I am in the process of setting up my trainer. It is not a smart trainer so no electronics. I have been looking all over the web to be able to track my training. I have a Garmin watch that works good for road riding but does not help much on the trainer. I am looking at speed and cadence sensors. The Wahoo stuff looks good but I am thinking about staying with Garmin for my setup. I am also looking at the Wahoo "free" version app. I am not sure if I should use a laptop or a led tv for viewing. My laptop is not setup for bluetooth and I don;t have a smart tv.

Which Garmin watch do you have? Most can use speed and cadence sensors and can track indoor cycling.

What do you need that your smartwatch doesn't already give you? Power might be valid and useful. However speed and distance are not. You aren't going anywhere on a trainer. Just my opinion.

Most of the Garmin watches can be paired with various cycling sensors such as power meters, cadence sensor and if you must a wheel sensor.

For the rare times I do ride a trainer, I find that putting the TV or computer on a bicycle race like cyclocross takes my mind off the drudgery of indoor riding. You can find them on YouTube and they last about an hour.

I have a Garmin Instinct. I want to track my data from riding my trainer. Basically making my Trainer like a smart trainer without all the cost. I am looking to improve issues that I have on the road, ie evening out my power between my left and right pedals. building measurable power and strength.

There is a better place to post this: Indoor and Stationary Cycling forum

You mention looking at the Wahoo Fitness app, which can track indoor workouts paired with a speed sensor. But then you also mention the sensors themselves, and then a screen -- for what, a virtual training platform like Zwift, SYSTM, Rouvy, etc? None of those will work with the Wahoo app or your watch, so it's either or.

First off, you can pair speed and cadence sensors to anything that can communicate over the broadcast standards of said devices. For mainstream ones like what Garmin and Wahoo make, that means either Bluetooth LE or ANT+. BTLE will work on just about any modern cell phone/tablet. A few have builtin ANT+. You can also buy Bluetooth or ANT+ USB dongles for your computer. Not a big hurdle.

However, no speed or cadence sensor will give you power, let alone L/R balance or smoothness. No dumb trainer will give you power, although some platforms have estimated power curves (usually horrendously inaccurate) based on speed. You can use apps or platforms to track that, so you can kind of tell if you're getting fitter by the increase in speed and distance. That's about as good as you can expect on a shoestring budget, with the exception if you have Kinetic fluid trainer.

Just looked this up. Instinct does not support power meters. Sorry.

Garmin's Edge line mostly does. So do their Fenix and Forerunner watches, if that path is more amenable to you. I think the common Wahoo ones do as well, but wait for someone else to confirm or verify that yourself instead of trusting me.

I'm not looking at power meters. I am looking at speed sensors and cadence sensors. They all work with instinct. I am leaning towards Garmin.

Ok. But know speed and cadence sensors won't be able to answer these kinds of questions for you:They might still do everything you need and want and save you $1,500 on electronics you don't need.

My advice would be to use your Instinct to record your riding, at least for now. If anything about it becomes too annoying then it will narrow the field of choices to the ones that solve that particular kind of annoyance. 🙂

I have a Fenix watch and use it as a bike computer. I bought an Edge 1030+ too, it's really a waste of money since I already have the Fenix.

How will you do this without a dual side power meter?

Though I don't put much into evening out the power difference between two different legs. Bikes don't need to move fluidly in an even smoothness. In fact if you watch closely in high speed photography they move in surges that are quite responsive to the power peaking on each pedal stroke.

To train one leg to put out more power to match the other leg means that you aren't increasing the power of the other leg and your total power will be less than it could have been. So overall less performance.

Perhaps if you have a very large imbalance of power it might help to figure out what that other leg is lacking or lazy.

I got the Garmin speed and cadence sensor. I linked them to my Instinct watch, Connect and the Wahoo free tracker. I will finish the setup to my bike and trainer tonight. I found some cool Youtube training/ riding videos. I will mount my phone with the Wahoo app on my bars and I have a laptop in front of me with the videos. I will be able to do most of the things a smart trainer can do for much less money. I am still thinking about getting a Garmin HRM so I can target my heart rate.

https://a.co/d/c3fm7rR
I have a HRM from this company and the really expensive Garmin one. I can't tell them apart on the bike. The Garmin heart strap has features I use for skiing and swimming, but isn't different in any important way on the bike. FYI if you want a budget option.
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Ill try and address your comment/questions in order.

I am in the process of setting up my trainer. It is not a smart trainer so no electronics.
This can be done but at a minimum you will require a Power Meter.
What you will be missing is the Smart Trainer function that controls resistance.
This varying resistance is how the Smart Trainer simulates hills.

I am looking at speed and cadence sensors.
A speed sensor serves no purpose indoors.
A cadence sensor may not be required. If the Power Meter is in the Crank Arms or Pedals, it likely also measures cadence.

I am also looking at the Wahoo "free" version app. I am not sure if I should use a laptop or a led tv for viewing.
Most Power Meters will output Bluetooth. You will need a suitable software application and a Bluetooth enabled hardware device to run your chosen software on (example Zwift).
Personally I use an Apple TV as the device, it's connected to my TV for viewing. Bluetooth is built into the Apple TV.

My laptop is not setup for bluetooth and I don;t have a smart tv.
No Bluetooth, no data. The Apple TV device is a lot cheaper and more powerful than an older laptop.

evening out my power between my left and right pedals. building measurable power and strength
Not only will you require a Power Meter, you will require a Dual Sided Power Meter.
Single Sided Power Meters measure one leg and double the measurement.
Dual sided Power Meters actually measure each leg independently.

NOTE: Hub based Power Meters measure both legs at the same time and can't tell which leg is actually doing the work.
A Smart Trainer is basically the equivalent of a Hub Power Meter, so you can’t see the data of each leg separately.

I hope this helps.

Barry