I recently just got a dual-sided stages power meter. To my shock, I found my imbalance was a whopping 65/35. How do I correct this? It seems to be much more extreme than the others posted on here
I’d start with some single leg drills, then “quadrant” drills. If you have access to rollers, spending some time doing drills on there might help too. If things don’t improve on your own, you might need to visit a cycling PT who can assess whether or not the imbalance is caused by a deeper physical issue.
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How do you see the power split on a stages dual sided? I’ve got one on my trainer bike, do you have to use a HU or the Stages app?
if it’s on a new shimano crank (r8000, r9100, r7000 etc) the L/R data can not be trusted as right side doesn’t measure accurately.
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Some items to think about are accuracy of the measurement, pre-existing injuries, the fit versus any asymmetry in your body, the fit versus how you actually pedal, and
leg/hip strength imbalances.
As said above is that an accurate measurement? Can you jump on a Wattbike at a local gym and see if you get similar results? Is that a constant imbalance or only at particular power/cadence? Has the power meter got the latest firmware? Was it installed correctly?
Have a think about any injuries anywhere in the chain from back all the way down to ankles, is there anything that might need addressing properly? There could be a lack of activation on one side for example.
Is your fit suitable? Could you be physically or functionally assymetrical? Perhaps one leg is different in length to another. Further to this some people get a bike fit when fresh and then the slightest fatigue ruins their form.
Can you try (under instruction if necessary) some strength benchmarking using both legs and then single legs? That would highlight strength imbalances and could even be as simple to start with as single leg squats to failure (with good form!).
Before panicking I would see if you could test your balance on another device, just to double check.
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Check connection from both sides first. I had some real power imbalance measurements on my vector 3 dual sided, and it turned out to be that the right pedal wasn’t connecting consistently. Check that first. If you don’t have a serious injury or history of strength problems in one leg, or perhaps a big fit issue, odds are it’s a measurement error.
Agree with all of the above. From what I’ve read 53-47% seems to be as far as most people stray. Can you borrow a friend’s bike with a PM for 5 minutes to double check?
serious Q, if you pedal one legged, does it say 0/100? i’ve seen some still say 48/52; stages is not pedal based so not sure how accurate that always is
If you’re using the Garmin Vector 3 pedals, it will indeed say 0/100 when you unclip one leg and only pedal with the other.
It’ll make also get wonky if you haven’t linked he pedals, like after a battery change,
I use the stages dash computer:
Non-PC joking aside, I’d have a friend ride your bike and see what it reads. Highly unlikely that two people who know each other would both have such a huge L/R imbalance, and it might be a warranty issue.