Originally Posted by
capnjonny
....I understand you can get smart phone apps that will provide this and other input. Problem is I don't have a smart phone and don't want one. I really hate having to pay the monthly premium for technology I don't need or the many hundreds of dollars to buy one.(hint - I am 68 yrs old, retired, and substitute teach at a high school vocational school and think the smart phone is a tool of the devil put on this earth to rot the minds of my students who would rather look at car crashes on youtube than learn something that might keep them from having to sleep under a bridge )
With that all in mind, I have thought of buying a cheap used smart phone without the cell connection and just use it as a bike computer- mp3 player- camera etc.....
Sounds like the others have given you some good advise. Of course if you go with an older phone you still have to worry about compatibility with the wireless sensors you will need for speed or cadence. Then you have to find out which apps are going to work with those sensors and which aren't. Yeah, it can be done but it's a process. Not to mention that most older smart phones don't have a large battery so you have that to worry about that as well.
Others have recommended buying a Garmin although it cost more. In your case you might consider buying something like a
refurbished 800 or 810 although there might be cheaper models that would work with the sensors you would need.
Now about what you said that I quoted; You sound very much like a guy a work with ( about the same age as him ) ( I'm 61 ). For years he's been telling me he didn't need a smart phone. Of course he has no problem paying for premium cable/internet services for his super big HD T.V. so really it isn't about what you need but more or less, "Do you want the convenience of internet access away from home bad enough". Forget that hogwash about what the kids do with a smart phone. Kids are kids. They're gonna do the stupid stuff that kids their age do. I've only owned a smart phone about 2.5 years. The convenience of having access to the internet while away from home is super sweet. It's kinda like sex. Once you've had it you would find it very difficult not to want to have it again. Bad analogy but it sounded better than saying it was like "crack".
Anyway, cheap phone services for internet/phone access are available as others have said. If you go that route you will be hooked. Nothing like riding down the road and suddenly remembering something from years ago and you have a question about it. Before I had a smart phone I had to write all that stuff down and then wait till I got home to do a search on it. Now I have voice google search 24/7 at my beck and call to answer all those questions as well as questions that have to do with my job. No, I don't need a smart phone to enjoy my life but thankfully I can justify the expenditure because I do need a phone, I definitely need GPS access to do my job and having the internet on hand means I can do my job better. Now if I could just convince my company to pay for half of it.
