Garmin GSC 10 Speed/Cadence Bike Sensor
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $35.79 You Save: $24.20 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin GSC 10 Speed/Cadence Bike Sensor
Customer Review: If you already have Garmin Edge, this might be okay
Summary: 3 Stars
Well, I think the GSC 10 I got might be defective, but my recent experience with Garmin products makes it hard to tell the difference between defective and poor design. The GSC 10 seemed to arrive with a dead battery. The "reset button" is supposed to blink the LEDs when pressed, but didn't. I replaced the battery and then could see the LEDs (though they are very dim). It still took a while to get it to "connect" with my Edge305, but finally did. It seemed to work fine for about 6 rides before bad weather interrupted. Now, about 7 weeks since my previous ride, I went out and, again, the GSC10 isn't showing up on the Edge305. I haven't investigated it yet to see if the battery is again dead or what. I really don't have time to debug my bicycle accessories all the time, but if you do...
By the way, I got this GSC10 for a second bike. The one that came with the Edge305 has not had the same problems and I have had it for about 5 months now. That is why I think this might be a defective unit.
Followup on 6/5/2007: Bought a 3rd one of these for a new bike. Again, it arrived from Amazon with a dead battery. So, plan on spending about $4 extra to get a working unit. Also will mention that some new bikes won't fit this accessory as well. The distance between pedals and the frame are much larger on the new bike so I have to tilt the unit way over. And the distance between the frame and wheel spokes is very narrow so the speed sensor arm must be raised way up high as it won't clean in the down position shown.
I should also mention that the heart rate monitor works very poorly, which is probably clouding my judgement. I had a Polar HR monitor for about 4 years that worked pretty well. The Garmin one drops out frequently and I have yet to have it record an entire workout. Sometimes it will record my entire run or ride at a rate of 60-80 bpm, even though I am actually at 150-170 bpm. You can tell in the downloaded data because the rate is a flat line frequently.
So, if you haven't gotten an Edge yet, I would avoid it. I have many complaints about the base unit as well, but this review is about the accessories.
Customer Review: Cool toy!
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not a hard core bicyclist, and I am also not an athlete in training. What I am, is an old man who likes to get out there and "get-er-done" when the conditions are good! A recent heart attack (my second now) has encouraged me to "monitor" myself while working out and or playing hard. The first heart attack happened while off road motorcycling, and the second happened part way into a 10 mile back country hike. I choose the Garmin Forerunner 305 with the heart monitor as the core components of the "monitoring" duties. This Cadence sensor gets used to record "cadence only" when mounted to the mountain bike. I do not use it to measure distance or speed in that configuration (the GPS in the Forerunner is very accurate). It mounted right up to my old Stump Jumper with only minor modifications to the magnet mounting scheme. It looks like it will hold up pretty well to the abuse's I will subject it to, but time will tell (only 2 off road adventures, and one road trip so far). However, this Cadence sensor gets daily use while mounted to my elliptical trainer (Schwinn 430). Because the sensor is magnetically activated, there is no operational noise (keeps the wife happy). I have been able to calibrate it so it reports cadence, distance, speed, and calorie expenditure, to within less than a 3% error relative to what the elliptical trainer reports. It allows me to keep records of all my indoor workouts, and helps me build up slowly to a predetermined goal rather than just working out according to "what feels right". I'm actually thinking about buying another one of these sensors so I can leave one permanently mounted to my bicycle, and one mounted permanently to the elliptical machine! I can switch it back and forth between the two right now in just a few minutes, but the sensor is cheep enough that the hassle may not be worth it. All in all, this sensor coupled with the Forerunner 305 and the heart monitor has filled the requirements for my data gathering needs. I would recommend this product to a friend.Customer Review: Great Sensor, Design could be better...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been a serious cyclist for over a decade now, and have been using the Forerunner 305 for cycling and running for almost 2-years. But have resisted focusing on cadence. I finally decided that Cadence might be a useful piece of information in my training. The sensor seems accurate. After the first use, I found the Cadence information helpful.
