Stages is back. Though, they’ve actually been back for a year or so now. But more specifically, they’ve just launched the new SB200 indoor smart bike, which has many ties to the older Stages SB20 launched in 2020, but in reality looks nothing like it.
Now I’ll dive into some of the company bits below (see the section titled ‘Quick Company Update’), but the new SB200 follows much of the indoor cycling trend of focusing on a streamlined design, greater rider fit aspects (e.g., serving both a small rider and a taller rider on the same frame), as well as better handlebar button integration with 3rd party apps. It’s a pattern we’ve seen implemented on full smart bikes from the likes of Wahoo, Technogym, Wattbike, as well as trainer-mounted smart bike-like frames from Zwift, Elite, and others.
In this case, both myself (tall) and my wife (vertically challenged) have been riding the SB200 for all our recent indoor cycling rides. Albeit, admittedly, the bike is technically outdoors. But we won’t let that get in the way of the indoor trend. So I’ve got a pretty good idea of what works well, and what I’m not in love with.
With that, let’s dive right into the newness!
What’s New:
While the SB200 is certainly an evolution of the existing SB20, I’d argue for the most part that’s really only in name. Almost everything else is different. One thing to remember though, is that when it comes to making indoor bikes, Stages has made far more indoor bikes than literally everyone except perhaps Peloton. And even there, Stages is literally making the newest Peloton commercial bike (you’ll notice it looks a heck of a lot like Stages existing commercial bikes). So…yeah.
However, one of the ‘complaints’ about the previous SB20 was that it felt too much like a gym bike, and less like a bike that would fit in your living room (or garage). And indeed, the thing was a tank. Sure, it could last forever, but equally, it was overkill to the extreme for home usage. Like driving a tank to school.
So, here’s how it’s different:
– Added side-to-side pivoting/movement within the frame (about 2*, adjustable)– Reduced the weight by 55 pounds/25kg (compared to SB20)– Added roller wheels at the back of the frame for moving/relocating around the house– Increased flywheel inertia 5x compared to Stages SB20– Switched to dual-stage belt drive (versus 1x belt drive on previous unit)– Adds front LCD/display, showing in-ride stats– Adds slate of customizable buttons, also preconfigured for Zwift, Rouvy, TrainingPeaks Virtual– Adds 5 custom shift/bike profiles, selectable right from display– Added full shifters, customizable to either SRAM or Shimano-style shifting (previously was just buttons)– Has braking for in-game usage, as well as just adjusting resistance– Added WiFi support (including connectivity across trainer control “standards”)– Added heart rate monitor/sensor bridging (into WiFi/etc)– Added fully wired internal shifters (no batteries needed)– All hidden-cable wiring, no exposed wires/cabling– First indoor bike to support OpenBikeControl– Also supports Bluetooth (including FTMS), Zwift Protocol (No ANT+ though)– Optional swappable seat post accessory– Tool for adjusting now built into frame– Changed from previous bear claw crankset design to different adjustable crank arm design (previous design was susceptible to failure when overtorqued, or sweat pooled in holes driving corrosion faster)– Changed to measuring power at the brake, versus previous dual-pod crankset design– Claimed power accuracy of +/- 1%– Supports both spin down calibration, and manual calibration– Added built-in spring-loaded phone holder above LCD– Added secondary tablet holder option– Added free Stages app that includes craptons of structured workouts for free– Added support for syncing in TrainingPeaks workouts to app– USB-C charging ports built-in (2 AMPS)– Added a simple on/off switch to rear of bike– Price is $2399USD/ £2199/ €2399
For context, the previous SB20 retailed initially at $2,899, though like all bikes shifted in price over time, especially in/out of COVID. Either way, the SB200 being at $2,399 is quite competitive in the full smart bike realm. Obviously, trainer+frame bikes (like the Zwift Ride) tend to be cheaper, though also tend to offer less fit adjustability than dedicated smart bikes. There are, of course other pros/cons to weigh as always. For reference, the KICKR BIKE PRO is at $3,999
Finally, as for general specs (rather than newness above), here’s the quick and dirty of the core indoor bike specs:
– Internal dual-stage belt drive– Resistance system: Single coil electromagnetic braking– Power support to 2,500w (1,500w @ 120RPM, 400w @ 40RPM)– 2.23” display (128 x 32 dot matrix)– 40cm handlebar with 31.8mm standard tube– Handlebar customizable buttons (10 total)– Handlebar braking and shifting (normal bike style)– Audible feedback when reaching the end of cassette/shifting– Free Stages app for control, customization/setup, structured workouts– Control over Bluetooth Power, Bluetooth FTMS, OpenBikeControl, WiFi– 4 concurrent Bluetooth Connections– 2xUSB-C power (5V @2.0A)– Q-Factor: 153mm– Rider range: 147cm to 208cm (4’10” to 6’10”)– Steel frame, phosphate plating with powder coat– Bike weight: 70lbs/32.3kg– Bike length: Min is 127cm/49.9”, max is 137.3cm (54.0”), plus tablet holder is 10cm (3.9”).– Bike Width: 80.4cm (31.6”– Bike Height: From 97.9cm to 117.2cm (+ tablet holder is 14.8cm)– Maximum rider weight: 300lbs/136kg
With that, let’s just briefly touch on the company aspects.
