Cycle computers

[Louch]

I have a basic bike hut job on my bike, birthdays coming up and will have money from coming in, so I have thought of upgrading. Budgets about 150-200, looked at the Garmins but that many in that range not sure what real differences are

Thoughts and suggestions?

 

[Mo1959]

Love my Garmin Edge 200 and it's under £100 but you don't get all the bells and whistles like full maps, cadence, heart rate, etc. Perfect for just recording all your ride data and saving to Garmin Connect, Strava, etc.

 

[Peteaud]

200 - basic unit, records trip, distance etc and upload to Garmin, Strava etc.

500 as above but with heart rate monitor and cadence

both will be in your budget.

If you dont want to measure heart rate etc, stick to the 200.

 

[tug benson]

I`ve got the 500, i love it

 

[DooDah]

+1 for Garmin Edge 500, has features such as breadcrumb trail mapping, virtual partner etc.

 

[Edwardoka]

I'll heartily second any recommendation for the 500 (although I've not bothered to put the cadence sensor on yet). I thought that the upgrade from smartphone GPS to dedicated computer would be largely a gadget-y one, but the virtual partner and HR training zones have genuinely changed the way I ride.

 

[Manguish]

I'll heartily second any recommendation for the 500 (although I've not bothered to put the cadence sensor on yet). I thought that the upgrade from smartphone GPS to dedicated computer would be largely a gadget-y one, but the virtual partner and HR training zones have genuinely changed the way I ride.

I'm thinking about 500 with hr and cadence, and thought cadence would have been more use to be than hr.

Care to explain how hr had helped you more?

 

[tug benson]

I'm thinking about 500 with hr and cadence, and thought cadence would have been more use to be than hr.

Care to explain how hr had helped you more?

when i am doing my bigger rides (anything over 65 mile) i try to keep my heart rate down until at least half way around my route, or until i get to my big first climb, am sure keeping your heart rate low at the start of the big rides can help you last longer on the bike

 

[Mo1959]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0S8K92K8MS6D9J5A65EJ

This seems like a good price if you are interested in the 500 with hr and cadence. Cheapest I can see.

 

[Edwardoka]

I'm thinking about 500 with hr and cadence, and thought cadence would have been more use to be than hr.

Care to explain how hr had helped you more?

The following is probably a bunch of nonsense in relation to how actual physiology works, but it's just from my own experience.
I'm overweight, and despite riding as much as I can, I've simply not been able to shift the weight. I already have a reasonably good circular pedal stroke on the flat (I think!) from about 10 years of semi-regular cycling (some much more regular than others) but due to the extra weight, I struggle badly on climbs.

I have a double chainring so my cadence is generally as low as my bottom gear will let me go on any big climbs, so it's not that useful data to me, as far as I can see.

I used to ride as fast as I felt comfortable, but at the start of the year I found that I was suddenly getting burning muscles (without getting particuarly out of breath) on climbs, which would cause me to slow down considerably afterwards. I also started getting cramps in my legs as well.

Since I got the HR monitor I can now see exactly where my effort level is in relation to my lactic threshold, and instead of relying on my body's feedback system (which was apparently not working earlier in the year when I was getting lactic burn without prior warning), I can now see when I'm beginning to overdo it and ease up (except on the bigger climbs where easing up isn't an option).

Being able to choose and pick when to ride high intensity (usually on the flat ) means that I can save myself for bigger climbs, basically.

 

[flatflr]

I recently got a Garmin Edge 500 with HR and cadence and love it, really easy to set up and use with a surprising clear display even with 5 items shown on the screen (but this can be changed as needed and possible to set up several different screens which are easy to scroll through). I've not used it for directions or HR yet but use the cadence sensor (again easy to fit and set up).

 

[tug benson]

I`lost 2 cadence sensors, ended up buying wee magnets that sit in the spindle of the pedal

 

[tug benson]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-edge-500-red-with-premium-heart-rate-and-cadence/

 

[DooDah]

I'm thinking about 500 with hr and cadence, and thought cadence would have been more use to be than hr.

Care to explain how hr had helped you more?

I can't enlighten you about the HR monitor as I have not used it yet, but the cadence sensor had been a revelation with me. It has helped me to pace my rides by using a higher cadence so that I can cycle further.

 

[MaxInc]

HRM helps you understand how hard you're trying in addition to your perceived effort. Sometimes I can see myself pushing too hard and will slow down to recover a little bit in anticipation of a large climb, even if I feel great, or it helps me push harder by realising there is more that I can do.

Post ride, I can analise my performance against heart rate data and will adjust the overall effort curve which helps me better manage the effort.