goplutus

What data fields do you put on your computer for a crit?

Ex.
-Power (3 sec smooth?)
-HR
-Speed
-Cadence
-Elapsed Time

topflightpro

I put a piece of tape over my computer, so I see nothing. I don't really find much need for data during a crit.

Power is somewhat relevant if I was off the front or trying to pace my way to a break. But really, the bigger question is, am I gaining on the break or the field. And if I'm not, well, I need to go harder if I want to get/stay away.

rubiksoval

I don't know how you'd have much time to look at a computer in a crit.

My default screen is time, power (3 sec), speed, then the little boxes with avg lap, np lap, avg lap speed, and hr.

I pretty much never look at it, though, in a race.

hack

I don't look at it much in a crit, but my "race' screen has:
-time
-power (3s)
-hr
-distance?


Occasionally, I do look down at the power when I'm in agony and see a low number and feel even worse.

mattm

speed & elapsed time only.

power, hr only tell me how much i am or should be hurting, don't do me any good in a crit.

ancker

Rarely have time to look down during a crit.
I have five pages total with everything you could imagine, but I have 2 with four simple fields for quick glances.

Race Page:
Power
Speed
Cadence
Distance

I have another one I'll sometimes switch to.

3s Power
Cadence
Lap Time
Power Zone

topflightpro

I should add that on my old computer, I did have a race screen set up. It was just elapsed time. Nothing else.

TheKillerPenguin

It doesn't much matter, I use my usual screen. The only time I actually look at it is when in a breakaway.

cold turtle

Speed
Elapsed Time
Lap Time
Last Lap Time
3s Power

Never really look at the last 3 unless I'm in a solo break.

Hida Yanra

elapsed time

bbbean 

Speed
Time
3 sec pwr
hr
last lap time

grolby

Yup. The only thing that's really any use is elapsed time, and if it's the kind of race where they start counting down laps really early, even that's worth much. All of the data is there if I happen to need it but I usually don't.

UmneyDurak

Only pay attention to time until lap cards come out.

carpediemracing 

I almost never look at the computer. For me the best thing would be to see if it's on or not. In more than a few races I've looked down at about 10 minutes to go and realized I must have knocked the speed sensor sideways because the computer was still sleeping. In many of them I've done well because I was busy racing, not looking at the computer. In 2015, my last real year of racing, I won one of those races and got 3rd in another one like that.

Having said that time and or distance would be good, based on if you're doing a time or distance based crit.

If you're into breaks and such then power/HR/etc count. I can't help you there.

Alaska Mike

-Elapsed time- only care about that in the last ten minutes of a race, when I think of it.
-3sec power- only care about that during a break/bridging (very rare).
-Heart rate- have no idea why I display it, because it only scares me.

I rarely look at the computer, because I'm not the breakaway kind of rider. My meager mental resources are consumed with positioning and trying to read the race. Math would just overload the system.

cpstwoart

I have two main ones that never change:

Elapsed time
Distance

Those are the two most valuable pieces of information, and they trade off depending on the type of crit in terms of importance. I never use the lap functions because I don't have time to be messing with my computer. You don't need to be thinking about how this lap was faster or slower. You just need to be keeping up with the surges and attacks, and focus more on race strategy. But I do have other data on my screen which I hardly use.

Power Zone: Pure power in a race is purely for ego. Know your zones so you know what you can sustain. This is valuable if you are on a breakaway or plan to bridge a big gap. You want to know what you can sustain and how long you can sustain it. This comes from your training though and often times in the short time spent racing in a crit all that stuff goes out the window.

Heart Rate Zone: I use this only to know if I am good to attack or start my sprint. Don't attack if you are already jamming in zone 4. You'll gas out, get caught, and then left behind. And I know if I am in zone 4 I need to be much more tactical about when I start my sprint. If I have been good about keeping something in the tank by skipping pulls and spending a little more time sucking wheels in the last two laps then I don't worry about this that much. But if I have been working harder then I can see it in my HR zone in the last km, and I put more energy into tactics over pure brawn.

Speed: I don't know why I have this there most of the time. It just gets into my head that I am going too slow or faster than I normally go when training. Speed is stupid and one day I will finally take it off my race screen. For now it is just there because change is hard. Haha.

I don't care about cadence. That's only for training. I don't care about power metrics because in crits it doesn't help you to know all that data. What would you use it for in a crit? Who cares about averages? Not me. It's not going to help me respond to attacks, prepare to attack, sustain a breakaway, set up for a sprint, etc. Averages are for egos. Power numbers (not zones) are for egos. Heart rate? Don't do it. That **** will scare you when you see yourself hitting a new max HR for five minutes. Time of day? What? Do you have a date? Gradient? Total ascent? That information does nothing but get in your head and slow you down.

spectastic

i keep my data fields the same on my 500, but only look at a few things during a race

elapsed time and distance for crits/road races.

avg lap power to understand what kind of effort i've been putting in

3s power to understand what kind of effort I'm putting in right now


time of day is also useful for before the race so i don't miss the start XD.

speed is useful when there's no wheel to follow, and I'm approaching a turn - fast.


the data fields that are on there that i don't use are heart rate, 10s power.

Creakyknees

a clock, large print

globecanvas

Warm up: power, time of day.

Crit: power, elapsed time.

Road race: power, distance.

Power for not blowing up in a break or a 2 to go type of attack, distance/elapsed time for seeing how much suffering is left.