Quick Company Update:
One can’t talk about Stages without at least talking about Stages going under. Which they did back in 2024. Like many cycling companies coming out of COVID, they over-invested in inventory, which simply sat around for a market that didn’t materialize.
However, unlike some of the other brands that made this mistake and then went under forever, Stages only temporarily disappeared. Later that year, Giant acquired what was left. Keeping in mind that Giant previously built Stages bikes, and was one of the biggest companies left holding the empty bag.
One could probably argue that in some scenarios, Giant would have done the acquisition prior to bankruptcy, but I’m sure lawyers decided this method was better. Either way, Giant ended up acquiring Stages, and much of the top engineering that was at Stages ended up at Giant. For example, all the same product leads that I knew at Stages for the past 15 years, are still there.
Of course, short-term, none of this made existing Stages customers super happy. There was unquestionably a time period where Stages customers were the ones that got shortchanged here. No service, no parts, no nothing.
However, despite no legal requirement to do so, Stages has gone back and manufactured parts for the previous SB20 (you can find them all here). They’ve opened up support lines for it, and they touted that the current average customer support time is under 4 hours, and the average ticket closure time under 48 hours. They wholeheartedly agree the customer support situation (meaning, no real situation) a few years ago sucked, but equally they note that if you have an existing SB20 and haven’t tried support in a few years, to give it a whirl.
Looking at some of the Stages SB20 Facebook owner groups, people generally seem pretty darn happy with the current support situation. Obviously, there are some folks that were wronged years ago, and still holding that grudge (rightfully or otherwise). But it seems like the situation today isn’t really any different than calling Wahoo, Elite or otherwise.
Plus, it’s pretty darn unlikely that Giant’s going to disappear anytime soon. Should that happen, we’d have a whole lot of other much bigger problems in the bike industry.
Anyway, take those tidbits for what you want.
Unboxing & Setup:
Man, what a difference this bike is. I remember so clearly getting the Stages SB200 bike all unboxed and set up 6 years ago. It was just so…overly everything. An overly built bike, overly packaged for apparently being dropped out of an airplane at cruise altitude, and overly long, cumbersome process to get setup. Not hard, not difficult, just a general pain in the butt.
This time though? A world of difference.
The total packaged weight dropped from 160lbs/72.5kg to 103lbs/46.7kg. And the bike itself dropped from 126lbs/57kg to 71lbs/32.3kg. And more than that, Stages has clearly followed in the footsteps of Zwift’s consumer-first assembly aspects.
While it always takes me longer to do unboxing and setup compared to a regular person since I’m filming/photographing it, it’s probably equalled out by me having done so many of them. This one though, was just simply fast, even despite the camera work. After removing the cardboard, you’re left with these pieces:
Above you’ve got:
1. Main frame portion2. Seatpost + saddle3. Handlebar4. Front assembly (that holds the handlebar)5. Rear base6. Some power cabling stuff7. Extra set of feet8. The tools to assemble it all
You’ll start by attaching the base to the frame which is just two bolts. Quick and easy.
