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Question for those familiar with Stages PMs.

morpheusmorpheus
in General Training Discussions

Been using it for only 2 weeks.

Planned on using it today at an oly.  

Calibrated it, at 6oclock, and everything looked good on my Garmin 310.

Left with Garmin on as I went to the swim start.

TT start, so  got back to T1 about an hour or so later.  

Headed out on the bike and couldn't get the Garmin to detect a power meter.  Even spent a couple of miles while riding and toggling thru the settings on the Garmin to see if I could 're-detect' the stages pm.  Nothing.

So, does the bike have to be still, then one rpm, to turn it on and get detected?  Once I started riding, it won't detect?

Any thoughts?

Comments

  • Emily BrinkleyEmily Brinkley
    Weird. It sounds like you did everything right. Have you downloaded the Stages app for your phone? I'd check and make sure you have updated the most recent update from there, and that the battery was good. That is my first guess.

    I've got Stages on both my road and TT and that's only happened to me when the battery dies.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    I bet that's it. I didn't even think about it.

    Took it out of the box 2 weeks ago and it's been working great. I guess I assumed that the battery was fresh and had a few more hours left in it. Who knows how long it had been sitting on the shelf.

    Combine that with a 3hr wait time (5:30 transition setup) before I rode.

    Bet that's it. I'll put my extra battery in tomorrow and see.
  • crhurdcrhurd
    Chris,

    I too have a fairly new Stages, about 4 weeks. Try the phone app to check the battery status. The 3 hr wait time in transition should be null, that little guy goes to sleep until you spin him again.

    I'll confirm it's not the one spin theory. I hop on my bike and start spinning then power up my head units. Stages is awake after first spin but I'm still spinning away.

    Could also be an issue with your head unit. I have a 920xt which is great...except for w/stages. W/ Stages its POS, and drops nearly continuously. Had to get a bike computer to have reliable readings.

    Best of luck.
  • Emily BrinkleyEmily Brinkley
    I made that mistake too at first. The Bluetooth seems to be very sensitive when I have my watch on my arm looking to connect. I rarely can get it to read. I use my Garmin Edge 500 on a handle bar/hydration mount with no issues.
  • TriGirlJulieTriGirlJulie
    I've talked to a Stages rep because I plan on buying the PM. I told him I had a Garmin watch that I was going to use as the head unit. He said it would be "ok" but unreliable. He recommended that you use a "bike only" mounted head unit if you want reliability.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    Julie-



    I need to confirm it was a dead battery, but I have not had any hiccups at all with Garmin 310xt/Stages PM working well together. Proobably 10 rides and not a single one even dropped the connection for a second.



    Yes, I had no data on this past Sunday and I still have to make sure it's a dead battery. As soon as I am sure, I will let you know.
  • Michael NardoneMichael Nardone
    I agree it could be the dead battery issue. I carry an extra battery in my bento box and have changed it on the fly and it worked out well. I did have one issue with moisture and it was solved with disassembling the unit to air dry 24 hrs. The unit needs to calibrate to the high eight hundreds numbers or it will not hold the numbers you used to (in my case) I have had mine almost a year now and I am very happy with it. I use it with a 910x.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    confirmed, dead battery, today's workout (and sync) were fine.

    So, in the future, it's ok to scan/calibrate before race setup with garmin on, then go swim, then come straight to T1 and just start pedaling away, right?

  • Emily BrinkleyEmily Brinkley
    Great! Yes. When mine turns off in transition, I simply turn it on, say NO to re-calibration, and hit start... All after I'm on my bike in admin mode on the way out.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    good to hear. Will try again in Oct. But, I'll rehearse before.

    thanks for the help!
  • focusfocus
    I did a 70.3 last August and skipped using my stages power meter with Garmin Edge 500 because I thought it would be way too much trouble to accomplish T1 and also 1) turn on a sleeping Garmin 2) turn the crank 3) wait for message to come up about calibration 4) indicate to skip calibration 5) wait for sensors 6) press start. I raced without it and now have 70.3 worlds to do. I thought it might help to get a different Garmin, some way to avoid having to go through the calibration part. Maybe I just need to practice doing the calibration step while on the bike? Just that I'm worried about having to deal with my bike computer and stay safe.

    Anyone have some thoughts?
  • Emily BrinkleyEmily Brinkley
    @ann calibrate before transition closes. Once on bike, turn on, and say no to calibration. You've already done it. That's what I do at least ; ) Hope that helps.
  • Steve WestSteve West
    Set the Garmin 500 to NOT power down so you can do all the Admin pre-swim and it will be ready and waiting in T1. Just hit the Start Timer and go!

    Menu > Settings > System > Auto Power Down > Off

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