I see both sides.

I was an early adopter of GPS based cyclometers. I had (and still have a Garmin Forerunner ... how is THAT for ancient?

I replaced that with a VDO that told me speed, average speed, total elevation gain, distance. It's old too, but it still works, so that is what I run with.

Just this weekend it offered information of interest. I got to Red Box early and took a spin up to Mt. Wilson. It was such a beautiful morning, I seemed to really fly up there, and when I got to the top I wondered about my average speed. It was nice to see what it was. I took a different route than usual, so it was nice to see what the distance and total elevation was. When we were shivering on the descents, it was nice to know what the outside temperature was. And it is always nice to know the gradient (although I've been on those roads enough to know what they are).

A newfangled Garmin would be cool ... mostly for days where the ride has a lot of twists and turns. It beats pulling out a map every 5 minutes.

On the other hand, Disco had nothing at all on the handlebars, and that is kind of liberating too. My commuter bike has a bluetooth speaker for listening to podcasts, which I enjoy very much. Cyclometer? What the heck for? It's the same ride every day and I know the distance (although a thermometer might be nice).

I'm in total agreement with the trend toward simplicity although some carry this too far and use only a single wheel. The call it a unicycle but they sure look odd.

There are folks who use no wheels. They are called















Pedestrians

Sort of depends upon one's definition of "living to the fullest" -

Also, those body parts one is pushing so hard - well, they wear out, as I am discovering nearing 80.

When enjoying my hobbies, like being in a ocean kayak, or on a bicycle or backpacking in the wilderness = 'taking risks and pushing your boundaries' is the type of attitude that gets most people in trouble or dead. I can't call that growth, not from any reasonable point of perspective.

Spent some time as a first responder (ski patrol and SAR), got a belly full of the consequences resulting from 'taking risks and pushing boundaries'.

Not sure what this has to do with taking any instrumentation off a bike.
Hope you learn the better lesson that 'letting all the unnecessary baggage go' can be liberating.

I use small, wired bike computers on my road bikes. As I am a mileage junkie, I use the data from those units for my "official records". I carry a smart phone in a jersey pocket. I figure as long as I have the smart phone anyway, I'll run Cyclemeter during rides. I record the data from the computer and Cyclemeter in my little log book and on my spreadsheet after each ride.

I am always trying to beat last year's mileage and last year's average speed, and I believe that data motivates me to stay with it. I ride the paved roads in the national forest and state forest nearby and along the bayous and fields, so I enjoy the scenery. I scope out places to pick berries, stop and talk to people etc., so it's not all about the miles, speed etc.

My goal is to simply get wherever I'm going. Right now all I need is a windbreaker/rain jacket.

Worse than that, I give up a full 9 watts to a hub-powered light. I don't think that is why my wife and I are slower on our tandem now than we were thirty years ago, but who knows?

Remember those old bike generators that mounted on your fork and flipped across onto the side of your tyre? It was like throwing out an anchor

And I will add that I have ridden with people in their 60s and 70s who were quite strong. In fact, the strongest person on my cross country tour was 60. He rode a full suspension MTB (back issues) pulling a B.O.B trailer with a very heavy load. To give you an idea, when the zipper of his huge tent (we called it "the condo") his wife had made for him many years before crapped out, he downsized to an 8.5 lb. tent. That was heavy even back then.

I have a Garmin 500, and just recently added a Mio Velo to register my HR. What it usually tells me is that I'm already near 90% and I should slow down.

Yesterday I hated my smart phone apps. They wouldn't lie to me and swear I was faster on my road bike than on my upright hybrid, at least on a long downhill run.

Of course the upright hybrid has the advantage on that particular run, especially on days with the wind out of the south. It's heavier, and sitting upright catches the wind.

But, dang it, I thought for sure a 23 lb road bike would be significantly faster than a 30 lb hybrid. What good are these newfangled apps if they don't lie to me?

I have had Garmin 105, 705 and 1000. I just bought 2 more 705's as I've their batteries last the longest on rides. I think the data can be helpful for the type riding I do. When doing climbs I find it helpful to have distance, grade and elevation. It helps me to stay within my abilities. I don't track and record data like I used to but rely more on my knowledge and experience. I'm not a star a guy. Garmin can also be useful to preload routes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BikeArkansas

One by one the extras on my bike computer have gone away. … I have removed the heart monitor… wheel speed monitor. I removed the cadence counter…

Most of the men and women I ride with have Strava and other programs. They have power meters. Are you kidding me. These guys are in their 60s and 70s. I can tell them how much power they have == very little. But, get your enjoyment where you can, and they do enjoy all this tech stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctor j

I use small, wired bike computers on my road bikes. As I am a mileage junkie, Iuse the data from those units for my "official records"…I record the data from the computer and Cyclemeter in my little log book and on myspreadsheet after each ride.

I am always trying to beat last year's mileage and last year's average speed,and I believe that data motivates me to stay with it.

