[Fri]

Good evening people. I’m new to road cycling having only been doing it for about 3 months but what I’ve realised is that I need a computer.  I use, and like Strava but I don’t know how fast I’m going until I get home and see on my mobile how far and fast I’ve gone.  So what I’m looking for is a bike computer which shows me my real time speed but can also record my activity for uploading to Strava, what are your recommendations?

Topic

[Lydia-Hines]

I use Android Strava to

I use Android Strava to record ride data which I upload later for analysis, but I also use a simple wireless Cateye Strada to monitor instant & average speed, distance, total time and clock during the ride. 

[Fishpastesarnie]

Coming from a mainly mountain

Coming from a mainly mountain biking background I much prefer using my Wahoo Element Bolt than a phone. It lasts a lot longer and it’s also reassuring that my phone is tucked safely away on my person.

Also in the event that I had an accident I know the phone is *probably* within my reach rather than 20 metres back down the track in a bush and smashed up.

The problem with a quadlock is that it is so damn expensive for what you get. For about £15-£20 more you can get a Lezyne GPS enabled unit and keep your phone safe.

[Crampy]

Fair enough. I found that my

Fair enough. I found that my iPhone6, running strava, display on and on power saver mode went from 100 to around 30 % battery over a 4 hour sportive. This could easily be extended by having a simple power pack and cable in your pocket. 

The iPhone8 i have now has an even better battery life. The 6 wasnt waterproof at all (I resorted to taking the phone out the case, wrapping it in clingfilm then re inserting it when it was really wet out) but the 8 is very water resistant. 

I can totally see the point of having a dedicated bike comp if youre a regular mile muncher, but the phone / quadlock is actually a good option. I had my iPhone set up with speed/cadence sensors and a Powerpod powermeter too, worked like a charm.

I do have a Polar M460 on my «good» bike, though…

[wycombewheeler]

Crampy wrote:

Depending on the phone you have, why not just get a quad lock phone case and the out front mount? That way you can use your mobile as a bike comp. I have done this for a couple years and so far so good. 

Strava has a really good display too.

1) garmin is generally more waterproof than most phones

2) garmin edge 520 lasts 15 hours on navigation, no phone lasts so long while using to navigate

3) having a ready to use phone in case of emergencies is more prudent than running the battery to zero while using for navigation and recording.

I had a quad lock, thought it waa great unti I went out in dry weather but found wet roads, and phone needed an expensive repair due to spray. Water also got in headphone jack making the phone switch to headphones mode and making voice calls was impossible, text only.

if ypou have a waterproof phone,a dn bever go on rides over 4 hours or multi day trips then quad lock may be suitable.

[Anonymous]

Having your screen on all the

Having your screen on all the time which it would need to be to display (or pointless having the outfront mount will drain the battery, considering you’ll be having the GPS on all the time for your app of choice in any case it’s not always the best solution when you only need to buy a £20 or less basic wireless computer from any of the big makers. You’ll also have essentially two readings which you can compare and also at least one should there be a failure/power down or in the case of the GPS, lost signal.

Cheapest, simplest and most accurate is to just get a wireless comp and continue to have the phone running strava screen off in your pocket/bag. 

[Crampy]

Depending on the phone you

Depending on the phone you have, why not just get a quad lock phone case and the out front mount? That way you can use your mobile as a bike comp. I have done this for a couple years and so far so good. 

Strava has a really good display too.

[janusz0]

ChasP wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ChasP wrote:

For a basic computer to see your speed without the faff of a spoke magnet and fork sensor (continue using your phone to log strava) the new Decathlon B’twin 500 looks really neat using a wheel sensor similar to Garmin’s https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-wireless-cyclometer-id_8382192.html  (should be back in stock very soon)

That’s a tidy looking product, I managed to bag a few Sigma’s for £10 earlier this year and they have a 2 hour auto start from whence you last mved so are perfect for audax and touring where you might have a longer stop and may forget to restart, they are also very accurate. 

What are the reports on the accuracy of these types with the gyro sensor sending the signal?

One of the online reviews mentions very occasional dropouts from the signal. After an initial small release they’ve been out of stock for some time so may have addressed some teething troubles, back in the warehouse on the continent now though. Accuracy will depend (as it does on any wheel sensor) on the setting you put in as it just counts rotations. You have the choice of a simple tyre size or more accurate circumferance in mm which you can calibrate in use if you wish.

