'Puters

[Torslanda]

Am I alone in being totally disinterested in ride data?

I own ITRO a dozen bikes in one form or another but a totally computer free zone. Does anyone else have no desire whatsoever to record the mileage, cadence, time in the saddle etc?

[citoyen]

IIRC Mr Nesbitt is of your way of thinking.

I'm the opposite - I now have a computer on each of the three bikes I use regularly. I enjoy cycling just as much without a computer, but having one adds another dimension to the experience.

d.

[ed_o_brain]

I'm having to get used to having no 'puter. My bike GPS and I have involuntarily parted company.
For mapping and route planning or just seeing where you have been, it was brilliant.
For seeing how far you climbed, a great morale booster.

What I miss most is using it to pace myself and arrive at my destination in good time. Especially useful if you don't know the route.

[toekneep]

I ditched my computers a couple of years ago but I invariably cycle with fiends that have them fitted and can't escape the end of ride statistics frenzy. OK it's nice to know how far you have ridden and sometimes it is satisfying to know the average speed but there is a danger that these things become more important than the experience of riding the bike. To discover that you haven't been as far as you thought or have travelled much more slowly than it felt can take the edge off what would have been a perfectly enjoyable ride. I have no plans to refit my bikes with them.

[Basil]

Although I have 'puters on three of my bikes, none of them have been re-set for ages.  So they don't really tell me anything at all except current speed.  I don't know why I still have them.  Habit, I s'pose.
If I took them off, I'd have to keep them somewhere.  And then I'd loose them. 

[Jaded]

I ditched my computers a couple of years ago but I invariably cycle with fiends that have them fitted

How very dare you!! 

[Jaded]

I log all my rides to a database I made.

I like databases. 

[redshift]

I have them for the basic speed-n-distance thing, but don't keep stats.  I took a picture when the tourer hit 10,000 last week just for the record,



but beyond that it just gives me an idea of how long things last until they fall off/break/wear out, or how far I've ridden on a day if I set out with no fixed distance in mind. 

[PaulF]

I log all my rides to a database I made.

I like databases. 

Me too

[Oaky]

I log all my rides to a database I made.

I like databases. 

Me too

<AOL>Me too!</AOL> 

[mr_brooks]

I like to review the elevation graph from Etrex after a hilly outing (almost always prompting "Boring! Your rides are always hilly" comments from my partner as I invite her to peruse my graph. What a fascinating companion I am).

I also like to see my track on a map just see where I've been if I've headed out into the wilds without a planned route, just seeing where the road/track/field takes me. Though what seems to happen often (as yesterday, in fact) is the times I don't bring the GPS are the times some friend takes me on an awesome, hard to find, little-known route that I then can't retrace.

The elevation plot can also motivate me on said hilly rides - it's great to see the total climbed ticking ever upwards.

Though sometimes, just jumping on the bike and not caring at all for numbers, statistics, pulse is the best thing for me...

[Biggsy]

I wouldn't mind not having a computer, except I like to know the number of miles ridden and not wearing a watch.  Average speed: I'd rather not know any more!

[citoyen]

To discover that you haven't been as far as you thought or have travelled much more slowly than it felt can take the edge off what would have been a perfectly enjoyable ride.

Conversely, if you're having a shit ride, it can really give you a boost to discover that you've done better than you thought...

Personally, I don't let the stats affect my enjoyment one way or the other. I ride mainly because I enjoy it. If I were only interested in measuring my performance, I'd go to a gym with decent cardio equipment and do it properly.

d.

[Jaded]

An addendum, my memory jogged from another thread.

In my database I indicate if a ride (or part of it) was done in place of a car journey. A sort of Greenness rating.

[Greenbank]

Phase I: No computers
Phase II: Computers on all bikes
Phase III: No computers, GPS mount on all bikes

No idea what Phase IV will be.

[MikeFromLFE]

I log all my rides to a database I made.

I like databases. 

Me too

<AOL>Me too!</AOL> 

Me too too.
(Excel with every ride since 1992, and little grey books before then)

[Kim]

I have a well-established gadget fetish, so I don't think I'm likely to want to go without a computer any time soon...

But I'm not really in it for the stats.  I occasionally check my average speed at the end of a particularly unusual ride to see if it was as fast/slow as it felt, but I certainly don't keep a record. (Though I have been paying more attention to this recently, to compare my darkside vs upright performance.  At some point that'll even out and I'll lose interest again.)

What I actually find I use it for most is the instantaneous cadence and temperature displays while I'm riding, as these are useful indicators of the level of stress on my Stupid Knee and Stupid Lungs respectively.  And the clock, when I've got a train or similar to worry about.

The overall odometer is handy for keeping track of component wear, and to see how much riding I've been doing generally (if only because people keep asking).

But what I really like are GPS tracks, for that peering-over-a-map-to-see-where-I've-been factor when I go somewhere new.  I *really* like peering at maps.  

[Sigurd Mudtracker]

I have computers on almost all my bikes/trikes, and one of them has 3 computers (one for speed/distance/time, one set up for cadence only, and a Garmin eTrex for navigation and route logging).  Only the hack bike doesn't have a computer but it still has a mounting bracket for the one I removed for thief proofing purposes years ago.

Primarily their uses are:

- tell me how far (or not) I've gone
- tell me how slowly I'm going
- tell me how low my averages are so I can beat myself up about it afterwards
- produce tracklogs to bore spouse with
- keep an eye on my workload by monitoring my cadence

Over the years I've become increasingly convinced than bike computers do not add to the sum of my happiness.  Most of the above uses have negative effects, if not being strictly unnecessary (after 30 years I know when I'm spinning at 100rpm).  I haven't however got to the point of going computer free as the geek instinct to know how far/how fast is a strong one to deny.

[GruB]

I enjoy keeping an eye on my heart rate too.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm just about to reconnect computers to both* my bikes. Mainly for current speed, overall distance, and trip distance when I'm going somewhere I've never been before. But I've been quite happy without them for a few years.

*Yes, only two. The price you pay for gallivanting around in forn parts, I think.