The team at Dublin based Brim Brothers is ‘pulling the curtain back a bit’ to show some details of the forthcoming Brim Brothers Zone power meter. The Zone is aiming to take cycling power measurement to the next level with a simple power meter solution that fits on the rider not on the bike. No special wheels, cranks or pedals are involved.
First, a pair of Zone pods fit on a pair of cycling shoes. They are fixed to the straps or cords on the shoes. Nothing goes on the bike (not even a magnet). Zone uses the ANT+ wireless standard to send power and cadence data; so, according to Brim Brothers, it will work with many different bike computers from various manufacturers.
The slim and aerodynamic Zone pod contains the electronics. The pod is removed for charging and for upgrading firmware.
Second, is the base, which remains on the shoe with a tiny cable down to the force sensors inside the cleat. The pod slides into the base and clicks into place making electrical connections to the base itself.
The Zone force sensors go inside the cleat without adding any height, so the stack height stays the same. For the Speedplay Zero a special base plate has a space for the Zone sensors.
According to Brim Brothers, walking on the cleat won’t damage it, or cause any unwanted effects. The system knows when you’re cycling and when you’re not.
The system is completely waterproof. There are no connectors or holes of any kind so it’s sealed against water and dust. And it adds only 18 grams per shoe. That means a pair of Zones (one on each shoe) are still a lot less than the weight of most modern bike computers.
Formed in 2008, the founders of Brim Brothers are cycling engineers (or engineering cyclists) with many decades of experience between them in design and manufacture of electronic and software systems, and many decades of experience cycling competitively at a local club level.
Back in 2007 they started discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the various power meters on the market (mostly while out on Sunday morning winter training runs) and decided that they could design a better one.
The company’s vision is for a next generation power meter that has all the benefits of the existing devices but none of the drawbacks. It will be easy to use, easy to fit, and easy to move between bikes. It will not require any bike part to be replaced, so that it will work on any type of bike.
The company is finalising the specialised sensors and other technology needed for the new power meter, and has applied for patents covering the innovative techniques used. The planned launch date is ‘still sometime in 2012’. According to Brim Brothers, ‘we’re going as fast as we can, but we still have a lot of careful testing to work through.’
