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Is the speed sensor really needed?

AfricanSteve
over 8 years ago
Afternoon,

Brought a new set of mavic disc wheels and the carbon hubs are very chunky compared to my standard wheels so the elastic band that secures the speed sensor won't stretch around the hub, went for a cycle and speed seemed OK, obviously using GPS signal. Is the speed sensor just a back up? If so can you purchase larger cases/bands to hold the speed sensor in for larger hubs.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Well, it's not "needed", but I would never go without it.

    The extra precision in distance, the proper sensing of stop/start, the much more precise speed and distance on climbs and so on. These are just some of the reasons i think it's needed :-)
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    Personally, I can see benefits on MTB when I'm going uphill very slowly (10-15% steep) - without sensor, Garmin would activate auto-pause as if I were not moving. With speed sensor no problems :)
    Also it helps to keep your distance in tunnels or with poor/no GPS signal, for example.
    Maybe not really needed, but it's nice to have.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Cheers guys thanks for the response, will try mount it on the hub.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    Well, it's not "needed", but I would never go without it.

    The extra precision in distance, the proper sensing of stop/start, the much more precise speed and distance on climbs and so on. These are just some of the reasons i think it's needed :-)


    That's it! :)
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    , went for a cycle and speed seemed OK, obviously using GPS signal..
    For normal road biking the overall distance from GPS is very accurate. Position errors do cause short term fluctuation is speed. If you like to monitor speed closely that can be an issue, as mentioned the auto-pause can come on when going slowly and the gradient readout can be effected. The errors tend to cancel out over distance and the overall data is not effected. If you don't notice any of those concerns during the ride the sensor may not add that much.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    For normal road biking the overall distance from GPS is very accurate. Position errors do cause short term fluctuation is speed. If you like to monitor speed closely that can be an issue, as mentioned the auto-pause can come on when going slowly and the gradient readout can be effected. The errors tend to cancel out over distance and the overall data is not effected. If you don't notice any of those concerns during the ride the sensor may not add that much.


    Thats my experience too, I've had Garmins the last 10 years, and only bought a speed sensor last year in order to get data when using my indoor trainer. I do use it on the MTB as well and in rare occasions when riding i mountains with tunnels and/or narrow canyons... But for everyday road use it's not needed.
  • 0 9 months ago in reply to tigermountrider

    If you are not riding with others, or chasing Strava PR’s you probably won’t notice anything. That said I put this to the test riding several courses and always come up short using gps. One example riding with buddy who also has Garmin computer but is using speed sensor from our last ride. My mileage was 160.4 miles with an elevation gain of 8,301 feet. He on the other hand logged 164.2 miles with 8,636 feet of elevation even though we rode the same route together. No tunnels or tree cover. 

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to frankficarrotta

    The elevation gain numbers have nothing to do with the speed sensor.

    The gain is an estimate: the two numbers are about 4% different (which is pretty close).

    The distance based on the speed sensor should tend to be larger than the distance determined from GPS because the sensor can detect the bike "weaving" (moving side to side) better.