IQ2 Power Pedal Review: Great Price and Precision to Elevate your Cycling Performance

Pedal Power Meter for Road - iQsquare

Price: €249 (I paid €199 in the Black Friday sale)

Website: www.iqsquare.com

Introduction

I’ve been wanting to get some power pedals for some time, but they are so expensive! When I saw the Black Friday deal making these power pedals for €199, I thought the price was good enough to take a punt on them.

I bought the IQ2 power pedal which is Look KEO compatible pedal for road bikes and the left side only due to my limited budget. Ideally, I would have liked to get the dual set.

Here’s how I got on with them for indoor training on Zwift, Wahoo SYSTEM and Velocity. I set them up in a standard spin bike to see if this could be a way to use power pedals to get on the various indoor training Apps.

Product Overview

IQSquare is a Dutch company set up by a duo of entrepreneurs, one a triathlete and the other a road cyclist. They were looking to buy an accurate and affordable power meter but ended up buying nothing. Their innovative minds become curious: is it theoretically possible to create the perfect power meter in an acceptable price range?

The founders have a longstanding career in product design and electrical engineering. They discovered that the secret to an affordable power meter lies in mass-production of the individual units. In a groundbreaking paradigm shift, they cracked the code that the bigger players of the cycling industry had overlooked for years. They now have the lowest cost power pedals on the market. The product took 6 years to develop and productionize.

The IQ2 power pedals are the first offering from the company and come in two variants, left pedal only and a dual set measuring the left and right sides. They are Look KEO compatible, have Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity and fit mountain, triathlon, track, and road bikes.

What’s in the Box?

I recorded a video to show what’s in the box. You get a left-hand side power pedal, right hand side standard KEO Look compatible pedal, alignment tool, CR2023 battery and two spacers.

Note that you do not get the cleats so you will need to purchase these separately.

The spacers are for if you use carbon crank arms, and you will need to put these between the pedals and the crank arm. The reason for the washers is that that they keep the axle from rubbing against the crank and thus damaging the carbon when tightening the pedals. You may also want to use the spacers to increase your Q-factor for a better bike fit.

IQ2 Power Pedals Unboxing Video by ChiliTri

Installation

You need to watch the installation video to install the pedals correctly as it’s not just a case of screwing them in.

Installation Video of the IQ2 Power Pedal – Left Side Only

My Experience on Installation

The installation process did not go as smoothly as I anticipated as the website said “Easily install the power meter with help of our installation videos”. Here’s an account of my experience.

When I opened the box, I noticed that there was a battery in it which was not referenced anywhere in the video or in the documentation. Is it a spare or does it need installing? It does need installing. You unscrew the end part of the pedal and there’s a handy magnet that makes sure you locate it in the right way and avoid threading issues.

You do have an alignment tool in the box, but you will also need a 6mm Allen key plus they also recommend a torque wrench.

There is an App and you will need this and there is an Android version and Apple version. They mention it at the end of the installation video briefly but not what to do with it. You will need to install the App and associate it with your pedals and bike. Then you will need to enter your crank length and then set your offset. This last step is crucial and if you don’t do this your power measurements will be very low and not reflective of your actual power at all. I did not know I had to do this step so contacted support several times but did not get an answer.

For the off-set you need to put your crank arm with the power pedal on parallel to the floor with no load on it. Press “Offset”, and it will calculate this and set this in the pedal.

After a week of using the pedal did come loose and I noticed this when the power output was low again. I just went through the installation instructions again but made sure I tightened it a little tighter.

So, if you notice your power going erratic or very low then it’s worth re-installing the pedal, making sure they are tight and setting the offset again in the App. If this does not work, then replace the battery.

The IQ2 Power Pedal App to set your pedal offset and update the pedal firmware

Build Quality and Design

As mentioned, the pedals are Look KEO compatible pedals so if you are already using this type of pedal, you will already have the cleats. If these are new to you, you will need to buy cleats for your cycling shoes.

The pedal look like they are built to last and look aesthetically pleasing. They weigh 189 gram per side. A standard pair of KEO Classic 3 Plus is 140g, a Garmin RS100 Rally power pedal is 164g and Favero Assioma UNO Power Meter is 139g. So, the IQ2 pedals are on the heavy side but in the scheme of things not much extra to add to your bike.

