advice on used power meter

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CulBaire
Posts: 384
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:33 am
Location: T'ba!
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by CulBaire

I will echo the comments above regarding the Powertap they are great when the work, their customer service is pretty good but the reliability is woeful! I brought a second hand SL+ unit laced to Zipp 404's a few years ago, it was great but it randomly stopped about 8 months later (while I wasn't happy I recognize it was an old hub) - after a major mess around with the Australian distributor, Saris (Powertap) sorted me out with a new G3 unit directly from the USA... In the space of 6 months of using the NEW G3 hub I went through 3 sets of bearings, after the last set the thing wouldn't work so the Aussie distributor sent me another new one... :shock:

Needless to say, I sold it BNIB and went with a crank based PM. :smartass:

Dalai
Posts: 1491
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:54 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by Dalai

Geoff wrote:Used SRMs are just a good idea...


I have had a number of SRM's - both wired (2*SRM Pro's, 1*Science Track, 1*FSA) and wireless (Dura ace 7800 on the TT bike and 7850 on the CX).

All were bought second hand and all have all worked flawlessly!

Only issues I've had over the years:

- Sending coil on the wired SRM Pro damaged on the return flight from the USA. SRM Oceania fixed for free whilst replacing the battery.
- Solder on 1 PCV failed from removing the cable too vigorously. Fixed locally.
- Chainring bolt hole cracked on the FSA road unit which was unrepairable. SRM offered a replacement wireless spider for a great price with no questions if I was the original owner, but I bought the 7800 for an even better price.

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micky
Posts: 5765
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:57 pm
Location: Vicenza
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by micky

I bought 2 used Srm; the 1st one around 6/7 years ago, wired, and always worked perfectly.
Last year bought a wireless one and it's working very well with no problem so far.

Dalai
Posts: 1491
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:54 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by Dalai

Main potential issues buying an old SRM are:

Chain ring bolt holes can crack over time.
Hysteresis of the glue bonding the strain gauges can sometimes occur.

A couple of my older wired units are low 4000 serial numbered units (not sure year of manufacture but thinking must be over 10 years old) and are still going strong!

Zigmeister
Posts: 938
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:09 pm

by Zigmeister

Highly recommend SRAM Quarq PMs. Bought mine used like 2.5yrs ago off eBay. It was about 10 months old, and it started eating batteries.

Contacted Quarq support, we did some troubleshooting via email.

After that, they sent me a pre-paid shipping label, I sent it back. Since they no longer made that model, they sent me a Riken PM brand new, and calibrated it with my QRings.

Process took about 1 week, and that was mostly shipping time.

Quarq customer services is amazing...hands down, probably the best customer service I've experienced. I mean, who replaced a used PM with a new model and pays for shipping ??

Won't buy anything else.

topflightpro
Posts: 829
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:35 am

by topflightpro

I bought a used SRM a year or so ago. It was actually pretty cheap ~$500 for the Cannondale Spider only. It has worked flawlessly.

I bought a Quarq new, and I went through three warranty replacements before I gave up and got an SRM.

My PowerTap lasted about 5 years before the torque tube went.

r_mutt
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:33 pm

by r_mutt

I've had Quarqs for 7 years now. great product.

mr4fox
Posts: 276
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 2:01 pm

by mr4fox

Hmm, a few people slamming used power taps here.

I'll soon be selling a used (only by me and only for a few months) powertap 29er wheel. Not meaning to flog it here, but I would expect it to be just as accurate for the buyer as it has been for me. I only replaced it because power2max had the prologue deal for the new NG power meter which I took advantage of since I was converting NG to a 1x set up and needed new cranks anyway. So ended up with an S-type for the 29er and the NG will go on the road bike when it arrives.

Used doesn't necessarily equate to broken/defective or abused.




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