ARGENBUHL, Germany (BRAIN)—Saris introduced the Joule, a cycling computer it designed specifically for cyclists who train with power, to international media at Eurobike’s Demo Day yesterday.
Saris president Chris Fortune said the Joule adds to the CycleOps family of power-based training products, which is up in sales for the year to date. Fortune said the company went into the year projecting soft sales, but CycleOps products, which retail in the $600 to $2,200 range, have continued to sell well. As a result, Fortune said Saris sales overall are up by single digits.
Fortune said although the industry has been very resilient and able to sustain growth in a difficult year, he has mixed feelings about how the market will fare next year. On the positive side, recreational and commuting usage is up significantly, but he is concerned about consumers having less disposable income.
Nonetheless, he said consumers are looking for technologically compelling solutions that meet their needs, such as the Joule.
Designed to measure performance, the Joule works seamlessly with CycleOps products as well with as with other power meters such as SRM and Quarq, to put detailed information into the hands of cyclists.
The Joule line, which includes two computers, has a modern look and feel. The Joule 2.0 is the smaller model designed primarily for outdoor use. The Joule 3.0 is a bit bigger and is intended primarily for indoor use. They retail for $499 and $549, respectively.
Both versions offer customizable dashboard categories allowing easy access while riding to 18 metrics including watts, peak power and vertical ascent. In addition, eight detailed reports provide on-the-fly analysis with historical comparisons of today’s ride to previous two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks, six months or 12 months.
“We want to make it useful. The information will all be right there on the device,” said Jesse Bartholomew, CycleOps product manager.
Bartholomew expects the Joule will appeal to cyclists already familiar with training with a PowerTap or power meter. But he also believes it will expand the benefits of training with power to a new customer.
“We are putting things in perspective and introducing someone to training—not the technical or geeky side of training—by making it easier and simpler for them to reach their goal,” Bartholomew said.
—Megan Tompkins
