A firmware update for your hub and your garmin should help.

---

Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Hello Nord0296,

I am very sorry for the poor service you received with your wheels. We strive to repair wheels as fast as we can, but I understand your frustration and would like to reach out to you personally. I would like to learn more about this situation and see what we can do to help.. Can you please PM me. Thank you.

---

Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Thanks for reaching out Matt, I appreciate your past and present attention to user forums such as these!

I have decided to pull the trigger and buy a powertap. Looking at their website, it seems more practical to buy a wheelset then the hub alone. I figure, why buy just the hub, when for the same price (or just a little bit more) you can get a free wheelset. With that being said I'm torn between the Powertap Alloy Wheelset and the DT Swiss 460 Wheelset. Both wheels cost the same, so price is a null point. From what I can tell the only difference is that the powertap wheels have 32 spokes on both wheels whereas the DT Swiss' has 24 and 28 respectively. Also the powertap wheels are a mere 40 grams heavier. I weigh 170 lbs (77kg) and don't race (yet) so these wheels will be primarily used for training.

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Does the difference between a 28 and 32 hole wheel matter all that much in regards to durability and speed? I have also heard that it is easier to find better rims for 28 spokes. Thanks.

Hey Lights,

The DT swiss R460 was DT's new rim in 2014. Its a strong rim and with the 28hole rear, 24hole front you shave off a little more weight over the G3 alloy option. The R460 also has a wider rim (23mm) and is tubeless ready, all you need to do is purchase the tubeless kit from DT Swiss. I think the R460 is a great training and even racing wheel!

The G3 alloy is a solid and strong wheel with its 32 hole option. Also, the G3 alloy is actually on discount currently at only $799, the R460 is $999. Both great options under $1000 for a wheelset w/ power.

Hope that helps your decision,

---

Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Just wanted to throw a big thanks out to Matt for his help in getting my new G3 to work. I purchased the G3 new from an online vender, and had it laced into a Zipp 101 by my LBS. From the first ride there were problems with the G3 dropping offline. I couldn't get the firmware to update correctly, and while it would pair with my Garmin 800 and my Suunto movestick, it would drop after about 20 minutes or so. Sometimes I could recover it by taking the wheel off and jacking with the powercap, other times not.

I called powertap and they offered to send me a new powercap to see if that worked. In the mean time they suggested some interference issues to look at. I did, but none of those things seemed to effect it's dropping off. I contacted Matt to see if he could get me a tracking number for my powercap, and honestly, to vent a little.

He responded immediately, provided me with a tracking number, and provided a way forward if the powercap didn't work. The power cap arrived that day, just a little less than a week from my call. I've since done two full sufferfest trainers(something I couldn't do before), and so far it seems like the new powercap fixed the issues I was having, and is working like a champ. Additionally, it came loaded with the correct firmware.

Most people only post when they are upset. I wanted to post something good as well. Thanks Matt, and thanks PowerTap phone service guy!

Hi,
My Joule's display says Memory Full.

I tried clearing the memory using Power Agent but got a message saying the attempt to clear memory failed.

Any suggestions on how to solve this problem?

Yea, Matt is really helpful, and a great guy.

Quick question maybe you can help with. I have the G3 hub and was wondering when the most recent Firmware update may have been released. Any quick way to find out on your website? If not, can you assist?

They used to post most current release. Now you need to download the PowerAgent software in order to check for updates.

---

"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Can I get it from the power agent alone or do I need to remove the cap from the hub and connect to a computer with the power agent running. I don't feel like taking it apart unless I know there is an upgrade. Trying to find out if in the last 8 months or so if they issued any updates.

I'd give them a call or e-mail to ask if there is a new version. Last I checked, it hadn't been updated since last March.

---

"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Feeling slightly disappointed this morning ;-( Having acquired a 2nd Powertap early last year (my 1st power meter) it became quite apparent that is was out of calibration. I returned the hub for service to the UK guys Paligap. The service centre called and explained it was pretty much shot, I just happened to mention that I thought the previous owner had had it serviced, they checked records and yes it was service 14 month's prior to me buying it, so just out of warranty. I it had full internals replaced, which is what they were proposing to do again, I then suggested it wasn't very good economics to replace a full power meter ever 12-14 months of which the Paligap agreed. I then got the whole garmin 500 speech, which I didn't know about and took them for there word, anyway we did a deal where I bought a soon to be discontinued Joule GPS (pre bluetooth version) and my power meter was fixed. The hub was returned and I built it onto a lovely Dymag 90mm rim. By this time it was autumn in the uk so I whacked a trainer tyre on it and i've trained over the winter and spring to power...yipppeeee. Numbers were Ok and lower than pre service, which I expected. My Zwift and trainer results were what I expected to be........

