Sensitivus Gauge ApS is a Danish manufacturer of electronics, and just announced power meter technology… that starts as low as $6. In the race-to-the-bottom of price, do we have a new standard that will allow power meters for virtually every bike on the planet?
While this isn’t the first budget power meter to catch our attention, there is a bit more to the story. The actual product is called the SG53, and it amounts to the bare electronic components of what can become a functioning power meter (strain gauges plus a lithium battery). Cranks are not included, nor the labor of attaching the electronics to the crank spindle.
Put another way, Sensitivus aims to be a B2B supplier of component parts to companies that will create and sell complete systems. In their own words, “Sensitivus provides full non-exclusive access to schematics, source code, mechanical drawings, reference designs, and all the know-how needed for both the immediate implementation of power meter technology in a crankset and to further develop new solutions including pedal-based power meters.”
They continue,
“The cost of electronics, in general, is on a constant falling curve and with mature technology, the cost can be very low. In volume, the $6 bill of materials cost for the electronics of a crank-based power meter can now be achieved. With strain gauge costs below $1, the total cost on top of the crankset can be less than $10 depending on the style of power meter manufactured.
Along with the hardware and mechanical parts, Sensitivus provides the complete software setup required to run a power meter product line. This includes smartphone apps, cloud services, back-end tools, and all the test and calibration systems needed for manufacturing.
Sensitivus offers the technology as a way for manufacturers to take the next step and stay competitive in the power meter market with a good margin as retail prices are under pressure and the majority of the market is predicted to shift from after-market to OEM over the next years.”
We will continue to follow this story. For more information or licensing inquiries, check out the link below.
