At the risk for getting nailed an idiot, I am new to the tri game and am looking at making gradual upgrades. I am looking to get a rear wheel to train and race on (with disc) but am strapped for cash. I was wondering if it is possible to purchase a rear wheel and then later on install a powertap hub? I know that most companies have them manufactured that way and that some wheels cannot be converted but are there wheels that are easy to swap out the hubs or do I need to continue to save and buy the PT w/wheel all at once?
A good shop can rebuild almost any wheel you bring them with a PowerTap hub for about $100, assuming the PT hub is drilled for the same number of spokes as your wheel.
As the other poster replied, you can always rebuild a spoked hub onto another rim if the spoke holes are the same. BUT, you can’t do this with a disc (which was part of your question.) I would just forget the disc option completely (a PT disc is almost $3k.) Most would suggest just putting a wheel cover on your regular PT wheel for under a hundred. If you would seriously consider a PT disc that might put you in the price range to look at an SRM or Quarq system instead of the powertap.
Another possibility is to get whatever wheel you can afford right now and get Wheelbuilder.com to customize a disc cover for that wheel. That would make for a very versatile wheel yet cost effective.
To answer your question though, yes, you can rebuild a wheel later with a PowerTap hub assuming the wheel has “normal” (wire) spokes. Something like a Zipp will work fine, almost none of the Mavic wheels will work.
A good shop can rebuild almost any wheel you bring them with a PowerTap hub for about $100, assuming the PT hub is drilled for the same number of spokes as your wheel.
$100.00? I would guess a bit more than that. Figure that you would need all new spokes, I would replace the nipples…blah blah blah. To me, it makes no sense to have a two step plan for a PT.
here is what i would suggest:
-get a bulletproof powertap wheel off of ebay, wired ones are cheaper, and work great if you only have 1 bike
-get a disk-cover from wheelbuilder.com
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last year i took an open pro rim and a 32H PT hub into a shop to be laced. i asked for DT Rev spokes (the most costly round spokes as far as i knew that were durable) and brass nipples. Total cost to me including labour and parts was ~US$55.
edit: i’d never bought anything from that shop before by the way, and i only went there on the reputation of the builder there.