New Product : PowerTap Disc SL
February 19th, 2008 by ArleighOne of the first things I saw while walking into the Frost Bike show this past weekend was the Saris booth with a disc hub front and center. Could it be?? The hub they have been working on for years might finally be ready for show? It was that and more! The disc hub is ready and Saris even launched it on their website earlier today.
This is a completely wireless system that tracks your cadence, heart rate and watts. I’ve been racking my brain but I believe this is the first wireless system that will work with disc brakes. The competition of Ergomo and SRM both have wires that run up your downtube from the bottom bracket area. My fear is the PowerTaps aren’t known as the most reliable things out there. Saris is a company that has been pushing technology with the PowerTap hub for many years. As one of the first power meters at least 4 years ago the hub has had its ups and downs with the racing scene.
Pro’s :
- Wireless - No need to worry about snagging those delicate cables
- Disc
- 15 hours of recording time - Don’t stress if there is no time after your ride to upload data.
- User friendly - The head unit is easy to navigate once you run through it a couple times.
Con’s:
- Sensor may be easily bumped
- Disc is only for a 160mm rotor
- Rotor is propriatary to the hub, they claim that it works with most disc calipers. I hope it works with yours!
The price is $1599 for the hub, heart rate strap and head unit. You will still need to spend around $120-180 for a rim, spokes and wheel build.
Go to Saris Cycling for more information.




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I totally want a power meter, but I don’t think anything but an SRM one would cope with singlespeed riding, and SRM’s are hilariously expensive.
I just wonder how much data is really required on an offroad bike, in terms of power etc, as I always feel that the unpredictable nature of offroad terrain would affect results too much to make the resulting data of any use.
Well after seeing there site I feel a little more confinent about it (before this I thought Saris only made car racks).
but $1600???? especially for a hub with what seems to be a LOT of small parts.
Not my kinda hub.