2009 Powertap Lineup

The Elite model is $200 cheaper and weighs 158g more than the 466g Pro+ hub (624 v. 466). A HR strap is not included with the Elite model either.

There's a nice video review of the 2009 Product line from RoadBikeReview.com from Interbike here:
fascatcoaching.comfascatcoaching.comOpen ↗

fas_cat said:

The Elite model is $200 cheaper and weighs 158g more than the 466g Pro+ hub (624 v. 466). A HR strap is not included with the Elite model either.

There's a nice video review of the 2009 Product line from RoadBikeReview.com from Interbike here:
fascatcoaching.comfascatcoaching.comOpen ↗

I like the time in zone on the CPU... very handy for making sure you actualy do a lv2 workout when you're supposed to

Thanks Frank (et. al), good summary on the video. I was just wondering if they were doing something else in addition, like cheaper seals or bearings, to hit the Elite+ price point.

I like the time in zone, too. HR I can do without, and I've never had issues with only 8hr of CPU memory (at 5 sec recording).

BTW, the video link is actually here: fascatcoaching.compowertap.htmlOpen ↗

frenchyge said:

Thanks Frank (et. al), good summary on the video. I was just wondering if they were doing something else in addition, like cheaper seals or bearings, to hit the Elite+ price point.

I like the time in zone, too. HR I can do without, and I've never had issues with only 8hr of CPU memory (at 5 sec recording).

BTW, the video link is actually here: fascatcoaching.compowertap.htmlOpen ↗

Yeah you're welcome. I designed a new PowerTap Page over the weekend and moved the video from Interbike there.

There's also a nice table highlighting the price, features, hub weight, etc...

frenchyge said:

Thanks Frank (et. al), good summary on the video. I was just wondering if they were doing something else in addition, like cheaper seals or bearings, to hit the Elite+ price point.

I like the time in zone, too. HR I can do without, and I've never had issues with only 8hr of CPU memory (at 5 sec recording).

BTW, the video link is actually here: fascatcoaching.compowertap.htmlOpen ↗

Yeah, that's a nice summary but the CPU memory capacity would be at 1-second (1.26-sec) recording frequency.

Alex Simmons said:

Yeah, that's a nice summary but the CPU memory capacity would be at 1-second (1.26-sec) recording frequency.

You're right. I have no idea what I was thinking (maybe my old Polar HRM....).

Krazyderek said:

I like the time in zone on the CPU... very handy for making sure you actualy do a lv2 workout when you're supposed to

Only if you give it a fair bit of thought as to what it's actually telling you...for instance, say I'm supposed to spend 30 mins at 400 watts..(yeah Ok, I can't but lets just say 😄)....during a 3 hour ride, I could easily 'just be riding around' a few hills without a lot of effort & get 30, 1 min 'snap shots' of 400 watts, or 60, 30sec etc etc...I get home review the file & find I've spent 30 mins at 400 watts...I'm sure most folks serious enough to be training with a PM aren't going to be 'bluffed'...but it's a reminder to think about what the data the thing is showing you actually represents

"The 2009 Elite PowerTap is a superb value and would make a great introductory powermeter"

What a joke. $1100? Introductory? That's easily $400 more than the powertaps back in 03 or so.

It's funny as hell that these companies can keep raising the prices on their "introductory" products. The sad part is, there are LOTS of new riders out there that are feeling pressured into believeing that they need to spend $1100+ in order to train well. WHAT A JOKE.

I love my powertap (when it worked), but this whole training with power thing is getting ridiculous. NOOBS need to learn that much more goes into successful cycling than staring at an LCD screen or their computer when they go home.

Powermeters are like the icing on the cake. You need a solid foundation of experience and training under you before you are really able to to utilize them as they should be.

velomanct said:

The sad part is, there are LOTS of new riders out there that are feeling pressured into believeing that they need to spend $1100+ in order to train well. WHAT A JOKE.

I would say that the sad part is that people who already spent >$3000 on a bike say that they could never justify a power meter.

Cranky Old Man wrote:

Quoted post said:

Cars were cheaper back in my day too, and they did the EXACT same thing as today's cars. You kids are crazy for spending that kind of money on a car! 🙄

The Elite+ is a wireless unit with a $999 MSRP. What is the inflation adjusted MSRP for the '03 wireless units with 7.5 hrs recording time at 1sec interval you were looking at? I know the Elite+ comes in significantly cheaper than any wireless units that were available last year.

velomanct said:

NOOBS need to learn that much more goes into successful cycling than staring at an LCD screen or their computer when they go home.

Powermeters are like the icing on the cake. You need a solid foundation of experience and training under you before you are really able to to utilize them as they should be.

Really, because since '03 a lot of good books have been published to teach people how to use them effectively in a training program?

Cycling NOOBS, please PM your training credentials to Velomanct *before purchasing* a powermeter so that he can evaluate whether you are sufficiently qualified to benefit from them or not. 🙄

Velomanct, why do you continue to beat this drum? What is the source of all your frustration that others are doing *too much* in their efforts to become great cyclists (training in the winter, wasting their money, etc.)? 😕

Let it all out, buddy. We're here for you.

Steve_B said:

I would say that the sad part is that people who already spent >$3000 on a bike say that they could never justify a power meter.

