Question about cadence/speed sensors

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi everyone! First time poster here, long-time reader. This will be my first tri season this year and I still have a lot yet to learn. I just purchased a Kurt Kinetic trainer (which has been great so far) and I’m looking to get a cadence/speed sensor to pair with my edge 500. My questions are:

  1. Is it necessary to get both the cadence AND speed sensor?
  2. What type/brand would you guys recommend? I was looking at both the old and new Garmin versions, as well as a couple of other brands, and I’m unsure what to get.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much guys!

2

While a speed statistic can help you maintain internal consistency on your trainer, it is not very meaningful compared to riding outside. Having a cadence sensor, especially paired with a heart rate monitor, is a better way of keeping track of the amount of work you are doing. i.e. saying ‘I rode for an hour on my trainer at 18mph’ is not as helpful as ‘I did 1 hour at HR 140bpm and cadence 90rpm.’ The standard GSC-10 is a combination speed/cadence sensor that attaches to your chainstay with one magnet on the wheel and the other on your crank arm, and will work with your edge 500

3

My $0.02

Get a speed and cadence combo sensor (the speed will be helpful if you ever use it outside…much more responsive than GPS).

Your Garmin is ANT+ transmission, odds are your phone is BTLE transmission. Get a sensor that transmits both so you are future-proofed.

Something like this: http://www.wahoofitness.com/wahoo-blue-sc-speed-and-cadence-sensor.html
Note, I tried an off-brand from ebay and it sucked, so go with established brands for these (Garmin, Polar, Wahoo, etc.)

If you only care about indoor, consider the Garmin cadence sensor that fits on your shoe or crank: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop-by-accessories/fitness-sensors/bike-cadence-sensor/prod517580.html

4

I’d second Titanflexr’s recommendation on the dual ANT+/BTLE sensors. No reason not to get both speed and rpm. This will give you the option to use virtual trainer software or apps later.

If you do just go with cadence the Wahoo RPM is an option for cadence.

5

While a speed statistic can help you maintain internal consistency on your trainer, it is not very meaningful compared to riding outside. Having a cadence sensor, especially paired with a heart rate monitor, is a better way of keeping track of the amount of work you are doing. i.e. saying ‘I rode for an hour on my trainer at 18mph’ is not as helpful as ‘I did 1 hour at HR 140bpm and cadence 90rpm.’ The standard GSC-10 is a combination speed/cadence sensor that attaches to your chainstay with one magnet on the wheel and the other on your crank arm, and will work with your edge 500
IMHO using Virtual Power would be even better so having the speed sensor is needed.

I’ve been using the GSC-10 for a year now without issue, it can be found for ~$45. Get a USB ANT+ dongle for a PC and you can use a number of programs to train with VP (Trainer Road, PerfPro, MaximumTrainer, etc).