Quarq Cinqo – First Impressions

There is no better way to monitor intensity while riding and analyze fitness than by using a power meter.  The problem has been that the available powermeters on the market have been a bit unreliable, overly complicated, or incredibly expensive. The three main options have been Powertap, SRM, and Ergomo. With Ergomo filing bankruptcy, this leaves only SRM and powertap.

A new power meter, the Quarq CinQo, shows tremendous amount of promise in function, build quality, and simplicity.  The Quarq powermeter system is comprised of two distinct products, the cinqo – which is the power measurement device and the Qranium – handlebar mounted computer.  At this time only the CinQo has been produced and it integrates wirelessly with the Garmin 705 computer.

The Quarq was introduced at Interbike September 2007 and the first production models of the cinqo were shipped to customers in June of this year.  CinQo is a crank based system that measures power output with strain gauges in the crank spyder.  As I understand it, SRM’s patent expired this year and Quarq is using simliar technology with their system. While the CinQo is still in limited supply, Jim and Mieke Meyer of Quarq were able to provide me with a unit. The CinQo replaces the crank spyder and is currenly available for FSA team issue and SRAM S900 cranksets.  Quarq is planning on introducing units compatible with more cranks in the near future.

Installation

In taking the Cinqo out of the box my first impression was, where are all of the parts?  Because the unit is wireless and I received a built up set, there is very little to assemble.  The powermeter is already mounted to the FSA crank, there are two magnets with double sided tape to place on the chainstay, and the FSA bottom bracket bearings are in the box.  An alcohol swab is even included to clean the chainstay where the magnet mounts.

The build quality of the CinQo looks really good with  the user replacable battery cover the only removable part.  This watch battery cover looks like a contact lens case and should be quite waterproof.  The backside of the CinQo looks to be a bonded rubber, which seems quite durable.  Unlike other powermeters there does not appear to be any O-ring type seals which eventually seem to fail.

Mounting the FSA crank with the CinQo could not have been easier.  Because it is a two piece crankset and uses external bottom bearings the whole assembly took about 15 minutes tops.  In fact it took longer to remove the old power meter than it did to mount the Cinqo.

Mounting the Garmin 705 unit that works with the Cinqo was even easier.  The 705 include a stem mount which makes for a clean installation without taking up any space on the bars..

Pairing the Garmin to work with the CinQo is quite simple.  It is simply a matter of spinning the cranks backwards 2-3 times to wake the unit up and then going into the Garmin set up and having it scan for a new power meter which took about 10 seconds.  The sync only has to be done once as the system will remember the settings.  No speed or cadence sensors are needed as the GPS will calculate speed and the CinQo measures cadence.

After installing quite a few ergomos over the last two years the simplicity of Quarq is a welcome relief and I look forward to using the Quarq.

Over the next few weeks I will be adding an update on my impressions of the system, so stay tuned.

Part II - http://www.endurancefactor.com/blog/2008/11/quarq-cinqo-review-part-ii/

The third Florida State Championship race took place this past weekend, and, once again, the Endurance Factor athletes had a very impressive showing.

To start things off, the Endurance Factor Elder team consisting of clients Martin Cox, Char Fosmoe, and Jamie Knight, competed in the Team TT competition. They pulled through with a win, but were only one second ahead of the second team!

Endurance Factor client Jamie Knight flying through the water section at the FSC #3 in Tallahassee, FL

The Team TT was followed by the XC races on Sunday morning. The most impressive results were put on by Endurance Factor clients Jamie Knight and Steve Flynn. Jamie Knight started off very strong in the single speed class and added another win to his flawless record for the fall season. Jamie’s pure power and technical skills have shown to be an advantage in the single speed class.

Jamie Knight taking the wholeshot in the single speed class. He is currently in the lead with 3 back to back wins!

Steve Flynn showed that all the base training he has done this summer has really paid off. He won the Senior Sport class by over 4 minutes, and has so far been unstoppable. Steve also has a undefeated record with three wins in the first three races of the fall series.

With increases in fitness still to come, expect to see more and more podium finishes for both of these athletes in the FSC!

With consistent results coming from the other team member and the Team TT win, the Endurance Factor Elder team extended their lead to 15 points over the next team, Trek VW. With the next race marking the half way point of the FSC series, all the work the Endurance Factor team has done over the summer has so far proven to be very beneficial. Keep up the work and congratulations to everyone on the team!

The Endurance Factor Team, based out of Florida, has taken an early lead in the team race for the Florida State Championship Series (FSC). For those of you unfamiliar with the FSC, it is a mountain biking (yes, there is mountain biking in Florida!) series consisting of 8 races that cover most of Florida. Surprisingly, there are some very good and technical mountain biking trails in Florida. Every year, riders throughout Florida race for both the team and individual top spots (see www.goneriding.com) .

