Powertap G3 hub review

Powertap G3 review

Training using power was something I’d read a lot about but hadn’t taken the opportunity to try until I bought the Tacx Neo with its built in power metre function. What a revelation! No more going too hard on the easy days and too easy on the hard days. Power is one of those metrics that’s always in your face telling you exactly what to do and how hard to do (or not do) it.

As someone new to the Power metre market I was after something relatively cheap and user friendly. Initially my thoughts were with the P1 pedals as I liked the idea of seeing the left / right leg bias data. The Garmin Vectors look fantastic but sadly were out of my price range and I didn’t like the idea of the calibration pods too much.

The Powertap hub seems like the grandfather of the power metre market and I’d initially dismissed it over the newer more glitzy pedal and crank versions, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked the look and idea of a hub based unit. I didn’t really need the left / right bias and my version of the Garmin Edge head unit wouldn’t display foot inclination and powerstroke like the newer units can, but a firmware update meant I could enter my FTP, So I’d have a reasonably accurate number to aim at.

The eG3 hub is a pretty sleek unit compared to the older Powertap Hubs and I like the look of it. Not too bulky and quite stealth like. You couldn’t mistake it for an ordinary hub, but it doesn’t shout ‘power!’ in your face like the old models did. The matt black finish with grey and orange detailing really help in the aesthetics department. Weight was a concern initially, but the G3 comes in at 325g, that’s 11g lighter than a Shimano Ultegra 6800 hub which weighs in at 336g. I laced the hub onto a Stans Alpha 340 (great rims – can’t wait to try the Grails…) using black DT Swiss Aerocomp spokes in a 2 cross lace pattern. Not the lightest of builds using 14mm nipples, but I wanted a robust wheel that looked good and could be swapped onto the winter bike.

My niggle is that I have two rim brake bikes and two disc brake bikes. I’d have to get a disc version of the hub for the disc bikes obviously. I guess this is where a single crank unit like the Stages would win – as long as you are running the same crankset of course.

So far it's survived a dousing in some pretty horrible conditions which have tested the G3’s waterproofing and the freehub has a satisfying click, not to loud, not to quiet. The Battery seems easy to replace (with the correct tool) and is an easily found CR2032 watch type which you can easily get hold of. The Ant+ capability will give you speed and cadence, although the algorithm for cadence isn't supposed to be as good as a crank based sensor so I've stuck with my Garmin cadence sensor just in case. A ‘Bluetooth smart’ version of the hub is available and you can swap the hub caps out for either Ant+ or Bluetooth smart but you’d be bummed if you ordered the wrong unit and had to buy another hub cap. It won't give you left and right bias obviously but comparing it to my friends Rotor cranks the power readings pretty bob on.

I've got mine paired to my Garmin Edge 500 (zero hassle pairing) The only thing the Garmin gets a little confused with is when I swap between the Tacx Neos in built power metre and the G3, but even then it's just a question of searching it out - a 10 second job. If you want more data analysis you can pair it to Powertaps 'Joule' head unit that gives almost SRM levels of detail.

Overall a worthwhile purchase and a relatively low cost way into the power metre market.