Just got a bike computer for my birthday...

[Kalidurga]

I ended up having a love/hate relationship with my computer. At first, it was very helpful in learning how to use cadence and that made it possible for me to increase the distance I was able to ride. And seeing that increase in mileage was definitely cool.

But then I got too caught up in the numbers, to the point that I felt like I could never relax and coast because it'd screw up my average speed. Or if I got off the bike to walk, I had to disengage the computer so it wouldn't mess up my speed, but then that messed up my mileage. So for me, that data went from being useful and cool to hampering my enjoyment of the ride. Since the computer taught me what optimal cadence feels like, I took the thing off and happily went back to not analyzing my riding.

Like so many other aspects of cycling, whether a computer is helpful for you depends on you. Are you a numbers cruncher, in training, or just riding for the heck of it? Will you learn from the data or become obsessed with it? The best way to find out is to install it and give it a try.

[tctrek]

I love my bike computer - Garmin 705 Edge. I could see where you could easily start a competition with yourself via the computer and where it could spoil the fun of the ride. But, I am a data geek and I have a hard time judging how I did on a ride, so I use the data to congratulate myself for how well I did! I try, although sometimes not successful, not to beat myself up on days when the data isn't as good as I would like it to be.

One big plus, is I have seen my improvement month-over-month and it just makes me want to be on my bike even more!

[skhill]

I am utterly addicted to my computer... not that I have any particular use for the data! But it's just plain cool to know when you're over the speed limit (not that it happens often). And when I'm riding in the dark and can't see it, I feel a bit lost.

Where I've found it useful is in bike maintenance. When I realized recently that I had 2000 miles on my tires, I gave them a good look, and yup, they're looking like they ought to be replaced. I might not have paid attention until something went wrong otherwise.

[Sadie]

I'm going to install it now...excited!

[szsz]

Lame info? Goodness no!

Info about a lame avg, well, sometimes, but always good info. Love my computer[s]. I even have redundancy!!

[aeiea]

Do bike computers have a GPS in them? I'd only find it useful (at least since I'm not in training, don't know if the OP is) if, say, my bike got hurt and needed the closest bike shop.

I was also thinking of getting a mount for my iPhone and using that instead of a computer. There are some iPhone cycling apps out there.

[uforgot]

I had a GPS on my phone, and man did it ever eat away at the battery life!

[OakLeaf]

You could have six external battery packs for your iPhone for the price of an Edge 705 with the maps...

I love love love my Garmins, just got a new 310XT for running in fact, but they're for sure not cheap.

What uforgot said about the iPhone. My DH has one, and if he turns on location services (GPS), the battery doesn't even last 24 hours. If you had the screen on for the whole duration of a several-hour ride... I don't even know if the battery would last that long! I'm not sure how sensitive the iPhone GPS antenna is, either.

I just read about a solar charging sleeve for an iPhone - but the PV panel goes on the back of the sleeve, obviously, so it probably wouldn't work in a bike mount anyway.