I would like these features, probably most or all of them. But I'm not willing to pay for them. If I could hear and answer texts, it would free me from stopping to text. Or it would free me from missing a text or whatever. But I think I'm going to shut my phone off when I ride and let my wife know I'm unreachable while I'm riding. I recently did that at the office. It's not that I don't want her to reach me, it's just that by having the phone on, it allows so many interruptions. She calls me on my office phone now.

Until recently, I was using the "notifications" to see if something was important to read now or if it can wait until later. Now I realize that making the decision between "needs my attention now" or "can wait until later" takes as much energy as giving it my attention now. I need some free periods in the day. I'm blessed and cursed with the fact that we now get cell phone service in the subway stations, as of January of this year. It doesn't work in most of the tunnels, but that's coming, too.

One can always argue that being reachable at all times isn't essential. Of course it isn't. Except for example the time my sweetie tripped and broke her arm while I was the one who was supposedly in more peril for commuting by bike. A smart phone provides the in-touch-ness. The smart watch simply makes it more convenient. My sweetie knows that I can't answer a phone when I'm on the bike. But I cn stp n rd txt msg or evn bttr rd my wtch. Voice dictation converts speech to real text, and the watch can show real text if that's what it received. The watch notifies me that something came in and I can can check it immediately or wait.

One time I was running a bit late on my return home so I dictated a note without stopping "Riding through Follen Heights" which she knew where was. Of course I couldn't read it at that time while riding to verify the translation so I just hit Send. When I got home she asked "Was it really that hot?" No, not so hot, why are you asking? "And you didn't tell me where you were so I didn't know when you'd get home." The speech-to-text had translated it "93 Fahrenheit", apparently not happy with Follen Heights and then figuring 93 was the best fit to a temperature.

You just can't trust technology. :D

A few months back I found a great deal on an Apple watch. I was a bit unsure how much I would actually want to use it. As it turns out, I like it a lot. As some have mentioned, there are a lot of things that it can easily do without pulling out a phone and I also like it for fitness tracking. I have used it with maps while driving and it works well. There are a number of apps that will sync with the watch. I use it far more than I would have suspected.

I haven't worn a watch in 20 years, but started recently because I now work in an office and they want me to look professional. I think a watch helps. Remembering to actually look at the watch to tell time is slowly coming back to me.

I have no cell phone. I thought this would mean I'd actually be speaking with people once in a while, in person, but generally I just watch them look at their phone and finger it like an abacus.

I have no GPS in my car. I try to remember where I've been and my way back, and use mapquest in advance.

I do have a Garmin on my bike. It does not have bluetooth, but I like knowing how fast, how far, and how long until we eat. The HR monitor scares my doctor silly, and the cadence thing bums me out.

When I ran competitively, I did not wear a watch. Workouts were bolting out the door and running the distance as fast as possible. Racing was somewhat the same until I learned to race myself and not the other guys. I rarely knew my splits, but progressed on that to the point where I listened for my 1-mile split, because that set the tone for my race. Otherwise, nothing. Whatever the clock said at the end was fine with me. It's sort of where you ended up, anyway, not how fast. First was first, third was third. Money was money. You ran for the money.

I appreciate others' interest, though. I like gizmo's, but when CD's came out, I was kind of bummed. Not physical enough. The Denon tape-flipping deck was simply the bomb. I love my reel to reel.

I hear you. All but one of my watches are wind-up or self-winding. All have actual hands. It's a simple theory, and I like it.

Wholeheartedly agree.

I use my iPhone and Ride With GPS for tracking cumulative miles over the season. I don't listen to music while riding, I really struggle with the idea of headphones when I'm on the bike. I find using the phone to check speed, distance or incoming messages/calls while riding ungainly at best, dangerous at worst. I've tried using a spare phone dedicated to the tracking app in a handlebar mount but it seems too big and clunky there on my bars. I hadn't thought about using an Apple Watch to provide an interface to the phone. I'm going to look into that - too bad my birthday came and went in December!

Appreciate everybody's points of view here!

Says he man with 21,000 posts on bike forums....using the interwebs and a computer to do so...hosting pics of his centurions on a a hosting site...uploading his pics from a digital camera...:lol:

Not so much the past but more like living in the moment.

I have a MI Band 2 and it does just what I need, time and date, steps with Km, heart rate. It will also vibrate when I get a phone call and messages.

Ahhhhhhhh.....

Like a breath of fresh air.

