Best Speed/Cadence Sensor

General Discussion
1

I have a road bike and a Blackburn Tech Mag trainer. What is the best speed/cadence sensor to use both link up with Zwift and also for tracking my rides outside?

2

I have been using Garmin’s for years now. Zero issues (which is more than I can say about their HR sensors…)

Granted, there are plenty of other (good) options.

3

Hi @Walt_Matlock welcome to Zwift forums.

I’m a fan of the Wahoo sensors. They broadcast in both Bluetooth LE and ANT+, which makes them versatile. They will pair to Zwift on any device you choose to run Zwift. They will also pair to most recently-made bike computers with very little fuss for your outdoor rides.

Also important for longer-term ownership: when Wahoo releases firmware for those sensors, their utility app makes it super easy to update firmware.

4

“This message brought to you by Wahoo Fitness, join the #Wahooligans” :rofl: :crazy_face:

2 Likes
5

Thanks for the response. Very helpful.

6

shooj,

Do you have a bike computer that you would suggest as well?

Thanks.

7

This might have come out before the Wahoo Roam was on the market, so I would consider that one too.

8

That’s a whole different conversation because bike computers have such a broad price range spectrum and feature sets. It really depends on what features and benefits are important to you.

If you don’t need GPS capability, the price point goes down quite a bit. If you have a black & white screen instead of color, that also saves cost and maybe extends battery life. Do you ride after dark? Then be sure to get one with a good low-light display. Does it rain a lot where you live? You probably want one that relies on inputs from physical buttons rather than a touch screen. The personal priorities go on and on.

After-sale support from the manufacturer and parts availability in your country is also important IMO.

I have the original (now discontinued) Wahoo Elemnt and a Garmin 820. Personally, the GPS capability is important to me. So too is the ability to download GPS routes to the bike computer from Strava, RideWithGPS, or MapMyRide. The way you download routes varies from brand to brand, and the easier that is, the better. These are the sort of questions you may not know to ask until you’ve owned a couple of bike computers.

9

Garmin sensors have done nicely for me and came with my 520 edge plus. Pretty sure they are Bluetooth and ant+ so plenty versatile.

I’d get whatever you can find cheaper between Garmin and wahoo

1 Like