Did my 2nd (pouring) rain ride today. On the first one a few days ago, I splashed thru some standing water and POOF my PT quit transmitting from the hub (cadence, coming from a magnet only, kept working). It recovered later on.
This time, though, it conked out for a little while, came back, but the display itself faded. When I got home and downloaded the data, I discovered that one of two things happened… either 1) I have become monstrously more powerful as shown by my 30 mins at over 1200w, or 2) the water has somehow zapped the hub. We’ll see what happens when it dries out. The display an hour later is still all screwy and faded (maybe just needs a batt).
Is this normal PT rain stuff? Is the SRM any better?
Do you happen to know his meial address? I found the info@graberproducts.com address, but that’s it so far. I’m getting bitter just thinking about sending an entire wheel back to them (or worse, unlacing it and sending it!!!). You know, something that runs close to a grand should be a little more, um, reliable than this.
I had a catastrophic computer failure a couple of months ago and lost of lot of that very helpful data. (Not to mention some important Favorites.) Sorry, but I’m sure that will get to them. Call them tomorrow if you want a fast answer.
Yours is only the second Pro I’ve heard about leaking though. Assuming it’s leaking. Have you checked the left rear battery cover for looseness? Also, do you see any evidence of damage on the right side or a stick or anything stuck between the axle and the seal? (I’m reaching here…) If it’s leaking I’d bet the seal has failed for some reason. Did you hit something really hard? Does the wheel spin true? If you have a wobble, you might have a bent axle, which could have made the seal fail. Again, I’m just guessing. My internet mechanical skills are very poor.
-Robert
Have you checked the torque reading? Look through the manual, and see if the torque is zeroed. If it is, and you got 1200@ average power, you may have a bad connection between the computer and the harness (water creating extraneous signals?).
The fading display sounds like a battery issue. How long have you had the system?
Aztec … i have a local mechanic (VERY sharp guy) who used to wrench with Timex Cycling (and Multisport team) and Saturn (who was sponsored by Power Tap / Cycleops) … he suggests if it’s raining or you know there will be a decent amount of rain on the ride then don’t ride with the PT wheel, just swap out wheels to a spare. He saw enough of them come back from rides where they didn’t handle the rain well. He also says if you get stuck in the rain and it does what happened to you … just remove the cover and dry it out.
Not sure what you mean by zeroing the torque – doesn’t a reset at the start of each ride do that? Watts looked normal until 2/3 of the way thru the ride, then they spike up conspicuously.
I replaced the battery, and the display is now closer to the normal brightness. Odd that it would crap out in just 5 months, and during trouble with the hub, too. I’m suspicious.
I’m going to go inspect the hub and cover now for leaks, etc. The wheel itself is in perfect shape (DT R1.1, Spim Cx-rays), and pro build locally. Never crashed, perfectly true.
Ok, all of that sounds like a failed seal to me, or possibly a failing torque tube.
You can ride with the Power Tap Pro in the rain. That was a big knock on previous models, but the Pro has proven to be pretty good in the rain. A friend has one he has ridden in the SNOW and torrential rain.
But, if you are really disappointed with it, I’ll be happy to give you $200 for it. j/k
Call them tomorrow. They will probably have 5,000 emails to sort through for the holidays so it might take them a few days to respond to an email. Also, the sooner you know you have to send it to them, the sooner you will get it back.
By the way, have you also double-checked the wiring harness? No loose wires?
Good luck. That’s a great piece of equipment. Tomorrow is here today.
Oh, have you downloaded their new software? You can get the beta from their web site. Tres cool.
Heh, the new software may be cool, but it doesn’t do you much good when the stinkin’ thing doesn’t work! Plus, I don’t use the PT software because it’s so inferior to the CyclingPeaks s/w…
The computer/display unit has now fully gone blank. A new battery brought to life, and then I checked an hour later since I was going to test to see if the hub was OK. Ooops, no display. And I can see condensation inside it. THAT really steams me. C’mon, Graber, at least build the computer part water resistant!
I took the cover off the hub, and it only had a couple of super-tiny droplets in there. No sign of the kind of moisture I’d expect it would take to flood it out.
But, if you are really disappointed with it, I’ll be happy to give you $200 for it. j/k
$205. It has no real value but I am collecting broken PT’s. Everybody has a hobby.
No, resetting the computer at the beginning of a ride does not reset the torque. Basically, this tells the computer that the current torque reading from the hub (done when coasting) is supposed to represent zero torque.
I read it awhile ago… can’t recall all the details. Wouldn’t the thing show >0 watts when coasting if non-zero torque? I’ve noticed quite a bit of 0w time…
Monk, consider raising your bid. It’ll take at least another $20 to convince me. Ha!
Sounds like more of the problem is water in the computer rather than in the hub itself, my first powertap (non pro) did not like the one wet ride I did at all, it developed condensation in the cold and rusted out inside. I had it fixed under warranty, supposedly rebuilt to pro standards and I have done a wet ride since with no problems. It took about 4+months and a second send back to get the damn thing working right.
If I had the money and were doing it over I would go the SRM unit.
True, dat. The new Power Tap software is a quantum leap, however, The demo is free. You might want to take a look at it. Also, it doesn’t phone home or break if you install a new video card or cpu. You would also get your own copy so you can re-install it without praying that CP will decide they will re-authorize your software.