I agree with other reviewers that the design for the sensor could be better, which is why I gave 4-stars. However, it's not bad. The installation is simple, though slightly time consuming. Just make sure you read the directions. A few tips:
1. Read the instructions first. Installation is simple, but you need to get it right.
2. Do not tighten down the zip ties, etc., until you've tested out everything since all 3 elements need to be aligned properly.
3. Make sure you install the sensor and crank magnet on the non-chain side. (Says it in the instructions, but I'm reiterating it here.)
4. You can tell that the sensor is working because when the wheel spoke magnet and the crank arm magnet passes the sensor it will light up with a red or green indicator light.
5. You must pair the Forerunner with the sensor! It depends on which Forerunner you're using as to the process of pairing.**
This only took me one try.
**For the 305, you can find this in the Accessory menu. Once you tell the 305 to pair with the sensor, spin the crank arm for about 1-minute. The sensor should be detected. If not, reset the sensor and try again. This is from Garmin Support.
Also, to the reviewer who commented that the Forerunner didn't work with the second sensor he bought for another bike, I suggest that he makes sure that he had paired the Forerunner with the second sensor.
If you follow the instructions and make sure you pair your devices properly, you should be enjoying your cadence sensor very quickly!
Customer Review: Great Tool for Tracking Distance, Speed and Cadence.
Summary: 4 Stars
I use the bike sensor with my Garmin Forerunner 50 watch. I also use the foot pod on my running shoes to track my running.
You have to pair your bike pod with your watch. My foot pod was already paired with my watch. The instructions were not clear on this, but, you must pair both the foot pod (if you have one) and the bike pod together even though the foot pod (or bike pod) has been previously paired. If not, the new pairing will remove the previous pairing and when you attempt to use it the watch won't recognize the pod.
Garmin may be great technically but they know nothing about batteries. They send their pods out with the batteries installed and, of course, the batteries are dead. Be smart. Buy a 2032 medical battery before you get your pod and replace it before you start.
Because the bike pod is secured to the bike with zip ties, it will be a little tricky replacing the battery when the time comes.
The foregoing glitches are extremely minor compared to how great the bike pod (and foot pod) works. The bike pod is very easy to set up and install and it sends data to your watch with extreme accuracy. If you use the foot pod when running the watch stores that data too.
Download the free program from Gasrmin to track your bike (and running) trips. With the program loaded walk into the room and the data on your watch will automatically upload into your computer (Just be sure to have your watch in "time" mode and the program closed). The data tables and graphs are great. I have my watch set to record data for every mile I ride or run. So far I have biked about 200 miles and ran about 200 miles and everything is working fine.
This is a must for any gadget/data/fitness junkie.
Customer Review: Shipped w/ dead battery and bad instruction or dead LED, Otherwise works great
Summary: 4 Stars
My GSC10 arrived w/ a dead battery and either the install instructions refer to a non-existent LED that blinks when either magnet passes the sensor for a short period of time after resetting the unit or my sensor shipped w/ a dead LED. Install takes a bit of time to get the sensors and magnets lined up and in a position that won't interfere w/ pedaling and rotation of the rear wheel, exacerbated in my case by the dead battery and non-functioning or non-existent LED, but overall not the worst thing I've ever experienced. Got it all set up in ~35 minutes.
Once I got a new battery in the thing and gave up on the LED showing me that it was working before firing up my head unit again, it paired up automagically with the Edge 500 and has been working great ever since.
Can't comment on battery life or overall long term durability as I've only logged ~500 miles with it so far, but it has seen significant water/mud spray so far with no adverse effects. It's stayed securely mounted and hasn't got in the way so far. Changing the battery will most likely be a PITA w/o removing the sensor from the chain stay, but I wouldn't anticipate remounting and repositioning taking more than 10 minutes or so and a couple of zip ties.
So far the Edge 500, GSC10 and Premium HRM have been a great training tool and an excellent use of ~$300. Thinking of buying a second GSC10 to use on the rental I'll be riding on a trip next month and then putting it on my MTB when I get back home. This product would get 5 stars from me if it weren't for the dead battery and confused instructions or broken LED.