Questions about the PowerTap....

foundation said:

Hello all:

My question concerns the CycleOps PowerTap power meter system. My father rides a Treak SSL Madone bicycle and my family decides to purchase a power system for him and after reading many reviews the PowerTap seems to be the best fit.

My first question, is the basic PowerTap hub compatible with his bike?

After purchase of the hub what else needs to be done?

Can anyone recommend a different model or type of power meter? I've heard of a certain type that mounts to the chain instead of the hub.

Basically if anyone has any helpful information concerning the PowerTap please share.

Power Tab hubs come out as two different widths, 135 mm for mountain bikes, and 130 mm for road bikes. For the road bikes, they come out with two alternatives, for Shimano and Campagnolo cassettes. Obviously your father has a road bike, with Shimano equipment, but check that. And for riding, it's not just the hub, also the wheel (hub+spokes+rim) shall be constructed around the hub.

Good comparison of different power meters can be found from Hunter, Coggan: Training and racing with Power Meter. The chain based measuremnent system is Polar; maybe a good alternative weather he already has Polar 725 model Heart Rate monitor, which is compatible with the power measurement system.

foundation said:

Hello all:

My question concerns the CycleOps PowerTap power meter system. My father rides a Treak SSL Madone bicycle and my family decides to purchase a power system for him and after reading many reviews the PowerTap seems to be the best fit.

My first question, is the basic PowerTap hub compatible with his bike?

most likely your father has Shimano equipment on his Trek, so the hub (once built into a wheel) will be compatible. If your father has Campagnolo equipment on his bike, the Power Tap Pro or standard can, with modifications be used with Campag 9 or 10 (as the standard Power Tap comes specifically designed to work with Shimano). The Power Tap SL is compatible with either Shimano or Campag systems (you just have to state which system you have when ordering the unit).

Quoted post said:

After purchase of the hub what else needs to be done?

needs to be built into a wheel (which can be done at the time of purchase, at least from us, and many other dealers). It then needs to be installed on your fathers bike, but this only takes about 10-minutes.

Quoted post said:

Can anyone recommend a different model or type of power meter? I've heard of a certain type that mounts to the chain instead of the hub.

There's the Polar system, but it's not as accurate or repeatable as the Power Tap (or SRM).

Quoted post said:

Basically if anyone has any helpful information concerning the PowerTap please share.

We have a Xmas offer on them at present (until the 22/12/06). And also a further discount on Power Taps and coaching.

Cheers
Ric