Bike Gadgets....

How in the world do you ladies always have the cool data about how much climbing you did, what the grade of the climb was and the cool graphs showing the elevation profile?

I prefer a less spendy gadget where possible ;) and I'm not sure I want a heart rate feature necessarily (I pretty well know where my limits are and I don't want another gadget to monitor - I prefer to enjoy the ride...) But...I've been thinking of trying to train for much longer events with more climbing and I really feel like I need to get a better feel for it.

So...what's the preferred gadget??

Carrie Anne

(Gee thanks Nanci and Running Mommy - I have a feeling I'm about to get myself in really deep;))

After a year of gearlust I finally caved and snapped up a used Polar S720i on eBay for a reasonable price. And by reasonable, I mean I paid $250 for the watch, speed unit, and cadence sensor. Full retail is around $300 for the watch plus another $60 for the cadence sensor.

"But honey, look how much money I saved!" :rolleyes:

I've finally figured out how to operate the equipment, which was a little bit of a learning curve. I really like coming home from a ride and loading the data into my computer to figure out "what went wrong!" :p And I'd have to say one of my favorite things is the calories burned estimate which is really helping me get an idea of how much I need to eat to fuel my riding. The other night I bonked halfway through my commute home and it was quite obvious. You can literally see on the graph where my heartrate just fell and couldn't get back up again.

Now I'm just trying to work out the details of how to actually train using the HRM. There are some interesting books on amazon about heart rate training, anybody have a recommendation?


ETA: For plotting routes, I like to use http://www.gmap-pedometer.com

Altitude is the key for me. I have a HAC 4, and I love to see the number of feet of climbing I have done on a particular ride. It's interesting to see the effect of climbing on my overall mph, and to compare rides. I also like being able to track % grade at times.

This also has a HRM, cadence and estimated power output, but I don't use those functions.

Sarah,

Is HAC the brand name? I've not heard of that one but it sounds like something I'd like to check out!! :D

Tracy

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Originally Posted by tprevost

Sarah,

Is HAC the brand name? I've not heard of that one but it sounds like something I'd like to check out!! :D

Tracy

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Oh - its Ciclosport.

You might also want to consider a Garmin portable GPS. It also records all that information, shows you the route and the elevation gain.

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Originally Posted by bcipam

You might also want to consider a Garmin portable GPS. It also records all that information, shows yout eh route and the elevation gain.

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My husband just got the Garmin 205 (the 305 has HR and cadence). He really likes it, and it has a good computer interface with maps. I understand you can tie it into Google Earth also to recreate your routes.

All I do is ride my bike and not get off, that's nothing special! It's fun!!!

Nanci

We use Mapsource and Topo USA. We can plot a route on the computer and it tells you mileage and then you can also look at elevation profiles. The maps can be downloaded to the GPS. We use the Etrex by Garmin. Its kind of a neat little tool. Especially around here where half the roads aren't marked and there are some nasty climbs. Also if one of us is out alone the other one at home has a map of the route in case of emergency.

I just got the garmin forerunner 305(without cadence). I'm still playing with it but so far like it. I find the total climbing that it reports is somewhat questionable but everything else seems to work pretty well. I have a problem with my heart rate going to high so it's nice to be able to constantly monitor it.

Shelley

I have a Polar 720 and love it. You can upload the information to your laptop via the infrared "eye." It's great.

let's see..... hubby originally had the HAC4.... had many issues with it... had to get it warrantied numerous times... finally had a new one sent to us.. but in the meantime i got into cycling and wanted (and got) the polar s720i.... well... he decided he's had so many problems with the HAC4.. he wanted an s720i, too :rolleyes:

we both really liked the polar (i have 2 other polar HRM's that i like too... well.. one i don't use anymore.. but i LOVE my F11 fitness one!)

then garmin came out with the edge.... naturally we both had to get that!

i would recommend either the polar or the garmin.... i can't recommend the HAC4 cuz of all the issues!

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Originally Posted by Nanci

All I do is ride my bike and not get off, that's nothing special! It's fun!!!

Nanci

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I'm with you - I had a computer - it fell off two years ago and I've never replaced it... I have a heart rate monitor but I use it for spin class. When I ride I don't care how fast, how far, how high I go, I just want to go....

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
I must not read this board, it's extremely bad for my bank balance (but great for my psyche!).
Been following this thread and have now found myself lusting after the Garmin Edge 305!
Thankfully my current situation means that I can only press my nose up against the glass for the foreseeable future and it remains on my wishlist, but gotta have something to aspire to!
The thought of not having to take a route book out with me on unfamiliar rides is really appealing (as is all the geeky data!).
For those who have the Garmin - a quick question - how easy is it to download maps. I'll be downloading UK ones and wondered if the sources you use are mainly for the US (though I don't suppose you'll have noticed, if it has what you want!).
Hopefully by the time I do get round to getting one, they might have fixed the calorie bug, but I guess it's a small problem considering the wealth of info it seems to offer otherwise.

Can you still use a wireless cycle computer without getting interference? I read some reviews that suggest that there isn't a total distance feature and some other things that I like...so I would have to have 2 computers...

I would *love* to have one of the Garmins, but I don't think that's in my budget right now either.....being a semi-employed person doesn't pay all that well... ;)

A question for those of you who don't use altimiters (I have to have a distance reading to follow cue sheets...) - if you're training for a ride with lots of climbing, how do you ensure that you're climbing enough??? I know I need to ride all the hills I can find, but I wonder whether that will be sufficient for some of the rides I'd like to train for this summer...

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

Can you still use a wireless cycle computer without getting interference? I read some reviews that suggest that there isn't a total distance feature and some other things that I like...so I would have to have 2 computers...

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When I was first setting up the Polar I was getting some weird readings that might have been from the other wireless computer. But, once everything was adjusted right I ran with two computers for a while and they both worked fine. I eventually took off the other one because I didn't want the clutter (two transmitters on the fork and two computers on the handlebar).

It's true that there is no "total distance elapsed" display on the Polar 720. I don't know about other models like the 625, etc. For the kind of riding I'm doing (commuting or going on known routes) I actually haven't missed the total distance feature. I plan my routes with gmaps-pedometer and generally know how far I'm going. I can see how that might be a problem on long rides and especially when following cue sheets. I'm still keeping my second computer around to put back on whenever necessary for those types of events.

I went to gmap.pedometer.com and loved it. No more hill surprises. One of my students mapped out a gravel road route for me, and a 5 mile portion was just insane hills! I asked him about it the next day and he just smiled and said, "oh, yeah, I don't pay attention to hills in my truck". I don't think my little Neon would have even made it on that road! Thanks for the heads up on the site. It's great!