Home› General Training Discussions

cadence sensor

cgres123cgres123
in General Training Discussions
I was cruising along on my trainer drainer last week and just for something to do I counted by leg turnover. The sensor displayed 3 less than my actual leg turnover rate. So with that I had to check again a few times and sure enough the number came up 3 to the negative. Does anybody have a fix for that. It is a CycleOps Power Tap piece a magnet and sensor set up.

Comments

  • John WithrowJohn Withrow
    Dave-- I have an extra ANT+ cadence sensor (not speed and cadence, just cadence). I'm happy to either drop it in the mail to you, or give it to you at HoH this weekend. believe it or not, I have one at my desk at work, so if I put it in the mail today, you'd have it by Friday... PM me your address if you want me to mail it, or let me know if I should just bring it on Saturday... It's this one: http://www.amazon.com/NiteRider-Wireless-Cadence-Rebel-Color/dp/B001C4WGCI
    They were $0.99 on chainlove.com a while back so I bought a bunch of them "just in case"...
  • Joseph LombardiJoseph Lombardi

    There is no magnet for the Cyclops PowerTap setup.???

    I also have an Garmin ANT speed and cadence sensor I'd be happy to sell ya inexpensively.....

    ...but again...cadence on the powertap is IN the powertap...there is no external magnet or anything...

  • cgres123cgres123
    @ John, sure bring it you can look at my set up as well perhaps you can let me know if I have it set up right. Where do you want to meet up at anyway?

    @ Joe, on the pedal crank arm there is a magnet and the sensor is located on the chain stay frame.
  • Joseph LombardiJoseph Lombardi

    David...You don't need that for the PowerTap Cadence....if it is a leftover from your Garmin or other cadence sensor...you can take it off...who knows...maybe cause the confusion.

     

  • cgres123cgres123
    Joe, it came with the sensor, how else would the sensor know what to.... sense ?
  • Joseph LombardiJoseph Lombardi

    I'm sorry I guess I don't understand....I have a powertap powermeter....& don't have a separate speed/cadence sensor (or magnet of any type)....and get all that data/info on my Garmin head unit......?   ...Was confused so I went to Cyclops site....and searched around..

    Bottom line is you don't need the separate cadence sensor...the PowerTap hub transmitts a cadence that on its own...& per Cyclops PowerTap FAQ is 

    • PowerTap cadence is accurate within 40 rpm and 130 rpm. Anything outside of this range will be recorded as a zero. Since the cadence measurement is a virtual cadence (based off of torque measurements) and not measured with an extra sensor it cannot read values outside of this range.
    • ............If you're using the cadence separate cadence sensor, make sure the sensor is paired to the computer.  So you can use a separate Sensor...but double check the pairing with your computer...what it is reading....there may be some mixing up of signals...etc.

     

    ....and here is a discussion of this by DCRainmaker.....

    http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/07/ant-bike-speedcadence-sensor-everything.html

     

  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    Powertap power meters "guess" your cadence by examining the rate of your power pulses. If you imagine the top of the circle as 12 and bottom of the circle as 6, then your power is (roughly) max at 3 and min at 9. So it uses that to send cadence data to your Garmin.

    If you have a separate ANT+ cadence sensor (the kind that actually counts your passes past the sensor with a crank magnet) that is paired to the Garmin, those data used intstead of the Powertap.
  • cgres123cgres123
    Interesting.

    Kind of begs the question why sell a wireless Cycleops cadence sensor?

    I'll check out DC.

    Thx All
  • John WithrowJohn Withrow
    The "virtual" cadence calculated by the Powertap hub is "pretty good". but it's certainly not perfect. It's even less perfect if your pedal stroke is really efficient (not me) or if there are big changes in cadence, etc. So if you really want precise cadence data with no gaps, you need a separate ANT+ Cadence sensor. But then you also need to make sure that your Garmin computer is actually "paired" to that extra sensor. And you also need to make sure that the magnet on your crank is in the correct spot and aligned with the correct spot on the sensor. So you may already have a Cadence sensor on there. Confirm that the magnet on your crank is aligned with the cadence sensor and the sensor is close enough to the crank when it passes. Then try to "pair" it with your Garmin and spin the crank arm a few times. Let us know if you get it to work. If it is an old sensor from an old Cateye computer, it might not be ANT+ and would be worthless to you. If it's a Garmin one or similar, then it should be ANT+ and should work. I plan to be at the HoH a half-hour early or so, and I'd be happy to take a look at it if you can't get it to work.
  • Joseph LombardiJoseph Lombardi

    Yes its is calculated but ..IMHO (and  Rainmaker + others)... the cadence sensor on the PowerTap is "Good Enough"....for most of the range in which we pedal....40-120.....at least good enough for the purpose for which we use them....you're mostly managing HR or Power...Cadence is a comfort measure...more than anything.....again IMHO....

Sign In or Register to comment.