Side note, on this 2nd step, it has you finger-tighten the bolt. However, the almost-last-step, you’ll crank that bolt down nice and snug with a tool. If however, you forget this last step, your bike will soon squeak like an adult movie. I mean, just letting you know from a friend.
Next up, you’ll insert the front handlebar holding assembly in, and with it, the wires. This is where I want to point out how clean this setup becomes, with all the wiring internal. You can then see the cover I’ll place over it.
There was just so many little details while I was building it up, that were like “Oh wow, that’s super clever engineering”.
Up top, you’ll do the same thing. You’ll simply connect the two wires together. This is a 4-8 second task. And then the wires are now hidden from view. After which, you’ll put in the standard handlebar (which you can swap out), and then snap on/screw-in the cover.
What’s cool here is that hidden under that small circle is a mount for your Garmin or Wahoo unit (or anything else that uses those two mounting types…which is everyone).
At this point, the last piece to do is simply sticking in your pedals and plugging it in. I’ll cover crank arm adjustably bits in the next section.
Again, my entire assembly video file I had recording the entire time is about 25 minutes, and that includes taking a slate of extra photos as I assembled, taking extra close-up video of parts, repositioning a few cameras/things, etc… I bet someone not doing that could probably assemble it all in 15-18 mins tops. And all of it was silly easy.
Bike Fit Bits:
Next up, let’s talk about adjustability of the bike. As with all indoor bikes, one of the key reasons you choose an indoor bike over your regular bike + trainer, is for multi-person adjustability. Obviously, not everyone is sharing a bike, but it’s a main driver for many people getting a bike. Starting off with the main adjustable specs, you’ve got:
Rider Height Range: 147cm to 208cm (4’10” to 6’10”)HB Stack Range: 53.5cm to 72.8cm (21.1” to 28.7″)HB Reach Range: 34.1cm to 56cm (13.4” to 22.0”)Crank Length Adjustability: 165mm/170mm/172.5mm/175mmRider Weight Allowance: Up to 136kg/300lbs
So let’s go through some of these different areas, starting off with the crank length adjustability. This area has been redesigned, specifically to an address issues with the previous bearclaw-style crank arms snapping (mainly when they were over-torqued, and then combined with sweat pooling in the other holes and speeding up corrosion). This new system has two small plates that you match together to pick one of the supported crank lengths above:
It’s a perfectly functional system, though I still kinda prefer the bear claw design. But that’s more due to personal preferences than anything else (and probably a touch that when I test things, having a single piece of crank arm metal means I can usually get power meters torqued on more properly). But again, from a normal user standpoint, this is perfectly functional.
Next, there’s the front-end adjustability. There’s two core pieces here. First is the up/down piece of the front handlebars, and then the second is the forward/back piece of those same handlebars.
To adjust the up/down pieces, there’s a bolt down on the fork near the Stages logo, simply rotate that, and up/down you go:
Remember you’ve got that nifty wrench that’s just hanging out in the back seat-stay area, always ready:
Next, there’s the forward/back piece of the entire handlebar assembly (including the phone and/or tablet holder you have there). You’ll adjust the bolt under the front portion of the assembly to tweak this:
And then off you go to wherever you want. Super simple.
While having a hand-clamp like you’d find on the Wahoo KICKR Bike SHIFT/PRO might seem appealing at first glance, the reality is it’s not long-term. The KICKR Bike has long suffered from seat posts that slide, and the front-end adjustably can also be finicky. So as much as I prefer a tool-less design, having a tool that simply has a home in the frame means it takes mere seconds, and the seatpost/front-end/etc just doesn’t move. Thus ultimately, it’s a better solution.
In any case, for both myself (6’2/188cm) and my wife (5’2/158cm), we had no problems moving back and forth between us. Once you just right down the preferred measurements, then it’s easy to do.
I will say that one gap here is a lack of simple fit sizing chart, which Zwift does as a starting point for getting the right sizing. I had attempted to measure my wife’s bike and align it all up, but sometimes getting those things to match can be tricky at best. Same goes for trying to match bike-fit coordinates (especially if those fit coordinates are more for a triathlon bike, than a road bike).
