Thanks for the suggestions! I checked these models on the web, and they do indeed look like my feeble eyes could probably handle 'em. And they seem both simple to use and reasonably priced. I've still got six weeks or so until The Bike arrives, but once it does, I may pick one of these up.

Yep... I'm on my third in a year. I keep looking for that "perfect" all-in-one 'puter.

Steve

Polar CS200cad
I ride to a specific heart rate - as instructed - my cardiologist is a triathlete - then I select a gear to give me a cadence of 90 to 100 (at that HR). I don't care what speed I get.
Each ride is logged and over the months I can see the changes in ave. speed as a rough measure of performance improvement (or otherwise!!). Seems to work ok. I am feeling stronger and getting faster, all within the same HR limits.
The only time I take an interest in the speed is downhill when I exceed the posted speed limit - it's an ego thing!!

I use a Cateye Mity 8 cyclocomputer. It's very simple and provides the basic speed, distance, average speed, maximum speed information.

Well,

50 folks use a computer

4 don't

Is your curiosity satisfied?

Cat Eye CC-CD300DW on each of the road bikes
Cat Eye CC-8000 on the mountain bike
Garmin Quest on all of them to avoid having to carry maps.

I still have the Cat Eye Solar CC-2000 which I bought 20 years ago to use on the Schwinn - it still works but isn't as convenient as the wireless.

- Wil

I haven't ridden without a computer in years. Back when I started I used to trace the routes I rode on the Denver Bicycle Touring Club's route map using a straight-edge and then tally up the miles based on the map's legend. That got old pretty quickly, but until I got my first bike computer, I never failed to keep track.

All of mine are Cateye. I've tried others, but Cateye seems to be the most reliable...

For those of you who use one with a heart rate monitor -- how well does it work? Do the numbers jump all over the place, or are they fairly consistant? I'm thinking of getting one with the HR and chest strap.

Do you ever find yourselves exceeding your recommended maximum heart rate (such as on a steep hill)? If so, what do you do? Just don't worry about it and keep going, or do you lighten up and drop back down? Does it scare you when you see your heart rate getting really high?

It is. Judging from the fact that I'm the forum curmudgeon, I suppose you can guess which group I'm in...

oldcrank

The HR numbers are very steady but quite responsive to effort. If I hit a hill in the wrong gear the HR spikes, especially if I get out of the saddle. Backoff for just a couple of pedal revs gets it under control - it's that responsive.

I live in a hilly place. Just to get home I have to climb a 7km/10% followed by 700m/12% - roads here have grade signs for the truckies. I climb these hills to a HR, adjusting effort to maintain a constant HR.

Trouble with the monitor (Polar cs200cad) is that it records the peak and average for a ride. The peak may be for just a few pedal revs, but it's there for all to see - including my cardiologist when he looked at my ride logs last week - man, did I get the "third degree"!!!

I haven't voted- because although I have one- I am not currently using it. I know all my local rides in distance, and know the time I have ridden it in. To be honest- I doubt as to whether it will be looked at when I do bother to replace the batteries.

Then again, when I do get a working one- I always forget to zero it before rides, so also finish up with a few miles less recorded on that ride, when I zero it 2 or 3 miles into the ride.

Old Crank
On the ones that also register heart rate- That is how I started with the heart monitor. Only problem was it was a basic computer and a basic heart monitor. Mind you-- I now have two heart monitors- One all singing and dancing and a basic one that just shows my current heart rate. To be honest, I use the basic one more than the one with all the complicated buttons.

On my rides I like to ride at about 140-145 as my riding pace- On hills I will push to 155, and treat my max as 165. Then you get the situation where I am hitting 155, but the HR is rising. If I slacken off at 160- I will hit 165 before it startes to come back down. Then there is the occasion where all the others have fallen off or given up on the hill, and I have a point to prove.I will not give up till the legs are lead, I cannot breath, and the the bike wants to buck me off. On occasions like this I will see 175 (Or higher) but then it is lie down and recover time, but at least the old git has proved that he still has it in him.

