DeadGrandpa

I found a Schwinn bike computer (wired) at Kmart marked down to $5 about 4 weeks ago. It has 17 functions including temperature and calories burned as well as the current, max and average speed, trip time + distance and bike odometer. I'm not sure I have found all the functions it will perform, but it does enough for $5. I find the trip distance most helpful as it tells me when I should start turning to circle back. At this point in my training, I am working to increase my miles per ride while keeping my average speed consistent. The speed at which I climb the familiar hills also tell me how my legs are improving, as noted by nkfrench above. I am old school and use my phone for communication, and a compass for navigation.

kingston 

What a coincidence. I have the same phone, and it's about the same age.

Carbonfiberboy 

Hard to beat the wired Cateye Astrale. It includes cadence, which is about the only thing I ever watch on it. Usually ~$30 and an hour to install. I've used these things for almost 20 years. They are very reliable. Being wired, fancy headlamps don't bother them. The only irritation is that in the rain, water can get into the shoe (but not the head unit) and stop the thing from working temporarily. A bit of plastic and a rubber band cures that.

chasm54

It's a good answer.

Stay off the cigs. My experience of stopping, 14 or so years ago, was that the need to smoke faded pretty fast so that after a few weeks I could go longish periods without thinking about it. But now and again something wouod happen - I'd see someone lighting up, or go to the pub with friends or whatever (one could smoke in pubs in those days) and get an urgent, almost piercing desire for a cigarette. But that was easier to deal with, because experience quickly taught me that the feeling would pass within a few minutes. After a year or so that too disappeared. It's now quite hard for me to believe that I was a smoker for over 25 years.

Using the fitness thing for motivation is a good idea. Any simple speedo such as those suggested above will give you the data you need for motivational purposes. And if you really want to get obsessive you can always upgrade over time. I know more than any sane man would want to about heart rate training, for example, but I haven't been persuaded (yet?) to get into a powermeter. So don't despair, there is several years-worth of increasingly sophisticated monitoring you can do ...

big john

Mine, too. I used them for years and gave up on it in 2002. I have no use for any data and I can tell by the way I feel how the body is working.

big chainring 

I like my Huret Multito. Simple rubber band driven odometer. And with tubular wheels it reads a bit heavy on the miles. Makes me feel faster.

Retro Grouch 

[QUOTE=chasm54;17149135]Me too, at least to a degree. I have to confess that I'm addicted to knowing "how far" and "how fast". I don't really care, and I certainly don't journal that stuff, but I still want to know.

This year I switched to using an entry level Garmin. I like it because I can move it from bike to bike with zero set up required. I don't like having to remove it after each ride and remembering to recharge the battery. Also, it has an "ascent" function that's so wildly inaccurate it's a joke.

I do generally carry an android phone with me so I suppose I could "download an app" that would do the same things, but I already have enough opportunities for getting frustrated with my phone and don't want any more.

Jinkster

Okay...since it's Sunday morning and I'm a Christian?...I guess a little 2 part confession is in order as follows....and so first?...

Confession Part 1: I guess if I get right down to it?...these recording/monitoring/app gizmos and gadgets are all about feeding my ego...but in a positive fashion where the ability to see progress regarding time/distance/speed might serve as a wonderful motivator for me and?...I also think it would be a good thing for me to know how many miles I'm putting on this bike so that I might come to learn things about what my body and my bike can (or can not) tolerate or achieve....for example?...I'll know the day I can say "Sure!...I'd love to participate in that 25 miles ride!" (knowing I can actually finish)...and/or?....knowing whether or not I should ride with a group that averages 18-20mph....or not....also?...stuff like how many miles I can expect to get out of a given set of tires and other bike related wear/maintenance items.

Confession Part 2: While I would like to someday get a cool GPS based unit like the Catseye Stealth 50?...a real good friend has offered to give me an older model catseye wired rig he no longer has use for that's still in fine working order and meets all my basic wants/needs...meanwhile?...I'm pretty sure I'm going to accompany that by downloading the free (or $2.99) version of mapmyride into my Galaxy S4 droid smartphone...but I'm still researching that as the main reason I'm interested in that particular app?...is "Accountability"..and again?..."Motivation"...and what I'm trying to find out is which version (Free/$2.99/M.V.P.) reports my rides too FB...as it is there that my friends will get on my butt if I start slacking...or?...pat me on the back for rides well rode...and I think that's a real cool feature so between the older wired catseye unit on the bike and the app on my smartphone?....I think I'm set for now and as a result may never get that GPS based model! LOL!

Thanks for all your feedback folks!...this is day 20 of no cigarettes...wish me luck and Ride Safe! Bill.

