The veteran power meter company PowerTap has a new Bluetooth 4.0 option for its hub-based system that is compatible with most modern smartphones. The PowerTap GS Zipp 202 is one of a few complete wheelsets the company is selling that add power meter functionality with only a very small (130g) weight penalty.
BikeRadar received a test set of the GS wheels with DT Swiss internals. The PowerTap GS Zipp 202 set weighs 1,510g/3.33lb (630g front, 880g rear), plus 41g for the pair of titanium skewers. A stock Zipp 202 wheelset, by contrast, weighs 1,380g/3.04lb.
The GS wheels can swap between Bluetooth and ANT+, the wireless signal that most cycling computers now use, with an exchange of a $130 end cap called a Powercap.
The Powercap comes in ANT+ or Bluetooth, and holds the battery that has a claimed 350hr life
Most power meters are ANT+ only, except the left-crank-based Stages power meter, which transmits in both ANT+ and Bluetooth simultaneously.
Claimed battery life is 350 hours for each of the Bluetooth and ANT+ Powercaps, which simply pull off the end of the hub after an exterior plastic nut is unscrewed.
Featuring PowerTap’s new black-and-orange scheme, the GS rear hubs feature DT Swiss axles, bearings, star ratchet, freehub body, end caps and straight-pull flange. The front hub is essentially a stock 240s DT Swiss model.
The GS features DT Swiss hardware and, seemingly, PowerTap's typical reliable power measurement
While the Bluetooth GS can be used with any smartphone app such as Strava or MapMyRide, PowerTap now has its own Bluetooth speed/cadence sensor and a PowerTap Mobile app.
BikeRadar is testing the PowerTap GS against a number of other power meters, including the Garmin Vector pedals, an SRM and a Stages. After a few rides, the GS appears to have the same reliable consistency that PowerTap hubs have demonstrated for years. Here are two example rides, each done with four just-calibrated meters concurrently with four Garmin Edge 500s with matching recording settings. Check back soon for a complete review on this wheelset as well as a comparative report on power meters.
Array