Test: There are plenty of watt meter pedals, but after acquiring Speedplay, Wahoo decided to take power measurement into its own hands and put it on the pedal. With the One year after the US manufacturer announced the Wahoo Powrlink Zero Wattmeter pedal, we were able to screw the coveted pedals to our bike and tested them for you.
The coveted Wahoo Powrlink Zero have finally been available since February this year and we had the opportunity to test them thoroughly. The performance measurement is integrated into the pedals with the well-known Speedplay system. This system is characterized by an extremely robust design and allows entry into the pedal from both sides. For some, the performance measurement should also hardly be recognizable at first glance, because the watt measurement unit is on the inside of the axle. This connects to the bike computer via Bluetooth or ANT+ and thus transmits the correct performance data in real time. It should be noted that the power meter pedals are available in two versions, with one-sided or two-sided measurement. This means that the measurement is taken on either one pedal or both pedals. In principle, the measurement on both sides is somewhat more precise and, by means of the distribution of left-right ratios, also provides data on which leg is stronger or is subjected to more stress. With the one-sided measurement, the data is extrapolated based on one measurement unit for the entire pedaling cycle. When it comes to accuracy, Wahoo promises a maximum tolerance of +/- 1% deviation and also offers compatibility with oval chainrings, which not every manufacturer in the power measurement range can make possible.
Wahoo Powrlink Zero - Getting Started
But before we could test the pedals on the road and on the home trainer, we had to assemble them and put them into operation. The two Powrlink Zeros are quickly mounted on the crank, unfortunately the shoe plates are a little different. These consist of several parts and attachments, so you should bring some time and patience with you. Important: Follow the assembly instructions and do not skip any step, otherwise you will end up with a few screws.
But after a good quarter of an hour that's done and we can get to work on the software. As you are used to from Wahoo, you also need the app for the Powrlink Zero pedals to ensure proper use. Using the app, you can find the pedals immediately and connect them at the push of a button. Once connected, firmware updates can be carried out and various settings can be made.
Of course, other devices such as our Wahoo Elemnt Bolt could also be paired with the Powrlink Zeros in no time at all. In addition, the Wahoo exercise bikes like the Kickr Rollr also recognize the pedals and take over the watt values for controlling the resistance. You can also connect the Wahoo Powrlink Zero pedals to devices from other manufacturers and have performance data and much more delivered to you to the same extent. If the pedals are paired with a device and saved there, they will connect automatically the next time. You only have to move them briefly to wake them up from their sleep. Four blue lights show you quickly whether the pedal is ready for use.
Wahoo Powrlink Zero review
Let's jump back to the key data at the beginning. A quick look at the scale shows that the manufacturer's information is pretty accurate and we can confirm the official weight of 276 grams for the two-sided power meter. This means that the Powrlink Zero pedals are only 56 grams heavier than the pedals without power measurement. If you look at the additional weight of other power meters, you have a clear advantage here.
We checked the specified accuracy of +/- 1 percent both on the road using another power meter and using an exercise bike. With a 10-minute interval in the FTP range, we could not even measure a 2-watt difference on average, on a 3-hour ride the value was completely identical. While we had always calibrated the "monitoring meter", we did not do this with the Wahoo wattmeter pedals in order to check the manufacturer's promises here as well. Of course, it doesn't hurt to calibrate manually before a ride, but the Powrlink Zero should calibrate itself automatically and carry out an internal temperature compensation.
So that you never have to be on the road without your performance data, you receive a warning message via the LEDs as soon as the battery is running low. This warning message also appears on the app and bike computer. The charging process is simple and self-explanatory. The contacts of the integrated lithium batteries are connected via a kind of gripper and charged using a USB cable. With full batteries, the Wahoo Powrlink Zero should transmit the performance data for at least 75 hours. We haven't tested it exactly yet, but we managed without a store for a month and that's something.
Even if we were a bit skeptical at first because of the susceptibility of pedals, the Wahoo Powrlink Zero watt meter pedals were able to convince us. Thanks to the robust construction, we hardly considered that wear and tear sets in too quickly. The high accuracy and connectivity make this power meter the perfect gadget to professionalize training. Only the assembly of the pedal plates could be a little easier to do.
Wahoo Powrlink Zero – details at a glance
- weight pedals 276 g (double-sided measurement), 250 g (single-sided measurement)
- Accuracy +/- 1%
- Q factor 55 mm
- Battery Lithium battery, 75 hours running time
- connectivity Bluetooth,ANT+
- Price €999,99 (measurement on both sides), €649,99 (measurement on one side)