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Verve's Infocrank has thrown down the gauntlet impressively to the power meter establishment (Image credit: Immediate Media)
Verve is the newest name to the power meter market and came in swinging, claiming the Infocrank is the most accurate meter available, with twice the fidelity of an SRM. It's a true left/right system, with four strain gauges in each crank arm.
A key difference is that these cranks were designed from the outset to be a power meter, so the strain gauges are placed in the precise load path to avoid data corruption by twisting forces. Verve claims its data is accurate to within 1% across the full measurement range of 0-3000w, and says there's zero temperature drift or need to perform a pre-ride manual calibration – and our tests back that up. This is a true get-on-and-go meter.
Highs: Accuracy, consistency
Lows: TA rings, chunky looks
Buy if: You're willing to look beyond the established names and go with an excellent newcomer
The Infocrank comes with specific bottom bracket cups and has a 30mm axle so should fit most frames. Infocrank uses a magnet and reed switch for cadence but has a clever magnet bracket that clamps over the bottom bracket. Infocrank says a magnet prevents data corruption from poor road surfaces.
The 110BCD crankset comes with Praxis rings in 50/34 or 52/36, or TA Syrius rings in 53/39. Our test set came with the latter and we noticed a small decrease in shifting performance. The five-bolt pattern does mean you can use other chainrings.
There are two LR44 batteries on each side under a bolt-on cover. They're readily available, quick to swap and are claimed to last 500 hours. Fans of marginal gains may sniff at the above-average 195g weight penalty over a Dura-Ace 9000 crankset, and even the aero implications of such broad and square cranks, though only high-level hill climbers and time triallists should give it a second thought.
When it comes to the crucial stuff, delivering clean and accurate data, the Infocrank excels. Throughout testing it was faultless. Verve suggested that it might read lower than other meters but we found it tracked alongside. We can't say if it's accurate to 0.5% or 1%, and for all Verve's claims and unique design it didn't do anything better than the SRM or Quarq, but they don't leave much headroom anyway. The Infocrank is an excellent power meter.
