Bike computer suggestions

[cameron_15]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a bike computer to see a little more info on my rides as I go. I use Strava on my phone but don't want to mount my phone to my bars. I've had a look at Garmins and the like which are cool but I think unneccesary for me. I don't want turn-by-turn, maps, colour screens and live strava segments etc, I just want an easy way to quickly see parameters like How fast I'm going, how far i've ridden on the ride and my heart rate and maybe cadence too.

I do like looking at my ride on Strava and geeking over the data so I'm wondering if there's a product that can communicate with Strava too.

At the moment the Lezyne Macro GPS looks pretty good. It's not super expensive and should nicely display all the things I want then spit out the data for strava later. Any other suggestions? Any experience with the Lezyne units?

 

[T-Rex]

Given your requirements... what’s wrong with Strava premium and keeping your phone in your pocket?

 

[bear the bear]

Would suggest a Wahoo Bolt.
Simpler to use than a Garmin and a bit more bullet-proof with good features.

 

[slimjim1]

I've had the Lezyne Super the last 3 years and it's been absolutely faultless...More than enough data, never had issues with accuracy/dropping out like the cheaper Garmins seem to have, good battery life, has live tracking and navigation with the phone app, uploads to strava at end of ride.

Wouldnt hesitate to get the Macro GPS (same features but less battery life I believe??)

 

[rangersac]

I've had the Lezyne Super the last 3 years and it's been absolutely faultless...More than enough data, never had issues with accuracy/dropping out like the cheaper Garmins seem to have, good battery life, has live tracking and navigation with the phone app, uploads to strava at end of ride.

Wouldnt hesitate to get the Macro GPS (same features but less battery life I believe??)

I've got a Macro and it's spot on. Battery is plenty good enough, about 20 or so hours of riding.

 

[Cardy George]

Given your requirements... what’s wrong with Strava premium and keeping your phone in your pocket?

Not all phones GPS track consistently. I used my Oppo to track a 75km ride. It took 4 hrs in the real world, the tracked distance was pretty close, but Strava only recorded it as two hours worth. Average speed was ah-maze-balls

 

[cameron_15]

Given your requirements... what’s wrong with Strava premium and keeping your phone in your pocket?

I'd like to see some basic parameters like speed, distance, heart rate on the fly without putting my smartphone in the firing line and draining it's battery. The data my phone captures is fine and the perfect product for me would simply be a screen that connects to my phone via bluetooth and displays a few numbers. No such product exisits but the Lezyne seems to be pretty close.

 

[DMan]

Bryton 410

 

[Milpool]

I've only started looking into them tonight also but the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt seems good, or the Garmin Edge 130. They're both just that next level up from the Lezyne but they have the next level up features that you may not need now but could be handy later. Admittedly they're quite a bit more money and I'm a broke arse so I can't say what way I'd go.

Does everyone use smart watches as heart rate monitors or something else?

 

[bear the bear]

I've only started looking into them tonight also but the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt seems good, or the Garmin Edge 130. They're both just that next level up from the Lezyne but they have the next level up features that you may not need now but could be handy later. Admittedly they're quite a bit more money and I'm a broke arse so I can't say what way I'd go.

Does everyone use smart watches as heart rate monitors or something else?

I rely on a separate hr strap for accurate readings.
As someone who regularly has 3 hr monitoring devices on (2x wrist-based, 1 strap), wristed based devices for MTBing tend to underestimate HR due to the location by the wrist joint which is constantly moving off-road.

 

[SF Trailboy]

Make sure you get Bluetooth and ant+ compatibility incase you want to zwift etc in the future..

 

[marks]

Bryton rider 15 less than $80. Syncs with strava if you just want something basic.

 

[ForkinGreat]

Make sure you get Bluetooth and ant+ compatibility incase you want to zwift etc in the future..

Wahoo Elemnt Bolt FTW.
pretty much bulletproof, as @bear the bear mentioned, all the bluetooth, ant+ compatibility etc

I think mine came bundled with speed and cadence sensor + heart rate monitor strap.
I bought a 2nd bar mount (1 on roadie, one on 29er) and extra speed and cadence sensor for the 29er.

ELEMNT BOLT GPS Bike Computer & Cycling Sensor Bundle

Get everything you need to boost your cycling performance all at once! Bundle includes an ELEMNT BOLT computer, TICKR HR monitor, RPM Speed & RPM cadence sensors.

au.wahoofitness.com

setup is piss easy via app on phone. the sensors are bluetooth paired to the bolt unit.
if you are a Stravahole and want to upload to Strava, just turn your phone on and let it search for and connect with the Bolt.

yeah, downside is $$, but if you can stretch to it, prob better value for money than buying a cheapo and then wanting to upgrade.

 

[Daniel Hale]

bryton best value imo, ive got a 330[same as giant neostrack] but the new 420 has everything incl ex battery life for $199-219

the garmin edge25 i had was nice & sml but battery life was shite

 

[Daniel Hale]

Does everyone use smart watches as heart rate monitors or something else?

my watch is close overall but doesn’t show the peak hr nearly as good as strap, always about 20beats below where actual is

 

[cameron_15]

Make sure you get Bluetooth and ant+ compatibility incase you want to zwift etc in the future..

With that in mind I'd be looking at the Lezyne Macro Plus - which seems to have Ant+ and a coule of other features over the Macro easy model. Cheers

 

[cameron_15]

bryton best value imo, ive got a 330[same as giant neostrack] but the new 420 has everything incl ex battery life for $199-219

the garmin edge25 i had was nice & sml but battery life was shite

Thanks, Bryton 420 looks pretty enticing as well. Will look into that one too

 

[cameron_15]

After some more research I've found some interesting products - the Wahoo RFLKT (now discontinued?) and Cateye Padrone Smart bike computers. These connect to your phone and display data from it, basically using the phones GPS/hardware. I initially thought this would be a cool concept - why pay for another computer when I've already got all the relevant hardware in the form of a smartphone. Sadly these computers cost around the $150 mark so it makes more sense to bump up the budget and buy a dedicated GPS cycling computer like those previously suggested.

 

[carpetrunner]

On a roadie, touring and MTB, I've used various combinations of an android tablet, an android phone, a Garmin edge 500 (now close to death) mounted on the bars, a Garmin forerunner 910XT and 920XT multisport wristwatches, and more recently a Garmin edge 530 mounted on the bars.

For MTB I use a wristwatch and set the buzzer to go off when there is something interesting to look at, even for XC the bar mounts and GPSs are too fragile and when things get hectic you don't look at it anyway. The only reason I'd go bar mount for MTB is if I needed maps for trail directions/exploring.

Agree that wrist based heart rate is a gimmick, you need a HR strap to get any reasonable accuracy. My old ANT+ garmin HR strap has been running for a few years of daily commutes with 9mo battery life. Just don't wash the strap too often - they perform better when sweaty and smelly.

- carpetrunner

 

[Milpool]

Looking at computers has led me down the smartwatch path. The Garmin instinct looks pretty handy.