I'm looking to build up another PT wheel and I'm debating going with the new design (G3) or sticking with the old design (pro). The pro is about $300 less and about 100 grams lighter, but I'm more concerned about reliability. I figure the pro is a known quantity since the design has been out for a while. I've had good luck with the old design with bearings being the weak link from my perspective. Any feedback on the new G3? I've heard there were some battery life issues with the G3. Anything else?

I would personally go with the Pro. The G3 pricing puts it in the price range of the Quarq, and the quarq is a much better product and gives you much more options for wheels. I have had my Pro+ for a year now, put over 10,000 miles on it through rain, mud, sand, racing, wrecks, popped spokes, etc. Batteries die about every 5 months, but other than that, it has been perfect and never given me a problem. And I really abuse mine.

"some battery life issues" is not correct.

it is more accurate to say G3 battery life is bad, if not abyssmal. there is at least one thread about it, at least one well-respected poster has explained all the firmware updates and their effect. I would not buy it and I would not be surprised if those who have it would probably recommend alternatives.

The G3 really builds up into a better wheel. The flange spacing on the Pro models leave a lot to be desired and if you are running a low profile alloy wheel it can create a flexy rear wheel. The new G3, beside being lighter, has a lot better flange spacing which helps with the stiffness. If you are doing accelerations on climbs or racing then the G3 is a great option. It also has the removable electronics pod so if you ever need the hub to be recalibrated you can just send back that little part vs. the whole wheel. This means you can still ride your wheel (although it won't report power data).

I'm curious how is the quarq a much better product? I've been thinking about giving one a try at some point just for fun. I don't ever change wheels, so that advantage would be moot for me, and powertap calibration is practically non-existant...I get on the bike and go. If quarq is better than that somehow, i'd certainly be interested.


I ride a G3 and a Pro+ constantly, and as far as I can tell the battery life seems fine on both (although I'm only about 1600mi in on the g3 batteries so far). The firmware bug was fixed quite a while back. Wheelbuilder.com (local company) sells more powertaps than anybody else in the USA, and they claim since the firmware fix they've not had problems reported with battery life - assuming the customer uses fresh lithium batteries as specified in the manual.

The firmware update fixed the problem for me months ago. I ride my G3 based wheels nearly every day and in all weather and have had no issues since the update. If you're talking about the thread I'm thinking about, I believe lazerzxr also noted the firmware update fixed the problem for him.

I ended up going with the G3. Called wheelbuilder today and talked through it with them and they had good things to say about the G3.

More importantly, they had a great deal on some zipp 101's with a G3 that a customer backed out on. My original plan was a DT 585 rear with a G3 or pro, but I ended up with a set of 101's with a G3 in the rear and DT 240 in front. A very nice set of aluminum wheels for not much more than "sticker price" on the G3 hub. Wheelbuiler has always done me right, they are awesome. They know their stuff and very quick service. I had a warrany issue with a carbon zipp last year and they turned it around the same day they received it. Highly recommended.

It was me that started the 3 week G3 battery life thread.....

I have since managed to update the firmware after 1 failed attempt to do so. Initially I thought the firmware was updated but the battery still died in 3 weeks however I had managed to revert back to the old firmware somehow. With the update now completed properly my last battery lasted about 3 months but still less than the secified 200 hours.

The battery life does seem short however the unit is very reliable, I have abused it in some serious rain and it has performed perfectly.

Edit: I should say that the last battery did a lot of car travel and 24 hours on a plane also which may have caused a lot of "on" time (lots of movement of the bike with no riding) so that battery may have dropped prematurely. I have just replaced it with a new one and made a note in my diary out of interest.

I have a G3/Zipp 101 wheelset. The G3 works well with the 101's. The nice thing about the G3 is it "blends in" and is hard to tell from a normal hub. Also, the G3 is field serviceable, so if it has problems, you don't need to return it to the factory. I've has no problems with batteries -- they seem to last as long as they did on a wired hub I previously had.

How many hours use would you estimate, out of interest? I think my issues are fixed but Id like to hear what others are finding

Cheers

Field serviceability is key. I just had to return my Powertap (the former expensive one with the CF hub shell) for an overhaul, it needed bearings, but then Saris replaces the torque tube. I would guess maybe your LBS could perform that service with a G3. Whatever, the hub had to have 12K+ miles on it in all kinds of conditions (although I never intentionally took it out in the wet, it got soaked numerous times).

I think that new G3 is pretty nifty, in some respects the lightest power meter on the market. I love my Powertap, I'd buy another one. All these alleged pedal based systems seem to defy final production or shipping products, they remain chronic vaporware.

Got it from Psimet Rob. While Rob's lack of communication response can be frustrating at times, he built me one helluva wheelset, I'd have to say it's the best wheel set I've ever owned, so kudos to Psimet. He is worth chasing around a bit, trust me.

I have about 120 hours on mine since the firmware update.

On the pedal based system, they seem to keep discovering unexpected issues -- I'm pretty sure the Polar system is on the market now, however they insist on staying with their WIND interface, or perhaps Blue Tooth. Unfortunately when ANT+ is the defacto standard, the only ones buying the Polar systems are the ones with a Polar computer.

I haven't kept track, but about once a month. I just changed it today and will keep track.