Speed and cadence sensors for Garmin?

sportzmad

Hi

I have just bough an 810 which didn't come with sensors, I can buy the Garmin ones for it separately but thought I'd ask if anyone use non Garmin ones and were they ok, as they seem a bit cheaper.

Freeza

I once used a Btwin ant+ speed & cadence sensor with my Garmin head unit, didn't work out too well. I'd get back from a ride, upload it to find that a 10 mile would be recorded as 300 miles with a top speed of 130 mph or some such rubbish. Totally unreliable so it had to go.

The only good thing was I put it on eBay, a bidding war ensued and I sold it for more than it costs brand new!

gethinceri

I use Bontrager ones with my 520, they work fine.

ayjaycee

IMHO, the latest version of the Garmin cadence sensor is worth every penny - works very well and is very discrete. I've also got the speed sensors, still in the box and never fitted but it would be just as discrete on the bike and I have no reason to suspect that it wouldn't work equally as well. I have not seen all the other sensors on the market but those that I have look cumbersome in comparison (in my opinion anyway!). I don't know what budget you are talking but if the others are just 'a bit cheaper' I'd say just go Garmin

daniel_b

I have used the decathlon £17 ones with no issues, also the gsc10 with no issues, but as mentioned, the latest garmin incarnation is the best.

Nothing sat on the rear chainstay anymore, and no wheel magnet or cadence magnet, what's not to like?

londoncommuter

I guess you've thought about it already but do you need the speed sensor? As the GPS already measures speed you could save a few quid and just buy a cadence sensor.

The other main rival to the Garmin unit is the Wahoo RPM but it's usually slightly more expensive so I'm not sure there''s a compelling case other than if you also want Bluetooth. It looks a bit tidier if you're happy to stick it on with the tape and sacrifice the quick shift between bikes though.

As a bit of a sidetrack, what do people think about this new option:

http://velocomputer.com/views/products-sensor5

Not even sure you can get them in the UK and barely no user feedback yet but interesting all the same.

itboffin

GPS only is wildly inaccurate just look at strava times over London bridge almost no one can break 25.4 mph i know for a fact I'm going faster than that pretty much everyday.

when i rode the 2013 marmotte a large section of the route lost GPS signal causing me to loosing data for the day, not a happy bunny.

If i'm recording my rides (obv.) then i want FACTS

PS. must resist the temptation to buy a power meter

alex222

Daniel B wrote:

I have used the decathlon £17 ones with no issues, also the gsc10 with no issues, but as mentioned, the latest garmin incarnation is the best.

Nothing sat on the rear chainstay anymore, and no wheel magnet or cadence magnet, what's not to like?

As above have had all 3 mentioned and latest version is great. Not having to worry about magnets is a big improvement.
Only issues I've had with the Decathlon and GSC10 is the speed and cadence dropping out whilst on the turbo, which is annoying.

dag_on_a_bike

I'm currently using my old (3 years?) speed/cadence sensor from my Bryton Rider 60 (and the HRM).

All paired without a problem to my Garmin Edge 1000.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Does the Lidl Bluetooth speed/cadence sensor work with Garmin, perhaps?

daniel_b

NitrousOxide wrote:

Does the Lidl Bluetooth speed/cadence sensor work with Garmin, perhaps?

Thought Garmin's were only Ant+.

Would have thought that's more for pairing with a smartphone etc.

john1967

Yep Garmin are ant+ only in fact Garmin own ant+.

redvee

I've got a GSC10 on the commuter and a rare earth magnet on the pedal spindle and the new seperate sensors on the other bike both paired to my 810. The new sensor is marginally slower to be picked up by the 810 but only fractions of a second.

StillGoing

sportzmad wrote:

Hi

I have just bough an 810 which didn't come with sensors, I can buy the Garmin ones for it separately but thought I'd ask if anyone use non Garmin ones and were they ok, as they seem a bit cheaper.

Just get the new Garmin ones. Discrete, and easily removable without the need for cable ties or tape making cleaning and changing bikes easy and quick. You can pick up the old GSC10 sensors cheap readily enough, but they're ugly, dirt gets trapped, they can be difficult to get in the right position to get consistent speed and cadence recording, have to be removed to change the battery, need cable ties and you've got an object with the potential to get stuck in the spokes.

apreading

Search on here, there is a thread about the new Garmin speed sensor dropping out and auto-pausing while moving. Seems to be a not-uncommon problem, how bad I dont know.

The GSC10 was great except the 'reed' at the end of the arm was a bit fragile and prone to failing after a couple of years use.

I had the problem with the GSC10 after 3 years and have now gone back to just using GPS. Its pretty accurate but doesnt auto stop/start quite as immediately as using the speed sensor - thats the main difference I have found to be honest. The GPS can cut out in bad reception areas but personally I dont see that except on the mountain bike under dense tree cover and even then not often.

ayjaycee

apreading wrote:

Search on here, there is a thread about the new Garmin speed sensor dropping out and auto-pausing while moving. Seems to be a not-uncommon problem, how bad I dont know.

As mentioned above, I have never used my speed sensor but I did get the same issue of auto pause (read complete system freeze!) with my cadence sensor when it was first fitted. It turned out that the battery was very weak out of the box - I put a new one in and haven't had any further problems in the 14 or so months since. Thinking about it now, I might well stick a new one in later today as a preventative measure.

wongataa

sportzmad wrote:

Hi

I have just bough an 810 which didn't come with sensors, I can buy the Garmin ones for it separately but thought I'd ask if anyone use non Garmin ones and were they ok, as they seem a bit cheaper.

I have used the BTwin one with no sensor issues until I killed it by getting it wet in a puddle once too often. Due to it sitting on the chainstay It would occasionally get knocked and you would lose speed data until you stopped and realigned it.

I have since got the Garmin magnetless sensors and they have worked flawlessly (apart from once when a battery went flat) and you have no danger of knocking things out of alignment. Much better in my opinion.

brettjmcc

itboffin wrote:

GPS only is wildly inaccurate just look at strava times over London bridge almost no one can break 25.4 mph i know for a fact I'm going faster than that pretty much everyday.

when i rode the 2013 marmotte a large section of the route lost GPS signal causing me to loosing data for the day, not a happy bunny.

If i'm recording my rides (obv.) then i want FACTS

PS. must resist the temptation to buy a power meter

I bought a crank based power meter so that I could have cadence in built and get rid of my GSC10

Actually, that's a lie, but I just wanted to tempt you mwah haha :twisted:

I have the new speed sensor, which is great as I can swap it on my bikes and it also works well for doing turbo too.

I have a GSC10 in the shed somewhere if you need one

markhewitt1978

Get the Garmin or Wahoo separate ones. The idea of having to have a magnet on your wheel or crank which must not go more than a couple of mm out of alignment with the sensor seems so old hat now when there is a good alternative.

SME

I had a Garmin cadence sensor and had so many issues with it, eventually the shop took it back. Nearly 2 months later I had a call from them to say Garmin would replace it. By this time I'd already replaced it with a Duotrap S (I ditched the separate speed sensor too), so the shop gave me a deal on another item (another story).

I was told that a Doutrap S would only fit certain Trek bikes, but mines held on with 2 silicone ribber bands the same as some USB lights use and I've had no problems.

I also have a GSC10 on another bike. The GSC10 does seem a little 'finicky' about how far the magnets are from the sensor. The Duotrap is certainly not as fussy. As someone else has said, a rare earth magnet on the peddle spindle works well too, cheap as chips on auction sites, 10x3mm or 12x5mm bought as a pack of 10 for the same price as a spoke magnet.





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