Wheel magnet

[tropical]

Hi all,

Someone stole my wheel magnet (for speed sensor). I am thinking about using a mini but very strong 5mm magnet to replace it. On Ebay there is a guy selling them but I wonder if epoxy is good to attach it reliably to the spoke. Has anyone here done that?

[AndrewB]

That's rude that they'd steal the magnet. It didn't fall off on it's own, did it?

If your magnet is rectangular in length, rather than circular, you might be in business with some really good glue, like Gorilla Glue or similar.

Are your spokes flat or circular? Flat spokes might be easier to affix something to. And if you need a little space to close the gap with the sensor, you can cut a rubber band into strands.

And lastly, if you have some small zip ties, you can use two around a rectangular magnet with glue to hold it in place. Having a backup adhesive solution might be ideal depending on how you ride (wet, mud, rain, etc)

What type of computer do you have? Some LBS might have spare parts for your computer. I was in a national chain the other day looking around and they had spare parts for most of the Cateye's.

[JohnV]

Actually any magnet will work. If your LBS has wheel magnets, buy a couple of them just to have a spare or two. I have 4 extra wheel magnets for our three bikes, none that are made by the computer manufacturer. Depending on the mounting of the magnet to the wheel, some of the magnets will come loose and can fall off. The best mounts magnets and mounts that I have seen are the Sigma magnets. They not only snap on to the spoke, but they also have a metal slide that locks them down.

[GeorgeET]

Doubt you have enough surface on the spoke to hold with epoxy. You may be able to get a universal spoke magnet as John V said that's a best choice. Otherwise if you have one of those spoke reflectors that go between the spokes (its legally required in some parts) you can glue any magnet to that.
Good source for magnets is Radio Shack.

I use a Sigma Bicycle computer on my motorcycle (very accurate if set right) and epoxied a magnet to the rim. Slow curing epoxies are better.