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bike computer display: what i need - aka my n=1

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bike computer display: what i need - aka my n=1

Old 07-03-21, 08:35 PM
  #1  
gios
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bike computer display: what i need - aka my n=1

Time, Speed, distance. Many rides I don't look at the display until the end when I click the NE button to stop.

Less bells and whistles means longer run time.

(bottom from manual) The 130 seems the closest with b&w shut off.

Maybe Garmin reads these?





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Old 07-04-21, 12:10 AM
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XOSS G+
. I've written about it in other threads in this forum. Best value in no-frills GPS wireless bike computers at the moment. If you use any Bluetooth or ANT+ sensors be sure to get the G+, not the G. The G is only $29, but the G+ MSRP of $49 is often discounted to around $35 via an Amazon coupon.

Long battery runtime per charge, especially with the backlight disabled.

It's about the same size and weight as many non-GPS/non-smart bike computers. I can read the display at a glance if I'm wearing my safety glasses with bifocal reading inserts (+1.25, I think).

Usually the only data I pay attention to during a ride is heart rate. If I'm aiming for a specific ride distance I might glance at the mileage occasionally, especially if I'm improvising a century or metric century route. I don't usually plan longer rides, partly because road conditions might force a change of plans.

It also has built in thermometer and barometer for elevation, but neither is particularly accurate. The thermometer is fine at night and overcast days, but on hot sunny days it seems sensitive to reflected heat from the pavement and often reads 10 degrees too high.

And barometric pressure elevation guesstimates are usually pretty rough. After uploading ride data from the XOSS app to Strava my elevation graphs are stair-stepped. So I click the elevation adjustment option on Strava via the browser (not available on the app) to correct and smooth out the elevation, per Strava's extensive database.
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Old 07-04-21, 09:35 AM
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I’ve not used either model specifically, but the Bryton Rider 15 Neo and Lezyne Macro Easy are another two entry-level/basic GPS units which may be worth looking into. They’re in the $70-$80 range, so not as inexpensive as the Xoss linked above, but they’re both well established companies, which might give some confidence in purchasing. It also seems impressive that Rider 15 utilizes all the satellite networks I’m aware of— GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS— to ensure stability and accuracy.
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Old 07-04-21, 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by gios
Less bells and whistles means longer run time.
You sure about that? The calculations to derive other stats are trivial. Bike computers that run off rotation counters could function for months or years on coin batteries, even if they showed more stats. Cateye still makes them.

A lot of bike computers use GPS instead these days, because GPS chips have gotten cheap. It saves the manufacturer the expense of including the rotation-counter hardware, and saves the customer the trouble of installing it and calibrating it. It also looks cleaner. GPS chips are pretty efficient, but not as efficient.
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Old 07-05-21, 09:14 AM
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So what are you talking about?

I don't look at my Garmin Edge 530 much either. Pretty much like you I start the timer then turn it off at the end of the ride and look at my data after the bike is put away. Sure I might glance at some gee-whiz info like my speed going down a hill or something else.

It does beep at me occasionally and I can see if I'm getting an important phone call or text message, so that's sort of nice.

But again, you might have to spell out what the heck your thread is about. I am sort of dense sometimes.
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Old 07-05-21, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by gios
Time, Speed, distance. Many rides I don't look at the display until the end when I click the NE button to stop.
You don't need a GPS for this.

The thing the GPS gives you in addition to this basic stuff is tracking your position. If you don't care about that, GPS is overkill.
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Old 07-05-21, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
So what are you talking about?

I don't look at my Garmin Edge 530 much either. Pretty much like you I start the timer then turn it off at the end of the ride and look at my data after the bike is put away. Sure I might glance at some gee-whiz info like my speed going down a hill or something else.

It does beep at me occasionally and I can see if I'm getting an important phone call or text message, so that's sort of nice.

But again, you might have to spell out what the heck your thread is about. I am sort of dense sometimes.
I too am lost. Is it a question or are you telling us something, OP?
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