In early September 2019 Wahoo surprised us all by announcing that they had acquired the SPEEDPLAY pedal brand. A cycling electronics brand buying a pedal brand? Surely they had a power meter pedal in mind? Sure enough, Wahoo teased a photo upon the relaunch of the SPEEDPLAY ZERO line, letting users know to start saving—it would only be a matter of time until the long-awaited SPEEDPLAY/Wahoo power meter pedal powered up.
Now we can finally see the full Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO pedal-based power meter, and all the features it’s packing.
What is the Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO?
The POWRLINK ZERO is Wahoo’s first power meter pedal system, based on the iconic dual-entry SPEEDPLAY road pedal system. Wahoo kept most of the features from the initial Wahoo Speedplay Zero line; dual-sided entry, and pedal float that is adjustable to between 0-15 degrees, and added some very cool tech features.
“Wahoo has always been at the forefront of providing athletes with accurate, reliable power data with our KICKR series of indoor smart trainers,” said POWRLINK ZERO product manager Katie DuPree. “Now we’ve leveraged that expertise to create a pedal-based power meter that lets athletes get the same robust performance data when they ride or race outdoors, with the added benefit of dual-sided entry and great aerodynamics.”
The new POWRLINK ZERO processes power via strain gauges connected to the stainless steel spindle. The unit differs slightly from those on the market, coming with a respectable 75+ hours of battery life from a single charge. Yes, charge. The new pedals use a rechargeable battery that connects via a proprietary horseshoe-style charging cable.
The power reading accuracy is within the same +/-1% as the KICKR series trainers. Wahoos’ new POWRLINK ZERO pedals play well with third-party apps and devices, via ANT+ and Bluetooth, and are backward compatible with legacy SPEEDPLAY ZERO cleats.
The POWRLINK ZERO will come in two offerings; a single-sided power option (left power measurement only) and a dual-sided power option (both versions use dual-sided pedals in terms of the clipless function).
Is the Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO the same size as the SPEEDPLAY ZERO?
Not exactly, those looking to recreate their fit to the millimeter will have to do some slight math to get everything dialed with the new POWRLINK ZERO pedals.
First off the spindle is slightly longer to accommodate the “power pod” growing to 55mm from the 53mm standard. The stack height also grew slightly, from 11.5mm to 13mm. Wahoo said this was to accommodate unclipping and the size of the power pod on the spindle.
Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO Key Features
- 75+ hours of battery life
- Rechargeable battery
- Backward compatible with SPEEDPLAY cleats
- Weight: 250 gram (single-sided) 276 grams (dual-sided)
- Price: Single-sided power $649.99 and Dual-sided power $999.99
For more information on the Wahoo POWRLINK ZERO pedals check out Wahoofitness.com
