Garmin’s Vector Power Meter Adds New Metrics For Your Bicycle

Vector is a pedal-based power meter that works with Garmin’s ubiquitous cycling computers and doesn’t clutter up your bike’s aesthetics with a pod hanging off each axle. And while it’s more expensive than competing meters from PowerTap and Stages, it’s also much more reliable, bug-free, and data-rich.

The heart of the Vector is a small, sealed capsule with strain gauges inside that measures a deflection in the pedal spindle as you pedal and compares it to factory calibration. The sensors are then able to calculate your total and left/right power. Those measurements are then transmitted via an ANT+ signal to your compatible Garmin head unit.

Vector’s left/right power balance is spot-on. But the team at Garmin is working on a suite of metrics that will further improve the understanding of how you generate and apply power to your bicycle. They’re calling them Cycling Dynamics, and include a look at your pedal stroke in both seated and standing positions as well as how your left/right power balance fluctuates throughout your ride.

To use Cycling Dynamics, you’ll need to have a Vector with a current update, and your compatible bike computer needs to support the new metrics. As such, the update will be rolled out through an upcoming firmware update. You’ll know you have the latest update if you see a message on your Edge 500/510, Edge 800/810, or FR910XT to back-pedal 8 times and then display the Cycling Dynamics confirmation.