CycloWatt, a Swiss company with roots in the ETH Zurich, launched a Kickstarter campaign on 1 March for a cleat-based powermeter. The device measures power from the cleat rather than via pedals or cranks, and in the earliest backing round costs about €165 (CHF 179 standard). Within 24 hours, the campaign raised almost three times the starting amount of CHF 3,600.
The key idea: because the sensor is in the cleat, your power meter moves with your shoes. From winter bike to summer bike, or from outside to the trainer, without changing pedals or cranks.
How does it work?
The CycloWatt-cleat is compatible with Shimano SPD-SL and Look Keo (3-bolt road systems). Inside the cleat is a load cell (force measurement via a Wheatstone bridge, up to 1,000 Newtons) combined with a IMU From ST Microelectronics. A STM32L4 microcontroller processes the data locally with a neural network, a technique known as TinyML.
Key specs according to CycloWatt:
- Accuracy: ±3% (claimed)
- Battery life: 48 hours driving time
- Charging: magnetic connector
- Connectivity: Bluetooth and ANT+
- Stack height: +5 mm (team working on reduction)
- Replaceable cleat parts: CHF 15 (~€14,50)
- No proprietary app requires
Accuracy: claim versus academic data
CycloWatt claims ±3% accuracy, but academic papers by the team itself show a different picture. In controlled indoor tests, the mean absolute error (MAE) was 12.29 Watt (4.1%). Outside, that ran to 15.32 Watt (5.1%). The model is trained against Stages Cycling R7000 crank-powermeters.
By comparison, established pedal-power meters like the Favero Assioma Duo (±1%, round €500-€600) and the Garmin Rally 210 (±1%, round €930) offer significantly higher precision. A crank-based option like the 4iiii Precision 3 (±1%, from €300) is also more accurate, albeit less easy to switch between bikes.
For recreational riders and basic training, 4-5% may be useful. For those training at wattage with structured intervals, it is a relevant difference.
Stack height: 5 mm is no detail
The current version adds 5 mm add to the distance between shoe and pedal. That sounds little, but it affects your bike-fit, knee angle and the feeling of contact with the pedal. Co-founder Levi Luder says the team still wants to lower the stack height before delivery. “We believe that we can conclude the development and final test by the end of May, since feedback has been very positive,” Luder told road.cc.
The product is still in the “final development phase”.
Crowdfunding and power meters: a fraught combination
The history of power meters funded via crowdfunding has several failures. Two examples.
iQsquare (IQ²) Launched a pedal-adapter power meter in 2018 for €149 and almost achieved €3 million up through crowdfunding. During mass production, the design turned out to have irreparable measurement errors due to screw threads. The company switched to a completely different pedal design, missed delivery dates for years, and finally closed its doors in 2025. Backers were left with no product ánd no money.
Brim Brothers raised £160,000 in 2016 for a cleat-based system, the same concept as CycloWatt. The company shut down that same year without delivering a single product.
Kickstarter itself explicitly warns: “Kickstarter is not a store. The risk will never be fully eliminated.”
That is not to say that CycloWatt meets the same fate. The team has academic publications, a working prototype and a clear technical foundation from ETH Zurich. But the step from prototype to mass production is exactly where hardware startups get stuck. According to hardware consultant John Teel of Predictable Designs: “Entrepreneurs tend to completely neglect the complexity, cost, and time needed to scale their product from a prototype to mass manufacturing.”
As a backer, what would you look out for?
- Independent third-party validation of accuracy
- Concrete production plan and delivery date
- Waterproof magnetic charging port
- Whether stack height actually drops before delivery
- Refund policy if the project is delayed
Ray Maker (DC Rainmaker) once summed it up succinctly about crowdfunded power meters: “Unless I can touch and feel it in my hands, it's not real. Same goes for data too, if I can't see actual data with my own eyes... it's probably not baked yet.”
The CycloWatt Kickstarter campaign runs until 31 March 2026. More info at kickstarter.com.