Again, there’s obvious benefit to getting a proper bike fit, but the simple reality is most people aren’t doing that for their indoor bike (or perhaps at all). And thus having a company give a rough estimate of a starting point is really handy.
In any case, finally, there’s adjustability of the saddle itself. While this follows the industry standard bike seat/saddle rails, it doesn’t follow a normal seat post adjusting system (which uses hex wrenches). Instead, it uses these bolts, which suck for adjusting. I’m just gonna say that straight up, they’re annoying to rotate without hitting the rest of the assembly.
Setting that aside, the other gap here is adjustability of the seat post fore-aft. By default you can’t do that. That’s somewhat ironic because Zwift literally just came out with the Zwift Ride V2 addressing this complaint. Of course, Stages has a *TON* of experience in gyms with seat post adjustability, and their previous SB20 had seatpost fore-aft adjustability.
As a stopgap, you can go ahead and purchase an accessory seat post that does allow for fore-aft adjustability. But that’s an extra cost. In any case, neither my wife or I felt it was a deal-breaker, but equally, I do feel like so many other bikes include it by default, and was kinda surprised this didn’t.
Nonetheless, we had no issues quickly moving it between our different positions. Neither of us have perfected the bike fit numbers yet on this specific frame, probably because both of us can pretty easily ride on any frame roughly in our range without an issue (at least for ride durations up to a few hours at a time).
Daily Usage:
(Yes, sunglasses are sometimes needed here, as this is technically outside, just under a cover)
In this section I want to dive into some of the day-to-day usage bits, including aspects around the handlebars/shifting/etc. First though, I’ll start with the ride feel.
The new SB200 now includes a two-stage belt drive system (compared to one stage previously). Stages says this new system gives them 5x the inertia of the previous SB20. While I don’t have an SB20 handy anymore, I can say the inertial feeling here is very very very smooth. It accelerates well, and I’m quite happy with that. For fun, here’s what it looks like inside:
I’ve actually got to take it apart later today (more details on that in the accuracy section), so I’ll take some of my own shots and update here.
The only downside though to the SB200 system is the free hub sound when coasting. While certain outside bikes (within the freehub) have that high-pitched clicking sound when you coast down a hill, most indoor bikes don’t. Mainly because nobody actually wants to hear that inside. Yet, the SB200 does, and it’s rather loud when coasting. You can hear this in the video at the start of the post.
This isn’t a deal breaker by any means, but equally, I just kinda wish it wasn’t there. Apparently you can mitigate this a bit by packing some more grease into the free hub, which reduces the sound notably, though, it’s not something I’ve attempted yet. To be honest, this is really the only hardware-specific complaint I have about the SB200.
Otherwise, it’s very quiet, like most indoor bikes these days – essentially quieter than the fan you might have running.
So then, given I already covered adjustability in the previous section, let’s talk about the handlebars here. The new handlebars include proper shifters (the SB20 had lame buttons), as well as braking (which the SB20 did have). But the star of the show is arguably the small display here. I know some people don’t care about displays (and most manufacturers dislike them due to added cost and complexity), but it’s just such a simple practical thing:
This is less so about seeing your power in real-time (since whatever app you have likely already does that), but actually useful for selecting your gear configuration. That’s because the SB200 supports up to 5 custom profiles, with different gearing arrangements for each one. That could be two for me and three for my wife. Or it could be five different bikes for me (e.g. road 2x SRAM configuration, gravel/MTB Shimano 1x configuration, etc.). The world is your oyster here, and you can create these in the Stages App. You can see these profiles named on the left page here (along with the ‘Shift Beeps’ setting when you reach the end of range), as well as the options to the right.
Then when you power on the bike, it asks which profile to use, and you simply use the buttons to iterate through them. Brilliantly simple, yet super useful – especially for more than one person sharing a bike.
Otherwise, while riding it shows your stats. Though I do wish there was more customization here for the data pages/fields. There’s a handful to choose from, but I kinda want them to channel their inner Stages Dash bike computer data field geekery. After all, why hold back? It’s just a software list of data fields. Go wild.