Last night I popped and new tyre on and ventured outside on the TT bike (Oly tri at weekend) I set of on a small loop around local villages which I've ride many many times, the numbers where big..initially I was feeling quite chuffed as I thought winter work had paid off ;-) but them remembered the pain I feel on the trainer pushing 350 watts, the lop is only 7 miles long so I returned home, i then did a manual zero and the number returned was......461!!!!!! Great my 1st proper ride and my wheels is rubbish!!! Funny thing is I didn't feel that 3 days prior that the numbers were massive on Zwift?

So what to do...checked email and it's less than 12 months since it was service. However I'm training for Ironman Lake Placid, my 1st Ironman quite a big deal for me! I have a half ironman a month before which will be a great test bed but without the wheels It's all seems worthless!

Tonight I'm going try the soft reset and check the firmware but open to other ideas...(should have bought vectors )

Update: Checked Firmware and it's upto date, popped it back together now the calibration number is 388!!!!!

I'd suggest contacting Waiteforit on this forum, as he works for Powertap. I found him both responsive and helpful, and should be able to help you get your problem sorted out.

I have an wired Powertap SL and I've lost the battery holder. I live in Canada and Powertap doesn't ship here. Anybody know where I can purchase one? I did see a battery holder for sale on Ebay but the shipping was crazy for such a tiny thing. Help would be appreciated!

Hi All,
I've had a powertap g3 for a couple of years now and it has been great, except...

I'm just about to purchase another freehub body, that would be the 2nd one I have stuffed.
It's a Campag freehub - not sure if that makes a difference.
In both cases, when I've pulled down the body for a look, the inboard bearing has completely collapsed,
little balls everywhere, only the outer rim is left and a crumpled up ring of ball retainer.

They appear to have reasonable enduro bearings, maybe not fantastic - kinda bottom of the line - but a good brand none-the-less.

So is this common? If yes then what do people do - just buy another or has anyone been fitting better bearings?

Of course it could be me (too much powa?) as I have also done the same thing to a Campagnolo shamal ultra freehub body,
but I'm guessing that is unlikely as I'm just a masters agegrouper.

regards,
Matthew

Had to ride in the rain today for about 2 hours. G3 was working fine until about 1:25 minutes in, then stopped sending data. Got home and pulled the cap and battery. Battery was wet and still had a good charge. The actual body with electronics looked dry.

Anyone have any luck drying out the cap and having the powertap work again?

hi all, i've problems with my power joule and power agent. for about two weeks i'm not able to transfer the data to poweragent

the message i'll get is "no supported devices found"

what can i do to find the problem (driver, power joule, device)?

Update:

I pulled the battery from the cap and placed the cap in a bag of rice for a day. I also placed the hub in front of a dehumidifier for a day to draw out any moisture that may have gotten into it. I lubed up the gaskets, replaced the cap and paired it to my Garmin. Garmin found the PT quickly and the calibration number was my normal 501ish.

Re: Freehub bodies

OK in answer to my own question;

The freehub body is made by Novatec for powertap/cycleops (old powertaps are Novatec-B1 new ones are Novatec-B2).
The G3 freehub body has two 6802 bearings - like most freehub bodies - these are the biggest cartridge bearings that can fit within the thread diameter of a lock ring.
They are press fit, the inboard bearing fit is much tighter than the outboard one - but this could just be the build I have, it makes sense as there is much more metal around the inboard one.

When I did the sums, a standard 6802 is probably undersized in this application for the inboard position and for "larger" people who climb hills with larger clusters and high average power.

There is a risk that if the press fit surface is not perfectly sized, that pressing such a small bearing into place can cause cartridge distortion and pre-mature wear - higher end freehub manufacturers (Campagnolo) let the bearings float and use a circlips rather than pressfit. (this causes other problems - removing a campag circlip is near impossible without a full suite of dental tools).

Freehub life is a known problem and there are reports of professional outfits replacing the bearings with better or ceramic hybrid bearings before using them. There are bike shops that offer a service to upgrade the bearings. I have not found anyone near me, but I'm in Oz and we get used to doing this stuff ourselves.

I've just successfully rebuilt one with some standard bearings as this was all I could get locally on a Saturday morning - I'll order some hybrid ceramics for the next rebuild.

regards,
Carpetrunner

I have a powetap g3 on Hed Belgiums wheelset. Great deal on Excel sports. Works great with my Garmin 510 computer

I own a PT G3 2013. Back in May, I've got a wet session with it and since then, It's draining my batteries, which last about two-three days. Some people told me it could be moisture that is causing a short circuit. Also I was advised to open it and leave it in sunshine for few hours to dry. Have you experienced this problem as well?

P.

I haven't had that problem and don't ride in rain often. You should be covered under warranty and might be worth contacting the company. Good luck.

xbrider,

I contacted PowerTap about it and I was advised to buy another cap (US$50), but they don't ship to Brazil, where I live. I'll try to expose it to sunshine and hope for better luck.

P.