They are manufactured to waterproof standard IP54 which is a rating that indicates that an electrical enclosure is protected from limited dust ingress and water spray from any direction. This may not be enough for a really rainy day, but I did not test these under those conditions. Their competitors are rated to IP67 which indicate that they are completely waterproof.

The IQSquare customer support said "This is a very interesting topic. We do acknowledge that the pedals have been rated as IP54 but we have been using the pedals here in the Netherlands for over 4 years now and there were no issues observed even after using them during rains. But it is definitely not advisable to have the pedals immersed in the water for long periods as it is water resistant but not water proof."

You can add aero caps in 9 different colours to make your pedals a little more aerodynamic plus match the colour to your bike.

IQ2 Power Pedals Aero Caps

Performance and Accuracy

The IQ2 pedals has the same accuracy as the Garmin RS100 Rally and Favero Assioma pedals at 1%. They have both Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity which gives flexibility when connecting to devices such as bike computers and training Apps like Zwift, Rouvy and Wahoo SYSTEM.

Zwift is cycling training game, Wahoo is a cycling training platform with the addition of Yoga, mind training and strength training and Velocity is live and recorded indoor cycling training sessions from qualified coaches. You can read more about the various indoor cycling training Apps here.

The power range of the IQ2 pedals is 0-2600W which is impressive and have a wide cadence range of 1—200 rpm.  I for one can not pedal at 200 rpm!

The power shown in the cycling Apps seemed to reflect my effort levels on my spin bike. I used the resistance knob on the spin bike to adjust the fly wheel to increase my power output. To check the cadence output from the pedals I used a separate cadence sensor on the crank arm of the spin bike and the cadence output from the pedals matched with the crank sensor.

The Advantage of Power over Heart Rate - Faster Response = Better Performance

Battery Life

The IQ2 pedals are power by a low cost CR2032 battery which need to be replaced every 140 hours. They transmit a low batter signal via ANT+ so if the pedals are connected to a device that can read this signal you will know when you need to change the battery.

The Garmin pedals have a battery life of 120 hours using a CR2032 and the Favero Assioma power pedals are rechargeable and last 50 hours.

The battery is easily replaced by unscrewing the pedal end cap.

Compatibility

The IQ2 pedals are compatible with Look KEO cleats.

I used these pedals to connect to Zwift, Wahoo SYSTM and Veloctiy cycling Apps without problem. All of the Apps I used “found” my pedals quickly and the pedals “woke up” quickly once I started pedalling.

IQ2 Pedals versus Garmin and Assioma Summary Table

To help you decide if the IQ2 pedals are for you I have summarized their details and mapped them against their competitors Garmin and Favero in the table below.

Price and Value for Money

Considering the feature set and accuracy when compared to other pedal on the market the IQ2 pedals the price tag of €249 is attractive. The Garmin pedals are around €599 and Favero Assioma pedals are around €445 for their single sided variants.

The IQ2 pedals have a longer battery life and can be used by larger athletes (up to 120kg).

The IQ2 pedal team have done a great job of matching or exceeding the features set of other power pedals on the market so I would say that they are good value for money.

Pros

List the positive aspects of the IQ2 pedals based on your experience and observations.

• Price is low for power pedals of this type compared to Garmin Rally RS100 and Favero Assioma.
• Accurate to 1%
• Battery life is 140 hours compared to 120 hours of other pedals.
• Weight limit is 120kg versus 105kg of other pedals.

• Power Range: 0-2600W.

• Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity.

Cons

• There are no installation instructions in the box. This would have helped with guidance on what to do with the battery for example. Was it a spare one or did it need installing?
• The IQ2 customer support is pretty much non-existent. I tried their online bot, web form and direct email several times and only got one reply which was a standard reply. I replied to this email to ask more questions and did not hear back.
• These pedals are heavier than its rivals.
• Their waterproof rating is IP54 which is lower than other power pedal manufacturers but their customer support assure me you can use the pedals in the rain.

Conclusion

Overall, I was really impressed with the price and performance of the IQ2 power pedals. There was a small hiccup with the installation process but once I resolved it using them has been very simple and with quick connection to Zwift, Wahoo, and Velocity.

The IQ2 customer support was close to non-existent and even watching the videos I still had to figure out things in the set up.

The feature set of the IQ2 power pedals stacks up well against their main competitors Garmin and Favero. In fact, when it comes to battery life, cadence range and power range they exceed their competitors.

