Does your PT-SL work in the cold?

[JohnMeyers]

Hey all,
I'm having troubles with my PT SL. It suffers from constant dropouts in the cold. I never have problems with it in warm weather. Previously I was pretty pleased with my purchase, but now I'm ticked that I bought the SL and sold my Pro. The Pro always worked for me.

Attached is the resulting ride image from today. You will notice 3400 watt spikes, TONS of data dropout, etc. etc. etc. It was just barely above freezing today. Much colder and it doesn't work at all.

Thoughts? Stick a heating unit to my SL?

 

[Alex Simmons]

Hey all,
I'm having troubles with my PT SL. It suffers from constant dropouts in the cold. I never have problems with it in warm weather. Previously I was pretty pleased with my purchase, but now I'm ticked that I bought the SL and sold my Pro. The Pro always worked for me.

Attached is the resulting ride image from today. You will notice 3400 watt spikes, TONS of data dropout, etc. etc. etc. It was just barely above freezing today. Much colder and it doesn't work at all.

Thoughts? Stick a heating unit to my SL?

A 5 sec MMP of 3726 W !!! That's not bad going.

Bummer about the cold. Doesn't get that cold where I am but I'm guessing the batteries don't handle really cold weather too well, especially when they are less than fresh.

 

[MikebyBike]

A 5 sec MMP of 3726 W !!! That's not bad going.

Bummer about the cold. Doesn't get that cold where I am but I'm guessing the batteries don't handle really cold weather too well, especially when they are less than fresh.

I was out for 4 hours today in the rain & snow (it wasn't sticking) and had no problems. I live in Seattle, WA so it's a pretty common occurance to find it about 33 of 34 (farenheit) in the morning. So far so good.

 

[evanhyde]

My girlfriend has a PT Pro, and if it is cold out (~20 F) it shuts off, even if it's not raining/snowing.

 

[JTE83]

I can't beleive that 3753 Watt Max reading. How tall are you and what's your weight? Makes me think Powertap reads too high! And I thought my ergomo was bad. I'm 5'4" 146 lbs.

My 1st ergomo workout using the default supplied K factor - Max 596 Watts 25.2 mph. Avg 173 watts 14.9 mph.

What do you get?

 

[rule62]

FYI...the only time that mine has cut out or had drop outs due to cold was when I had batteries that were getting low.

 

[Sprint2Win]

Mine works in the cold, but only 20 minutes in the rain.

Hey all,
I'm having troubles with my PT SL. It suffers from constant dropouts in the cold. I never have problems with it in warm weather. Previously I was pretty pleased with my purchase, but now I'm ticked that I bought the SL and sold my Pro. The Pro always worked for me.

Attached is the resulting ride image from today. You will notice 3400 watt spikes, TONS of data dropout, etc. etc. etc. It was just barely above freezing today. Much colder and it doesn't work at all.

Thoughts? Stick a heating unit to my SL?

 

[TMD]

Hey all,
I'm having troubles with my PT SL. It suffers from constant dropouts in the cold. I never have problems with it in warm weather. Previously I was pretty pleased with my purchase, but now I'm ticked that I bought the SL and sold my Pro. The Pro always worked for me.

Attached is the resulting ride image from today. You will notice 3400 watt spikes, TONS of data dropout, etc. etc. etc. It was just barely above freezing today. Much colder and it doesn't work at all.

Thoughts? Stick a heating unit to my SL?

I spend a good deal of time riding in cold weather and I've found that with temperatures below 25F that my PT SL stops working at approx 20 minutes. I rode last week in temps at about 18F and it shut off after 15 mins.

 

[Spunout]

I did 1.5 hours at -2C (dry) and had no power drops.

 

[JohnMeyers]

I spend a good deal of time riding in cold weather and I've found that with temperatures below 25F that my PT SL stops working at approx 20 minutes. I rode last week in temps at about 18F and it shut off after 15 mins.

This is about the behavior that I get.

And yes, clearly the 3000+ readings are in error. I peak at about ~1550 dubyas.

Fresh batteries all around.

 

[woodgab]

Pro Version:
I have two and for both I experience a dimmed LCD at ~20F and lower. Never any data loss and I've riden down to -1F (-18C). Many, many rides below 20F this year.

I have a new SL on the way .

 

[JohnMeyers]

I'm convinced that the smaller batts in the SL are more susceptible to the cold.

 

[woodgab]

That's a very good point. I cobbed together a HID light battery this year that is small (12 AA's) and it runs delivering over 1 amp. The heat it generates never gives me a problem when its ~10f degrees. I can't say the same for my cell phone and helmet LED.

I believe there is a temperature range spec for different brands of batteries. May be worth looking into.

 

[typ993]

Hey all,
I'm having troubles with my PT SL. It suffers from constant dropouts in the cold. I never have problems with it in warm weather. Previously I was pretty pleased with my purchase, but now I'm ticked that I bought the SL and sold my Pro. The Pro always worked for me.

How are you defining cold?

Like Mike above, I live in Seattle and was out several times this winter for 3-4 hour rides in 30-40F temperatures with no problems. The SL also made it through several downpours/floods with no moisture problems. This is a 2006 model, so looks like Saris got those problems licked, only to start on a new round with the wireless unit.

 

[JohnMeyers]

Cold = sub 30F. Anything over that is like a sauna.

This is an 06 PT SL. Bought in ~July.

How are you defining cold?

Like Mike above, I live in Seattle and was out several times this winter for 3-4 hour rides in 30-40F temperatures with no problems. The SL also made it through several downpours/floods with no moisture problems. This is a 2006 model, so looks like Saris got those problems licked, only to start on a new round with the wireless unit.

 

[typ993]

Cold = sub 30F. Anything over that is like a sauna.

This is an 06 PT SL. Bought in ~July.

I'm trying to avoid riding in those temperatures ever since mid-December when I slipped on black ice and got a nice welt on my hip for a couple of weeks. After more reflection, now I realize how Floyd destroyed his hip. Another teammate I was out with that day separated his shoulder. Now our team just heads for the local training center that has a multi-Computrainer setup. The power readings are even reasonably close to a Powertap!

 

[jetnjeff]

My SL dimmed below freezing and reset the clock once ~15 F, with no data lose.

PT 2.4 no dimming, drops or data lose on either of my 19 F or 33 F rides.
some indoor rides had issues after HR signal lose.

 

[velodemon]

My PT SL quits working @ about 35F and fires right back up around 45F. Otherwise it works great. BTW, I just aquired an SRM pro. So far it has been flawless in the rain and cold....