Question of the day - What is the advantage of riding a bike with Cadence Monitor, do I really need it (yes for the turbo) for riding on the roads?
I a good club rider, doing approx 100 a week (Sunday 70/80) and races in Summer.
Im looking to get a Garmin 500 with HRM only, I feel this will be all I need and TBH I have never used one apart from the turbo.
Im think I will give it a miss.
Your thoughts please.
You mean a cadence monitor?
I've never felt the need - it's not hard to monitor/guess your cadence mentally, without such a device. I'm naturally a spinner and it feels right to me, it seems many are grinders and that's generally not recommended IIRC, so they may want to quicken up and a monitor may help.
If you're just riding casually probably not worth it though, unless you like gadgets, in which case buy a sex toy 
80-110.... But there's plenty who fall ouside that. Cadence sensor is good for training you to spin but it becomes natural very quickly anyway.Better off with a heart rate monitor.
I've never ridden with a cadence monitor, and always maybe thought I didnt spin at the 'correct' cadence.
I then got a Turbo, and realised a cadence would be pretty useful for that so got one. I feel like it has certainly helped me keep a better higher cadence on the mtb.
Like you say I think they are fantastic as a training tool on a Turbo, I can see how they would be useful on a road bike to keep you 'efficient' (but I think you can pretty much get that from the turbo use) and an mtb I really cant see the point.
I've got one on my singlespeed....... ;o)
I had a shot on a turbo with a cadence meter and was suprised how fast I span the pedals at - a normal cadence seemed to be around 90 for me
TJ - That IS a normal cadence...
I always assumed around 70.
I have one on my mtb, because it came with the bundle I bought - tbh cadence wise it is a bit pointless as you are all over the place on a mtb. One thing I have noticed is the speed readings can be different on the bike with the sensor and the one just relying on the gps unit -
Better off with a heart rate monitor.
I always though that there are too many variables affecting your heart rate to make it a useful training tool.
I always though that there are too many variables affecting your heart rate to make it a useful training tool.
The longer the interval the more use a HR monitor is. For short, say 1 minute or less efforts then they become somewhat pointless. However for the classic 4*4, or 2*20 then they offer a real benefit
IMO A cadence monitor is a must for training properly on a turbo, it's also handy on the road bike for normal riding but by no means essential.
TandemJeremy - MemberI always assumed around 70.
On a turbo that would be a simulated hill climb.
I like mine - i spent a lot of time this summer working on my cadence to increase it.
I use mine on the road/turbo but not on the mtb. I miss it when I'm in a spinning class.
Not much use IMO. Mine can drop when I'm tired, and i use it if im doing a TT to stop me pushing too big a gear, but I'm not really fussed either way.
i always trained and raced time trial with cadence monitor and heart rate too.
i like mine on the turbo. lets you change gear to keep cadence within normal bands.
speed on the turbo doesn't tell you much.
From the sounds of it OP you'd be using it during your club sessions and general riding to gauge your current cadence and improve how you use it for racing, probably not a bad idea, it would allow you to monitor and control your own race pace (Both RPM and BPM) and prevent you from going off too hard too soon and ruining your racing, Assuming you use it in conjunction with a HRM...
think it depends if feel need to improve cadence
a few years back was out with a group who had ridden for many years and was surprised at how they all spun up hills leaving me grinding behind
checked cadence on a gym bike and worked to improve it to 70+ which is still low - now i use cadence when riding road to maintain 80+ and on turbo to make sure not trading off power
in short - if need to improve yes - if a natural spinner no
I would say if you come from a background of grinding larger gears and wish to change to a higher cadence it is a useful tool to obtain "muscle memory" of what a higher cadence feels like and to stay in that zone. Otherwise not sure if they are that much use. I come from a road background and was always told to spin so although I have a garmin one on my tt bike I never realy use it either for racing (go on hr and distance covered) or training (hr and interval times). My off road mtb cadence is probably lower than my road cadence but I'm not sure that makes any difference to either activity
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