If the original Luddites had their way.... we might still see the naked poor, begging on the streets. And harbor hopes of inheriting an Uncle's long coat. Yeah those were the days. No mills to report to. Making yarns and weaving cloth was done where it should be done.... in rural cottages spread across the countryside. And clothing was made by tailors and dress makers... or crudely done at home.

The mills lead to the industrial revolution.... which accelerated in people-short America. Without the industrial revolution.... there would have been no bicycles (or at lease no bicycle factories)... and certainly no bike forums to discuss new ways to NOT welcome new technology.

It may be naturally scary to go to new places... or try new things. But in the entire history of mankind it has always been to our mutual benefit. Embrace the new. Expand your horizons. Grow.

All this chat and not one suggestion that watches aren't the only devices capable of this.

I have never had an iPhone, nor do I intend to (someone has to go with the competition to ward off the monopoly, so you can thank me). My wife has a set of bluetooth headphones that connect to her phone via voice commands. She can listen to and respond to texts, set her phone up as a GPS and use one of the workout tracking apps (Nike, map my ride, Strava, etc) to get navigation and feedback. That said, using the phone for GPS and tracking for longer rides is a data hog,

I am very happy with my fitbit surge which I have linked to Strava on my phone. It doesn't do turn by turn navigation, but when I know where I'm going, it does track my every move above ground without running through phone data like Scarface went through coke.

No smartwatch, they are way above my price level. And I'm not real sure about them being the way I would want to handle my communications or organizing things.

The smartphones allow me to cycle without overly concerning my wife, and family, as I have a somewhat disabling condition. Monica is aware of what I am doing and knows she can hear from me most riki-tik should something happen. GPS and the other stuff is there, but not something I find necessary for cycling. The peace of mind for her is my primary reason for carrying the smartphone. I have downloaded the Road ID app which will show exactly where I am at, and will send her an alert message if I stop for over a set time period. That might be good for the need I have.

I am not subject to the on-call routine any longer, no need to run out to a Naval Air Station and take care of the job site, or help stack aircraft in the case of a storm coming nearby. Then I had to have pretty much assured instant communications in hand when it was my turn for being on call, which was pretty much all the time unfortunately.

Yes I was tethered, it was by my choice though, but I do see your point @FBinNY, its an interesting way of looking at this part of having these devices.

One other positive aspect to carrying a smart phone is because of my elderly mother, she has several major health issues and her being able to get one of us very quickly has become increasingly important. This can ease a big load of stress for Monica and me both.

Bill

There has never been a time when people were not tethered....

Let us not kid ourselves that time and technology has changed the species... or the way people think. Sure... 30-40 years ago.... we checked in at the bank of phones in the airport when we landed. Or stopped at the secretaries desk to pick up any missed messages (hand written on little paper forms)... 1st thing every morning, when returning from lunch, and after meetings.

Before texts.... we actually called our loved ones to touch base. The texts... just save time and effort. If we had loved ones and/or responsibility..... we've have always been tethered.

Contrawise, there used to be a writer, in the days before blogging was called blogging, who called herself The Amish Computerist. Her point was not that the Amish feared technology, but that they adopted technology only after a careful consideration of it's impact on their lifestyle. Which is why some Amish have phones - but kept in the barn, and used only for emergencies, or other Amish will ride in cars, but only driven by 'English' hired for the occasion, or Amish who have work shops with air-driven power tools, but will not connect to the electric grid.

I make my living helping companies adopt the latest and greatest computing technology, but I can respect a healthy skepticism about new technologies, as opposed to a knee-jerk rejection of anything new.

I think "out of date" is a strong claim, driven more by marketing than functionality. If a product does what you need today, most likely it still will in a year. Of all the features that will be added to next year's edition, are any so crucial you should forego the item's utility for a year? Even in a quickly evolving product like smart watches or mobile phone, probably not.

Good luck on your find.

Although not a user, I dig and appreciate this technology. Especially the Powertap / power meters and heart measuring on top of the communication stuff is remarkable. More astounding is how reasonable and the nominal cost for any of it. The data compiled and how one adjust themselves to it (physically / diet) is better than a personal coach.

However I know a few who religiously utilize all and always with the latest gizmo. One has to be in the frame of mind 'want to know' otherwise I think it becomes a chore and eventually its put in the junk bin. I also know many in the latter.

Personally, I have a more simplistic and nostalgia thinking in my cycling. I don't like being interrupted or distracted outside of my cycling and surrounding. Enjoy my 1967 brit made auto-wind Timex, and do like a paper map if unfamiliar with an area.

As for the do-dat comm. and connectivity.... meh. I mostly do carry a smart phone and only occasionally use the freebie cycling apps. Its pretty cool and for zero cost works exceptionally well, but again I'm not obsessed in tracking and data logging.

