Power tap or wheels

nath1 said:

Hi all, ok , i have some money that is burning a whole in my pocket, it needs to be spent. But i cannot decide which is the best option, a power tap , or a set of cabon wheels. Now the good thing about thye power tap is that the misses will never know i have got it🙂 , she will just think its a fancy computer. Whereas the carbon wheels are gonna be flashy, so shes bound to notice😄 . As you well may have guesed, she's not in on the idea:eek: . And thats the way i think i will keep it:p . So what do you think? cheers

wheels or option #2 save itand train harder

If you're serious about training, get the PowerTap; it will do more for you over time than the CF wheels.

I'm thinking about a power tap for my Trek 5900. I don't know much about them...what are the choices...what should I get? I'm a top 20% age group half iron man triathlete.

nath1 said:

Hi all, ok , i have some money that is burning a whole in my pocket, it needs to be spent. But i cannot decide which is the best option, a power tap , or a set of cabon wheels. Now the good thing about thye power tap is that the misses will never know i have got it🙂 , she will just think its a fancy computer. Whereas the carbon wheels are gonna be flashy, so shes bound to notice😄 . As you well may have guesed, she's not in on the idea:eek: . And thats the way i think i will keep it:p . So what do you think? cheers

@ Nath1: I would go for a PowerTap SL over the carbon wheels. With the PT you can use it daily for training and really dial things in. While the cabon wheels have a high "zoot" factor, ask yourself -- am I really going to ride these wheels everyday? For races I can see you using them. But how many days do you spend racing versus training? Just some food for thought...

@ Chris: Go for the PowerTap SL. It's the hub with the carbon in it. It is lighter than the other models but it moves the electronics inside the hub so it's much more weather proof than the other models.

I had some money burning a hole in my pocket about two years ago, blew $650 and bought a used pair of Zipp 404's on ebay. Good price...

Ah, they are sweet. Quick on the downhills, and such a velvet smooth ride. I can ride without gloves, and not get numb hands. Despite the fact that they're a bit fragile, and tubies as well, I can't take them off the bike. Just too sweet.

Granted, the power tap will be the better choice if you're serious about training and improving. If you want to spend some money and feel the difference, get the Zipps.

RoadBikeGuy said:

@ Nath1: I would go for a PowerTap SL over the carbon wheels. With the PT you can use it daily for training and really dial things in. While the cabon wheels have a high "zoot" factor, ask yourself -- am I really going to ride these wheels everyday? For races I can see you using them. But how many days do you spend racing versus training? Just some food for thought...

@ Chris: Go for the PowerTap SL. It's the hub with the carbon in it. It is lighter than the other models but it moves the electronics inside the hub so it's much more weather proof than the other models.

Is the PowerTap SL 100% durable? Like a cycle computer...or will it be breaking all the time? Does it do ok in the rain?

is my real name showing up on your screen? How do I change it to something ambiguous? What part of this web site?

Chris Somers said:

Is the PowerTap SL 100% durable? Like a cycle computer...or will it be breaking all the time? Does it do ok in the rain?

One other thing....do most people just have one rear wheel...leave the power tap on all the time...or do they have a "training wheel"...no pun intended, and then a second wheel for racing or other use. It seems pretty costly to buy a whole second rear wheel, casette etc.

Chris Somers said:

is my real name showing up on your screen? How do I change it to something ambiguous? What part of this web site?

You'll probably have to contact one of the moderators/administrators to change your username. Here's a list of mods and admins:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/showgroups.php?

SF Bay Triathlete said:

Is the PowerTap SL 100% durable? Like a cycle computer...or will it be breaking all the time? Does it do ok in the rain?

100% durable? I can't say that I'd say that about anything in this world. But it isn't fragile. If you go over to the Power Training forum and do a search, you will find a number of posts about the PowerTaps. There are people with good and bad experiences. From what I have seen, the good far and away out number the bad.

The SL model -- the one with the carbon in the hub -- is the most water proof because the electronics are built inside the hub. The carbon allows the signal to be sent through the hub shell to the receiver mounted near the hub. The other 2 models have the electronics on the left side of the hub. I have seen reports of people experiencing problems with the PowerTap and PowerTap Pro. But again, your mileage may vary.

SF Bay Triathlete said:

One other thing....do most people just have one rear wheel...leave the power tap on all the time...or do they have a "training wheel"...no pun intended, and then a second wheel for racing or other use. It seems pretty costly to buy a whole second rear wheel, casette etc.

That depends. Many people do have a set of "training wheels" -- something that is inexpensive and easy to repair, that you are not too worried about if something happens to them. Then for races they put on a set of "race wheels". These are usually something suited to the type of race (e.g. light wheels for climbing, aero wheels for a time trial, etc.)

By all means you can train on your PowerTap wheel and race on the same wheel. In fact many people do this.