Speed & Cadence Sensors - Not Garmin

photonic69

Hi All,

Anyone tried generic speed and cadence sensors for use with a Garmin 820? I have an older Garmin GCS10 but it only works erratically with the 820 head. Don't want to fork out £52 if I don't have to. Seen these two items. Anyone had experience with similar units? Reviews please.

Ta.

https://smartwheels-biketrainers.com/products/cycplus-c3-speed-and-cadence-sensor-with-ant-bluetooth-twin-pack

https://smartwheels-biketrainers.com/products/magene-new-model-s3-cadence-sensor-speedometer-bicycle-ant-bluetooth-4-0-for-strava-garmin-bryton-igpsport-bike-computer

super_davo

I bought a cheap one from eBay when I lost my Garmin one. I got a version that you can toggle between speed and cadence for just over a tenner.
Works exactly the same as the original one, no issues whatsoever.
If I needed one today, I would get the Halfords one which is about £15 - exactly the same except you can get from a shop with warranty etc.

photonic69

super_davo said:

I bought a cheap one from eBay when I lost my Garmin one. I got a version that you can toggle between speed and cadence for just over a tenner.
Works exactly the same as the original one, no issues whatsoever.
If I needed one today, I would get the Halfords one which is about £15 - exactly the same except you can get from a shop with warranty etc.

Seems like Halfords no longer do a speed sensor and the cadence sensor gets mixed reviews mostly about it dropping connection and the head unit making annoying noises when it reconnects.

Any other suggestions? Might just have to bite the bullet and go Garmin.

The old GCS10 works perfectly on the turbo but outside does random things like pausing when doing 20+ mph or showing 115mph when doing 12mph uphill. Very odd.

thistle_

I have the Magene ones: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087PDPNMF . They pair with my phone(s) and my Vivoactive watch no problem using ANT+.
You can change either between speed and cadence by taking the battery out and putting it back in.
I haven't tried BLE mode and I don't have a Garmin 820 or other head unit to try it with.

I have another one that looks like the Wahoo Blue sensor, but it was £5 from Asda and is BLE only. I really struggled to get it to pair with any apps or my watch but I don't know why - it was transmitting the data correctly and I made a custom head unit and it worked flawlessly so avoid anything like that.

me-109

I got a Lifeline dual-function one from Wiggle/CRC, the type with the speed sensor on a short flying lead. Works fine with my 500 and on ANT for the pc/trainer.

super_davo

Just checked on my bike and the version I have is a Cycplus; it is pretty much identical to the Magene ones. Hasn't dropped a beat with either my 800, 1000 or when connected to the PC on the turbo.

Whereas the original Garmin speed sensor did; it seemed to pick up interference and tell me I'd stopped, which in turn invoked autopause, all whilst I was bowling along the road at 20mph. My Garmin cadence sensor was totally reliable and gave several years of service until the rubber band broke and it fell off.

You can get failures even with Garmin or Wahoo - difference is that they have better QC so the rates of failures are less and effective warranties so you can sort it for the cases that slip through. Looking at the bad reviews v good reviews for the generic ones, question is whether you value paying the mark up so that the failure rate drops from <5% to 0.5%, or if you just take it on the chin and replace with another cheap one in the unlikely event you get a dud.

i.bhamra

I have the "CooSpo" ones from Amazon for £16 each, I use two with my 820 for both speed and cadence data. Been faultless for 3000+ miles, have recently had to replace the battery on the one set to cadence (get a low battery warning on the 820), replaced battery without issue.

StillGoing

Wahoo sensors.

photonic69

StillGoing said:

Wahoo sensors.

...woud make no sense as they're even more expensive than Garmin ones.

StillGoing

photonic69 said:

StillGoing said:

Wahoo sensors.

...woud make no sense as they're even more expensive than Garmin ones.

Rubbish! They are the same price and better than Garmin ones.