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Garmin Edge 800 vs Stages Ultegra 6700 Left Arm Power Meter Cadence Sensor

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Alaska Mike 
#1 ·
I bought an Edge 800 a few years back and installed the included cadence sensor. I just received my Stages Ultegra 6700 Left Arm Power Meter today.

I've been away from ridding for a couple of years due to an illness and trying to get back in. Still ill but trying to do my best.

Question: Does anyone have experience with which would be the best cadence sensor to go with?

Is one any more accurate than the other?

Any other benefit in one over the other - other than I can remove the magnet and cadence unit, if I remove the Edge 800 unit?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Your Garmin will read cadence from the Stages. The Garmin cadence sensor is now doing nothing, so no need to have it on your bike. Even if you leave it there you unit won't read it, it'll pick the Stages instead.

And now, depending on how fussy you are, you can remove your speed sensor too. Your Garmin automatically calculates speed for you without a sensor. A magnet wheel sensor will probably be slightly more accurate, but I don't see why it would matter.
 
#5 ·
Let's be honest- how much precision do you need for cadence? If the Stages misses 2 revolutions per minute that the Garmin would have detected, that's 2 RPM. If you're focused on maintaining that sort of precision over any span of time on a regular basis for a metric like cadence, you're probably not focusing on the right things.

Lose the Garmin, unless you want better precision for speed/distance than GPS can provide. That can depend on satellite reception and other factors. I know once I started training with power, speed and distance became the result of workouts, rather than intended goals.

Figure out what your goal is and how the power meter can help you achieve it. Then use analytic software to plan and track your progress. Without analysis, your power meter is nearly useless- except as an eWang and piece of bike bling.
 
#9 · (Edited)
use analytic software to plan and track your progress. Without analysis, your power meter is nearly useless- except as an eWang and piece of bike bling.
Now that you mention that ---- what is the best software (in everyone's opinion) but reasonable in price. I didn't want re-occuring monthly cost but I bet there isn't a good free software.

Golden Cheetah may be the ticket???

Or should I open another thread on this.?
 
#7 ·
No need for the cadence sensor as the other's have said. I find my stages cadence to be right where I expected it to be. No easy way to check but it's consistent.

And I love my stages meter.
 
#8 ·
For most of the things that most riders mostly want to do, they can get along without the Garmin sensor. There are a few things that a few riders want to do sometimes in some situations that would require more precise cadence and speed -- but those few things also require more accurate and precise power data, so they wouldn't be using a Stages. Bottom line, removing the Garmin sensor almost surely won't be a problem.
 
#11 ·
Training Peaks WKO and Golden Cheetah seem to be the gold standards for training analytic stand-alone software. I've always used Training Peaks (WKO or online) because my former coach uses it, so I can't speak about Golden Cheetah other than to say they're releasing a new version with trainer support. Others can speak about the user interface and any number of other things.

You don't have to completely geek out on the numbers. The big thing is to understand what the data is telling you over the short and long term and learn how you body responds to different stresses. Once you know that, you can more effectively plan your training and alter it as needed to reach your goals.
 
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