Experiences with these? I have loads of store credit at REI, and it’s what they carry. Pros/cons? Thanks!
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Do some searching around on Shane Miller’s youtube channel. He had some issues with them several months ago, but seems he got a more updated model and I believe he updated his review.
DC Rainmaker also covers these in detail.
I believe what I’ve gathered is that they are solid, perhaps not the best value of the 3 main players, but if it’s your only choice based on store then I’m pretty sure they are gonna be a good choice.
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I just got a pair of these. Have 4 rides on the trainer so far. No issues. The power numbers are very close to my kickr’s numbers. I have not used power match on TR yet, I am using a 1030 to watch the cycling dynamics data while doing the workouts. I got a new left knee a couple of years ago so this is helping me debug my mismatched leg strength issues.
I believe they come in single or dual power meter options. I would recommend the dual if you can afford the additional expense. one-legged power is okay, but obviously dual is better.
I have a pair (single sided). I love the convenience of them and they look good on the bike.
Only con I’ve had so far is pretty poor battery life.
I have a pair. Had them for about 4 months now. No problems to report. Haven’t ridden in the rain yet.
I have two sets of the Vector 3s. Both dual sided. One set, has given me nothing but issues, that set was purchased in Dec '17. The other set has not had any issues. That set was purchased in June '17.
The set with the problems in being RMA with Garmin. I expect the replacement around mid-February. They are constrained right now, as they are making some manufacturing changes to fix issues. One of those changes is the 3rd generation battery cover.
They have not publicly announced the battery cover change yet. The 3rd gen battery cover will have gold plated springs instead of silver springs.
-marc
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I have V3’s and had problems with battery life and connectivity to my phone via Garmin connect. No problems with TR. I got replacement gen 2 covers and applied grease to the batteries and terminals. The second set of batteries lasted I believe 22 hours. When I took the cover off, I saw fretting corrosion on one pedal but not the other (with original covers, had corrosion with both). I’m now on my 3rd set of batteries. I grease the terminals very thoroughly. I’m at 24 hours so far.
I have dual-sided Vector 3s purchased in January 2018 from Clever Training. I started out with issues, but did the homework, requested the new battery covers, and put a drop of baby oil on the batteries when I replace them. I’ve had no issues since. Very few dropouts, maybe once a month for a few minutes out of a workout, connecting via Bluetooth to either TrainerRoad (iOS) or my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. Overall, they’re not as reliable as my old PowerTap hub was, but I like the ability to easily change them from my road bike to my TT bike, and I like the ability to race with power with my race wheels.
I think whenever I buy a new bike, I will go with a crank-based power meter on that bike, but for now the V3s suit me. I opted for them over the Assiomas because the Garmins are made in the US, so I figured support would be easier, and I didn’t want to have to mess with recharging the pedals, opting instead to replace batteries every few months. But everything I’ve read about the Assiomas is that they’re just as good, if not better, than the V3s.
I’ve also thought the dual-sided was worth it, but depending on your budget, the single sided is probably just as good 90% of the time. I wouldn’t get wrapped up in all the cycling metrics that Garmin markets. For the most part, they’re pretty worthless at this point, and any power meter will be able to give you the metrics that matter. I like the R/L balance metric, but that’s not unique to Garmin, only to dual-sided meters.
For battery life: I replaced the batteries before I moved in to my new house, so in October of 2018. Since, I’ve completed SSB1 MV, and about a half-dozen other TR rides. I’m well over 40 hours of use on this set of batteries, and according to TR, they’re still “good”.
Also, no issues on my limited wet rides.
DC Rainmaker tests every power meter and tech device on the market, you can check out his extremely in-depth review here:
I have dual sided Vector 3s. Have had battery/drop out problems and was sent a replacement battery cap. So far, they seem to be working ok and overall I am pleased with them. I like that I can change them so easily between bikes and that they connect with my Edge 1000 with no problem. The only (minor) thing I don’t like is they are Look Keo style pedals so for ease, I’ve converted some other bikes to Keo but found I really hate the non-power Keo pedals (but no problems with the Vector versions themselves so its fine if I don’t swap bikes often).
I bought the 3S (left only) in January 2018 and had issues with dropouts. Eventually after reading up on various forums I realised issues were likely due to the battery covers. I got in touch with Garmin to request new ones but they tried to get me to use a toothpick to apply baby oil on the contact points. Quite frankly I couldn’t believe what I has hearing when I’d spent £500 on their product. I left it for a few months then recontacted them and they sent a new battery cover (left only). Since then I’ve had no real issues.
I recently bought the upgrade right pedal to get the full picture. I’ve always thought my left leg stronger than the right so if the reading from left is doubled my FTP could be lower than I think - sob! Anyway, I’m unsure what battery cover the right pedal has but I have had a couple of dropouts…
I use a Wahoo Bolt so cannot see the full L/R features. I understood I would be able to see this feature on TR workouts but I’m unsure how. If anyone can tell me how or if this is no longer a feature I’d appreciate it. I have been unable to see on Garmin Connect as well so am now wondering if it was worth it at all…
Bit rambly, sorry!
I got the vector 3s about a month ago and have had absolutely no problems with them at all. No dropouts, worked perfectly with trainerroad on their own and with powermatch. Therfore I would definitely recommend them.
Thanks for the great info, friends. Gonna see if they release another generation by spring, as per marc’s intel. Then I expect I’ll go for it.
The very day I wrote the previous post i got the low battery warning on the pedals. Since then, I have gotten the free battery cover upgrade. I will see if the new cover improves battery performance.
Just a quick update, I just changed my pedal batteries this week. So that was 4 months of real time, but just the last ten weeks riding 5 times a week usually 6-7 hours per week. I’d conservatively estimate about 100 hours of ride time between battery changes, and only two power dropouts in that time. It’s damn annoying every time it happens, but doesn’t seem too bad with the new covers.
I bought a pair of these a few months ago before I knew how problematic they were. Wish I’d done some more research on them, and also that I’d known of the Favero Assioma at that time. I haven’t had trouble, though, until yesterday when I got at least twenty dropouts on a single TR workout (actually didn’t finish because of that #ragequit). Took the batteries out and found a fair bit of black corrosion between the batteries. I wiped them off thoroughly and they were okay on today’s ride, although it told me the battery level was low. Some people recommend replacing the two LR44 batteries with a single CR1/3N. I am going to try this because the worst spot I saw was between the two batteries. Also, a drop of baby oil on each contact, is apparently important. Not sure which battery cover version I have but I got them in October I think so, pretty sure it’ll be the updated version. Definitely some serious fail on Garmin’s part with this design, considering other makers have solved this problem without apparent difficulty, especially the rechargeable Faveros seem like the best way to go, it seems to me.
So, you got them in October, yesterday was the first problem you’ve had… and they’re a fail? OK. Try the baby oil. I’ve had next to no problems.
A now well-known issue that they apparently didn’t test enough to find out about, that will definitely at some point cause every user mysterious problems, that’s okay somehow?
I will try the oil, yes, as I understand the problem that should sort it out.
Sure, they screwed up the roll out. Doesn’t seem like you’ve had much issue, and most folks who have upgraded the battery coversand follow the baby oil recommendation don’t have problems.
Two things steered me away from Assiomas - they’re made in europe and I’m in the US, so support would be harder, and I didn’t want to deal with rechargeable batteries now or in the future. YMMV.