Originally Posted by
Toespeas
the only use for a garmin or wahoo would be a hard ride or race , as far as functions go , a 30 dollar android phone can do everything you need while cycling , and if strava brought back heart rate i might be tempted to pay and use my phone to record races .
i guess dedicated computers can be a bit more accurate with gps , maybe cyclocross or MTB races would be best recorded with a watch ( a few cx racers in the pros had those watches ) , some are kind of more compact than a phone , BUT compare a 30 to 200 phone to a 100 to 400 dollar cycling computer and over all the phone wins every time . reply with any reason to choose a gps computer over a phone .
RANT : i mean does the 400 dollar wahoo roam even have a sd card slot to store and load maps and routes , i personally bought a garmin 520 because ti was in my price range, i thought it would be great for nav and routes but this thing sucks the battery only lasts 8 hours and it cant even hold 100 MBs of map data , doesn't have official functionality for map loading , i have to make separate folders and swap out my map sections just to get a map on screen and there is still no real time navigation , it cant play music or do turn by turn as well as my phone can but on my 30 dollar phone i have a full gps for free , why do these gps computers even exist , it would be beyond easy to add an SD card slot and expand storage , ok rant over , i still feel i should have spent the 150 on a new phone dedicated to my bikes
Raced and trained for many years with a "wired" computer starting with Cateye Solars. When the last Solar died (mountain bike), I bought a Garmin C20, refurbished for about $80.00 and it gives me a whole new dimension to my rides. The elevation feature is especially good, and I could do away with the wheel sensor. And the C20 is as small and unobtrusive as any wired computer I had. It's easy for me to read while on the bike (I have readers in my XXI sunglasses). The other thing is that I can review my rides on-line and see the differences among the three bikes (race, touring and mountain) over similar terrain. Personally, I think a cell phone mounted a bike is way too obtrusive and tempts one to concentrate more on the phone than riding the bike. I carry a phone on my bike, but ignore it if it rings. I'm riding. Mounted in front of you, you're tempted to answer it.Then your ride is interrupted. Maybe it's just me, but I started riding a bike when the only way to make contact was from a pay phone and I still like it that way. If I really needed a map, I'd throw one of my old Garmin $100 GPS's in my jersey and consult it when needed. Or just pull out my cellphone from the frame pack. Then mess with it for a while, when I should be riding. Usually, I know the route in advance.
If you really hate GPS's, I'll send you one of my old wired computers, maybe an Avocet or Nashbar. you'll need to furnish batteries.