Power2Max NGeco power meter

The Power2Max NGeco is one of the best power meters on the market for a bike that is going to see a lot of dirty miles. It boasts accurate data, top-notch reliability and a design that is bombproof. Compared to a single-sided unit, however, it is a bit weighty, and the price is higher than its main rival thanks to import costs.

Testing any cycling product usually means getting as many miles in as possible during a month and then submitting the words. But thanks to various poor excuses (sorry Tass!), I've managed to clock well over 10,000km on the NGeco. It's gone through plenty of rain thanks to time on my winter bike, I've raced it on the road, and I've even subjected it to some cyclocross action.

> Buy now: Power2Max NGeco for £552 from Power2Max

The NGeco has performed flawlessly the entire time, cementing this in my mind as the best choice on the market for a bike that is going to see year-round use.

But there are a few caveats to that, and my glowing opening doesn't mean this is necessarily going to be the power meter for you. It might be best if we start with the basics and look at what we actually have here.

What is it?

The Power2Max NG Eco is a spider-based power meter, the spider being the bit between the cranks and the chainrings. The unit alone is priced at €540. If you're already using Easton, FSA, Praxis Works, SRAM or Rotor cranks then you're probably not going to need to replace these too. But users of a Shimano crank will need to buy the NGeco with a Power2Max crank, pushing the price up by €100. This is what happened in my case, and I was then able to fit my standard Shimano chainrings.

While we're here, the BCD (bolt circle diameter) of the NGeco, in the four-bolt Shimano model, is 110mm, so any 11 or 12-speed Shimano chainring will fit.

The NGeco is the baby brother of the NG, a spider-based power meter offering dual-sided power data. The NGeco captures power data from both cranks, too, but unlike its big brother it doesn't give you power balance figures. You can unlock these, along with some other features, but you'd be paying a not-small surcharge, so it isn't something I'd be bothering with.

> 12 reasons why you should buy, and use, a power meter

The weight, if you're building a weight weenie bike, is going to be one potential issue. The 170mm cranks and spider that we have here weigh 693g. Taking the chainrings off the standard Ultegra cranks that the NGeco replaced, the cranks and spider weigh 565g, so we're looking at a decent bit of weight (around 130g) being added to the bike. Certainly, if you want a lightweight build, a single-sided power meter from 4iiii, Stages and the like would be a better bet.

Installation

The installation was a relatively easy process, though certainly more tricky than the 4iiii G3 that I reviewed.

The good news is that when the NGeco is on the bike, the calibration process is the easiest I've come across. You don't need to put the crank in a particular position, uou just hit calibrate on your head unit.

Switching this between bikes would be a bit too long a process for me to want to do it regularly, but it wasn't too much of an issue when I needed to pop it onto a new frame.

In use

Once out riding, I really liked having my trusted Shimano chainrings providing their usual shift quality.

Spider-based power meters are generally touted as being highly accurate units and the NGeco is perfect in this department. I'm not usually one to dive too deeply into comparing power meters, but here are some graphs where I tested the NGeco against a Tacx Neo 2T running the latest software. Ignore what look like dropouts – that's me hopping off to stretch or grab the TV remote.

The overall picture is very good. We have nothing to worry about here, with a close average power and the NGeco tracks the Neo 2T nicely.

Diving a bit deeper into one of my pitiful efforts, we can see that the NGeco reads slightly higher than the Neo 2T. There is a little separation at the 260W intervals, but we're talking about a spider-based unit versus a trainer, so it is very possible that those 3ish watts are being lost through the chain that I should have replaced at the end of last winter.

The real test, however, has been the hours that I've spent ticking through the miles of training and racing. I've had zero issues with this unit, seeing no spikes that might throw off my yearly figures or power records. If you're looking for accurate and reliable data at a respectable price, this really does provide.

Value & conclusion

Speaking of money, Power2Max is based in Germany and does not currently have a UK distributor, so you're going to get stung by some lovely import VAT. It takes the cost to around £670 for the unit we have here, which is a rather hefty price to pay.

The Quarq DFour is likely to be the main rival to the NGeco. With Quarq cranks and a 24mm axle to match the NGeco setup we have, you'd be paying £573. For customers in the UK, I just can't see the extra £120 or so being worth paying.

It is a brilliant option if you want accurate and reliable power data taken from both cranks, but it is heavy compared with a single-sided setup, and thanks to Brexit, UK customers would be able to save around £120 by going for the Quarq DFour.

Verdict

Accurate, reliable and very well built, but expensive for UK buyers