Speed sensor on rollers? Front or back wheel?

Andy_Davies · January 4, 2018, 2:59pm

Hi all,

Discussing with colleagues if there would be a significant difference between the front and back wheel when using the bike on rollers.

My setup: Wahoo Speed RPM on front wheel. Set up with correct wheel size (700 x 25c) and unlisted rollers. Wahoo Cadence RPM sensor on non drive side crank.

i.e. could the band linking my Tacx Antares rollers be slipping and therefore my front wheel is not being “driven” as much as my back wheel?

Reason I ask is that there is no way on earth the figures coming out compute with my effort!

I looked on Wahoo’s website and it said place the speed sensor on your preferred wheel but a lot of other sites mention the front wheel. I think the “driven” wheel would give you the most accurate reading?

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

Paul_Graham · January 4, 2018, 3:36pm

Hi Andy

I would have thought placing the sensor on the back (driven) wheel would make sense. Maybe not the best for picking up a signal, but I would have thought it would be the more accurate of the wheels.

I don’t use rollers so I’m just guessing

What are the problems you’re experiencing?

Doug_Truxillo · February 13, 2018, 6:11pm

are your speeds too slow? My speed on Zwift using the Wahoo speed sensor seem to have low speeds compared to my bike computer on my rollers

Paul_Allen · February 13, 2018, 6:24pm

Doug,

The speeds on Zwift will hardly ever match the speeds that are shown on your bike computer, there is no way for it to know are the speed variables (drafting, type of bike, virtual elevation).