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EB17: Garmin Vector 3 powermeter pedals get smaller, cheaper; Edge 1030 gets a battery pack

garmin vector 3 power meter pedals for road bikes
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Garmin’s Vector 3 power meter pedals get a new self contained design, doing away with the external transmitter pod for better aesthetics and easier switching between bikes. And, they’re slimmer, offering a lower stack height and more cornering clearance.

They’re also a lot less expensive now. It’s been more than two years since they were last updated, with plenty of low-priced competition popping up. Garmin’s answer is a $500 price drop, putting the Vector 3 at $999 for the pair. There’s also a single-sided model, the Vector 3S, which stomps out full power from one foot. Retail on that is $599, and you can add the other side later for $499. Shipping begins this fall.

garmin vector 3 power meter pedals for road bikes

Feature wise, it still measures left and right separately, total power, pedal phase to see how that power is getting applied throughout the stroke, and cadence. And it still works with Look KEO cleats. Our guess is that small protrusion on the inside of the spindle acts as the antenna. Each pedal uses a couple LR44 batteries, providing 120 hours of ride time while transmitting in ANT+ and/or Bluetooth.

garmin vector 3 power meter pedals for road bikes

It also tracks your foot pressure, showing how you’re applying force to the pedals while seated or standing. It also shows total time spent sitting or standing during the ride. Somewhere in there are performance metrics to be tallied, showing efficiency in each position (combining output, speed, cadence, heart rate, etc.).

The pedals also work well for indoor training, especially helpful if you don’t have a smart trainer that’s already calculating power for you. And while you’re indoors, they’ve now partnered with TrainerRoad to capture your workout data on that platform and sync it with Garmin Connect.

garmin edge 1030 charge battery pack provides external power source on out front mount

Glossed over during the introduction of the new Garmin Edge 1030 GPS cycling computer was its compatibility with the all-new Charge Power Pack external battery.

garmin edge 1030 charge battery pack provides external power source on out front mount

Designed to mount on the bottom of Garmin’s new out-front mount with a locking lever, it passes power directly through the mount into the 1030. No cables sticking out, just a streamlined appearance and 24 hours of juice. But if you really want cables, use the port to plug in your other USB powered devices…or Garmin’s older cycling computers (until they get the updated mounting plate, too…which we’re guessing will come soon enough). Retail is $129.99, available this fall.

Garmin.com

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19 Comments
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Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago

33% drop in price, 33% increase lost signals and wonky data from the industry leader in lost signals and woky data. They can’t get much of their sponsored team to use these things for that reason.

Robin
Robin
6 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Snark is fun, but it doesn’t really inform, does it? We could instead wait to see how the new Vector 3s perform. It’s worth noting that one person’s experience or observations aren’t necessarily universal. That’s one big reason why that whole scientific method thing was brought into being.

Jim
Jim
6 years ago
Reply to  Robin

Make that two persons’ opinions. I have had many Garmin devices, they loose signal, don’t upload, are glitchy and unreliable. Just bought a Wahoo Element Bolt – great device that is in tune with the needs of cyclists.

Kakosl
Kakosl
6 years ago
Reply to  Jim

I never had dropped signal on anything, including a the original vector. And my recently bought wahoo bolt randomly restarts here and there .

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago
Reply to  Robin

One person? How about an entire team sponsored by them with practically nobody using them? . They dropped the ball when they bought this formerly interesting company out of failure.

myke2241
myke2241
6 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

That not a accurate statement! You may want to do some fact checking.

Lost signal happens regardless of device. Every radio device suffers in some degree of lost or degraded signal.

Have I? Yes… for a second or two mostly at the same spots. How does that realistically grossly affect anyone?

Robin
Robin
6 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Garmin has sponsorship deals with a number of pro teams. To which one are you referring and for what year? You do know that the pedals have evolved since the first generation, right? You have inside info on the performance of the Vector 3’s?

Antoine
Antoine
6 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Might depend on what device you’re using. I own vector 2, edge 800 and the new 930 watch. Everything works great and as intended. Garmin is a lot of money but compared to other solutions i’ve found it to be simple and just doing its stuff as intended. Then no doubt new wahoo computer might work well but i need map when i’m mountain biking in new place. Use the phone a lot but the garmin is better in wet weather and battery life. Plus i like having two devices in case one is dead.

DirectEnergiéFan
DirectEnergiéFan
6 years ago

I wish they would make a model with SPD-SL compatibility. It would drastically increase their market, as even though I know Look pedals are pretty good/popular, most people in my area are on Shimano SPD-SL pedals. Well those or Speedplays…

Robin
Robin
6 years ago

That kind of exists now for SPD-SL Ultregra pedals, but it’s a bit more involved than just buying Vector sensor hardware/axles and inserting them into the Shimano pedals. I’d jump at the chance to stuff some Vector internals into my SPD-SLs if only I could just get the internals without buying the Vector pedals.

With that said, without the pods, the Vector 3s are looking pretty appealing.

Antoine
Antoine
6 years ago

They feel essentially the same, don’t see the point to sticking to shimano cleat. On mountain biking solution there are real differences between system but on road it just work as intended.

Darryl
Darryl
6 years ago
Reply to  Antoine

Yes they are both triangular, but they pivot from opposite ends of the pedal and the Shimano are by far easier to walk in

Robin
Robin
6 years ago

Garmin offers a kit to install their PM internals in a Shimano Ultra 6800 pedal, but you have to buy Garmin Vectors first. If they offered just the internals and the adapter needed for SPD-SL pedals, I’d buy em.

slackers
slackers
6 years ago

agree with DirectEnergiéFan , more pedal compatibility would interest me, I like that these are pedals, easy to swap from bike to bike, but Im not going to use look on my gravel bike..

Gef
Gef
6 years ago

Is that 24 hours of total power, or additional power for the 1030 battery pack? Usually the quoted power is just the data screen, if I’m running routing and have the map on the page, it’s 2/3 of the endurance. The internal battery is pretty small, so it doesn’t take a big battery pack to give it loads more endurance.

Martin
Martin
6 years ago

Will there be a proper shimano spd option this time around ? I don’t use look cleats.

SRAM Sam
SRAM Sam
6 years ago
Reply to  Martin

They sell an adapter kit that will allow you to use 6800 pedals for I think $99. At least they used to; I don’t see why they wouldn’t have the same option for their new PM

DudeOnTheRoad
DudeOnTheRoad
6 years ago

No Shimano pedal options for Vector 3. I spoke with them and the internals are not able to removed from the pedal. If you want the Vector 3 you’ll be changing your cleats

Nate
Nate
6 years ago

$130 seems like a lot for what I am doing essentially the same thing using a $10 usb power stick from Amazon. It’s $30 cool, not $130.

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