PT SL2.4 Problems

[jetnjeff]

SL problems are usually due to vibration on a trainer when not using a Shark Fin receiver Or battery related.

My firsrt ride on a 2.4 had drops every couple minutes for a few seconds or so.

I was silly and tried to use my old HR belt and realized it and took it off and threw in on the floor.

The second ride I used the 2.4 HR strap and had no drops at all.

Both rides were on a trainer.

I often go with out the HR strap anyway. I hope the Head unt does not search it out every so often automatically. That would be anoying.

My current theory and hope is that the during the first ride the Head unit was detecting something that might be a HR strap but got no code and this caused my drops. I will try starting with no HR strap at all and check for drops.

 

[gogoturtle]

I've had the PT SL 2.4 for about three weeks now. I've had two problems.

1. The original CPU I received would not pick up the HR signal 85+% of the time. Replacement of the CPU fixed this. Now, the only time I lose the HR is if I stop for a few minutes, the 2.4 does not seem to automatically re-pick up the HR. I have to hold the two buttons until "find" appears and it will re-acquire the HR signal.

2. When I first receive the unit it dropped the hub signal on a regular basis. The drops usually lasted for only a second or two, but I might have upwards of 100 such drops on a long ride. The incidence of these drops seems to have decreased with the new CPU. For example, I only had 5 or so drops on a two hour indoor trainer ride. Outside, I still had about 20 drops over about three hours. I am waiting for the weeked the re-test its performance outside.

I have emailed Saris to see if such drops are "normal" or if there is a way to correct them short of sending the hub back. Since the drops are so short, I do not lose data. I just want to be sure that my unit is working as it should for $1400.

I sent the hub back to Saris and was told it failed a signal strength test. The hub electronics have been replaced and it's on its way back to me. While I am disappointed that I had to send the unit back, Saris quickly repaired the unit and kept me posted on what was going on/what the problem was.

In the end, I think that I am one of a few unlucky early-adopters that got a bad unit.

 

[DesFlurane]

In the end, I think that I am one of a few unlucky early-adopters that got a bad unit.

Well I'm on my second hub as well
As to whether it is only a few failures, that is something only Saris would know, and they ain't gonna tell
If I had to guess I'd say 5-10% problem rate. Only small numbers shipped and far too many tales of woe. Of course the 'woe is me' tales are from the internet forum crowd, who are let's face it pretty vocal.
Don't get me wrong I love my PT and CP, it's just a pain being an early adapter

 

[Nicolai Foss]

Well I'm on my second hub as well
As to whether it is only a few failures, that is something only Saris would know, and they ain't gonna tell
If I had to guess I'd say 5-10% problem rate. Only small numbers shipped and far too many tales of woe. Of course the 'woe is me' tales are from the internet forum crowd, who are let's face it pretty vocal.
Don't get me wrong I love my PT and CP, it's just a pain being an early adapter

Am I understanding you correctly Is your second hub also faulty

 

[DesFlurane]

Am I understanding you correctly Is your second hub also faulty

Works perfectly

 

[Nicolai Foss]

Works perfectly

Heureka Otherwise it would just have been to harsh on you. Your experiences gave me cold feet in the middle of a online purchase of an SL (I´m also "overseas" from the US), so I was very glad to see that Saris came through for you.

OT your username makes me wonder if your also a bikeriding anaesthetist

 

[jetnjeff]

SL problems are usually due to vibration on a trainer when not using a Shark Fin receiver Or battery related.

My firsrt ride on a 2.4 had drops every couple minutes for a few seconds or so.

I was silly and tried to use my old HR belt and realized it and took it off and threw in on the floor.

The second ride I used the 2.4 HR strap and had no drops at all.

Both rides were on a trainer.

I often go with out the HR strap anyway. I hope the Head unt does not search it out every so often automatically. That would be anoying.

My current theory and hope is that the during the first ride the Head unit was detecting something that might be a HR strap but got no code and this caused my drops. I will try starting with no HR strap at all and check for drops.

