Anybody know the cheapest online source for Powertaps?
And can you use the computer setup on race wheels without the PT hubs by switching the magnet out? Or do I have to switch out the whole system back to my old computer?
Dunno. I just went to my LBS (vs. onlone) yesterday and their building my wheel with Powertap this week.
As I understand it, you have to switch out the entire PT hub from wheel to wheel. If your race wheels and training wheels have different spoke counts (or disk), you might not be able to switch the hub. PT wireless has advantage that it is easy to move from bike to bike, SRM has advantage in that you can easily switch wheels on the same bike.
Yes, when the hub is removed, you can use it as a cylocomputer with a regular magnet. The process is outlined in the manual, I just can’t think of it off the top of my head. IIRC(and don’t quote me) I think you go to Cadence and hold down the select button until the WATTS dissappears.
I bought mine from edinabike.com - nothing but good things to say about them, good prices, good service and quick delivery.
Trisports is the place to go. Great customer service, fast shipping, competitive pricing. They have hubs, wheels and race wheels built on PT hubs in stock. Discount code below for 10% off.
I got mine from All3sports.com
PT Pro in a Velocity Deep V for training.
Yes you can use it as a regular computer. It’s in the manual how to do it.
jaretj
I got mine on ebay- worked great. They dont seem to go “out of sync” ie lose their wattage (i can check mine vs my computrainer)…i think i paid about half of what they are list- and clearly the one i bought had been used very little…the only part that seems to go “go bad” is the wire- and you can buy those for like $50 from saris to replace- the head end and the hub unit are pretty indestructible…
Best place I’ve found, was an ebay vendor (sportsduster) 100% feedback. $1100, for complete wireless system. I needed an extra hub for some race wheels, and got hub only for $700.00, everyone else wanted $900+. He said he is an authorized reseller, so I’M not too worried about warranty.
No affiliation.
“He said he is an authorized reseller, so I’M not too worried about warranty”
If that is in fact the case, and he gets caught, he won’t be for long.
Yes, when the hub is removed, you can use it as a cylocomputer with a regular magnet. The process is outlined in the manual, I just can’t think of it off the top of my head. IIRC(and don’t quote me) I think you go to Cadence and hold down the select button until the WATTS dissappears.
This is correct (get cadence on bottom line, hold down select until watts under top line disappears). The pickup is pretty damn picky about how close the magnet is, though. You will probably have to tilt the receiver toward the wheel to get it close enough. You can even download this data just like regular power data, complete with heart rate…it’s like a really, really expensive Polar. :-p
I have bought several hubs used, including one from Ebay and one here on ST. I’ve had bad luck with used head units, and in fact my newest 2.4 coded CPU is back at Saris for a display failure right now. I’d buy that new so you have a warranty.