mattm

'naked' meaning without feedback gizmos: no cyclocomputer, GPS, HRM, PT, quarq, etc.

just you, a bike, and the open road. it's quite the liberating feeling!

(although i do sometimes use a watch to at least know what time it is, i'm not a total luddite)

i find that for long rides it's actually nice not to know exactly how much more road you've got to cover. lately i just figure that i've got X amount of hours left before i hit such and such turn. so far, so good.

anyone else ride sans-gizmo?

eb314

I can't do that, I love data too much.

MONGO!

I don't have a computer on my cross bike and while I don't miss it when racing I do miss it when I'm just riding.

I'll probably just take my Garmin in my pocket next time for elevation and such.

Lizzylou

Only when I'm riding to the store to buy a new battery for the computer... and I feel lost and helpless for the whole 5 blocks. I am completely gadget dependent.

And it is getting way to cold in the mornings to be naked. brrr

asmallsol

mountain and cross bike are naked. Sometimes i don't care but i would like to know distance and such

KirkeIsWaiting

the fixed gear.
no computer, no bottles or cages, no kit.

and sometimes with a skirt (and no knickers)

uke

I just put my computer on my bike after owning and riding it for two months. I already knew how far my trips were and about how fast I went along the way, but it's fun to be able to look down at a particular amount of effort and note, Oh, that's what 20mph feels like, and so on. I think I'll leave it on.

tford

I love my Garmin and love to put the hammer down getting my average speed up.

I would ride naked before I give up my Garmin.

cparekh

I just rode a century with HRM only. No speed, no distance. It was awful, and I never, ever, ever want to do it again. On the other hand, my SS/FG is naked.

/cp

AEO

makes sense for my CX bike, less things for mud to stick to.

Flatballer

I like data. I especially like keeping track of my mileage. The odometer is the most important feature for me. Speed, avg speed, max speed, etc are just kind of interesting things to see sometimes.

flipflop

I took off my speedometer after struggling into the wind going 8 miles per hour a few years ago.

Hear rate monitors are interesting, but I never have gotten used to the strap feeling tight while I'm breathing.

No gauges is my preferred way to ride!

zac

Yep, all the time now. Gave up the electronics with the new bike at the beginning of this year. Although I do ride with an iPhone for maps when I get lost, or to reach new destinations.

Pretty sure I'll never go back too. Seeing things on the bike I never paid attention to before -the road for one-

zac

mattm

don't get me wrong, i'm a bit of a data junkie too!

i should disclose that most of my riding to date is with a cyclocomputer, but i've been recently dabbling in naked riding, and like it. for most of my rides i already know the total mileage, and how long it normally takes.

but on a recent 600k i did on foreign roads (sans-gizmo), the cuesheet was enough to tell me how far i was along the route, and a general sense of how long it takes to cover ~10 miles was enough to keep me on track (e.g. i should see this turn in about an hour or whatever).

i calculated my average speed on this route, using mile markers and a watch. but you have to wait a whole hour for the reading! definitely takes patience, but the calculations were enough to keep my mind busy, which is nice on a long ride.

i do sometimes wonder how fast i'm currently going, but figure it doesn't matter, since i'm probably going the same speed i'd normally be diong. if anything i probably ride slower overall, going purely off of 'perceived exertion' - but that's ok with me, since i'm not racing, just riding for kicks.

flipflop

Idea:

Could use a wireless computer and drop it in the bike sack, or strap a wired one to the seat post. All the data for later, but nothing to distract from the sights and sounds while you ride.

mattm

not a bad idea.. then you could check it if you got lost or whatever.

some put electric tape over the display, so they can't torture themselves with it, but it'd be too easy to check it every 10 minutes or so. i hate looking down a seeing i've only done 2km when i thought it was 5!

mike9903

That can't be comfortable!!!


I currently ride with no computer and kind of like it, even though I am saving up for a Garmin 705 which would be the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

tollhousecookie

Yes and correct !!!

noisebeam

I do essentially at night due to lack of a backlight.
Don't notice much of a difference as I rarely check data while cycling anyway.
I am however obsessive about recording all data after a ride.
Al

WheresWaldo

Pictures or it never happened!

icyclist 

I don't have much under me when I'm on my 1962 Follis road bike. No water bottle, no seat post bag, no computer, not even a frame pump, although there are a couple of cool looking pegs for one on the down tube. However, if I could find one, I might add an analog odometer. (Actually, I just did a few, on amazon - one measures in kpm, too; perfect!)

Retro Grouch 

I don't really have anything to say. This thread was just above one about cleaning white saddles and I felt the need to get them separated.

BananaTugger

Yes.

bitterspeak

That's what my Windsor Hour is for. Daily, no worry riding.

Hammertoe

Oh, not what I thought you meant...

Down in Brattleboro we had quite battle about nudity...

It was legal and quite a site...

Naked bikers everywhere...

Why is it only big people go naked in public...

Anyway, the Selectboard banned nudity in town...

Now everyone wears clothes...