I predict that within 5 years all high end racing bikes will come standard with a PM (Shimano?).

frenchyge said:

Velomanct, why do you continue to beat this drum? What is the source of all your frustration that others are doing *too much* in their efforts to become great cyclists (training in the winter, wasting their money, etc.)? 😕

Let it all out, buddy. We're here for you.

Hard to say whether Velo is just a troll, immature, or both. The gist of Velo's threads seems to be that "I was a teenage sensation, big fish in a very small pond, had some success early, it came relatively easy to me. And even though I have never really reached my potential, I am going to criticize folks who take a different path."

Velo, here is the score from the older set. When I was in my early 20s, I had much more time than money, and I was young so progress was relatively easy, provided I put the time in. And I had 20 hours week to ride, and fart around before and after. At 42, I have more money than time so an $1100 device designed to maximize the results from that limited time is valuable to me. For me, fortunately, $1100 is a few hours of work in what I do. But I don't have an extra 12 hours a week to put in extra time on the bike, so it makes sense. At 21, it might not make the same sense. If my disposable income was considerably less, it would make no sense. But neither would $900 wheelsets, or any groupo over 105 make sense.

Considering the amount we spend on bikes and associated gear, a power meter is not really a major expense.

What it does do is help you to make far more effective progress.

If it's icing on the cake, so are STI, clipless pedals, QR wheels. You can get by just fine without them, but your cycling is so much more effective with them.

Why don't we all just freeze time at Mauric Garin's era? He won the first Tour de France without this modern stuff like derailleur gears, so we should all be happy to emulate him...

frenchyge said:

The Elite+ is a wireless unit with a $999 MSRP. What is the inflation adjusted MSRP for the '03 wireless units with 7.5 hrs recording time at 1sec interval you were looking at? I know the Elite+ comes in significantly cheaper than any wireless units that were available last year.

Unfortunately the new range seems to underline that Saris expect power meters to remain a small, niche, expensive market. Rather than reduce prices on the low end stuff they've chosen to add new features to keep the price high, presumably to make a better return % out of a small market. Why does the entry-level model suddenly need to be wireless? 2 years ago the top-of-the-range was wired. For return customers it pushes the prices up even more, because if I want a spare wheel now I need to buy a new head-unit as well to get it wireless.

Powertap is a great product, but at times I do feel a bit like Saris have us over a barrel called, "we're still cheaper than SRM". The prices of spare parts, like additional wiring kits or download kits, has been extortionate for some time. Don't get me started on the frequency of repairs required, and the time it takes for those repairs to be completed...

I couldn't live without it though 🙄

rob of the og said:

Unfortunately the new range seems to underline that Saris expect power meters to remain a small, niche, expensive market. Rather than reduce prices on the low end stuff they've chosen to add new features to keep the price high, presumably to make a better return % out of a small market. Why does the entry-level model suddenly need to be wireless? 2 years ago the top-of-the-range was wired. For return customers it pushes the prices up even more, because if I want a spare wheel now I need to buy a new head-unit as well to get it wireless.

Powertap is a great product, but at times I do feel a bit like Saris have us over a barrel called, "we're still cheaper than SRM". The prices of spare parts, like additional wiring kits or download kits, has been extortionate for some time. Don't get me started on the frequency of repairs required, and the time it takes for those repairs to be completed...

I couldn't live without it though 🙄

The wired harness has been the achilles heel of powertaps for many years. Now that all models are wireless there's less to go wrong. And your bike looks better.

fas_cat said:

The wired harness has been the achilles heel of powertaps for many years. Now that all models are wireless there's less to go wrong. And your bike looks better.

Agree with all that. But it doesn't necessarily follow that you therefore remove all wired models from the range. If you want to expand the market then you allow people to pay extra for a superior product (wireless) and offer a cheaper version (wired) that captures the lower end of the market. The new range indicates to me that they don't see the market expanding, they see it remaining as a small number of people paying as much as possible.

The first PT Pro that I bought cost about 50% as much as the new entry-level Elite+ I know the GB£ has collapsed over the past few months but still... a new SL or SLC+ built into even a basic wheel is now up there price-wise with SRM Prof or Amateur. I don't know what it's like in the US but over here an SL is at the price point of an SRM Amateur and an SLC+ is at the price point of an SRM Prof. PT always just a little bit cheaper.

rob of the og said:

Unfortunately the new range seems to underline that Saris expect power meters to remain a small, niche, expensive market. Rather than reduce prices on the low end stuff they've chosen to add new features to keep the price high, presumably to make a better return % out of a small market. Why does the entry-level model suddenly need to be wireless?

I totally agree with that criticism, but I know that many others were clamoring for wireless PTs before there were any. In the end, I think a company needs to keep their range of offerings fairly narrow in order to prevent competition between one product line and another, although as a consumer I dislike not having an option with just the features that I want. Personally, I could care less about the '+' as well.

As it is, I just ordered a PRO+ model after careful cost/benefit deliberations between the Elite+ and SL+. Honestly, if only the SL+ were offered I would have begrudgingly bought it, which means that Saris has lost some $$ from me in their efforts to attract some power newbies to the game with lower-level offerings. It's a trade-off no matter what.