I have been using the 4iiii power meters now for nearly 12 months, hence thought it was a good time to share my thoughts the product. The 4iiii is a crank based power meter, with strain gauges mounted on the left and right crank arms (note there are also single sided options). 4iiii mount their devices on most of the cranks available, carbon and aluminium.
The devices are available in Precision or Podiiiium, with the only difference being the battery. The Precision uses coin cell batteries (1x CR2032/side), the Podiiiium uses rechargeable batteries. I have been using the Precision model.
The device itself is a small pod on the non-drive side, and on the drive-side a pod hidden between the chainring arms. These small devices only add around 20grams to the weight of the bare crankset, making it the worlds lightest power meter.
The 4iiii supports Bluetooth and ANT+ communication, making it compatible with nearly all head units. I have found the Bluetooth to be especially useful to allow communication directly with your laptop or phone. This allows the use of Zwift for example without the need for ANT+ dongles. 4iiii have their own app, this allows pairing, calibration, battery percentage check and also activating lost mode. Tile technology is used to enable finding lost bikes/devices, another cool feature which comes standard with 4iiii.
Using the device has proven to be very simple. There is no requirement for magnets, as the inbuilt accelerometer takes care of cadence. Just pair to your head unit and its ready to go. As soon as you move the crank it “wakes up”, and will automatically pair to your device, and prompt you to calibrate. I will typically calibrate before each ride, but have found it to be unnecessary unless there is a large temperature swing. 4iiii has an internal thermometer and thermal compensation algorithm to continually adjust to changes in temperature, these devises are tested at 20degree change in 20min, which far exceeds what is reasonably possible during a ride.
The 4iiii Precision Pro has been by far the easiest to use power meter I have ever had. Setup is fool proof, I have never had any drop outs or accuracy issues, and battery replacement takes a few minutes. I would highly recommend the 4iiii products to anyone looking for a new power solution!
Mike Phillips – Pushys sponsored athlete