Hi Jmomentum, could you please send me the RA# you were given to send in the wheel so we can check out what is going on with it? Thanks

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

What version of powercap firmware are you on? The most current firmware, 19.058, has corrected the low battery issue.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Finally it was shipped back to my LBS and I picked it up yesterday. It was only a 7 week wait. Why it took so long I have no idea. After talking to the service center to find out what the problem was and why it took so long I was repeatedly reminded that I purchased my Powertap G3 hub online. If you are like me and enjoy building your own wheels and ordering your own parts then note that you will be harshly judged by the people doing the service work once you provide proof of purchase for warranty coverage. My LBS who was immensely helpful throughout this painful ordeal told me when I picked up my wheel that the service center did not want to do the work on my wheel because I had not bought my hub from the LBS. At this point I am just feeling relieved to even get my wheel back. Also of note is that I sent my wheel in with a brand new cassette, tire, and tube. Neither of these items were returned to me. Also of note is that my G3 hub has the orange graphics but the end cap that was returned to me with the hub is not the correct one that came with my hub. They put the end cap with the yellow 'PRO' letters on it. A total mismatch. I couldn't have a less comforting feeling about the repair work they did when they ignore these kind of details. The good news is that the power readings are now in fact correct. Apparently they replaced the entire torque tube. The bad news is that I could not possibly go through this process again if I have another issue. I have already lost two months of the summer. In summary, it seems like a great product when it works. I feel more urgency and professionalism from the service end is warranted.

Ah, we have a powertap rep back? PT and Garmin 910xt

Hopefully you can help. I had a PT SL, worked great for a while, then started getting random calibration readings, eventually always reading -772 (when before had been 500 ish). PT readings on download read something like 40,000 watts ave for the ride. Confirmed with a friend's garmin one day, both his and mine calibrated at -772. When riding I got no power reading. When coasting I got 2000 ish watts. Changed the battery, reset, etc and nothing helped.

Wheelbuilder agreed to upgrade and rebuild as a G3. Got it last week, calibrated fine at 500 Friday nite. Calibrated at 500 Sat morning, rode to coffee meet up and it was fine for those two miles and seemed to be reading correctly. Temps in the mid 60s, constant. After 20 minutes at coffee, got on the bike, flat road now read 2500+ watts Stopped to recalibrate several times, and calibrated at a -2 or -3. Although I was getting a power reading, power was reading at least 100 -200 watts too high (i.e. 2-300 pedaling easy). Took to the shop and friend's Garmin 500 and my 910 both read -2. Tried a number of calibrations, they all matched up. Eventually calibrated at 500 just before the ride home.

So for my 70 miler I had accurate power for miles 1-2 and 69-70 only.

Thoughts on this issue? Sitting here in my living room it will calibrate fine at 500. The problem seems to come with riding it, then leaving for a while, then riding again....

I have a G3 hub built into a Hed Jet 6 wheel, about 18 months old. Bearings are already going so I've been speaking with my LBS to have it sent in for service (cycles Lambert in Quebec as I'm up in Canada) I've never had bearings go in a wheel anywhere near that fast ever - especially since it was all fair weather riding, a lot of it indoors. My question is, is it possible (for an upcharge obviously) to get the DT swiss bearings that are in the new GS hub as replacements for the standard bearings in a G3? Or are the bore diameters different? Thanks.

I recently updated it and it says 16.058. Is there really a version 19.058?

I apologize I meant 16.058...I got the joule gps firmware and the powercap firmware mixed. What brand of battery are you using?

I am sorry for all the inconvenience momentum. Did you have your hub repaired at our facilities in the US?

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

We now use ABEC 5 bearings in all our g3 hubs and repairs. You'll get a smoother and longer lasting ride with these new bearings. Don't worry no up charge for the ABEC5.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Energizer batteries.

ChrisM, see my previous posts. I also had very high readings (2000W+) from my G3 which just seemed to come out of nowhere. However, unlike your situation I was never able to get the magical calibration number back anywhere near 500. So basically it continued to be off and I had to send it in to have the torque tube replaced (supposedly).

I wish I had my repair done at the US service center but I am in Canada (even though I didn't buy my hub in Canada). I was told I had to go through an LBS and then to one of the Canadian service centers. This created a huge headache for me for multiple reasons. In the end I was without my wheel for 2 months.