Follow up. I got no drops with out any HR strap used. So this is good. Also a trainer ride.

 

[DesFlurane]

OT your username makes me wonder if your also a bikeriding anaesthetist

Now how would you know that?

 

[Alex Simmons]

Now how would you know that?

Desflurane (difluoromethyl 1-fluoro 2,2,2-trifluoroethylether) might be one reason....
​

 

[DesFlurane]

Desflurane (difluoromethyl 1-fluoro 2,2,2-trifluoroethylether) might be one reason....​

Google or something closer to home?

 

[gogoturtle]

Works perfectly

I received my wheel back today and gave it the DesFlurane 3-hour test.

It worked perfectly. Not one single drop from either the HR or the hub. Hopefully this gives anyone considering the 2.4 some comfort.

Now when will it warm up?

 

[DesFlurane]

Ahh, it's Summer here, 24c and sunny

 

[cPritch67]

I'm on the fence with purchasing a 2.4, any other users with problems?

 

[DesFlurane]

Well, you guessed it, loads of drop outs of data today
Will try changing the batteries in the hub tonight, if I have any spare.
I'm going to swing for this powermeter.

 

[Thom_y]

Well, you guessed it, loads of drop outs of data today
Will try changing the batteries in the hub tonight,

gee, I hope it is the battery. Certainly, your case has given me colder feet than Tyson. Of course, its -2/-12 C here with a possibility of 10cm of snow today.

 

[Felt_Rider]

gee, I hope it is the battery. Certainly, your case has given me colder feet than Tyson. Of course, its -2/-12 C here with a possibility of 10cm of snow today.

And me too

Seems like too many problems for that kind of $$, but by the time I jump in late summer or fall maybe these issues will be gone.

 

[cxrcr]

I've had a SL2.4 for a week now and have only been able to use it on the trainer. Wattage has dropped twice while doing surges (not really part of the training plan but was interested in seeing the numbers go up!). HR has dropped out a couple times too, but the main issue is that whenever I get off the trainer to refill water, adjust fan, etc. the cpu loses the signal completely and I have to -find- when I get back on. Not sure if this is much of an issue just yet, but it is a mildly annoying feature.

 

[Sillyoldtwit]

gee, I hope it is the battery. Certainly, your case has given me colder feet than Tyson. Of course, its -2/-12 C here with a possibility of 10cm of snow today.

Lol. My feet have just got colder.

 

[DesFlurane]

Ok, update.

Changed the batterries in the hub and did the ride to work and back, 60kms as usual.
Still some drop outs but they seem to be at traffic lights. I went past a big electric transformer station, you know the sort load humming for 50 meters all around and the hub was fine but rolled up to a red light 200meters further on and.... nothing! Start rolling again and back it comes pretty pronto.
So I'll need to do some more testing but it sure looks like maybe the induction loop under the road is having some effect.
My country riding has had no drop outs, but no traffic lights either.
The dropouts are infrequent and don't seem to screw the data much, so I'm kinda happy to live with it.

 

[sugaken]

Still some drop outs but they seem to be at traffic lights. I went past a big electric transformer station, you know the sort load humming for 50 meters all around and the hub was fine but rolled up to a red light 200meters further on and.... nothing! Start rolling again and back it comes pretty pronto.

This rings a bell in my head. Excerpt from Wikipedia 802.11 (the Wi-Fi standards) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11 :

802.11b and 802.11g standards use the 2.40 GHz (gigahertz) band, operating (in the United States) under Part15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Because of this choice of frequency band, 802.11b and 802.11g equipment can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless telephones, Bluetoothhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth devices, and other appliances using this same band. The 802.11a standard uses the 5 GHz band, and is therefore not affected by products operating on the 2.4 GHz band.

ANT uses the same 2.4GHz band as 802.11b and 802.11g, so it could be susceptible to the same interference as well. I don't know if the traffic lights use the same radio frequency, but if they do, that might be the cause of the dropouts you're experiencing.

Just my 2 cents,

Ken