Reasonably priced bike computers?

[kingrollo]

Garmin seems to be the dominant brand - i found their watch complicated to set up and keep the software updated

I just use it for routes and logging miles. IMO it only get complicated when you try to use loads of features.

 

[Bhitucyclist]

I'm a fan of the wahoo elmnt bolt. Excellent battery life, easy to set-up and use (requires the smartphone app). You can also charge it on the go if needed with a battery pack. I've had mine for a good 3 or 4 years now and still get 11 hours between charges. The bolt 2 is the newer version and then there is the roam as well.

Wahoo bolt element is tht a bike comp ?

 

[Bhitucyclist]

Yes; the brand name is Polar. They do a lot of smart / general fitness watches (my ex had one and liked it, which is partially what put me onto them). They used to do two cycle computers but have boiled it down to the lesser-specced M460 now and are also apparently pushing their watches as suitable for cycling (with mounts for bars etc); although it seems that this isn't a market they're falling over themselves to target.

The V650 wasn't particularly popular when it came out and got middling reviews, however I think a lot of this was addressed later with firmware updates and changes to the support. I've found mine to be great; the biggest niggle being that it sometimes fails to detect the heartrate monitor and requires it re-adding.

Thankfully for now the support remains for the V650 (everything is managed through a web interface) and I guess that while the M460 / maybe other products exist so should support for the V650.

I was put off Garmin by reports of glitches and generally crap customer served / mercenary business practices (like withdrawing support for older products, essentially rendering them obsolete).

I'm not sure what else is on the market but if you wanted to buy used it seems that V650s are going for around £40-80 on ebay, which seems pretty good providing they're in good nick / still working and there are no issues with transferring the support to the new owner.

Providing support remains I suspect it'll be battery failure that eventually kills mine, however I'm careful to keep the charge within the ideal window for Li-Ion batteries (60-80%) and so far it's given sterling service over the 3.5yrs I've owned it, so based on this experience I'd not be unduly concerned over battery life of used units..

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Thanks a lot for detailed review. You are totally right about garmin support. I will search the brand and model you mention

 

[Bhitucyclist]

I'm based in Longfield, about 16 miles north of Tonbridge, so don't cycle via Tonbridge normally. Farningham, Eynsford, Shoreham, the Pilgrims Way are all nice little villages. Just need to explore the tiny back roads. I can do a 20 mile loop from Longfield and not need to go on the major A roads.

Ok then i will try to ride to longfield next time i head to tonbridge

 

[Bhitucyclist]

Then the simplest and cheapest solution is to use a powerbank to keep your phone charged up.
So long as you have a place to secure the powerbank you're good to go.

But......
The connection on a phone isn't designed for rough stuff so you may find the socket becoming damaged over time. And, of course, you'll need to take rain into consideration.

Depending on your bike and attitude to expense you could also consider a dynamo hub with an "adapter" for charging directly from the hub as you cycle. With a good dynamo light added (with an on/off switch) you'd always have light as well.
Note: Not advisable to try to charge and run lights at the same time and charging only occurs at a reasonable speed. Also, some phones don't play nice with that type of intermittent charging.

As for A roads? Once you're legal the next step is are you comfortable? If you're not look for an alternative!
https://cycle.travel/ is an excellent planner for quiet roads.

Yes i used a power bank for my p2p ride. But now i feel a bit more proper route planning gadget might be good to find longer routes

 

[Sharky]

Ok then i will try to ride to longfield next time i head to tonbridge

I wouldn't make Longfield itself a target destination. But following link shows one of my routes, taking in some very scenic country roads. Beware Billet Hill is not for the meek. Takes me about an hour to do this route and by adding some extra detours can make it over 20.

Edit: sorry, link to strava removed - too much info displayed

 

[Bhitucyclist]

I wouldn't make Longfield itself a target destination. But following link shows one of my routes, taking in some very scenic country roads. Beware Billet Hill is not for the meek. Takes me about an hour to do this route and by adding some extra detours can make it over 20.

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/VtTONXk8Nqb

I feel very scared coming downhill. While coming down river hill i had to walk down couple of bends! Not being able to overcome this phobia no matter what

 

[HobbesOnTour]

But now i feel a bit more proper route planning gadget might be good to find longer routes

The problem is that GPS units are not good at planning routes. They are best when following a route designed on a designated planner.
They may get you from A to B but the quality of the route is often less than desirable.

They are not like a car satnav.

My advice is to acquaint yourself with a few different planners and see which one suits your style the best. It is all possible with your phone or combining the phone with a PC.

There have been numerous discussions about various planners if you do a search.

It can be a very confusing area if unsure of the process and taking Garmin as an example there are so many different models that it's a good idea to be sure of what you want and what the unit does before pulling the trigger.

There is nothing you have said in any of your posts that suggests a need for a dedicated GPS unit at the moment. If you buy one to make nice routes for you you're going to be disappointed.

 

[PaulSB]

Hello friends
Hope my rider friends are all good and riding well. Yesterday i managed to find my way to tonbridge castle. A neat 30 mile with elevation gain of 1400. So feels like a good route to train for pedal to paris that i am taking part in this year. But my old iphone 6 had hardly any battery left. So decided to train back. Someone suggested a bike computer. What do you think - should i just get a charge bank or actually invest in a bike comp? Does anyone use them and find extra features that makes it worth having another gadget on you.

Oh greatful for any suggestion for a 40 mile ride. Wanted to check - cycling on A roads is ok right ?