Top peeve- When in a group ride and someone stops to chit chat or text with a spouse or whoever about nothing of real concerns. Worse is when its habitual and not a one time occurrence. Very annoying. Then the entire group is held up and has to stop. I still see those with do-it-all smart watches stop to communicate.

Yes, we're all tethered, but it's a question of extent.

I didn't mean to start a debate on cell phone use and/or necessity and only mentioned that I felt that the OP could probably get by fine for the interval between home and work. However, the OP responded, and his personal decision is fine with me, since it's not my problem.

But, since you responded this way, I might mentioned that the short tethers that some people choose today didn't exist a generation ago, and that I doubt that one out of a hundred people really need to stay so attached 24/7.

Orthodox Jews cut the cord for 24 straight hours weekly, others cut it to see a play, go boating etc. I grew up in an era when a long bike trip could take me places where there were absolutely no communication options except for smoke signals. The fact is that life goes on, and people manage around your absence.

It wouldn't be an issue for cyclists, but the "need to stay in touch" is what drives cell phone use that's often cited as causing distracted driving. So, if we accept the notion of necessity, we have to accept the consequences. OTOH - if we can dial it back a bit, and convince folks that whatever comes in on the phone can wait, then maybe we might all do better.

In any case, this thread isn't about the need for cell phone access while riding, and the OP has the answer he needs, so if this is worth of discussion, maybe we can start a new thread about that. If I knew how, I'd be tempted to start a new thread about cell phone necessity while riding.

A gentleman had been defined as someone who knows how to play the banjo and chooses not to. It can also be said that anyone of us could carry a smart phone (or a dumb phone or any other connection device, like ears for example), with or without a smart watch, and yet choose not to use it except by intent. It's generally best if we at least use our ears most of the time however.

I'm with Robbie. I have no cell phone because I have no use for one. I wear my Grandfather's watch but seldom look at it. I love my three reel to reel tape decks. My car has GPS, but it's more trouble than it's worth. I never used it after the day I bought the car.

I didn't realize people were posting about cell phones. I thought it was about integrating technology. I hear and read every excuse in the world as why or how, not modernizing would or could be better. I've just never seen when or where that has ever benefited anyone or anything.

I can't imagine how integrating a smart watch into ones life.... could cause so much fear and hesitation. But it does.

I grew-up around the Amish. I think I understand their lifestyle choice(s). They have effectively... and selectively stopped time... just short of the industrial revolution. And.... it is fear that froze them where they're at. It isn't careful consideration, nor is it faith. Just old fashion fear.

You're projecting the notion of resistance to "advances" due to fear. I doubt that's an issue for more than a small number of luddites.

However, there's a difference between taking full advantage of technology and letting it intrude into your life. I own and use technology just about as much as anybody, but don't let anyone disturb me via cell phone when I don't want to be, and am very comfortable untethered.

IMO - those folks who feel that they need to monitor the cell phone for the time it takes to ride to work, aren't the masters of the technology, they're the slaves to it.

Back when I'd head off to be out of touch for as much as a month, people came up with all sorts of "you can't do that" and "what if" arguments. I simply turned them all around and asked "so, really, what if ......." and "what would be the consequences of not reaching me until later?".

The simple reality is that in just about every scenario, not knowing, or being reached will have zero effect, since if I'm on the bike, on or under the sea, I couldn't do anything about whatever the situation was anyway.

I look at "technology" the same way I look at rice. It still takes me 25 minutes to cook rice. I know there are quick rice products, and have tasted them, but I still cook rice the old way because it tastes better. Likewise, I pick and use technology if and when it suits me, and am very happy to pass on it when it doesn't.

This is smart enough for me.

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Regards, Ben

WOW!,,

An original Accutron. Watch out, someone is going to call you a Luddite.

Actually, it started as a query about smart watches, not smart phones, and considerably more specific than technology in general.

I wasn't interested in a smart phone but I'd seen how useful my sweetie's was. When our wireless carrier changed plans so that it was cheaper for me to upgrade, I upgraded. Having Internet access wherever you have decent phone coverage is pretty nice. That's what I saw about my sweetie's phone and then confirmed for myself. I don't need it but it's a great convenience.

I wasn't smart-watch-aware until a fellow musician (a banjo player, you know) lent me one of his obsolete watches. I learned its utility by using one. I don't need it but it's a convenience.

FWIW, one thing you can do with at least some smart watches is choose you own watch face. Mine is traditional, decorative hands on a blue background, Roman numerals, phase of the moon display, and of course day of the week and month.