Originally Posted by
trevor1968
I've heard good things about the bontrager bike computers. does anybody disagree with this? I've never owned one but i have a friend that has had two of them and he loves them.
What are the pros and cons to these computers?
Thanks!!!
My wife went through three, wireless, Bontrager cyclometers in four months before she gave up, threw it away and went to a Sigma. Every one of them had major issues including resetting itself in the middle of a ride. She's had the Sigma for over two years with zero issues.
Originally Posted by JohnJ80
Definition of cheap is not spending any money. If you have the phone, you can add a bike app for a couple of dollars. You don't need to buy another phone just for a bike computer.
Exactly! If you carry your phone with you when you ride, it doesn't make sense buy another smartphone or to have a GPS cyclometer with you as well. All you are doing is duplicating a service that you already have. You can get an excellent phone app for far less (over it's lifetime) than what you can purchase a GPS based cyclometer. The biggest complaint about using a phone for a cyclometer is battery life. You can do Internet searches on how to optimize the battery life of your particular phone. You can also purchase devices from Wahoo (RFLKT and RFLKT+), Cateye (Padrone and Strada Smart) and Topeak (PanoBike) that mount on your handlebars or stem and display the data from your phone so you don't need to keep the screen turned on during the ride. The devices from Cateye and Topeak only work with BlueTooth sensors and their app on your phone. The device from Wahoo works with BlueTooth and Ant+ (iPhones only) sensors and uses their app or several 3rd party apps. They can connect to speed/cadence sensors, heart rate monitors, power meters and BlueTooth enabled trainers.
I have been using my iPhone 5c as my bike computer for over a year now. I have it optimized for battery life and paired to a Wahoo RFLKT+ to use with my Ant+ s/c and HRM sensors. I have done centuries using this combination and still had plenty of battery life left over for emergencies. However, on rides over 80 miles, I also carry a small battery pack just in case I need to recharge the phone. On a 45 mile, daily ride, I normally have 70-75% battery life left over. If you mount your phone in a good quality handlebar mounting system, you don't have to worry about them getting wet or breaking if you fall. I've had several crashes and my phone has never been damaged. The nicest thing that I like about using my phone with a phone app (Cyclemeter) is that I don't have to wait to get home and log on to a web site in order to see my stats and charts from the ride I just finished. It's all in the app.