If your phone battery is only lasting 30 miles you clearly need to do something. A power bank will do the job but in my experience these are generally slow to charge any device. Aside from this there are a number of potential failures all based on the issue that phones and power banks are not designed to be mounted on bikes and used in this manner. People do but it's a compromise.

I wouldn't use a phone for navigation for several reasons with the #1 being if you crash and damage the phone potentially you lose both your navigation device and communication device........not a good situation in an emergency.

I used Garmins for a number of years and find them unnecessarily complicated, have poor battery life and are prone to unexpected issues during use.

In four years with a Wahoo Elemnt I've experienced one issue when the device unexpectedly shut down and rebooted. It continued navigation as soon as the restart was complete.

Be aware all Wahoos use an app for set up. You should check if iPhone 6 will run the app.

A GPS unit or cycle computer is designed for cycling. A phone is designed for something else and will always be a compromise. Using a phone you also potentially need a mount, waterproof cover, power bank, cable, bag to store the power bank and perhaps a phone case for impact protection. After you've purchased all of this as a compromise you might find a purpose designed GPS unit is relatively cheap.

 

[Alex321]

Wahoo bolt element is tht a bike comp ?

Wahoo is the manufacturer (and is nearly as big as Garmin in the cycling market). Elemnt (no 3rd "e") is their bike computer range. Then the individual computers within that are currently the bolt and the Roam. I have the roam, and really like it. And the charge lasts me well over a week normally. I've never actually worked out just how long it lasts (it is supposed to be 17 hours), but I tend to ride 6-10 hours per week, and probably recharge it less than once a fortnight.

But to buy new, they aren't cheap, they are similar prices to the nearest equivalent Garmins. The bolt v2 will be around £265, while the roam is around £300. The bolt v1 will be around £180 where still available. You'll be able to get any of these cheaper second hand. They don't have a more basic one which would be similar to the Garmin edge.

 

[vickster]

If you’re happy to use the phone and plan to keep it awhile, wouldn’t it be cheaper to get the battery changed?

 

[Bhitucyclist]

If you’re happy to use the phone and plan to keep it awhile, wouldn’t it be cheaper to get the battery changed?

I am thinking of getting a new phone as iphone 6 is not supported anymore.
But i am still thinking of getting a bike comp so that the navigation and capture is better.

 

[Bhitucyclist]

Wahoo is the manufacturer (and is nearly as big as Garmin in the cycling market). Elemnt (no 3rd "e") is their bike computer range. Then the individual computers within that are currently the bolt and the Roam. I have the roam, and really like it. And the charge lasts me well over a week normally. I've never actually worked out just how long it lasts (it is supposed to be 17 hours), but I tend to ride 6-10 hours per week, and probably recharge it less than once a fortnight.

But to buy new, they aren't cheap, they are similar prices to the nearest equivalent Garmins. The bolt v2 will be around £265, while the roam is around £300. The bolt v1 will be around £180 where still available. You'll be able to get any of these cheaper second hand. They don't have a more basic one which would be similar to the Garmin edge.

If i get the wahoo does it help in navigation? Will i still have to check google maps in my phone to check for routes. Btw when i use google map to plan the route using the cycling icon does it show routes where cycling is allowed i mean the A roads they show

 

[Bhitucyclist]

If your phone battery is only lasting 30 miles you clearly need to do something. A power bank will do the job but in my experience these are generally slow to charge any device. Aside from this there are a number of potential failures all based on the issue that phones and power banks are not designed to be mounted on bikes and used in this manner. People do but it's a compromise.

I wouldn't use a phone for navigation for several reasons with the #1 being if you crash and damage the phone potentially you lose both your navigation device and communication device........not a good situation in an emergency.

I used Garmins for a number of years and find them unnecessarily complicated, have poor battery life and are prone to unexpected issues during use.

In four years with a Wahoo Elemnt I've experienced one issue when the device unexpectedly shut down and rebooted. It continued navigation as soon as the restart was complete.

Be aware all Wahoos use an app for set up. You should check if iPhone 6 will run the app.

A GPS unit or cycle computer is designed for cycling. A phone is designed for something else and will always be a compromise. Using a phone you also potentially need a mount, waterproof cover, power bank, cable, bag to store the power bank and perhaps a phone case for impact protection. After you've purchased all of this as a compromise you might find a purpose designed GPS unit is relatively cheap.

I agree to your point about garmin. I need something that is simple. I am not good with too much zazz - i dont need heart rate etc . Just need to plan routes where cycling is allowed and captures my ride - can be synced with strava easily- thats all

 

[vickster]

I am thinking of getting a new phone as iphone 6 is not supported anymore.
But i am still thinking of getting a bike comp so that the navigation and capture is better.

Fair enough. I had the first gen Wahoo Elemnt and really didn’t like it, you needed the app to plan anything on the fly, while with Garmin you can route on the device. Also I didn’t like the mapping, it just didn’t make sense to me, while the Garmin maps look more like a car sat nav. It was also black and white not colour. Also not touch screen and the buttons never worked very well with the protective case on!
I think the more recent ones may be better in this regard, but you should should try them out and see what you prefer.
I’m not a gadget person unless I have to be and do find the Garmin menus fiddly to use but that’s partly just me!
All but the oldest Garmins sync to Strava by Bluetooth. I also had all sorts of syncing issues with the Wahoo to iPhone and although they tried to help, they just didn’t seem to be able to sort their app. This is a few years ago so hopefully they’ve got themselves sorted now!