An SRM PowerControl power meter head unit with GPS capability and a new display could be launched before the end of August.
Speaking at the 2013 Tour de France in Nice, SRM team liaison and sponsorship manager Daniel Gillespie told BikeRadar that the company are working on a successor to their PowerControl 7. The new device will have GPS recording so riders can upload location data to mapping sites such as Strava. A big objective, however, is to retain the current unit’s simplicity.
“We’re going to add GPS so that you can download it onto Strava and look at different ways you can utilise that technology,” Gillespie said. "We won’t have the mapping capability because that takes up too much battery life."
As well as extended functionality of the power meter display, a new screen is also being trialled. “Right now we have the display and we have the drawings for the case, but the case is what we’re working on,” Gillespie said.
Time trial riders and triathletes could benefit as the German company are working on new mountings too.
SRM make special PowerControl 7 shells for riders such as Philippe Gilbert (BMC)
While a finished product appears to be nearing completion, the unit is not being race tested.
“We still want to focus on the core and keeping it simple – power, cadence, heart rate and speed, because they’re still the most important aspects," Gillespie said. "We’re working with the professional teams who need a very simple device that can store a lot of data, so we want to have a scientific aspect, but then we also understand that the consumer market is asking for GPS – even a lot of the professionals are posting on Strava.”
SRM’s ambition is to unveil PowerControl 8 at Eurobike at the end of August.