In any case, above that is the phone holder, which both my wife and I have really appreciated. Again, simple things as a simple place to stick your phone (she often reads on her longer trainer workouts). Or the Zwift/etc. Companion app. Love it.
The two dots to the left/right are spring-loaded arms that keep it in place, either vertical or horizontal. The only minor nitpicking I have with it, is when I place my phone horizontal (landscape mode), it’s got a smidge too much force that it actually pushes the phone buttons. You can find some slightly off-center placement that manages not to do it, but…it’s not quite perfect.
Of course, there’s also a full tablet holder that comes in the box. I didn’t use it, simply because my wife and I were mostly using my laptop on my cheap projector stand:
I’m not sure how exactly it came that I went from like 5-7 trainer desks, to zero trainer desks and a $28 projector stand. But here I am. Ultimately, I suppose space was the main thing for me with my current setup for us.
Oh, and below that phone holder are two USB-C ports:
Next up then, the handlebars: I’m totally good with the stock grip tape here, and oc course, being 31.8mm standard, you can swap things out if you want.
Meanwhile, the biggest change aside from the LCD is of course, the full shifters, which feel just like real-world bike shifters. They click nicely, though there’s no drivetrain pulse/vibration like you get on some bikes (such as the KICKR Bike) confirming a shift. But given the tiny display there, it’s not a big deal.
There’s also brakes too, which will do exactly what the name brakes implies. This is handy mainly to quiet up the bike when it’s coasting if you stop pedaling (obviously doing this mid-Zwift ride though will stop your avatar…so…beware).
Meanwhile, on the side of the handlebars are the customizable buttons. Five per side, and are designed to roughly mimic that of the Zwift buttons – and they match directly up to that.
You can customize these within the Stages app, and on a per-app basis (e.g. Zwift, Rouvy, etc…).
From a shifting/etc standpoint, I’m pretty happy. All things handlebar are good for me.
The last area to mention is movement, as well as sprinting. The SB200 includes feet that compress slightly, and allow the entire frame to tilt side-to-side up to 2 degrees (officially). These are similar to numerous other trainers/bikes we’ve seen adopt this in recent years:
In reality, it’ll be more than that though, especially if you have a trainer mat there, as that compresses allowing (far) more movement, such as seen below. But at no point did it feel like it was going to tip-over. The back base area is pretty stable there.
Again, the main point of side-to-side tilt/sway is that so it feels like a bit more movement like on your real bike outside. If a bike has zero movement (e.g. the Tacx NEO Bike), it’s like riding a concrete wall. It just doesn’t ‘give’ and feels unnatural. So, the movement is good here.
Meanwhile, the one downside to the front end being rather skinny and lightweight, is that it’s kinda easy to throw it around on a sprint, and tends to bump up/down a bit on hard sprints. Now as always with sprinting, there’s a portion of the population that believes sprinting is best accomplished by relocating your indoor bike halfway across the living room with exaggerated motions. The other portion simply puts out the power, without the relocation. If you fall into the first category, this bike might not be for you.
In my case, I found that frequent hard sprinting would actually end-up shifting the bike forward, causing my cheap $29 Amazon trainer mat to bunch up a bit. You can see it occasionally in the video. I’ve had Amazon mats for years, and never quite had this issue, thus, while one might blame it on the cheaper aspect (or perhaps because the legs spread out a bit wider than my might), I think it’s mostly because the whole bike bounces a bit.
One thing that might help here is the RigidRide front fork accessory that Stages is offering, which is mostly meant to cut-off the front movement side to side. But perhaps that’d also make the front a bit more stable. Nonetheless, this isn’t really any issue that I personally think is a big deal, but just throwing it out there for those that might be more ‘agile’ or ‘robust’ in their sprinting performance.
With that, I think I’ve covered all of my daily riding thoughts, so let’s get into some of the app compatibility bits.
App Compatibility:
The new Stages SB200 bike is very unique in one aspect: It’s the first piece of hardware to support the new OpenBikeControl protocol, which is an emerging standard to allow apps and hardware makers a single open standard again. Previously, that was ANT+ FE-C, then Bluetooth FTMS. But these days with Zwift and their Zwift Protocol, the openness in the indoor cycling indoor (or the entire cycling industry for that matter) is falling apart. Of course, this is mostly due to Zwift and their pushing the Zwift Protocol (which drives trainer/bike companies to support it), but ultimately, these same companies are kinda part of the problem, due to them being unable to formally agree on anything.
In any event, the OpenBikeControl protocol is a great first step, and seeing an actual hardware company support it is huge. On the software side, it’s already supported my TrainingPeaks Virtual, MyWhoosh, and a number of smaller apps. I’d love to see Elite, Tacx, and Wahoo make quick work of supporting it. Whether or not Zwift will convince them otherwise would remain to be seen.
As a reminder, the main reason OpenBikeControl is interesting isn’t for clean/simple power and trainer control, but rather all the other things that indoor trainer/bike companies want to do around buttons, power validation, etc…Basically stuff that today they add extra special sauce to make happen (like Zwift does with the Zwift Clicks/Play/Handlebars).
In any case, as for the Stages SB200, it supports the other protocols you’d expect to see today. The only notable exception is not having ANT+ support, given the discontinuation of ANT+ nearly two years ago. I don’t think that’s really an issue here though.
Here’s what it does support:
– Bluetooth Power (clean)– Bluetooth FTMS– Zwift Protocol (BT/WiFi)– Open Bike Control (BT/WiFi)– WiFi: Power meter & trainer control
In addition, it also supports heart rate bridging. This helps save you a channel on Apple TV… Though given the WiFi/etc. aspects, that’s really becoming an issue of the past. You can pair any Bluetooth heart rate monitor to it, and it’ll funnel it in over Bluetooth/WiFi/etc, as a single channel along with the rest of the SB200 data/control.
In my case, I used it among a number of the big apps today without any issue. This included Zwift (all these screenshots are from my rides on the SB200) in both SIM & ERG mode:
As with all the apps in simulation (SIM) mode, it showed gearing without issue, as you can see below (Gear 2-10):
I used it in TrainerRoad in structured workout (ERG) mode:
I used it with TrainingPeaks Virtual in both ERG mode and Simulation mode:
And I used it with Rouvy in simulation mode:
I had no issues pairing it with any of them, nor any issues with shifting/braking/etc… Everything there worked perfectly fine.
Power Accuracy:
Like it seems so many trainer or indoor bike reviews, things got off to a slightly rocky start here, with the unit not quite being spot-on. Nothing horrendous, but about 5-8w too high in the most common ranges for me (200-350w). Slightly higher above that, slightly lower below that.
I’ll save you tons of extra data sets, but after a lot of throwaway rides, it became clear issue was that when my unit originally left the Stages factory for me some 1.5 months ago, the calibration rig wasn’t yet final. Long story short, Stages was actually able to send over an updated inertia value, based on the inertial data from within the app paired to my bike (it’s kinda neat, it gets a QR code that the app can read and download). Notably, Stages did not actually have any of my comparison data sets at this time, just my note saying things seemed off.
In any event, once I got that value, then doing a short warm-up, followed by a zero offset, and then a calibration (plus a new/final firmware update), the unit was finally sticking the landing. So, let’s look at those numbers.
Note that in this case all data is compared to a set of Favero Assioma Pro RL power meter pedals (dual-sided). I usually like to compare against multiple sets of power meter pedals, but frankly, I spent so much time chasing down offset issues, that I didn’t really have the desire/time to deal with some other power meter pedals being a PITA.
We’ll start with a SIM ride first (meaning, just following the virtual gradient, not a structured workout). This ride was done in TrainingPeaks Virtual, here’s that data set:
Above you can see the workout structure, which was a bunch of 590w intervals. Ignore the 4th interval in the second set, I had briefly stopped during the recovery period prior for a few seconds to it to grab a towel slightly out of reach, and TrainingPeaks Virtual had disengaged ERG mode but I didn’t realize it (since the power was so low that my easy pedaling felt basically the same). Once the interval started, there was no viable way to spin up to 590w in that short time period with all the shifting required. Anyway, point being, that was me.
Otherwise though, looking at the above, things look pretty much the same at a high level.
So, picking one of the intervals below, you can see that the power between the two units is quite close. I have no concerns there at this point. Though, you can see there’s quite a bit of variability in the power levels being held. While the jump from 150w to 590 was properly efficient (2-4 seconds), it did overshoot a fair bit initially, then undershot, and then wobbled a bit.
Part of that is due to the flywheel’s inertia. Generally speaking more inertia makes for a smoother ride (and it does), but it also tends to make it trickier for ERG mode to stick the landings, or be super stable.
In talking to Stages about this (from looking at all my other ERG mode sessions), they noted that different folks prefer different levels of smoothing. I’ve often talked about this in my reviews, and can certainly concede that I generally don’t want much smoothing applied to my ERG workouts. But to me, this just seems too volatile (my wife very much dislikes it).
As a result of my feedback and other reviewers, Stages is going to be introducing a three toggle system to allow a bit more smoothing to find some middle ground there.
In any case, back to the power accuracy here. Looking at the mean-max graph for this, it’s very close, easily within 1.5% of the pedals (which are measuring upstream, and thus should be slightly higher than the bike drivetrain):
And then likewise, here’s the cadence graph. The cadence on the Favero’s appears to be ever-so-slightly smoothed more than the Stages, where the Stages floats about 1RPM up/down most of the workout. You don’t notice it when looking at a single unit by itself (either unit). Only on a chart like this. Either way, not an issue.
Above, the discoloration around the 36-minute marker is when I tried to manually ramp up for that interval I missed, but obviously failed to react fast enough to make it work.
Next, let’s look at a Zwift SIM-mode workout. This one includes a few sprints in there, plus some sustained power bits. Here’s that data:
Again, at a high level this looks pretty close, but let’s zoom in on some sections. Below we have two different things. First is a bit of a 550-600w surge for about 20-22 seconds. In this case, the two unit stay basically spot-on to each other. As you can see highlighted below, within 1% of each other during this.
However, in the second peak above, upwards of about 800w, we see the two units virtually identical for the initial 2-3 seconds (again, within 1%), but then we see the Stages SB200 go a bit higher, roughly 100w higher. Obviously, with just two power meters, it’s hard to know which one is correct for these sorts of sprints. That’s one of the downsides of testing indoor smart bikes.
Two units matching can mean it’s correct, or could frankly mean both are wrong. In this very specific case, I’d edge more towards Favero being correct, given the way the power surges after the initial sprint portion (since most of my sprints tend to reach their highest power initially, and then taper off).
In any case, a bit later, two dual sprints in the 800w-900w range, and while the timing is about 1-second difference on these (welcome to the world of 1-second recording rates across multiple devices), they’re reporting very similar power. Again, getting two power meters to record identically on a sprint is usually more luck than accuracy.
And finally, a 3rd sprint in this workout, roughly 1,000w, and this time Favero goes higher than Stages. So…yeah. Again, welcome to the world of trying to compare max powers on trainers. And this only gets messier the higher you go (e.g. 1,300w, 1,500w, etc…).
Finally, looking at the Mean-Max power curve for this workout, you can see it’s within 1.5% between the two units at 400w, and only slight separation as we go up to higher wattages.
Last up we’ve got a Rouvy SIM ride from last night. This one was interesting, because I had some belt slip issues at one point. Stages has sent me simple instructions on how to tighten it (not hard, but not something I had time to do yet this morning). But you can see each time it slipped on a bit of a sprint, how things temporarily went sideways. Anyways, here’s the data. For the below screenshot I excluded the last 10-minutes where the slippage occurs, I’ll show it later on below.
Here’s a bit of a surge I did to 700w, and no issues here:
Here was three lazy 800w sprints I did back to back. In this case, you can see slight differences with each one, but equally, all in essentially the same ballpark. From either a racing or training standpoint, there’s no difference here. We’re again talking 1-second recording rates being the difference on these values.
Next, I tested high cadence on the unit, pedaling up to 190rpm before my legs decided it was enough. Had I tried it again, I’d probably gotten to 200rpm, which is the limit of the Stages SB200 from a cadence measurement standpoint. You can see the Favero’s flutter up to 198rpm here. I’m honestly not sure if that’s correct though, because you can also see down below it goes and oscillates a ton right as I easy-pedal, which doesn’t quite seem right either.
That said, the power between the two units for this high-cadence work was spot-on. Well done here.
Finally, as promised, here’s the moment the belt slipped on me, and then the immediate power offset. In confirming with Stages, the offset would exist until the belt stopped moving (which matches what I saw), because the bike immediately sees the belt slip and stops ‘trusting’ the values till it resets.
As noted above, Stages says I should only need to remove the casing and tighten a bolt one turn, and then I should be good to go. They don’t expect this to be a recurring issue once this is done. I’ll update this post once I’ve done that (it just happened last night) and then longer-term whether it pops back up again.
In any case, as for power meter accuracy, I’m not seeing anything that concerns me at any of the wattages I can ride. I simply can’t output 1,500w or other higher wattages, so I can’t replicate/test those (if you don’t know if you can hit those wattages, I promise you, you can’t).. But at all the wattages I can test, the power is looking good accuracy-wise.
I’m looking forward to a bit more middle-ground on the ERG smoothing piece, which is something I’d thought I never say given how anti-smoothing it is. But the faster power update rate seen these days via WiFi especially, combined with the faster update rate of the SB200 itself (at 40x/second), means we are simply seeing far more human variability than we used to in the past.
(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy portions were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, running power, GPS tracks, and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons; more details here.)
Upcoming Accessories:
Just a super quick note that there are three upcoming near-term accessories for the Stage SB200 that I want to briefly mention. I don’t have any of these three accessories at the time, but all three sound like they’re quite near term (days/weeks to end of year at latest).
They are as follows:
Hydration Station (seen above): This is simply two extra water bottles off the front fork, kinda reminding me often Peloton Bike setup. While they noted that many people might just have a table/etc nearby, as with most accessories, there’s a market for potentially edge cases like this.
RigidRide: Don’t like all the moment (or the front-wheel looking fork)? No problem, you can swap out the front faux-wheel and put a dual-pronged fork that you see below. This will reduce the side to side movement, and increase stabilization.
More Adjustable Seat Post: This seat post allows fore/after adjustability of the seat post assembly, rather than just the saddle adjustability of the stock unit. This is honestly one I feel probably should have been part of the base unit, given how common seat post adjustability is. There is not yet a photo available of this accessory.
Also of note, is there’s no pricing on any of these accessories at this point in time.
Wrap-Up:
I think the Stages SB200 is a very solid re-introduction into the marketplace for Stages. To begin with pricing, they managed to slice $400 off the previous 2020-era pricing, which is a very good start to things, especially given the KICKR Bike Pro sits at $3,999 (though the KICKR BIKE SHIFT, which is probably a bit more comparable, sits at $1,999). Obviously, the dedicated smart bikes are more expensive than the recent trend of frames+trainers. But they also serve a slightly different, albeit partially overlapping market.
Looking at the previous SB20 unit, I think the SB200 is a massive upgrade over it, though. Starting off with the ‘form’ side of things, it’s just a much more consumer-friendly design, whether it be the weight/portability, or the styling/look, or aspects like the display and phone holders. I’m super happy with the vast majority of the hardware choices here. I also appreciate the inclusion of an app with a bunch of workouts built-in, and easy sync of other workouts into it (such as TrainingPeaks workouts). All for free, without a subscription.
The areas where I’m not as thrilled about would be the lack of seat movement fore/aft being included, the freehub sound when coasting, and some of the ERG mode smoothing pieces. Stages has promised a very near-term firmware update to give users three options to sort the smoothing pieces out. So that should address that concern. The other two aren’t deal breakers for me though, so I don’t think most people need to overthink those too much.
Overall though, I’m keen to see where Stages takes this reincarnation, both on the tweaks/updates front, as well as potential future Stages SB200 accessories. And the same goes for firmware updates to the unit giving the display more customization/control. All things fully within their capabilities via updates. And beyond that, I really appreciate Stages adopting the OpenBikeControl standard – hopefully that’s the start of a trend from more hardware players.
With that, thanks for reading!
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