Power to the people! Why training with power is now cheaper and easier than you'd think

As an amateur rider, fitting a power meter can seem like an expensive faff. However, 4iiii are firm believers that power meters should be for everyone, not just the pros. Here's a closer look at who they are and why the PRECISION 3 Powermeter won our Editor's Choice Award.

Many of us want to train with power, but don’t want to spend a fortune... well you're in luck, because the 4iiii PRECISION 3 Powermeter makes it easier than ever to get reliable and accurate readings to help take your training to the next level, no matter your ability. It's no wonder that it made it into road.cc Recommends! 

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

Much is made of riding and training with the information gleaned from using a power meter. After all, elite riders use power meters to give a clear indication of their output, so they can really dial into their performance and perfect pre-race preparation. 

For amateur riders, though, fitting power meters can seem like a lot of work and hassle. Historically speaking, you have had to replace your crankset with something specifically made for the job. It also had the reputation of being prohibitively expensive, especially the latest generation of power meter pedals, which are easy to fit but cost a fair old whack. Wouldn’t it be better – and cheaper – if your existing crank could just give you the data? Well, maybe it can...

Who are 4iiii?

Before we get to that, let's find out a bit more about the brand 4iiii. 

4iiii might have been born in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, but this is no rural, old-school cycling company. Rather, 4iiii was created by the same innovators who originally founded Dynastream Innovations (now Garmin Canada), which invented the ANT+ powerless wireless standard that seems to be omnipresent in modern cycling tech. 

After Dynastream were sold to Garmin in 2006, the founders decided to start out again on their own and started 4iiii, with the express intention to “improve personal performance through the development of superior training tools, including the likes of cycling power meters, heart rate monitors, and cycling trainers”, while focusing on making sports technology affordable and accessible to the everyday athlete. 

The first piece of technology 4iiii released was the Sportiiii. This was an after-market sensor that attached to sunglasses and acted as a heads-up display to indicate what heart rate zone the wearer was running or cycling in.

But anyway, I digress... what most animated the 4iiii team was unreliable and expensive power meters. So they set about making their own and in 2015, releasing the PRECISION Left Side Power Meter (shown below).

Unlike others on the market, this used patented 3D Strain Gauge technology to measure three aspects of the pedal stroke, making it one of the most accurate power meters available on the market. Crucially, it was also one of the most affordable for the everyday cyclist.

Determined to prove you don’t need an expensive power meter to train and race at even the highest level, in 2016 4iiii partnered with the Etixx–Quick-Step team and took their technology into the pro peloton.

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In the subsequent years, they've teamed up with Peter Sagan’s Bora Hansgrohe, Israel Start-Up Nation, Lotto Dystny, André Greipel and the women’s EF-Education TIBCO SVB team.

4iiii-equipped riders have won everything from Paris-Roubaix, to the Road World Championships to stages of the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. 4iiii tech has even been part of a successful World Hour Record attempt!

Feel the power!

So, 4iiii’s background is distinguished and their products are provably effective, but what exactly is this technology that makes 4iiii such a significant force for focused training? The secret all lies in the 4iiii ‘pod’ – a range of inexpensive power meters that can be fitted to almost any crankset.

Last year, road.cc reviewed the latest iteration of the PRECISION 3 Powermeter, and we were suitably impressed.

> Review: 4iiii Precision 3 Power Meter Shimano 105 R7000

Our reviewer Liam said: “All in, the 4iiii PRECISION 3 brings an impressive boost to battery life in a package that is a little bit thinner and just as good for the everyday cyclist as the previous model. The data is accurate and the consistency of the unit makes it easy to live with… [it is] a brilliant way to add power measuring to your bike for a sensible amount of money.”

The 4iiii, PRECISION 3 and PRECISION PRO can be bought ready-fitted to a range of mid to high-end Shimano cranks, all in a variety of lengths. But when Liam talked about “sensible” money, he was especially referring to the fact that 4iiii power meter pods can be factory installed on your existing Shimano left-sided crank.

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All you have to do is take a photo to confirm there’s enough clearance between your crank arm and the frame to allow a 4iiii pod to fit. Place an order with 4iiii online, receive your posting details, remove the relevant crank(s) from your bike and send it all off. 

Thanks to a UK-based installation process, you’ll have it back in a fraction of the time of rival services (4-5 days), and a fraction of the cost of some factory-made power cranks.

If you would like a dual factory install or have a non-Shimano crank, that will need to be sent to 4iii's Canadian facility, but 4iiii have told us that dual Shimano factory installs built locally in the UK are coming soon.

> How to get the most from your limited training time

We thought we’d put this to the test. Off went our crank, and around five days later there was a knock on the door from a delivery driver. Unbox the crank and you’ll find that it’s just nine grams heavier than when you sent it, but now capable of measuring power to +/-1% accuracy. You can’t get much more accurate than that!

I’ve used tons of power meters over the years and in my experience there’s one thing that you want a power meter to be above all else, and that’s reliable. The PRECISION 3 comes with an IPX7 waterproof rating, and 4iiii are so confident in it that it comes with an industry-leading three-year warranty. That’s some serious peace of mind. 

Fitting it to your bike is a simple process or a two-minute job at your local bike shop. Of course, this means that you can simply switch it between bikes with identical crank lengths and styles.

4iiii claim 800 hours of riding time before needing to replace the very common CR2032 battery, and that’s a number that during testing we found to be accurate. For me, that works out as a battery change every six to eight months but for many riders, it’ll be over a year. When you do need to change the battery, it takes about 30 seconds.

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So are power meters only for elite riders? Absolutely not. Those days are long gone.

Thanks to 4iiii’s focus on high-technology products for everyday riders, you could be revolutionising your training with the use of power data more easily than perhaps you ever imagined. It’s little surprise then that the PRECISION 3 recently won our Editor's Choice Award in the Turbo Trainers and Fitness Equipment of the Year category, where we select the product that gives the best combination of performance and value for money.

You can check out 4iiii’s full range of power meters and training products at www.4iiii.com.

Would you consider training with power? We reckon now is as good a time as any to start...