dwmckee

I bought an old Bob Jackson touring bike (7 speed Campy) last fall as a 'fun' bike for casual riding and started riding it for short trips, etc as is with no computer, just gears and a water bottle cage. Quickly I found I really enjoyed riding this bike to the point that it is now about the only thing I ride anymore. I have weaned myself from the computer and tracking miles, speed and cadence and now simply go out with no plan and just ride like I feel, no distance plan, speed goal or cadence targets. Wow. I found that after riding with a computer for so many years that computer-less is much more enjoyable and I just ride to enjoy. I am curious, has anyone else thrown out the computer?

Bah Humbug

But if it's not tracked... did it happen?

shoota 

You're doing it wrong. There's room for both computer and computer-less riding. But I'm glad you're having fun!

JohnDThompson 

Yup.

rjones28 

I didn't have a computer on my bike for a couple of years recently. I had to start wearing a watch.

enjoi07

Got rid of my cateye for a while, came back strong with a Garmin!

TrojanHorse

Let me know when you start riding speedplay pedals with no shoes. Now that's purity.

BykOfALesserGod

I can't do it. I don't race or anything but I like tracking my progress.

David Bierbaum

Cyclocomps are like cell-phones. They demand your attention when they don't really need your attention, and take your attention away from all that other stuff you could be paying attention to on your ride.

Of course, I think there should be a happy medium, such as taking along the comp... but with a cover over it for the ride, and you can read your averages at the breaks in your trip. Or leave the comp detached during your "viewing of the lawns" rides, where you gawk at the miniature botanical gardens put out by those folks with crazy good green thumbs...

DinoShepherd

Absolutely zero electronics on the bike.

I will admit that nowadays it doesn't even matter. I finish a ride and ask someone else what our distance and elevation was. So there is no particular pride in it.

sced

Computers would spoil the clean look of my classics, but my relatively ugly modern bikes have simple computers. I like to see how fast I'm going and how far I went, but that's all.

Homebrew01

The novelty of a computer wore off long ago for me. Except for structred workouts with a powermeter.
Easy enough to track my hours by looking at a clock before and after.

knobster

I took mine off as well. I do use them sometimes, but only for organized rides and only to keep track of distance so I don't miss turns. I have found that it's slowed my pace and I've spent more time looking at things I would miss before because I was worried about keeping my average speed up. Never understood why I was so worried about that when I wasn't racing.

stilltooslow

No electronics here either. I ride hard, but am not concerned with comparisons between rides. It frees me up to go as hard or easy as I please, and really lets me experience the unencumbered joy of riding. I've been riding long enough to gauge my conditioning and approximate mileage quite accurately.

IlPadrino

I use my smartphone with Strava to track my rides. It doesn't take away any focus during the ride, but I really enjoy looking at my performance on segments and tracking overall efforts. Does anyone else use Strava?

Mountain Mitch

I have enough trouble operating the computer that lets me be on this forum. Why would I want to screw up a perfectly good ride with one? I think computers bring out the obsessive/compulsive tendencies in most riders. Live in the moment. Enjoy the ride!

datlas 

I pitched the computer years ago. More fun.

But I must confess that I started using the Strava app on my iPhone, I don't look at it during the ride but afterwards it's useful to track miles, segments, and to socialize a bit.

Whizzer283

I started riding with a Garmin 500 to measure my cadence. Now that I know how a 90 PPM pace feels like, I've ditched the Garmin. Like others, I found the computer distracting and the heart rate monitoring useless. I do ride with an iPhone and spare battery in a jersey pocket or saddle bag. My favorite apps are Strava and Cyclemaster which I check out after my ride is over.

Leinster

I didn't look at my cateye today at all. Well, maybe once to see how quick the group was going. I even forgot to check my average when I got home, and compare it to what Strava said.

Elevation

That is soo hard. The worst by far

ricohman

I ride with a laptop..............

Vlaam4ever

It's called riding naked and feels nice, until you care about more than having fun on a bike. I rode all of 2012 without a computer. It was awesome!!! I rode where I wanted, when I wanted, as fast as I wanted, as slow as I wanted. I talked to riders, I talked on the phone, I talked to myself, I pulled over when I wanted picked up a lunch or candybar when I wanted. I estimate I logged between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. I'm not sure and I dont care.

In March 2013 I purchased a garmin 500. I love it!!! I track my miles, hours, elevation gained, heart rate, riding buddies. Anything and everything I want. I'm stronger and much more goal oriented this year, so measurements work. Last year they were furethest form my mind. I think the moral is, you can do what you want, and you have the tools to achieve it.

hallux

Reading this has me reconsidering spending money on a computer. I have a Garmin GPS watch for tracking the workout, the computer would be redundant it seems.

JBHoren

Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont / Open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant

BykOfALesserGod

I think that for this thread's purposes, your Garmin is considered a computer.