Garmin Speed Cadence Sensor

jefflad
jefflad Posts: 315
edited July 2017 in Road buying advice
Just a simple question... Do I need to speed sensor when out on the roads? I'm looking at getting a cadence sensor for my other bike and wondering if I should buy the bundle. I get the benefit of having the speed sensor for turbo sessions but not for out on the road. Also I've noticed something along the lines of my Garmin saying speed sensor not detected when out on the road and I do wonder are the satellites really that out of sync and the speed can't be trusted, in fact how much of a difference on speed would I see from the sesnor and GPS versus just GPS?

Comments

  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 1,001
    Speed sensors are useful if you ride somewhere with less than good satellite view such as tunnels, deep urban canyons, tree cover. If there is ever a GPS glitch due to satellite issues or your device not getting good satellite signals then the displayed speed could be inaccurate. If you never want that possibility use a speed sensor and set the wheel size manually.
  • jefflad
    jefflad Posts: 315
    Yeah, pretty solid points... I'll get the speed sensor too!
  • harry-s
    harry-s Posts: 295
    I must admit I've never bothered with the speed sensor, although speed is not really something I look at much, - I probably look at the average kph more often, and the GPS derived figure is probably more accurate for this. The later Garmins use GLONASS as well as GPS so unless there's a lot of obstructions they seem to do a pretty good job.
  • trivial_poursuivant
    trivial_poursuivant Posts: 1,136
    They are more useful to have for if you decide to get an indoor trainer. As for satellite signals I lose mine temporarily under thick foliage on some routes . It doesn't take much to block it. Generally though I just ride of gps speed. Do make sure you set your device to second and not smart recording as this will send out some quirky readings from time to time if it goes from GPS to wheel calculated speed.
  • jefflad
    jefflad Posts: 315
    Trivial poursuivant wrote:
    Do make sure you set your device to second and not smart recording as this will send out some quirky readings from time to time if it goes from GPS to wheel calculated speed.

    Thanks, will do

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