PowerTap Wheel suggestions for new rider.

[vbclown]

Hi... I'm an overweight rider who purchased a bike and trainer to begin my journey to better fitness. I started at 305 lbs (at 5' 10) and am down to about 290, mainly through a better diet and workouts on the trainer.

One thing that always helps to motive me is quantitative progress, so I've been loging my health stats in FitDay, and tracking my rides with a Polar heartrate monitor and the Polar software.

I'm interested in adding a powermeter, and was considering the PowerTap SL/Pro/or standard. My bike is a 2005 Trek Pilot 5.2, it has Bontrager Race Lite wheels with 24 spokes in the rear wheel. I've been told that the wheelset is beefy enough for my size, and to date I haven't had a problem with it (although I've only done about 3 rides outside, and 30 rides on the trainer).

I'd like to get a second rear wheel built up with one of the PowerTab hubs, and put another Shimano Ultegra 12-25, 10 speed cassette on it, so that I can just change rear wheels to us the PowerTab wheel as my training wheel. What would be a good rim/spoke config for the PT hub that would be comparable to my current wheel and durable enough for me? Any suggestions on the SL vs. Pro Hub? Any recommendations on where to buy it?

Does the chain wear-in with a particular cassette so is it a bad idea to swap wheels+cassettes with the same chain? (in reality all my riding is training so the bike is only likily to get used with the PT based wheel).

Yes, I do know that my current bike is way overkill for my current riding and fitness, and yes I know a power meter isn't that nessesary for my current fitness either. I do appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

Jason

 

[AndROOb]

Hi Jason,

I would suggest a Powertap pro, as this will give you all the info you need.
The rims used for training wheels are generally the Mavic open pro, and the Mavic CXP33, and these are laced to a 28, 32 or 36 hole rim. I have mine laced to a 32 hole open pro, and it's a great wheel, which I currently use for training and racing.

The chain is generally changed with the cassette, but I think this is somewhat dependent on the amount of use the components have had. IOW, if you've only done low mileage, you may only need a cassette. Try this and if you encounter problems, get the chain too.

 

[RapDaddyo]

I second the recommendation of the PT Pro. The only reason to consider the SL is if you intend to ride in the rain frequently, as I think the SL is (after they fixed the original o-ring problem) more waterproof than the Pro. As to your weight and fitness, I ride with a guy in my club who started from an almost identical position a couple of years ago. He now weighs 150lbs and is one of the fittest and fastest riders in the club. Stay with it -- the fitness will follow.

 

[PSUcycling]

I trained and raced on the powertap pro for over a year before i bought an SRM.

It sounds like you are a trek fan, in which case powertap makes a hub laced into the racexlite Aero (sold as a bontrager wheel through your trek dealer), with the deeper section rim, makes this wheel really beefy. i logged 9k on mine before I sold it without one issue. (I used to manage a trek store)

http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Wheelworks/Wheels/17565.php

As long as the chain is replaced when it needs to, you can switch casettes all day long on the same chain. I have 4 rear wheels that i switch between on 2 racing bikes (disk, trainer, 404, and bontrager *** carbons). With the amount of riding you do, just keep the chain clean and lubbed. You will have to change it once a year or so.

The other option is find a good deal on ebay, there are usually 1-2 pros laced into a mavic open pro (another great choice, for durability).

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...00&fpos=78406&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=

Just make sure that you have the wheel trued/dished and have them make sure the spokes are evenly tensioned. Taking care of the wheels like this will keep you from breaking spokes. (if you shop looks at you funny, take the wheel to another shop that really knows how to build a wheel)

jm