What cyclometer features do I need?
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However, if you truely want ot be happy - find out where DF bought his smile-o-meter and get one of those. I've been looking for one for a long time but he won't tell me where he bought his from.
#27
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I use a $12 cheapie from Walmart. It has odometer (critical for randonneuring) and speedometer (critical as a measure of manliness) and that's all I really need.
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A modern wireless computer with cadence has a single sensor you attach with zip ties, a magnet on a rear wheel spoke (easy as pie) and a magnet you just let stick itself to the end of the pedal spindle. That's it... you are done. Nothing complicated about it. IMO, a computer without cadence (and HR) is likely to be one of those items that ends up in a ziplock in the garage, along with the other "I should have bought the more complete solution in the first place" items.
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I rode 7-8 thousand miles last year using a basic wireless with speed, time and distance functions and didn't feel at all deprived. What I felt was more important to me was the heart rate monitor that I had in addition.
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Another Protege 9.0 from PB user here. One caution on wireless computers - if you have a battery powered LED headlight mounted near your computer display, you may get some RF interference that would interfere with your computer when the light is on. In my case, the distance seems to be accurate, but speed bounces around all over the place because of the interference.
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Cadence is very useful, it is really good to help keep you from pushing too big of a gear, especially when you get tired.
And GPS is great - I was skeptical at first, but I really enjoy looking back at all the places I've ridden over the past three years since I've been using the Garmin (now a 500). You can post on the Garmin Connect site and share for free or if you're more competitive minded, try Strava, which automatically identifies climbs and other segments and compares your ride with other members of the service.
If you have a smartphone, you can probably get a free (or cheap) application that will do the GPS for you (including speed and distance). The only problem is battery life if you ride longer than a couple of hours. Strava offers one of these.
I must add - leaving all this at home occasionally and going for a fun spin around town is probably the best!
And GPS is great - I was skeptical at first, but I really enjoy looking back at all the places I've ridden over the past three years since I've been using the Garmin (now a 500). You can post on the Garmin Connect site and share for free or if you're more competitive minded, try Strava, which automatically identifies climbs and other segments and compares your ride with other members of the service.
If you have a smartphone, you can probably get a free (or cheap) application that will do the GPS for you (including speed and distance). The only problem is battery life if you ride longer than a couple of hours. Strava offers one of these.
I must add - leaving all this at home occasionally and going for a fun spin around town is probably the best!
#32
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And how do you improve your pedal stroke? The two exercises most commonly used are One Legged Pedaling, and spin ups. For a one legged pedaling drill, you normally want to maintain a specific cadence, and increase that over time. Spin ups are all about cadence, and maintaining the fastest smooth pedal motion you can. How fast you can pedal without bouncing off the saddle is a basic measure of how well you pedal. My point is that having cadence improves your pedal stroke - much harder to improve it without cadence.
A modern wireless computer with cadence has a single sensor you attach with zip ties, a magnet on a rear wheel spoke (easy as pie) and a magnet you just let stick itself to the end of the pedal spindle. That's it... you are done. Nothing complicated about it. IMO, a computer without cadence (and HR) is likely to be one of those items that ends up in a ziplock in the garage, along with the other "I should have bought the more complete solution in the first place" items.
A modern wireless computer with cadence has a single sensor you attach with zip ties, a magnet on a rear wheel spoke (easy as pie) and a magnet you just let stick itself to the end of the pedal spindle. That's it... you are done. Nothing complicated about it. IMO, a computer without cadence (and HR) is likely to be one of those items that ends up in a ziplock in the garage, along with the other "I should have bought the more complete solution in the first place" items.
#33
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Anybody remember those little chrome mechanical odometers you'd mount to your front hub? They were belt driven if I remember correctly. I wanted one of those so much when I was a kid that I finally got one for my Sekai back in the late '70s. Hard to reset, harder to read, harder still to maintain the belt. I gave up on it in pretty quick order.
I'm an engineer and like most of the breed I never met a measuring device I didn't like so when it comes to which bike computer features I need the answer is quite simple: I need all of them plus a few that have not been invented yet!
Ken
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A wise man over on another forum states "The right bike is the one you will ride!".
I think the same theory applies here. Decide what YOU want and go get it.
As many have stated already, ya don't NEED any computer to ride yer bike!
As far as the Smile-O-Meter is concerned, well I think that is a physically internal thingy powered by fun and calibrated with wisdom. We each have to nuture and grow our own.
I think the same theory applies here. Decide what YOU want and go get it.
As many have stated already, ya don't NEED any computer to ride yer bike!
As far as the Smile-O-Meter is concerned, well I think that is a physically internal thingy powered by fun and calibrated with wisdom. We each have to nuture and grow our own.
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You don't need a computer to ride, though, and most will ride whether or not they have a computer (if they have the right bike). So a computer is better than no computer if it makes you ride more. If it doesn't make you ride more, then it is all gravy, whatever makes you happiest.
I generally don't ride with a computer, but in my dream world where I get some luxuries, other than speed and distance, the two things I would like to know most are heart rate and the grade of the road, and heart rate would be number one. I can easily live without a computer, so long as I don't get my heart rate so high that I die, and so far, I've only had a few instances where I stopped out of caution because I sensed I'd let my heart rate get too high -- it would be a nice luxury to avoid those times.
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and heart rate would be number one
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#37
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and so far, I've only had a few instances where I stopped out of caution because I sensed I'd let my heart rate get too high -- it would be a nice luxury to avoid those times.