Gadgets - What do you think of them?

[TomG]

So last year I stripped my bike of my computer when my battery died and I stopped using a heart rate monitor shortly after that. I know most of the routes and mileage around here. I know when I need to recover and when I can go fast. I have to say that I really enjoyed my rides a lot more since doing this. I cannot stand knowing how much further I have to go to finish a ride and knowing that my average MPH is down from the last time.

What does everyone else think of their gadgets? And could you ride without them? :)

[JayC]

Beings that I use my computer for navigation, no, I couldnt ride without it. Ive even been known to skip rides where I cant program the route in ahead of time. Cue sheets are so 2004.

[KarenG]

whatdoyouneedacomputerfornavigationforJay?? haven't you ridden around here enough to know where you're going? :) i hardly use the garmin anymore - riding around here, or even to goldsboro, i can generally find my way back to the start...

[JeffR]

I keep cadence (big number) and distance on the screen. I never look at speed because there are too many variables that effect speed (terrain, wind, road surface, etc.).

I just keep my cadence at 85-95 in a gear that doesn't kill me. If that means I am doing 12 mph fine, if it means I am doing 20 that'd be ok too.

[jvp]

I use a basic mph/milage computer on my schwinn for longer rides, but for commuting w/ my other bikes I just ride...average speed doesn't mean a lot for city riding. I usually have about the same average speed in the country, so I guess the main feature I look at is total milage.

[Erica]

i like my computer for logging miles, which im not about to try to do manually. now that im actually riding more than 30 feet a week, the mileage log will begin to come in handy again. im also a data junky, and i find it a great way to numb my brain and unwind when i can plug the garmin in and upload to motionbased or whatever, just to peruse the data ive uploaded. i ride because i enjoy it and i enjoy the companionship of my friends, not because im training for anything special. training would take the fun out of it for me, with or without a computer.

[TomG]

I have to agree with you, holding a steady 70-90 RPMs is ideal. The three things I always focus on are cadence, keeping my feet over the pedals, and holding my line.

The only two gadgets I would consider using again are a cadence meter and a count down lap timer to remind me to drink. :)

[RickF]

I have never used a heart rate monitor or a GPS computer. All I really care about is the odometer reading. The odometer makes following the cue sheet much easier, especially when I am on a new route.

In the days before electronic computers, all I ever had was a mechanical odometer. You could not callbrate those to within a mm of tire circumference. The only option was 26" or 27". There was no magnetic pickup, either. The odometer mounted on the fork. The front axel passed through the bottom of the odometer, and a piece went between two of the spokes right at the hub and spun around with the front wheel to count the number of revolutions - very low tech.

[Pugslyyy]

What does everyone else think of their gadgets? And could you ride without them? :)

I'm part of the Garmin GPS posse.

I'm not good enough to know my heart rate / zone without a HRM. It really helps me to have a better ride since I started paying attention to it. Also lets me train better.

I just like not having to worry about cue sheets. I like being able to see distance remaining to the next turn at a glance. I like beng able to see distance remaining to the finish at a glance. Don't care so much about speed, but definitely use the heart rate.

[skiffrun]

I have a 5-y.o. Cateye set to auto. When the battery died a couple years ago, I replaced the battery. When the contacts got a bit corroded, I cleaned them. Hmmn, I wonder if I should do a bit of preventive maintenace and give the contacts a light cleaning?

I log miles to the tenth of a mile (truncating), and time in hrs:min (my self-built Excel log automatically adds 30 seconds, so over the long haul, the total time and total average pace work out). Even though I systematically record only the info from the end of the ride, I usually check my mileage and avg speed 4.7 miles before the actual finish of the ride, and sometimes add a note in the log. Why? Because some days the bear on Ghoston, Peed, and Mt. Vernon Church is much bigger than others, and once in very great while, there is no bear at all. The impact on the total avg pace of the ride is of interest to me, but I can't imagine anyone else would care.

I decided a couple years ago that it was more important to be able function the rest of the day, and ride the next, than to "conquer" the bears on Ghoston, Peed, and Mt. Vernon Church Roads.

I do not have cadence or heart monitor. I have manually counted cadence on a flatish bit of road using the time from the Cateye to start/stop the count; but I haven't actually done that for a couple years. I control my cadence by feel and by avoiding pushing too hard in big gears (tearful experience has taught me the cost of over-doing it). One certain climbs, I will decide to refuse to go to an easier gear just to punish, er, train the leg muscles. But, on a different day, when the bear is getting me, I have no problem going to the small crank and the granny if needed. If I notice that my breathing has become "thready", I will concentrate for a bit on longer, deeper breaths.

If I am riding with someone who has GPS with elevation info, I may inquire at the reported altitude near low spots or high spots. It can be interesting to learn the actual temperature drop that was associated with the cool felt when dropping into certain creek valleys early on a late-Spring / Summer / early Autumn day. On the flip side, it is usually not so interesting to learn the actual temperature increase associated with climbing back out of the same valley.

I can't imagine using a robot, er, computer to navigate over the usual riding geography. Too often I have said to myself: "self, you are feeling really good today, let's add that loop, and that one, and maybe that one". And I have often said: "self, you are feeling like crap, let's take this shortcut".

Taking instruction from a computer / robot seems so 1927 ("Metropolis"). ;)

[RoverDave]

I love my gadgets, I am a data geek anyway so I like to know stats!

I have a cateye enduro 8 that is pretty simple to use, but as of yesterday joined the Gamin Posse myself.

I pay most attention to HR, and avg. But now that I have the ability to track cadence and many other data points I will focus on HR and cadence, and of course continuing laying down my base miles for the rest of the year which is the only "goal" I have atm.