I ride the paved roads in the national forest and state forest nearby and along the bayous and fields, so I enjoy the scenery. I scope out places to pick berries, stopand talk to people etc., so it's not all about the miles, speed etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigAura

Riding simply is liberating. I do carry my phone for tunes & podcasts but also leave it off.

One-fixed-gear, one-brake, no speed-computers. Simple riding enjoyment!

I have posted on several occasions about those who disdain computers, “They remind me of those who say, “I’m not religious but I am spiritual.’ ”

I'm one of those for whom power meters and computers and all the stuff that goes with them are not meaningless accouterments. One of the many things I enjoy about cycling is the ability to push myself hard. The electronics quantify my work and keep me honest...and I admit to enjoying geeking out a bit too. Being 65 doesn't equal being weak and slow. And enjoying riding hard doesn't preclude "stop and smell the roses" rides either.

My cycling preferences are neither more nor less valid than those of others. If you're on a bike, you're right.

Uh oh, you just went religious; might as well take it a step further: carbon vs. steel, hydration pack or no, wave or don't wave, mirror or no mirror.

I am a bit of a Luddite myself; if the Garmins and whatnot were out in my younger days I would have been in whole hog but now it doesn't interest me. Honestly I am little surprised at the number of 50+ riders that are really into technology. But whatever trips your trigger; its all about what motivates you to get out and ride.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

I have posted on several occasions about those who disdain computers, “They remind me of those who say, “I’m not religious but I am spiritual.’ ”

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeceptivelySlow

Uh oh, you just went religious; might as well take it a step further: carbon vs. steel, hydration, pack or no, wave or don't wave, mirror or no mirror.

I am a bit of a Luddite myself; if the Garmins and whatnot were out in my younger days I would have been in whole hog but now it doesn't interest me. Honestly I am little surprised and the number of 50+ riders that are really into technology. But whatever trips your trigger; its all about what motivates you to get out and ride.

Those above dualities, IMO are denominations.

So I guess that means we spiritual-types should fall in line with Pope Jim from Boston

You're showing off your ignorance.

I'm 60, and there are people older than me in my velo club (yes, we race at this age) who regularly drop thirty something cat-3 racers ... drop 'em like a pile of bricks!

Go to any crit and watch the lap times of the 60-plus racers, and compare them with the cat-3s. It will open your eyes. Go to any endurance race ... 12 or 24 hours. The podiums are liberally populated with sixty-somethings riding well in excess of 300 miles in 24 hours.

How do we 60+ riders drop younger riders? By training hard and intelligently, by knowing a thing or two about those technical gizmos and how to use them, and by refusing to believe that old = slow.

Read Friel's "Fast After Fifty". It will also open your eyes.

So drop your arrogant ignorance!

Seems Rev Chuck and I are on the same page

WOW. DGlenDay. Your area must have some very weak 30 year olds. I am 68 and I can still turn a pedal over fairly well. I have fun leaving some young riders at times, but when I encounter a good athlete in his 30s there is no comparison. However, you seem to rejoice in your delusional state, so enjoy and I will enjoy my ignorance.

Well, you just told my story. There were certainly 60+ year old riders that could have dropped me when I was 30 but that was nothing to brag about. However, they wouldn't have stood a chance against one my 30 year old co-workers. But still my hats off to the 60+ year old folks still riding strong

62yo here. I use all of the features! Heart Rate (if it goes to zero, well . . .), cadence, so I don't over-spin on hills, GPS so I can find my way home when I get lost and the sun starts to go down, headlight/taillight control, and rear radar interface so I can see the car trying to rear end me. AND it talks to my DI2 to tell me what gear I'm in without looking back at the cassette. Yeah, it's all cool as long as I charge all the bits :>).

Funny comment about heart rate going to zero. This happened to me just over a week ago. I was comparing the HR readings of a chest strap to the heart rate measured with an optical arm band. Each sensor was linked to different but identical VDO Z2 computers. Just over 1 hour into my ride, both heart rates dropped to and stayed at zero for about 40 seconds before they (both) resumed their normal readings. I had one VDO computer on my wrist, and the other mounted on the stem. The stem mounted computer continued to display both speed and cadence, just the HR went to zero. I don't know what caused this to happen. Both sensors were linked to their respective computers via ANT+, so maybe there was some interference from a nearby house (that only affected the HR signals)? I've never seen this happen before, and it hasn't happened since. Has anybody seen anything like this before?

Where I ride I sometimes pass over underground petroleum and natural gas pipelines, the flow of which are controlled by radio signals which I'm told are the same band as Ant+. I've had both power and HR disappear on me for short periods of time, only to reappear and function normally.

I also had the optical sensor linked via Bluetooth to Wahoo fitness app on my phone. That reading never went to zero, but I don't know what the sampling rate is. By the time I could get my phone out to check it, the VDO computers were back to normal. Since I'm still alive, I'll assume the zero reading was wrong.