Powertap SL

Unfortunately my SL is still on order (Saris is about 4-6 weeks behind on delivery at present) but my understanding (and justification for waiting for the SL vs. the current model) is that the main improvement is in the moisture sealing of the electronics. Because the signal transmits through the carbon fiber "windows" the electronics are close to the center of the hub, rather than near the edge. While not everyone has problems, one fairly consistent complaint to date has been with the PT failing under wet conditions; the SL is expected to cure that. I've also read (and was told by Saris) that part of the delay is due to problems with the software that they want to resolve before distribution.

I am also wondering if there is any appreciable difference besides the weight. I have a PT pro on my road bike and am having wheels built for my tt bike and am debating between the SL hub and the pro. I am going to get Zipp wheels and would like to be able to switch them between the two bikes for road races and time trials. I was planning to buy the hub only and a second wiring harness and use the same computer between the two bikes. It doesn't appear that there are different harnesses when ordering them seperately, yet I've read that an SL hub may not work with some pro wiring harnesses. Also, are the computers the same? I looked at the SL manual online and it looked like it might have a different computer. So now I'm wondering if I need to order the whole setup (hub, harness, computer), which adds to the cost.

thanks for any input

lescor said:

I am also wondering if there is any appreciable difference besides the weight. I have a PT pro on my road bike and am having wheels built for my tt bike and am debating between the SL hub and the pro. I am going to get Zipp wheels and would like to be able to switch them between the two bikes for road races and time trials. I was planning to buy the hub only and a second wiring harness and use the same computer between the two bikes. It doesn't appear that there are different harnesses when ordering them seperately, yet I've read that an SL hub may not work with some pro wiring harnesses. Also, are the computers the same? I looked at the SL manual online and it looked like it might have a different computer. So now I'm wondering if I need to order the whole setup (hub, harness, computer), which adds to the cost.

thanks for any input

You can get more "official" answers by calling Saris, but here's my input: The yellow computers are the same for the Pro and the SL, but they have updated the firmware (the program loaded into the cpu) to version 2.21. I think you can download that from their site, my cpu came back from repairs pre-loaded. As long as your harness is the "3 inches or less from the hub" type, you're fine. Some of the older receivers had to be 7 inches from the hub, those will not work with the SL.