Riding With a Bicycle Computer

One of the first accessories you'll want to install on your bike is a bicycle computer.  They are fairly inexpensive, starting out at about ten dollars with the price going up from there depending on features.  The amount of riding information you'll get from a bicycle computer is nothing short of amazing.

Typical Features:
The bicycle computer that I'm currently using is typical of most modern computers, showing the speed, ride time, distance, current temperature, and time on the main screen.  Additionally, it'll show whether you're riding faster or slower than the average speed recorded.  The second screen, which you get to by pushing the computer forward in its mount, shows the top speed and average speed ridden.  The third screen has an odometer that shows total the total distance ridden on the bike and doesn't reset unless you reset it when you set up the computer.


Additional Features:
Some bicycle computers have additional features such as cadence and heart rate, but require additional hardware for these functions to work.  One of my bicycle computers has the cadence feature.  It is a wired computer and has an additional wire with a magnetic pickup that goes on one of the chainstays near the pedal.  There's a magnet that goes on the crank arm near the pedal, and that's how it keeps track of your cadence.  A bicycle computer with a heart rate monitor requires a heart rate monitor strap with a wireless sensor mounted to it to keep track of your heart rate when riding.

Wired or Wireless:
The wireless bicycle computers are easier to install since there aren't any wires to run and attach to the bike.  Additionally, they can be moved from one bike to another a lot easier.  The bicycle computer I'm currently using on my road bike is wireless.  It works great, however a strong WiFi signal can interfere with it.  The speed on the display will show an E until I get out of range of the WiFi signal and when I go in to check my maximum speed It says that I went 87 miles per hour.

The wired computers are a little bit harder to install but may have an edge as far as reliability as long as one of the wires doesn't get cut.

Other considerations when choosing a bicycle computer:

• Some computers can be used for a second bicycle by pushing a button, usually located somewhere out of the way like on the bottom of the unit so it won't accidentally get pushed.  If you want to use the bicycle computer on more than one bike you'll have to buy an additional mount and wheel sensor for your second bike.
• If you're going to use the bike on a bike trainer you'll need a bike computer that mounts the magnet and sensor so it gets the signal from the rear wheel, since the front wheel doesn't turn.

Once installed, the only maintenance a bicycle computer seems to require is a change of batteries (every one to three years) and re-alignment of the magnetic sensor when it gets misaligned.  Make sure to keep the instructions in a safe place as you'll need them to set up the computer again whenever you change the batteries.  I've had four bicycle computers over the years and all functioned superbly.  In fact, I still have them and all of them still work.