They have an odd waterproof rating which is lower than the others so one does wonder if this is good enough for very wet conditions. Their customer support say that they will work in the rain and are water resistant rather than waterproof so use normally and do not immerse in water for long periods.

I would definitely recommend them as an alternative to indoor riding on a high-end intelligent turbo trainer and were idea for use on my spin bike. I would also recommend them for indoor training with rollers. You can reads about how I used them with my spin bike here.

I was a bit worried about their waterproof rating so for outdoor use. I have contacted them to clarify if they are good to use on rainy days and they have said they have used the pedals in the rain for 4 years without problems.

Final Thoughts

These IQ2 pedals are great value for money with an impressive specification but don’t expect much in the way of customer support.

Karen Parnell is a Level 3 British Triathlon and IRONMAN U Certified Coach, WOWSA Level 3 open water swimming coach, 80/20 Endurance Certified Coach and NASM Personal Trainer and Sports Technology Writer. 

Need a training plan? I have plans on TrainingPeaks and FinalSurge:

TrainingPeaks

FinalSurge

I also coach a very small number of athletes one to one for all triathlon distances, open water swimming events and running races, email me for details and availability. Karen.parnell@chilitri.com

IQ2 Power Pedals FAQ

Q1: How does the power meter work?

The iQsquare power meter pedal is equipped with a thin film strain gauge and a load cell. The strain gauge is directly deposited on the axle and is molecularly bonded to the surface. This is a highly accurate and fully automated process which results in absolutely identical power meters during production.

Q2: Should I choose a single or double pedal?

The single-sided option is a budget friendly option that provides you with accurate information on the power produced by one leg. However, most cyclists do not have a 50/50 power balance between the left and the right leg. Therefore, we recommend using a set to get the most precise measurement.

Q3: What data is produced?

- Total power 
- Left/right balance (when using power meter pedal set) 
- Torque effectiveness 
- Pedal smoothness 
- Cadence

Q4: Is there an increase in Q-factor?

No.

Q5: Is there a weight limit?

Yes, the weight limit is 120 kg / 265 lb. 

Q6: What’s the battery life?

The CR2032 lithium coin cell has a battery life of up to 140 hours. 

Q7: What bikes are compatible?

The iQsquare pedal power meter is compatible with all bikes. We offer specifically designed pedals for both road and mountain bikes, which can also be used for track and triathlon. 

Q8: What devices are compatible?

The power meter pedals connect through ANT+ and Bluetooth to all bike computers and sports apps. See 'Compatible Devices'. 

Q9: How does setup work?

When installing the iQsquare power meter for the first time on your bike, our configuration app (available for Android and iOS) helps you set up your power meter step by step.

Q10: What is the Q-Factor?

It's the width of your crankset. When you are seated on the bike, and look down, the Q-factor measurement represents the distance from the outer edge of one crankarm to the other.

Q11: Why is the Q-Factor important?

The Q Factor is a fundamental value at a biomechanics level, because that width directly affects how our hips have to open or close when placing our feet on the pedals.

IQ2 Road Power Pedals Fully Specification

MEASUREMENT

Power Range: 0-2600W

Power Accuracy: 1%

Cadence Range: 10-200 rpm

Sensor: Full bridge thin film strain gauge

Sample Frequency: Up to 2000 samples per seconds

Temperature Compensation: Full continuous temperature compensation

FEATURES

Wireless Communication: ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart

Transmits Total Power

L R Power Balance: when using iQsquare left and right power meter

Pedal Smoothness: Torque Effectiveness

Transmits Cadence: Yes

BATTERY

Battery Type: 3V CR2032 lithium coin cell: Replaceable By User

Battery Life: Up to 140 hours

Auto Power On/Off: Low Battery Warning: through ANT+ message

CONFIGURATION

Configuration App: iQsquare configuration app for IOS and Android

Firmware Updatable: through iQsquare configuration app

User Configuration: Crank length

DIMENSIONS

Dimensions: 95 x 105 x 35 mm

Q-Factor: 55 mm

Weight: 189 gram per side including battery

Pedal Threading: 9/16"-20 tpi

ENVIRONMENT

Temperature Range: -10~50 degrees Celsius

Water Proof Rating: manufactured to the IP54 standard

Maximum Rider Weight: 120 kg

MISC

Warranty: 2 years