If only it did “just count rotations”.  Simple spoke magnet and sensor combinations do that very well. However the hub mounted sensors count upward and downward accelerations.  It sounds simple to just divide the number by two to get the number of rotations, but it will be complicated by road surface uneveness resulting in additional upward and downward acceleration (bounces).  Of course the microprocesor will then apply a debouncing algorithm, but it’s never going to be as accurate as a magnet sensor*.  Both methods will be better than GPS, unless you never cycle along routes lined by trees or tall buildings.  GPS also assumes that you ride a series of straight lines between fixes.  (It may be that GPS cyclecomputers apply a correction based on measuring wheel revolutions vs GPS measurements on a variety of roads.)

* You may have observed this kind of discrepancy if you’ve ever counted your steps and compared them with a pedometer app on your ‘phone.

[ChasP]

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ChasP wrote:

For a basic computer to see your speed without the faff of a spoke magnet and fork sensor (continue using your phone to log strava) the new Decathlon B’twin 500 looks really neat using a wheel sensor similar to Garmin’s https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-wireless-cyclometer-id_8382192.html  (should be back in stock very soon)

That’s a tidy looking product, I managed to bag a few Sigma’s for £10 earlier this year and they have a 2 hour auto start from whence you last mved so are perfect for audax and touring where you might have a longer stop and may forget to restart, they are also very accurate. 

What are the reports on the accuracy of these types with the gyro sensor sending the signal?

One of the online reviews mentions very occasional dropouts from the signal. After an initial small release they’ve been out of stock for some time so may have addressed some teething troubles, back in the warehouse on the continent now though. Accuracy will depend (as it does on any wheel sensor) on the setting you put in as it just counts rotations. You have the choice of a simple tyre size or more accurate circumferance in mm which you can calibrate in use if you wish.

[Anonymous]

ChasP wrote:

For a basic computer to see your speed without the faff of a spoke magnet and fork sensor (continue using your phone to log strava) the new Decathlon B’twin 500 looks really neat using a wheel sensor similar to Garmin’s https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-wireless-cyclometer-id_8382192.html  (should be back in stock very soon)

That’s a tidy looking product, I managed to bag a few Sigma’s for £10 earlier this year and they have a 2 hour auto start from whence you last mved so are perfect for audax and touring where you might have a longer stop and may forget to restart, they are also very accurate. 

What are the reports on the accuracy of these types with the gyro sensor sending the signal?

[ChasP]

For a basic computer to see

For a basic computer to see your speed without the faff of a spoke magnet and fork sensor (continue using your phone to log strava) the new Decathlon B’twin 500 looks really neat using a wheel sensor similar to Garmin’s https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-wireless-cyclometer-id_8382192.html  (should be back in stock very soon)

[mc]

The big thing is, how much

The big thing is, how much money do you want to spend?

Basic cycle computers can be had for not much money, and will give you the basic speed information you’d like. You can then still use your phone for GPS purposes.

Personally, I’m using a Polar M460 just now, and I’m quite liking it. I’ve got the optical heart rate monitor to go with it (heart rate is more important than speed if you’re training), and I’m quite liking the Polar eco-system for tracking everything. It does integrate with Strava if you want, but I rarely use Strava, so have not bothered to link my accounts.

 

If you really want to geek out over your decision, then have a read of the numerous reviews over on http://www.dcrainmaker.com

[Anonymous]

Why not buy a simple wireless

Why not buy a simple wireless bike computer and continue to run your current system in tandem, you can see exactly what you’re doing time/distance/av speed wise but still able to download the same info from your Strava application.

I used to use a Megallen Switch which is a great little GPS logger and so easy to fit/remove but I went back to a simple wireless Sigma 9.16 for most of my bikes, very accurate, easy to use and as I’m not on strava I’m not that bothered about uploading my rides. I’ll only use my Teasi One3 for full map touring on routes I don’t know and want other data without digging the phone out.

[StraelGuy]

I suggested to Wahoo that it

I suggested to Wahoo that it would be cool if you could set the lights to indicate whether you were above or below an average miles per hour ie you could set it to a value for a sportive and the lights would light up past midway if you were above and not reach midway if you were below the selected speed. They haven’t implemented it yet though .

[Fri]

Thanks for the replies so far
Thanks for the replies so far. I’m doing pedal for Scotland next week to break me into cycling in numbers then I’m signing up to the loch Ness etape next year. Planning to do some other sportives too. I’m currently averaging around the 16 mph speed on routes up to 40 miles. My main reason for wanting a computer is I want to make sure my average speed is not lower than about 13 mph as this seems to be the min for most sportives. On a 30 miler I dropped down to 13.5 mph but didn’t know as I had nothing to tell me until I got home. I know it’s not the end of the world but I’m riding blind until I get home and thought why not get a computer so I can push a bit harder if I know I’m slowing.

[Hirsute]

Lezyne are handy and

Lezyne are handy and considerably cheaper than garmin

[Author]

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