Easton has added a power meter option to its EC90 SL crankset. Called the Cinch, it measures power output via strain gauges in the bottom bracket spindle and Easton says it only adds 65 grams to the overall weight of a non-power meter EC90 SL chainset.
Without an external spider, Easton says it’s easy to set up the Cinch with whatever gearing requirements meet your needs. Easton’s EC90 SL chainset is entirely modular. So you can, for example, change chainrings, crank arm length, or from a single to a double ring set-up without needing to swap your power meter.
Cinch power meter plugs into Easton's EA90 SL modular chainset
The Cinch uses single sided power measurement and doubles this up to give overall power, so you don’t get the left-right balance option which you do with some other power meters. But you do get cadence and calculated pedalling efficiency and Easton quotes power accuracy of +/-2%.
THere's an app for that: Cinch comes with a power measurement app for Android or iOS
Being hidden in the bottom bracket shell, the meter is protected from the elements and physical damage. It’s recharged via a covered USB port in the end of the spindle and Easton quotes a battery life of over 400 hours. There’s built-in Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity to head units.
There’s also an app to go with the Cinch, available for iPhone and Android devices. It allows you to calibrate the meter, check battery level and put the unit into travel mode.
The Cinch power meter works with Easton’s recently launched EC90 SL crank arms. These use a direct mount interface either to a single chainring or to a spider for a double chainring set-up. Easton promotes the ability to change between different sized single rings as a major advantage, allowing a rider to select the chainring size that suits the terrain being ridden or raced over. There’s an MTB compatible 134mm version of the Cinch power meter as well as the road version.
The EC90SL crank arms with a double ring set up are available via UK distributor Silverfish and retail for £439.99, while with a single ring they are £389.99. You can buy the crank arms only for £339.99. On top of that a non-power meter bottom bracket costs £59.99, while chainrings cost from £79.99 to £96.99.
Sterling price for the Cinch power meter is yet to be revealed.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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