I’m looking to buy my first power meter (have been using virtual power on the trainer).
I’ve got a road bike for outdoor use, and a TT one for the dumb trainer/racing, so I would be swapping the power meter between them, but seasonally rather than daily
I was thinking of buying a favero uno, but checking the used market, there are a few powertap g3 wheels, which would cost 1/2 - 2/3 of a favero uno (new/used, but I would also have to buy shoes/cleats, so the price is even more attractive).
I have learned (youtube) how to do bike maintenance, I have built a wheel, but I’ve yet to service freehub/bearings myself. I’m a software developer, but have no hardware experience.
My concern with the g3 is servicing, given it is a discontinued product. Can I get parts? And manuals? Are there people in Europe who can still service them if it stops working? How long can I expect it to keep working?
I did buy a pair (not from them, but through eBay with a no-reserve auction) for £50, perfectly happy with it, and considering getting the rear built with a wider rim to match my Mavics. Although with the price of a replacement torque tube, I’d probably just use them as a normal pair of wheels if that went…
With that said, it’s a training wheel, so that’s the bummer for racing and why I ended up buying crank based power meters afterwards for my time trial and road racing bike and keep the G3 on my training road bike.
Manual is online. Powertap is one of the most accurate and reliable PM’s on the market. It’s the best PM for field aero testing. I’ve had numerous PT’s over the years and have been on PT since 2005 or so with a quarq on my TT bike. I had to have the hub rebuilt on one bc the bearings went out, had the internals upgraded then cracked the rim about 4yr ago. In all my years w/ PT I had 1 torque tube failure
It’s a shame quarq choose to kill their best PM (powertap) in favor of their worst PM (quarq)
I would also have to buy shoes/cleatsAre you currently riding without cycling shoes at all?
If you do not have bike shoes, get those regardless. They are worthwhile and substantially improve your power efficiency (more of your effort makes it to the rear wheel). Oh, and the Favero Uno pedals come with cleats. I would nudge you toward the Favero pedals, because they are much more versatile and do not have service risks. With the hub, you lock yourself into a rear wheel that may not be ideal for either bike.
I would also have to buy shoes/cleatsAre you currently riding without cycling shoes at all?
No, I’m using the MTB Shimano SPDs (evolution from my commuter/touring history, and I still have too many unused cleats in my drawer). I also prefer running in shoes in T1/T2
I’m looking to buy my first power meter (have been using virtual power on the trainer).
I’ve got a road bike for outdoor use, and a TT one for the dumb trainer/racing, so I would be swapping the power meter between them, but seasonally rather than daily
I was thinking of buying a favero uno, but checking the used market, there are a few powertap g3 wheels, which would cost 1/2 - 2/3 of a favero uno (new/used, but I would also have to buy shoes/cleats, so the price is even more attractive).
I have learned (youtube) how to do bike maintenance, I have built a wheel, but I’ve yet to service freehub/bearings myself. I’m a software developer, but have no hardware experience.
My concern with the g3 is servicing, given it is a discontinued product. Can I get parts? And manuals? Are there people in Europe who can still service them if it stops working? How long can I expect it to keep working?
We (Cyclepowermeters) are the European service center for PowerTap for P2, P1 P1-S and wheels/hubs. SRAM said when they discontinued the product that they would continue to supply parts and service for 4 years. That was 2 years ago so you have about 2 years left. We will be able to do bearing service and calibration long after SRAM finish production of torque tubes and Powercaps for the hubs. After a bearing service the hub needs to be recalibrated.
I still have 5 powertaps in service working flawlessly.
I have tried to move away from powertap hubs and tried several things (Stages, Quarq) and only had issues. As recently as 1 month ago I tried again and bought the latest and greatest Garmin Rally pedals (since it had good reviews) and I am disappointed - since I can run them in parallel to the PTAP hub, I can compare and I can clearly see that the Garmin pedals have issues. Numbers agree at beginning of a ride but as time passes, the calibrations starts drifting due to temperature changes I am sure. Resetting the zero on the hub = difference remains. Resetting the zero on the pedals = PM’s start maching again >> Garmin has issue compensating for temps. Also, numbers on the hubs match what I feel.
Assioma pedals have a good reputation… but I do not want to change cleat systems - too many bikes and shows relying on the Shimano platform.
So again, being used to how well the PTAP hubs work and how reliable they are, I can’t find a good replacement. I am sorry PTAP’s were discontinued.
Sorry, long story but the point is, maybe I have been lucky but my experience with powertap hubs is only good and if price is good and you can save money, I would say go for it.
I would go for an already built wheel though, I would not go through the hassle to try to build a wheel around a bare hub… but that’s just me.
PTs are stone axe reliable. My recommendation would be to check the bearings before you buy. As long as they are smooth you should be good to go. The reason is that you are supposed to recalibrate the PT with a hanging weight when you replace beraings. I leave that to the experts rather than do it myself and a service to replace bearings and recalibrate is about $150.
The only other disadvantage is that you need one for every rear wheel, which is why people who still use them typically have about 4 or 5. Otherwise they are the best powermeter in terms of price and performance, which is why they are so popular for areo testing.