Quote Originally Posted by mayanorange View Post
Looking into a computer, but I don't know if I should get cadence or not. LBS fitter said it's good on the trainer in the winter, but I hate wires everywhere so was going to go wireless (but can't afford wireless cadence). What's the benefit to cadence? Pushing yourself harder?
I cannot speak of the trainers because I do not use them - I use rollers in winter. But as per cadence - it is not necessary if you want to save some money and the wired models bother you. One option, if you have more than one bicycle, is to mount a cyclocomputer with cadence on one of them (your training bike), and regular wireless computers on the others. That is what I did: only one of my computers has cadence, and I have it mounted on my training bike. I like it because it is a good surrogate measurement if you do not have a power meter. I have used power meters in the past and now I sort of have an idea of my power output at a certain cadence and gear ratio - so to speak. So if you see your cadence when you train, soon you will start to develop a 'feel' for your rpm range, and when you ride a bicycle that does not have cadence you can still guestimate your cadence pretty accurately.
The wire is a hassle but if your LBS mounts the sensor properly it can run really close to the frame and you do not really see it. The cadence cyclocomputer I have is wireless with wired cadence, and the wire cannot really be seen except for the part on the chainstay and the segment connected to the computer mount. And again, if it's on your training bike instead of your main bike, the look is not really the most important feature.
Not sure it helps but the one I bought is a Blackburn and it was fairly inexpensive, less than $100.
Good luck!