Total noob question about turbo trainers

Jules Winnfield

Right, ive noticed that a few people i follow on Strava use turbo trainers quite a lot and i want one myself at some point. Now obviously i realise that you are not actually moving cos you are riding a stationary bike, but how can your iPhone, Android phone or Garmin GPS actually tell you how far you have travelled if your GPS point is fixed and not moving?

I mean if i had a turbo and i started the timer on my Garmin 510, then it would only tell me how long i have been "riding", not the distance. Yet on Strava, all the info is available to see.

JackPozzi

Dunno about options for a phone, but with a garmin you use a speed/cadence sensor which measures wheel revolutions and works out the distance from that.

jotko

Distance will be calculated by wheel size, but it doesnt really mean much on a turbo.

Jules Winnfield

JackPozzi wrote:

Dunno about options for a phone, but with a garmin you use a speed/cadence sensor which measures wheel revolutions and works out the distance from that.

Ahh, i got you. So because i have a Garmin 510, i take it all i need is to get is a GSC 10 wireless speed/cadence sensor and that will give me the "distance" i have travelled when using a turbo?

JackPozzi

Yes, a GSC10 is all you need, although I believe there are other slightly cheaper options out there, any ANT+ speed/cadence sensor will work.

pipipi

And if it's a manual entry you can put in whatever mileage you want.....