Bike computers.......

Morrisseeee

So, what would ye like to see in a bike computer ?
The reason I ask is that I've just seen the new Garmin Edge 200, I think it's a piece of crap and overpriced for what you get, the only thing it has is GPS. So I asked myself, why is GPS so popular, is it because of the garmin.connect, strava, ridewithgps sites where people can upload & compare their rides etc. This is a nice idea, but most people now have smart phones etc with GPS and can use that. I would place much more emphasis on other attributes that this unit simply doesn't offer, like wireless speed/cadence sensor, heart rate monitor, altimeter, temperature, software to upload & analyse (on your home PC).
So.........what would you choose, a very basic computer with GPS, or a computer with speed, cadence, temp, altimeter, HRM, software ? if both were at the same price range.

TheBlaaMan

Just get the Garmin Edge 500 and be done with it.....

DirkVoodoo

I don't understand it myself.

I remember my first car was a VW Polo. Whatever way I used to drive, I needed to be a little higher up but the driving position was a little too low to the floor. The height adjustable seat was an option. It came with electric wing mirrors, which was nice, but I can adjust the wing mirrors by myself just fine, the height adjustable seat was a little more crucial.

I would have thought that GPS is a nice little accessory to have, it's certainly more useful as a training tool with the likes of Strava, but HR is a little more useful especially during the training spin. I don't know why they stripped it and the barometric altimeter out instead of the GPS, but they are a GPS manufacturer. Plus, I would have thought selling all the ANT+ accessories would have been a bit more lucrative, but maybe they figured that doing so would push the price up into Edge 500 territory.

I really don't know, but yes, the Edge 500 is the one to go for. It has the most bang for your buck. And a height adjustable seat.

Lumen

HR as a measure of effort is not without issues.

If you were going to do an RPE-based training programme, having an accurate record of distance, time, speed and ascents would be more than enough.

Taking out the Ant+ chip seems like an easy way to save money whilst avoiding stealing share from the 500. As Dirk says, they are a GPS company so it would be unnatural to strip out the GPS bits. A Garmin without a GPS is like a Polar without HR.

Morrisseeee

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

Just get the Garmin Edge 500 and be done with it.....

No, because I've already got a computer with a wireless speed sensor, wired cadence, HRM, altimeter, temperature, software, wristwatch (for climbing/skiing) for less than half the price of the Edge 500 :cool:

And that's my whole point really, if someone wants a bike computer, the Edge 500 is the silver bullet answer, but I would prefer it without GPS and have it cheaper or with other options, I suppose the competition against the edge 500 isn't there (yet)

Slightly off-topic, but just a quick question on the Garmins, do they come with software for your own PC, ie. to analyse the data, and what is it like ? I've seen many uploads on garmin.connect and strava, even by professionals and some of them are very hit-and-miss, ie. missing data, like HR or speed etc.

Beasty

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Slightly off-topic, but just a quick question on the Garmins, do they come with software for your own PC, ie. to analyse the data, and what is it like ? I've seen many uploads on garmin.connect and strava, even by professionals and some of them are very hit-and-miss, ie. missing data, like HR or speed etc.

You can download Garmin Training Centre which has all the data, or use something like Golden Cheetah which gives more analysis options

BTW, I've got more computers than bikes;). I only use the Garmins and Joules nowadays because I need the power data - generally the 500 provides pretty much what you need, but you can get more in-ride data with the 800

levitronix

Id forget heart rate as a training aid not unless your using it for LSD rides

DirkVoodoo

levitronix wrote: »

Id forget heart rate as a training aid not unless your using it for LSD rides

Which is perfect for winter training. Having HR for what is setting you up for the rest of the season makes it pretty worth it.

mahoo

levitronix wrote: »

Id forget heart rate as a training aid not unless your using it for LSD rides

When taking LSD the last thing you want to know is your heart rate . . . what are LSD rides?

DirkVoodoo

mahoo wrote: »

When taking LSD the last thing you want to know is your heart rate . . . what are LSD rides?

Long Slow Distance

mahoo

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Long Slow Distance

cheers... should it not be Slow Long Distance or Long Distance Slow... they just wanted a cool acronym

DirkVoodoo

mahoo wrote: »

cheers... should it not be Slow Long Distance or Long Distance Slow... they just wanted a cool acronym

No idea. I think it's just meant to be Long. Slow. Distance, or Long AND Slow AND Distance, it's not really a sentence as such.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Lusk Doyle

Beasty wrote: »

because I need the power data

Really? To see all the wasted efforts in so much detail must pain you

:pac: