will retail for $300. The system becomes available in mid-March.