New Velocomp PowerPod & AeroPod Products

Velocomp, the makers of AEROPOD and POWERPOD, have announced a mini-shakeup of their product range – and it seems to make sense to me. Let’s hope it works out for them.

Here are the background and the new details…

Technology

PowerPod and AeroPod do some clever things with maths when measuring power via opposing forces, essentially looking at the rider+bike characteristics, your speed and the wind speed.

When used in conjunction with a separate power meter, AEROPOD is able to drill down into the specific rider characteristic of DRAG which can then cleverly be used to determine more efficient riding positions.

Old Situation

Previously there was the PowerPod, PowerPod Lite and the AeroPod. Alongside those hardware options, there were also some bundled software and the optionally extra PowerStroke software.

At sale times and when combined with discounts from Power Meter City (below) the PowerPod Lite often became a financially, very attractive ANT+ alternative to a cheap crank-based power meter. For those also looking for BLE compatibility, extra rider profiles and some other niceties then the original PowerPod offered those.

At the other end of the spectrum: The AeroPod is targetting relatively high-end performance cyclists and, as such, is a lower volume and higher-priced product.

New Situation

Here is the new product line up

• PowerPod v2.0 Lite: $199 – unchanged
• New PowerPod v3.0: $299 – essentially uses the new case design and superior electronics of the AeroPod
• AeroPod: $399 – unchanged
• New AeroPod+: $499 – adds Powerstroke and GPS tracker functionality
  

Opinion

The Aeropod options are compelling products for the serious cyclist.

For the Velocomp PowerPod I think there is a trickier sell against single-sided crank PMs like the Stages Shimano 105 5800 Power Meter (Gen 3) at $317.99. Even with the code the5krunner10, the PowerPod comes in at $269.99 and the Stages isn’t discounted at present. That $50 difference is not ‘clear water’ and there needs to be more of a PERMANENT financial incentive for the new and improved PowerPod to do better than it already is in the market.