What does a commuter need from a bike computer?
 

Am thinking about putting a computer on my new sirrus and besides speed, distance and maybe heart rate, not sure what I need to know. Is cadence a good thing? Also, should I go mechanical or GPS? Any suggestions?

For me the clock to know how late for work I am determines my speed and cadence... apart from that ODO is the most interesting... once a year ;)


I prefer wired computers... Cateye Enduro 8 is basic and sturdy

GPS and heart-rate would be overkill for me for a commuting computer

I too have a Cateye Enduro 8. I don't really need to know anything. But it is nice to know how many miles I'm going (trip meter) and the total miles on the bike. Heart rate & cadence, I don't need to know.

I paid extra for the 8 so I could have average speed. This is not needed, but interesting to know.

Some feel that for commuting, one doesn't need a computer at all. For commuting, luggage & fenders are much more important, but I assume you have those.

My ideal would do: time, distance, temperature, rolling time, cadence. Not necessarily in that order.

What I actually use while riding: time of day (clock). Temperature, though that's just out of interest so I can talk about how I rode in this morning at -15*F. I don't really need it. The speed, I don't really care, though sometimes it's fun to see if I can break the speed limit through town (30 MPH).

What I use in general: odometer, to know how many miles are on that chain, and it's kind of fun to post a picture of it to my livejournal every time it rolls over another 1000 miles.

That's about it.

I bought a comp with cadence once, but immediately found out that without changing what I did at all, I just naturally spun at about 95 RPM so I figured why bother, and eventually switched back to the Planet Bike Protege 9 that I had before. It does speed, average speed, max speed, speed trend, trip distance, temperature, time, and has two odometers (bike 1/2)

I would not consider a wireless computer. I just don't see the point. Not any easier to install, they just burn more batteries and fail more often and cost more.

I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 for running (training for 1/2 marathon in July) a few months ago. I just bought the attachment for the handlebars on the bike. It does HR, Time, Lap, Distance, Pace, Time of Day, and a bunch of other stuff. I just have to set it to what I want to show. There's also an attachment to monitor cadence but I haven't bought that yet

The Cateye "Commuter" http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/600 may also be of interest... ETA!!! :)

I have one just for the ODO so I can take care of the bike and to know how far things are when touring.The clocks good also,the rest I don't care about.Like,if I'm still upright and moving,I figure my heart is still beating.I really don't need the speedo to tell me I'm slow,I know that already.

I got the cheap one from WalMart. I use it to know distances when I'm navigating directions and time when I'm going places. Speed is nice just to know. I think I would like temperature, but don't have it. The only time I care about anything else is on longer rides.

I only use speed and time of day. But ETA sounds very handy.

a backlight if you commute in the evening?? hmm..maybe they all have them these days.

I took my computer off my commuter last time the battery died. I only use computers for maintaining pace at the front of a pace line or keeping track of where I am on a cue sheet for an unfamiliar route. I didn't need to do these things on my commuting bike. When I want to measure route distances, I use Google Maps.

I might invest in a GPS with good mapping to help me avoid getting lost when I go exploring.

Just the basics for me ... but I would like to have a thermometer built in. Good for bragging rights. "Hey, it was 98 degrees out there!"

My Cateye Strada Wireless, which is the best computer I've ever had, doesn't have that.

Aside from the basic 7 functions of most all bike computers, anything additional is preference.
Personally, the 7 is enough for me, but I know guys that want cadence, heart rate, and what time it is in Zimbabwe. I also prefer a seperate GPS for times I need it.
I don't have one on my commuter because it would tell me identical information each ride.
If you want flexibility between multiple bikes, get one with a multi-bike setting and additional harnesses.
I do like wireless. The downside is interference with other electronics but I've read they've improved that recently.

I bought a Sigma that had that. I thought it would be useful, but since the computer really doesn't show me anything I really need to know when I'm riding, I wound up never actually using it.

Things I'd actually like to have (probably more for touring than commuting) would be:

thermometer
compass
backlight
alarm clock

though I guess I could just silver tape an iPhone to the handlebars! ;)

For me, just the basics that a $10 cyclocomputer offers is fine. GPS would be nice if I worked in a different city each day but I know my commute well enough after 2 years that I rarely get lost.

Personally, I discovered it was more of a nuisance than a help. I no longer use one. but YMMV.

Basics. I have an old Cateye Mity 8 on my fixed gear. Cadence not necessary because it's a fixed gear. If I want heartrate, I wear my HRM. If I want temperature, I just look it up on www.noaa.gov before I leave.

There's little that a computer offers that is desperately important to a commuter, IMO. That's not to say it's not nice to have one. It is. It's just more a personal preference thing than a necessity.

I have a Sigma wireless that does a bunch of stuff, but mostly I just use the speedometer, odometers, trip timers, and average speed. I'd use the cadence feature if I could get the sensor attached in a usable location.

I've got no use for a computer when commuting. I don't care how fast I am going - it isn't a race, I know my routes like the back of my hand, so I don't need to know how far I've gone or have yet to go, don't care what time it is because if I am running late pedaling faster isn't going to make much difference, don't care how many total miles the bike has on it since I do daily PM and do unscheduled maintenance based on actual wear, not some arbitrary mileage amount. After so many decades on a bike, I've got a pretty good idea where my cadence and heart rate are, so I don't need something to tell me how accurate or FOS I am. ;)

I like commuting with data

I'm sure he likes commuting with you too, Al.

http://cdn.sheknows.com/thebuzz/2008...-cmdr-data.jpg

I prefer commuting w/ Picard or La Forge. ;) </sci-fi pun>

edit: Damn you, chipcom. You beat me to the punch! LOL

I can just look at the thermometer on the wall at home too. However, the temperature on my commute varies as much as 15*F through my commute. It's really friggin cold (and frequently damp) down in the hollow between the swamp and one of the farms, a lot warmer where I live and in town.