I had bought my G3 hub at the end of 2013. My hub was recently serviced. Would the bearings have been replaced with the higher quality version? Is there some way I can tell on my own? There was absolutely no communication from the service center about what happened to my hub or what they actually did.

Thanks. But ugh. I've had the wheel for about 18 months and it's already been sent back to wheelbuilder 3X, two to rebuild spokes and one for the G3 upgrade. Granted, they've always covered everything but a powermeter at the shop doesn't do me any good on the Sat ride.

It's still calibrating at 500 sitting in the living room, so I'll give it a couple rides to see what happens. Otherwise I'll follow up with what you suggested. I read your earlier posts and I too don't have much patience for these things.

People complain about computrainers but mine is still going strong several years later.....

Do you feel like it is accurate at 500?

Since having a new G3 / HED Belgium built over a year ago it has always shown a zero offset at just under 500. For the buyer's sake when I sold my PT SL+ I did a static weight test with a calibrated weight and at the same time tested the new G3 wheel. The G3 tested within 1.5% accuracy at a displayed zero offset of 499. I know talking to technicians in past years at Saris they seemed to get a bit riled up when mentioning doing a static weight test, but outside of that company it seems like a lot of old time power gurus still believe it is a good way to verify when in doubt. By doing the test it removed doubt for me and it seems to consistently show a zero offset close to the 500 mark.

Best wishes

Yes, the output readings following a 500 calibration seem fairly accurate based on my experience

Again I'm sorry you went through the trouble with the wheel repair. I do hope things are working out well now. I'll check into the situation. As for the bearings they will be the ABEC5. We changed over to those in the fall of 2013 so anything repaired or sold after that will have the ABEC 5 bearings.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Do you know if your auto zero is on? If not turn that function on. With all the different numbers you are getting I have a feeling that is the issue.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

I have a brand new PT G3 (In a Hed wheel) that I got from Wheelbuilder. Got it 3 weeks ago and have only used it a few times. It seems OK but I'm a little worried about something and am wondering if my worry is unfounded.

1. First time I calibrated (zeroed) it, the offset was 505
2. Second time, offset was 495.
3. Third time, it was 490. Seeing a trend?
4. Now it seems to have "settled in" around 485 - 489. I've used it probably 5 or 6 times.
5. I've replaced the battery just to be sure it's not that but it had no effect

Power seems to be right. This past weekend, I did the torque test thing (hang the weight off the wheel, do the math) on it and according to the calculator, it was off by only 1.6%. A little more than recommended but I'm OK with that for now. I also tested two other PT wheels and they were all within 1.0 % accuracy

Still, the low offset reading is worrying me. As I understand it, it's supposed to be roughly 500-524. I also understand that values a little outside of that range, as mine is, are not necessarily cause for alarm. But the fact that this wheel is so new and started at 505 and then worked its way down to the 480s makes me wonder.

Should I be worried here? Should I ask Wheelbuilder to take a look at this?

Jmomentum, could you please DM me your contact information? Thank you.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

You mean, data averaging, include zeros? Yes, that is enabled.

I will give that a shot, but won't that skew my AP/NP readings?

Nope, auto zero is a calibration function. The Auto Zero function follows the same steps as a Manual Zero but does it continually during the ride, usually whenever the bike is coasting for 4 or more seconds. You should be able to find this function under the calibration settings.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Do you ever stop during a ride and perform a quick manual zero on the hub to see what number it is bringing up? I would be curious to know what you get at that point. What head unit/model are you using when you calibrate? Please take it on a couple more rides and see how it acts.

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Matt Waite
PowerTap Brand Manager

Yes I've done a manual zero partway into a ride. I've been doing it a couple of times in rides now specifically because the number seems out of range. This past weekend, I did it at the top of Mt Wachusett, halfway into a 75 mile ride. It tends to stay right there: 485 - 489. Occasionally as high as 490

I'm using a Garmin Edge 500 as my head unit.

The same unit reports "proper" offsets (509 and 520) for my other two PT wheels. One is another G3 from 2012 and the other an older wireless SL+ from 2011

I will keep riding. I was going to do that anyway. I'm going to try the torque test each weekend, just to see. Just wondering if these low offset readings are the harbinger of something worse to come.

OK, hadn't heard of this so did a bit of googling. I see that auto zero is an option on a 500 (my confirmation test last weekend was on my friend's 500, but don't know if he had auto zero enabled), but didnt see it on the 910 anywhere. And I think perhaps it is not available on the 910.