Cadence sensor for indoor cycling?

I have been a mountain biker for about 3 years. Last year I got a road bike at the end of the summer. I intended to ride it mostly when the trails were too wet to mountain bike. I did a century at the end of the season last fall. It was a lot of fun. I'm signed up to do another century in May. It is still too cold here to ride outside. I have a trainer and have been riding my bike indoors while watching the Spinervals DVDs.

I want to get a cadence sensor for indoor cycling. I'm not sure what would work. I'm actually in need of a new heart rate monitor too. Does anyone have any recommendations? Something that could read the cadence when I am cycling indoor as well as outdoor?

Thanks!

I've only ever looked into wireless cadence sensors, and all of those I've seen work by affixing a magnet onto the arm of your crankshaft, which triggers a sensor mounted on your chainstay. It'll work whether you're riding outdoors, or on a trainer.

I have a Blackburn Delphi 5.0, which I got at REI with a 20% discount. However, I'm not seeing that REI carries Blackburn anymore. Anyway, here is a link to Blackburn. http://www.blackburndesign.com/cyclometer.html#delphi It looks like they have other models as well, but I chose the Delphi 5.0 because it had both cadence and heartrate; I didn't need/want the altimeter. The cadence and heartrate monitors work both on the trainer and on the road (the cadence sensor attaches to the crankshaft). I'd love to see how many miles I put in on the trainer, however, the distance monitor attaches to the front wheel, so it does not work on the trainer (my front wheel stays stationary on the trainer).

I would think that any cadence monitor that attaches to the crankshaft will work on the trainer. Hope you find something you like! :)

My dh just installed a CatEye Strada with cadence on my bike over the weekend. I had a Cateye wireless for 4 yrs that also measured cadence (along with dist, time etc) but the sensor stopped working for some reason.

The Strada (there are 3 so if choosing, be sure to look at the one with cadence) is very user friendly and not complicated to work or navigate. However, my wireless with the sensor had 3 screens showing on the head unit, and this one just has 2. It will take just a bit of adjusting on my part.

~ JoAnn

I use the Garmin Edge 305. Make sure you get the bundle that has both heart rate and cadence, as they are available singly as well. Works great indoors and out.

I love my Polar CS200cad. Comfortable soft heartrate strap (comes in 2 sizes) and the speed and cadence sensors are wireless. If you look on ebay you can find them new (or off a demo bike) for around $100-150. MSRP is around $200.

Its easy to use and the cadence and heartrate monitor will both work on the trainer.

I have a Cateye Astrale 8 on the bike I use on my indoor trainer. I think the Astrale 8 is pretty elegant -- it has long wires and once sensor to detect both your cadence and the speed from your back wheel. It was cheap, easy to set up, and has been extremely reliable -- it doesn't get much better than that! :)

- Melissa

I use the Cateye Strada Cadence (wired) and have a Polar hear rate monitor that's separate so I can use it for running on its own. The Strada is cheap, simple and very effective, and they've just launched a wireless version if you don't fancy the cables...

L ; )