I've been riding for years now with my trusty cat eye computer and I notice that I always try and ride faster than my current average thanks to the little arrows that indicate faster/slower than average speeds. This is great and it helps constantly increase my output.

Today my good bike threw a spoke in my pre dawn ride. I limped her home and switched to my backup older bike which is computer less for my 30km round trip commute. Older bike, gear ratios lower so it was a tad harder. BUT I found the lack of a computer telling me to go faster actually made for a more fun ride.

I think I'm going to leave the computer at home once a week just so I can enjoy the scenery and not focus on getting to turn around points faster.

If that's what it takes, good for you. Me? I run my equipment, it doesn't run me.

So you are saying because it was easier it was harder?

...or you could twist it around on your handlebar, enough so you can't read it while riding.

OP, I can relate. Think I'll leave my cell phone home tomorrow.

+1

My computer gives me permission to back off on the pace. I'm free to ignore it if I want to.

Err yes, strangely. Because it was harder to ride I actually enjoyed it more. It would be annoying if I wanted to go 60km, but for commuting it was fun. Seems strange having to work harder to optain the same speed and getting jogged out of the seat because the shock is almost dead made it more fun, but it did. Also the bike is so old and plain looking you can park it anywhere and no one is ever going to steal it.

I haven't had a computer on a bike in years. I wish I could still buy the little odometers though. I don't really worry about how fast I go, just want to get there and back.

Aaron

When I ride by myself I tend to push it wether I have my computer or not. I do enjoy the more relaxed rides but those are done when I ride with my wife and a friend that goes with us (they tend to be a fair amount slower than me). I keep my computer on when riding with them but more or less just to keep track of distance and time. On the slow rides the data is useful in helping me plan the next ride (lets me know if we can go farther, or need to shorten the route or plan for more time and breaks).

My computer does its best to mock me, but I tend to ignore it. I only use it for a clock (don't wear a wrist watch), track distance of a new route, and total mileage to try and figure out life spans of various components. If it wasn't for the clock function, I'd just relocate it to my seat wedge to free up precious handlebar space.

get a model that doesn't have the faster/slower arrows

I use mine mainly for the clock feature; makes sure I get to work on time.

Oddly enough I seem to arrive about the same time regardless of oversleeping 15mins....
something to think about there...

I like that computer for training. I think I might go and get the cheapest crappiest $30 computer out there for the other bike. It gets used as a commuter most of the time. All I need is the current time, my current speed, and how far I've gone. All the other fancy functions don't help much for commuting.

I like to reserve the better MTB for AM training or long weekend rides. My wife laughs at my conception of people stealing a $500 bike, but it looks pretty. All shiny and new, disc brakes (mechanical but still discs), nice shiny components etc. If I was a bike thief I know what I would take...

look at what i found https://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-New-Bik...item256ee889fa

I use these.

$5 free shipping
https://www.dealextreme.com/p/sunding...edometer-24075

The word is probably not "useful", more like "liberating".

This is what I ride with. I can figure out the rest of the info with math.

Haven't seen one of these before - how do you attach it? And I'm guessing one number is odometer, the other is resettable distance?

There's a little bracket that takes the place of an axle spacer - when you remove the wheel, the computer goes with it! And there's a little pulley that attaches to the hub flange and/or spokes, and a rubber O-ring connecting the pulley to the computer.

And you are correct - the top number is the resettable trip meter while the lower number is the permanent odometer.

It's my favorite "computer" and I don't bother with the electronic ones. I see people staring at their computers while dripping sweat and trying not to vomit. That seems like an odd recreation to me. A record of mileage is kind of a neat (albeit completely unnecessary) thing to have, but a multifunction desktop-on-wheels telling me what to do doesn't make any sense at all to me. C'est la vie.

<edit> Most of the time there's one or two available on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/SACHS-HURET-...item4ab5fefb4f

That is quite cool, although I am one of the vomit-y sweaty people you mentioned above. A bit of a distance freak, which doesn't bode well with MTBs.

Hey, everyone needs a hobby!

I'm always looking at my speedometer because I'm trying to beat my previous high score.

I have a basic one- I only glance at it now and then during my ride. I only need the info after the ride to enter onto my training log which I keep in an excel spreadsheet- time, distance, average, max speed, together with my route- actually only the time and distance are important. I would've liked a cadence meter but as I can't afford it i've learned to judge it myself. I ride according to my body. I've noticed that my average has increased with training- been cycling for 6 months. At the start of my ride I decide on the distance OR time of the ride, not both.

I have a computer on my bike distance bike, it can be distracting at times so I ignore it. On my cruise with the kids/wife bike, I went more retro...still want to know how far I'm going and what speed I may peak at, but it also adds a retro look.