Computer or phone?

[Hard-Drive]

I'm getting back into road cycling and need a new computer. My old bike had a really basic Aldi wireless job, which was fine for speed, av. speed, trip distance and total distance which to be honest is pretty much all I used it for. I'm not "serious" enough at the moment to be bothering with HRM or cadence but it might be useful in the future possibly...I'd be slightly wary of buying something that can't add functionality later.

I'd quite like something that could give me directions for a ride that I plan out beforehand, however I appreciate this might really bump the price up a lot. I don't want to spend a fortune ideally.

Any ideas or recommendations? Or do I just buy a quad lock and a decent app?

Thanks

[lufbramatt]

I used a phone for a while but I found it quite unreliable and lost data for a few rides where it hadn't recorded properly or the app had crashed mid ride. Dedicated bike computers tend to be more reliable. There's also the issue of draining your phone battery in case you need the phone in an emergency.

[Pupp]

I asked much the same question about 10 days ago, wanting to improve upon a couple of Cateye Stravas I had been using (or, more accurately, swearing at)... ended up buying a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, a couple of spare mounts (watch out for bar size if MTB destined), and a cadence/speed sensor bundle.

Probably a little more spent than I hoped for but the gadget has impressed so far. Just worked straight out the box, and the shoe mounted cadence sensor is a game changer... no magnets or separate sensors on the bike. Just switch the head unit to whatever bike and ride.
Speed sensor could probably be dispensed with TBH the GPS in the head unit is fast but I have the speed sensor on an MTB as it does get used in local woods where signal could be obstructed.
Recommended so far

[Pot Odds]

I've been hands on with pretty much all of the latest crop (see my channel below for some demos):

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfvwMRyMTecPVnsX...

My advice is that the Garmin Edge 530 and 830 hit the sweet spot in terms of functionality vs price. Personally i prefer the 830 as it has a touchscreen rather than the buttons that the 530 uses but then the 530 is a chunk cheaper. The 830 also allows course creation on the device although I've hardly ever used this function on any of my Garmins (most people create routes on their PC and load them to their Garmin which the 530 and 830 will then manage equally well).

Happy to answer any Q..

Pot Odds

[mike80]

I've got a Lezyne Macro GPS: https://www.tweekscycles.com/lezyne-macro-gps-navi...

Not too pricey and does everything I need it to do, navigation, recording, etc. etc. I used to use my phone, but it could be a bit temperamental.

[Hard-Drive]

Thanks for all the replies on this.

Quick question on the Garmin 830/530...do I need to install the optional speed sensor to get speed info, or will it just do it on the standard "device only" package from the GPS data?

I'm assuming the speed sensor is for turbo trainer sessions...correct?

Thanks!

[DE1975]

I can recommend the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. Can be picked up for £185 but theres also £25 cash back from Wahoo on purchases till end of May, so £160.

You don't need a speed sensor as well, the GPS speed is pretty accurate

[Hard-Drive]

Thanks...but do I need a speed sensor on the Garmin or not?

[lufbramatt]

They will work fine without the speed/cadence sensor, just helps give a reading for when you have dodgy GPS signal (in deep woods, around tall buildings/mountains etc) and eliminates lag. The cadence readout is pretty useful though.

[Pachydermus]

Hard-Drive said:

Thanks...but do I need a speed sensor on the Garmin or not?

you don't need it but it's more reliable/accurate. Without it you may find yourself stopped but the gps thinks you're still moving.

[oddball1313]

I use a garmin 520 and had zero issues. I use the PC app to create routes and upload and is all pretty straight forward. I actually use my phone in my back pocket running strava as my ride recording system though as it’s easier when you’ve finished to just press stop and save ride rather than mucking about with the garmin (the data is 99% identical anyway) i just find this less faff and being doing it this way for so long I cant be bothered to change my ways

[Piginapoke]

Hard-Drive said:

Thanks...but do I need a speed sensor on the Garmin or not?

I’ve a 530. It’s excellent, you don’t need a speed sensor. GPS more than sufficient

[gazzarose]

I've only just started doing a bit of road cycling (Borrowing my FiLs winter bike to do a bit of fitness through the lock down, and actually quite enjoying it) after only doing a limited amount on my MTB. I was using a temperamental Cateye Strava on that and was missing having the basic readouts on the road bike. My FiL asked on his club whatsapp group if anyone had an old Garmin I could buy, and one of his mates gave me an old 200 for nothing. I've done just shy of 300 miles with it now, and to be honest has been everything I really need. Average speed is the main one for me along side distance, although I have been fiddling with the course following bit on it, whilst not brilliant for navigation, has a virual rider on it which is a good mental incentive to help me push on if he's beating me. Because the 200 is an old base model it needs plugging into a PC to sync with strava, which is easy enough, and its the main method I've been using to record my rides if I'm just staying local. If I'm going a bit further I tend to use my phone as well so that I can put my Strava beacon on so the Mrs can feel a bit easier about how I'm getting on. If I keep it up I think I will upgrade to a later one at some point, but for now it's doing a top job.

Just as a aside, if you get a second hand one, make sure you completely wipe it before using it or you'll suddenly have gained a few thousand miles on Strava for free. Ask me how I know! I had to deleted 150 rides one by one, that was great fun! It's not enough to just do a factory reset, which is what I did, you need to delete the activity files from the unit manually. The factory reset just resets settings not data!

[keith2.2]

No need for a speed sensor with a GPS headunit - however they're benefitial in areas of weak signal, or if you're going up something steep as they are prone to thinking you've stopped if you're at walking pace on a 25%er.

[Hard-Drive]

Well, had a bit of mission creep and went with the 830 as Garmin had a decent offer on.

The Garmins are the only ones that seem to be universally liked on tests (although the Wahoo seemes to do well too)...I'm not fussed about HRM etc for now so I've not bothered with all the sensors, however what I really want is good turn by turn mapping and the Garmins scored very well here, ditto integration with other 3rd party systems. So I was set on the 530 but the button navigation seemed a faff, so the touchscreen of the 830 seemed like the way to go. I think the confidence of buying from a big company such as Garmin won me over. We shall see how it (and I!) perform!