I have never gotten my 935 to show bike power during a triathlon. I run an edge 520 in addition to my 935 so I have never been too worried about not getting the power data on my 935. But it would be nice to have it on my 935 as well as a backup just in case something happens to my 520 during a race. In the morning before the race, my 935 recognizes the power meter and I do a zero offset/garmin calibrate. But then when I get to my bike in T1 and start riding, my 935 never picks up the power meter. I'm pretty sure I am doing something wrong in the process cause I know others don't have this problem. I've tested it out during training rides that my 935 will read power no problem. I think the issue has something to do with how I switch to triathlon mode in the morning. Anyone have any thoughts?
How are you connecting to your power meter? In case via BTLE, then only one device is able to access it and many devices will disable the other protocol (that means Bluetooth or ANT+). ANT+ just broadcasts data, so anything can pick it... I have Edge 1030 and 935 and never had a problem with ANT+ sensors on a triathlon.
Did you checked if PM has been connected before start riding? Seems like this not related to triathlon, I have similar issue during regular rides - PM goes to sleep during stops and disconnects from 935 and then never picks up back by 935 after resume riding. So I am typically spin cranks several times in opposite direction before ride and waiting for 10-15 secs while PM connecting back.
I have a similar problem when swapping between bikes in a CX race and I've always wondered how this works for Triathletes. I think its all to do with the sensor searching process and how that ties in to the watch and the activity. If you start an activity with you're PM connected i suspect it will work fine for you. However that's not the reality in a Tri as your bike is in transition and you start the activity ready for the swim with just your HRM-Tri connected. By the time you've finished the swim the sensor pairing time window has well passed and in order for you to connect it i suspect you would have to dive down into Settings - Sensors - PM - Connect to force the watch to look for it again. How realistic this is in a Tri is one thing, its certainly not feasible in a CX race when swapping between bikes! You'd be over the bars whilst faffing with your watch :-)
Maybe someone could explain in detail (and who knows) how the sensor searching and connecting process works and especially in the situation described by the OP. This cannot be unique, it must impact all Triathletes with PM's, Please let us know your experiences and how you handle it. Have we got it wrong, does it just work for you? If so how, what do you do that's different to us? Do you wake your PM, start the activity and then pause it before starting the swim for example?
If you start an activity with you're PM connected i suspect it will work fine for you. However that's not the reality in a Tri as your bike is in transition and you start the activity ready for the swim with just your HRM-Tri connected. By the time you've finished the swim the sensor pairing time window has well passed and in order for you to connect it i suspect you would have to dive down into Settings - Sensors - PM - Connect to force the watch to look for it again.
I don't know how it works on the FR935, but my FR735XT starts searching for sensors when switched to the next sport in a multisport activity. I don't have a power meter, but I have an ANT+ cadence sensor on my bike, and after the swim leg in a triathlon the watch connects to the cadence sensor after I trigger the bike leg. That said I have to admit, that sometimes (rarely) this fails for a reason unknown to me.
I don't know how it works on the FR935, but my FR735XT starts searching for sensors when switched to the next sport in a multisport activity. I don't have a power meter, but I have an ANT+ cadence sensor on my bike, and after the swim leg in a triathlon the watch connects to the cadence sensor after I trigger the bike leg. That said I have to admit, that sometimes (rarely) this fails for a reason unknown to me.
Well, I've never encountered any issue with any sensor (SRM PM, Garmin speed, HRM-TRI) in triathlon mode. I select triathlon mode a couple of minutes before swim start to allow a good GPS fix and start activity when crossing the start line. After the swim I'm in T1 "activity" and when on bike I press lap again to be in bike leg. Sensors are available immediately.
Yes, maybe its the switching sport in multi sport mode that triggers it to search for sensors again. I would have to test that. In CX that is obviously not occurring. jackson2sm - are you using multi-sport mode and are you switch sports in transition? (sorry i can't tag people, its comes up with a JSON error)
How are you connecting to your power meter? In case via BTLE, then only one device is able to access it and many devices will disable the other protocol (that means Bluetooth or ANT+). ANT+ just broadcasts data, so anything can pick it... I have Edge 1030 and 935 and never had a problem with ANT+ sensors on a triathlon.
Did you checked if PM has been connected before start riding? Seems like this not related to triathlon, I have similar issue during regular rides - PM goes to sleep during stops and disconnects from 935 and then never picks up back by 935 after resume riding. So I am typically spin cranks several times in opposite direction before ride and waiting for 10-15 secs while PM connecting back.
It connects in the morning before the race. But I do not check when I get on my bike after T1. I have glanced down at my watch while riding just to see no power data on my watch. At that point, there is no time to try to get it to connect.... it’s a race after all :).
Well, I've never encountered any issue with any sensor (SRM PM, Garmin speed, HRM-TRI) in triathlon mode. I select triathlon mode a couple of minutes before swim start to allow a good GPS fix and start activity when crossing the start line. After the swim I'm in T1 "activity" and when on bike I press lap again to be in bike leg. Sensors are available immediately.
Good to know. I will say that I usually don’t include transitions in Tri mode. And when I get out of the water, I hit lap to go to bike mode, run to my bike and grab it, then run to mount line. So it could be a few minutes after getting into bike mode before I actually am on my bike and pedaling. Perhaps the search for my pm is timing out during this time frame.