Jinkster

Well that was quick....looks like I'm scrapping the app idea as it appears that while mapmyride/walk/run gets great reviews from the IOS crowd?...nothing but moans and groans from the android folks regarding the very feature I was keyed in on....as it seems the vast majority can't get their droid version of MMR to report too FB...so I'm out on that idea....oh well...it was worth a look and thank goodness I didn't buy into that one.

JohnDThompson 

If only the GPS in mine worked decently...

MikeD1

I decided to not use a smartphone app mainly because I was concerned that my battery might not be up to the task on long rides. IF I ever have an emergency on the road, I want a phone with a good battery, not a dead battery.

Jinkster

Whelp?...I bit the bullet...well?...maybe just nibbled off a little taste of lead. LOL!

Just finished up downloading "MapMyRun"...why run instead of ride?...because that's what my coworker showed me and with the MVP package you can select everything from walking too running and mountain biking or road cycling and it has a larger membership following with 1/2 million dowloads...but to stay on the safe side?...I just went for the 1 month subsciption $5.99 to see if I can get it to do what I want and if it does?..."THEN"...I'll go with the annual package price of $30.

I'm headed out in a few minutes just for a short ride as a test run and see if I can get it to work or if I just got clipped for $5.99! LOL!

L8R, Bill.

John_V 

There are several things that you can do increase the life of a smartphone battery, especially an iPhone. One way is to make sure that all the background apps are shut down and that you only have your cycling app running. This is one thing that most people don't do and that will shorten your battery life if the GPS is running. I have been using an iPhone 4 and now a 5c for almost 2 years. My daily rides are between 35 and 45 miles and often 66 miles. I have never had a dead battery or the battery meter show below 50%. On my 5c, I normally have 80-85% battery life left after a 45 mile ride. You may want to do some internet searching to find out how to increase you phones battery life.

Zinger

You too?

All of my bikes have always been like that. And all along I thought it was something about myself.

tsl

I think you missed the joke.

Speedo


His bike refuses to wear one. Geddit?

Jinkster

Well it took my tech savvy daughters to get it done but they managed to link the mapmyrun software to my FB account and todays damages was 11.01 miles over 50min27sec for an avg speed of 13.1mph...which included me accidentally running over a small water moccasin that came squiggling out in front of me on the citrus ave bike lane...here's a link to the results but I guess the good news is it works!

Rode 11.01 mi on 09/21/2014 on 09/21/2014 | RUNNING Training Log Entry | MapMyRun

roccobike

OP, if going wireless, take a good look at the Specialized unit. Last time I bought one it was $40. It has an advantage over the Cateye and other units, the numbers are large. I'm not saying I need larger numbers as I get older, but I swear Cateye makes their units smaller. Also, I have two bikes and I have a Cateye Strada wireless on one and the Specialized on the other. The Specialized is easy to set up, works every time and it is absolutely dead nuts accurate. Anytime a cue sheet does not agree with the SPecialized, the cue sheet needs correction.
Now, I really liked the Cateye wired units I've had in the past (and still have on one of my vintage rides), but the Cateye Strada wireless on my main rider is a PITA. It's very sensitive to how it's set up and I've yet to have it correctly track the mileage. I've actually purchased another Specialized wireless unit. If the Cateye turns in one more inaccurate ride, it will be relegated to my MUP rider and replaced with the second Specialized unit.

Dave Cutter

I'd reconsider the wally world bicycle computer. I bought the cute little $10 Schwinn wired one 4-5 years ago and it still works fine. No bells or whistles just the data I want/need. And it's easy to use. For some reason it reminds me of my youth (not that we had gadgets like that then) and I think it's fun.

I've recently found out that the GPS in my phone is more reliable than the pricey unit I bought for the car. But the one for the car has a nice big screen... and that is nice too. But phones and apps are the future... and all these bicycle specific computers are old fashion and will soon be obsolete anyway.

I am retired... and I've sort of enjoyed logging my mileage data to a paper-based system. But I've recently decided to look for less intrinsic goals... than just mileage. I am thinking of recording the places I cycle to or maybe the people I meet or friends I ride with ... instead of the distance I covered. But that's another topic all together. So next season... my log should look more like a journal than a list of numbers. And I'll let my phone capture the numbers and log them to the cloud.

big john

Doh!

az_cyclist

back on topic, I purchased a Garmin 500 last year when I bought my Domane. I like the information it gives me, that I can include HRM info (as soon as I pick up the add ons), and that I can download it if I want. Before that I had used the CatEye Astral 8 and Strada computers. Those were certainly fine for basic cycling.