Having some issues with my Powertap hub. It’s a 2008 SL+ with the Ant+update, built by Wheelbuilder. It stopped putting out a signal a few months ago and my local bike shop verified that the hub is not working (they sell and work on a lot of Powertap wheels and hubs).
Anywhoo, when we called Saris, Saris said to send it to them to take a look. Since I bought it from a team mate, I don’t get covered under the service warranty and it’s a $100 fee. I’m totally fine with the fee BUT the Saris rep also said that often the wheels just stop putting out a signal and I might need to replace the hub. I’m bummed that a wheel thats only 3 years old could be done already. Before I spend any money on a new one, I’m looking for thoughts on Powertap longevity. It seems like an expensive item to have such a short lifespan. Anyone else have a similar experience? Is there a standard life expectancy for the hubs?
I’m pretty sure that for a few hundred Saris will make it right
pretty much regardless of what is wrong with it and regardless
of whether you are the original owner, etc. At least that was
my (very good) experience with Saris service when my PT
had some issues. I’d double check with Saris again as to
what they will charge if they need to do a full overhaul. After
the overhaul they will warranty it for the next year.
once they are out of warranty and they crap out they do not fix them. They replace all the guts with the updated version for $300 . Nice part is that when you do that the warranty starts over.
That’s an unusually short lifespan if you ask me. My PT hub that I train on is almost 3 years old and shows no signs of slowing down. You said you bought it through Wheelbuilder. If so, I’d call Rich and discuss this with him directly. Rich is a stand up dude and he does a fair amount of business with Saris. I would think with him on your side you might have a better shot at warranty coverage or at least some sort of reasonable outcome. The ONLY time I’ve been denied reasonable warranty coverage is when an LBS called “on my behalf”.
If for some reason you are stuck with the $100 overhaul that’s not a bad deal. Saris will gut that hub shell and replace everything like new. Their work is excellent. And they’ll do it fast.
Okey dokey, how about a much shorter version of my question: How old is your powertap?
2006 wired PT Pro+. Still works flawlessly.
Not sure of the age of mine (as I bought it second hand) and can’t be exact with the distance covered in that time, but my best guess (from information I have dug up when the original owner first tired to sell it) is somewhere around 20-25,000 miles.
Its currently residing in its 2nd rim as well and works perfectly.
The display on my LYC has started to go funny (some of the LCD display no longer works), but it records and downloads perfectly.
2006 Wired PT pro - about 17,000 miles
2005 Wired PT pro bought used off ebay - about 10,000 miles
2008 Wired PT pro carbon shell - race wheel - maybe 2,000 miles
.
4th year with my700c training wheel/hub and 650c TT race wheels (not nearly the same mileage on those though until this year used it on trainer all winter)
1st year on 700c race wheels -
both sets of race wheels had to go back to saris - who took care of everything.
I’ve got a hub like that too. It’s the one I bought off Ebay, I’m thinking 2005? maybe older? It’s just like my 2006 hub but that one has a yellow cover.
I didn’t get a computer with it though. I’ve put ~10,000 miles on it since I had it but I don’t know what the previous owner did. The only issue I’ve had was a bad bearing cone.
once they are out of warranty and they crap out they do not fix them. They replace all the guts with the updated version for $300 . Nice part is that when you do that the warranty starts over.
It’s $350 now, and the warranty is for only one year.
A Saris rep told me that the Pro+ (alloy hub body) fares better in the rain than SL+ (with cut outs).
I bought a SL+ here. The wheel had 3000 miles, i put in 3500 from November to end of April. When i sold it, the thing still read 514 in torque testing mode.
My first powertap had some kind of weird battery issue. I would have to replace the battery about every 2-3 weeks. I eventually sold it out of frustration and bought a Quarq.
A year down the line the opportunity to buy a powertap at cost arose and I decided to give it a try for my other bike so I wouldnt have to keep swapping cranks. I think I replaced the battery once when I first got it and havent had to do anything since then, and I easily have 3000km on it.
