Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Cateye Strada w/Cadence. - HELP -

After searching this forum for information on computers I decided to go with the Cateye Strada w/Cadence (wired). I have got it installed and every things works except for the Cadence...? I think it has something to do with the magnet on the inside of the crank. I have aligned the magnet and the sensor so that they pass inline. My cranks are concaved and semi hollow so the magnet sits pretty far away from the sensor. The instructions state that it should be no farther then 3mm apart, that is only like 1/4 of an inch. My crank is just less then an inch from my chain rail... :(
What else can I do? Has anyone installed one of these on a Trek 7.5 FX?

Have you tried making spacers for it like think double sided foam tape?

My cadence magnet is further away from the sensor than it should be but it still seems to work. I think you just need to cut off the sensor's zip-tie and pop a spacer of some sort between crank and magnet, then add zip-tie. (I'd leave the sensor alone.) A piece of foam or plastic, or even a V-brake spacer, should do the trick.

I have a Cateye Strada with cadence, and to get the cadence to work I had to shape a small piece of wood to put behind the sensor to get it anywhere near close enough. 3mm = 1/8 inch, which is not easy!

Hello SteveWoll,
Do you have any pictures of your spacer on the bike?

Hello SteveWoll,
Do you have any pictures of your spacer on the bike?

Allshookup
Picture hopefully attached. Sorry about the delay, tried to be clever with taking the photo... Also, please excuse the dirt. My bike spends much more time being ridden than being cleaned!

You can see that the block was not very sophisticated. I shaped the back of the block so that it matched the shape of crank, and left it rough so that it gripped a bit. Then a bit of paint to hide it a little.

Thanks for the picture...
I tried the same thing and got is as close as 2 nickels to the sensor but it still doesn't pick it up?
I can manually pass it by the sensor and it works but when it is all strapped in place it doesn't pick it up...
very frustrating!

Sometimes the line on the sensor casing is not quite right. Try positioning the magnet a little to each side of the mark to see if you get a reading that way.

If it is really quiet you can hear the sensor make a tiny click when it gets close to the magnet.

Try putting a small rare earth magnet on top of the cadence magnet. (I got mine off a name badge from a conference, but they're only a buck at Radio Shack http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102642.) This will move the magnet closer to the sensor and also increase the field strength.

Try putting a small rare earth magnet on top of the cadence magnet. (I got mine off a name badge from a conference, but they're only a buck at Radio Shack http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102642.) This will move the magnet closer to the sensor and also increase the field strength.

Great advice!!! I had the same problem as the OP and this took care of it. Thanks.

As a test you can just wave the magnet across the sensor. You have to do it for a few seconds for anything to register. If nothing shows up, then there may be something wrong with your unit or wiring harness.