Gear News

Power2Max NGeco power meter – first look

Could this be all the power meter you need?

The Power2Max NGeco was one of the products which caught our eye at Eurobike – and now we’ve had the unit arrive for review. The NGeco offers the tried-and-tested Power2Max crank-based platform for less than €500, so could this be all the power meter you need?

Let’s turn back the clock a minute. The NGeco arrived on the scene a year after the Power2Max NG, which in itself was the successor to the Type S. Got that? Whereas the fully-fledged NG offers a claimed +/- one per cent accuracy, the NG Eco pares that back to +/- two per cent. In reality, that’s plenty accurate enough for general use and is the standard by which we’ve been judging power meters for years.

The NGeco transmits basic power and cadence data out of the box but if you want to unlock more detailed data, including left/right leg power balance, pedal smoothness and torque readings, you’ll need to stump up and upgrade the unit’s software.

The NGeco is Power2Max’s budget power meter. Our test unit came with FSA Gossamer cranks and Rotor noQ chainrings

The top-level NG, which starts from €990, offers these features as standard, but unless you’re a genuinely data-hungry cyclist, the NGeco offers a more affordable route into power training with a unit which captures the key metrics, but with upgrade potential as you develop as a power-conscious rider. It seems a smart move from Power2Max.

The NGeco offers both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart connectivity and a claimed 400 hours of battery life via a coin cell battery (the regular NG is USB rechargeable, with up to 150 hours of battery life. On top of that, the NGeco comes with a two year warranty.

The NGeco’s €490 price tag includes the power meter itself and FSA Gossamer aluminium cranks for a Megaexo bottom bracket. We’ve got the BB386evo version on test here, which bumps the price up to €540. If you need chainrings, they’ll be extra and our test unit came with Rotor noQ chainrings, which will set you back another €150 (there’s also the option of Praxis chainrings for €99).

The NGeco is offered in a range of configurations. It may be the German firm’s budget power meter, but it doesn’t look out of place on a set of carbon Campagnolo cranks (as pictured at Eurobike)

Power2Max also offer the NGeco in a range of other configurations, including for Specialized, SRAM and Campagnolo cranksets. Here’s how the range stacks up:

FSA Gossamer Megaexo with cranks €490
FSA Gossamer BB386evo with cranks €540
FSA K-Force light BB386evo with cranks €790
ROTOR 3D24 with cranks€ 640
ROTOR 3D+ with cranks €790
Campagnolo with cranks €1390
SRAM without cranks €490
Cannondale without cranks €590
Specialized without cranks €590
ROTOR 3D24 without cranks €490
ROTOR 3D+ without cranks €490

There you have it, the Power2Max NGeco. We’ll be getting our unit off to our expert power meter tester, so watch out for a full review on RCUK.

Website: Power2Max

Something for the weekend showcases our pick of the latest tech to arrive at RoadCyclingUK. You can see more here.