I guess I don't have a "recommended heart rate!"

The formula 220-age has been pretty much debunked - at the very best it has a deviation of + or - 20 points - so I guess I would need to have my Max HR actually tested to have a clue.


I have seldom seen anyone have any concern that any damage was going to happen because of maxing out their heart rate. In fact, unless there is some heart disease, I have never heard of this.

Why was your cardiologist examining your heart rate records?

Even for those of us who (me) had continuous heart rates in the 180 range with Atrial Fibrillation, the danger from that was on a long-term basis, not on any kind of short term burst.

I use two, one is a conventional wireless cateye to display speed & trip distance.

The other is a Garmin GPS. (I've been using it as my odometer, I'm on a new cycle computer). Displays, accuracy, elevation & time of day in addition to position in relation to trails.
Trip computer on GPS gives me all sorts of trip stats.

YUP! That's me too. I have a Cateye, Miti II on the Trek hybrid. Its old and basic, but works real well. I also have a 'Bike Trails' that works when it feels like it on one of our old mountain bikes. I don't have one on the Rockhopper that I take on trails, no computer can go that slow.

Have just tried a Sigma PC14 - not sure if its me or the computer, but I couldn;t even get a reading from it. It would indicate 'activity' but never gave a number. I returned and exchanged, but have now rethought using it since I'm worried that its just not reliable. So its going back to the shop, unopened and I'm gonna check around for another.
I'm looking for one independent of the cycle computer, so I can move it and use it while riding any of my bikes.
I did use the 'CycleCoach' HRM back in the late 80's and early 90s with good success. It was hard wired to a chest strap or a fingerhood. The finger hood wasn;t accurate, the chest strap was. The unit was a bit of bother since it was about the size of a notebook computer...

Exceeding 'recommended' heart rate? Based on what was my age back then, there was a HR 'range' for best aerobic training effect. Greatly exceeding that range and going over the Anerobic Threshold (old term from Conconi days - now called LT) and hitting my 'rev limiter' usually found me blowing up . No possible way to stay near Max HR for any considerable amount of time (measured in seconds).
reason I would worry would have nothing to do with risk of any injury and all to do with not 'blowin up'.
The Cyclecoach taught me a lot about myself, my capabilities and my body reactions to different types and levels of stress.
I'm REALLY lookin forward to getting a 'new gen' HRM. Its gonna tell alot about me, now that I'm in the Geezer club

I use a Cateye with Cadence combined with a Polar.
Long hours on a trainer are more interesting if you see cause and effect.
Specifically go up with cadence but hold speed to a constant (gearing down) and its effect on HR. Next study effect of frequent hydration say every 15 minutes.

On a recent trip to Florida I trained on one of their flat trails. They call it undulating.
The headwind from the south was substantial. I did 17 MPH at 90 RPM. I glanced at my Polar and it was up to over 140 which is high for me.
I cannot imagine not having these tools.

Campagnolo ErgoBrain on the Ritchey BreakAway
Planet Bike 9.0 on the Fisher Tassajara, but haven't ridden it in some time

oldcrank: My Polar with chest strap works very well. I strapped the monitor to my bars next to my Cateye.
Observing Cadence, Speed and Heart-rate is revealing and can be manipulated changing gears.
I am 64 years old and have pushed my HR to 160. I do not know if that is a good thing. I have seen stars when I did that. I often push it to over 140. At that rate I can feel my pulse in my throat without putting my finger there. My HR at rest is about 55. I exercise over one hour daily.

Nope, took it off my road bike 3 years ago, and the one on my fixed died last year.

Cateye Enduro set with auto-start,stop disabled so when I'm bar-hopping and my avg. speed gets above 6 mph, I know I'm taking my cycling way too seriously.

I work with a computer all the time. Then I got compuer for home and surf far too much. When I'm on the bike I want to be computer free. Hey, I'd even prefer to be helmet free (but I haven't done that). Ride for fun, ride for exercise, just a recreational rider, don't need no stinkin computers.