Verve’s excellent two-sided, direct load path measurement InfoCrank power meter just got more affordable. After having spent the last year growing their network worldwide, both training coaches to help customers get the most out of their new power meter and getting more experienced retailers on board, Verve has taken a step back and worked on innovating their process and on more efficient worldwide distribution so they could lower prices overall. The result is they will be putting out a lot more offerings in 2016, and they’ve been able lower the cost of access to accurate power data. Check out the new pricing and some important news after the break…
In development news, Verve Cycling recently bought out their tech partner, Breakaway Innovations, who had been building their chip hardware. This is a bigger deal than it might seem, as it both allows Verve to reduce costs, but more importantly it gives them better and faster control over the development and implementation of hardware and firmware updates. That will let Verve get updates out more quickly and will possibly allow increased functionality to develop faster. One such running update that we’ve heard talk of is an over the air update that will allow current and future InfoCrank users to ditch the external cadence magnets at the bottom bracket and instead track cadence through the change in angular input to each crank arms 4 strain gauges. That will be a big boost for customers with atypical bottom bracket configurations, or for cyclocrossers (like us) who get mud buildup around the external magnets.
A big part of the production optimization is a cost reduction, and Verve says they are happy to pass these savings onto future customers in time for holiday shopping. As of today the new retail pricing for any of the InfoCrank variants stands at $1750 $1400 / £1410 £1150 / 1800€ 1600€ / AUS$2200 AUS$1950, which amounts to a 12-20% savings.
As we showed in our coverage at Eurobike, the InfoCrank has added a lot more compatibility options this fall. The new 24mm spindle versions and 130BCD aren’t yet available but are expected in spring/summer 2016. Also the shorter 155-165mm cranks are currently in production, so will hit stores in early 2016. For now customers can select: crank length from 170-175mm; compact and mid-compact Praxis or TA standard road chainring sets; the appropriate 30mm Praxis bottom bracket for your bike. All Infocranks also come with trial subscriptions to leading analysis and data recording programs to help you get the most out of the power data.
