Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Detecting Stages speed/cadence sensors

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

My spinning gym has Stages SC3 bikes equipped with Stages Power Meter speed/cadence sensors. These are supposed to be compatible with any ANT+/Bluetooth capable device.

So far I have had no luck. My VA4S cannot even detect the sensor, let alone pair with it. I know the sensor is working, because I am able to pair with it using my Android phone.

Has anybody been able to pair their VA4 with a Stages sensor?

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the VA4 supports power meters.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to fallingrock

    Why wouldn't it? Both the vivoactive and the power meters support ANT+ and Bluetooth.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Power meter's have a different profile that, I think, the VA4 doesn't support.

    If you look at the available sensor types (when adding a sensor), you won't find power meter there.

    I just checked with my Stages power meter (on my road bike) and the VA4 wasn't able to find it.  It pairs fine to my Edge 1030.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to fallingrock

    I was trying to pair using the sensor > speed/cadence type. 

    This is annoying. Why would the specs list it as compatible when it is not? And why would the VA4, which is one of the latest Garmin devices, not support something that older Garmin device do?

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago

    Also doesn't work with vivoactive 3 as I tried this morning. My guess would be that the bike doesn't use idependent sensors for cadence/speed and instead uses the power meter which the watches aren't able to talk to. But I dunno just speculating. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    The VA4 doesn't support power meters.

    A Stages power meter does NOT have a separate cadence sensor.  The cadence data comes with the power data.

    No previous VA models have supported power meters.

    Edge bike computers DO support power meters, so they can receiver the cadence data that comes along with the power data.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to fallingrock

    Seems to be exactly what I said. 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to fallingrock

    Thanks for the response!

    I don't, however, understand the distinction. The VA4 is advertised as supporting connectivity with Bluetooth and ANT+, and the Power Meter is advertised as providing data capture with Bluetooth and ANT+.

    It seems to me that when one device states it supports a standard, and another device says it supports a standard, then the devices should be able to connect to one another. Are these standards meaningless?

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Supporting ANT/BLE does not indicate supporting all sensors with ANT/BLE.  As has been said, none of the vivoactives have ever supported Power meters as standard sensors.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to jim_m_58

    My point is what is the purpose of these standards if devices following the standards cannot interact?

    It seems to me that stating ANT+ support is completely meaningless. As it stands, how is it possible to know beforehand that the VA4 will not interact with a Power Meter? There is nothing in the published documentation that indicates the devices are not compatible, just apparently meaningless specs that say that they are.

    The only recourse a person has appears to be buying the equipment and trying it out, which is stupid.