Pro/Semi Pro field start in Gainesville, Florida

The Endurance Factor team is full of some very strong clients this year including Pro rider Martin Cox, junior top rider Jamie Knight, and women’s XC-2 leader Char Fosmoe.

Professional XC Racer Martin Cox racing for Endurance Factor in FSC #1

Martin Cox has had a great year of racing. After putting in some serious, quality miles this summer in Durango, CO, Martin headed over to Mount Snow where he won the National Championship in the 19-29 Super D class. In addition to this, Martin also won the overall National Series in the 19-29 Super D class. Recently, Martin’s ambitions led to his upgrade to Pro. He is working very hard to make his way up in the pro ranks for 2008-2009. So far, he has shown impressive results with two back to back 4^th place finishes in the Pro/Semi Pro XC class in the FSC.

Another Endurance Factor athlete, Jamie Knight, has started the FSC with a back to back winning streak in the single speed class. At 16, Jamie is racing against the top single speed racers in Florida and doing excellent. He gained a lot of experience this summer racing in many of the National Calendar races including the NOVA National, Santa Ynez National, and the National Championships in Mount Snow, VT.  The possibilities for Jamie are endless and with consistent improvement, he is on his way to a great start as a young mountain bike racer!

Char Fosmoe leading the Women’s XC-2 in the FSC #1 

To top off the Endurance Factor team, Char Fosmoe is racing in the Women’s XC-2 class. Char signed on with Endurance Factor six months ago. Her results have been impressive! Along with placing 3^rd Overall in the First Coast Xterra, Char won the first FSC and placed 2^nd in the second FSC. Currently she is leading the Women’s XC-2 class.

With the continued success of these clients, the Endurance Factor team is in excellent position of winning the FSC team title. They are currently leading by 9 points! The next FSC is this weekend in Tallahassee, FL, which is one of the most demanding courses in Florida. The Endurance Factor team will head into the race with great fitness. Good luck to everyone this weekend, and keep up the solid work. The results will keep coming!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete against some of the legends in the sport of mountain biking. I didn’t expect too much when heading down to Farmington, NM for the 2008 Road Apple Rally, but when I rolled up to the line there were two very familiar faces next to me. Ned Overand and Travis Brown, both residing in Durango, CO, decided to show up to the race. No longer was the race a “training race”. It was now an epic moment where I had the opportunity to race against some of best known racers in the country!

From left to right: Travis Brown(2 time Olympian), Jittery Joe’s Pro Roadie Matt Shriver, Ned Overand, Myself

A year ago I would have never dreamed of lining up and competing against guys like this. A lot of training under Doug Bush, and moving part time to Durango, CO, has made some surreal things happen including a Pro license and now competing with the best of the best. Another example; this past weekend after the epic Saturday race with legend Ned Overand, I went out for a nice long 4.5 hour ride. About 30 minutes along I ran into one of the top Pro’s in the Nation, Kenda/Titus racer Andy Schultz (had two top 5 finishes in National races this summer, also brother to Gary Fisher/Subaru racer, Sam Schultz). I was lucky enough to have met him a few weeks ago, so we rode together and talked about racing, training, local Olympian Todd Wells, other local athletes such as the two top collegiate mtn bike racers in the nation and now residing in Durango, CO also, etc.!  It amazes me how packed Durango is with amazing top caliber athletes! You never know who you will run into.

Bring it on Ned! (And that he did! He broke away with three others about 10 minutes in! That much more motivation to get better!)

So I will leave you by saying this. One year ago I was living in Fort Myers, Fl, with one 10 mile mountain bike trail and high expectations. Now I am living and competing with some of the top Pro’s and legends of the sport and have hundreds of miles of mountain bike trails. Talk about getting better, show up to the local short track once a week and compete against the top Pro’s in the nation! That will make you better if it doesn’t destroy you in the process! On top of that, I get to choose from many different trails to ride every day. If you ever get the chance, drop by Durango, CO for some of the best riding in the nation along with the possibility of meeting the legends of the sport! All I can say is the possibilities to improve in an atmosphere like this are endless! High altitude, endless trails, top competition, and a great coach to guide me along the way! Bring it on! I can’t wait to see what I can do in the 2009 season! Bring it on!

Congratulations to Endurancefactor athlete Sam Pasceri who finished his first double Ironman distance triathlon over the weekend! 

What is a double Ironman?  Take a regular Ironman and double the distances: that is 2.8 mile swim, 224 mile bike, and 52.2 mile run.  Oh yeah, and you have 36 hours to complete the distance.

 Too make things more complicated Sam raced Ironman Wisconsin on September 7!