Subject: RE: Bike Computer Options Scooterific - 2012-05-15 6:35 AM I finally took the plunge and ordered a Kurt Kinetic trainer yesterday from Chainlove...smoking deal. This of course leads me to needing another purchase, a bike computer for use on the trainer that will also be used for road rides. I am trying to get something cheap, but not waste my money. What do you say BT? For trainer rides, looking for something mostly to track my cadence and mileage (if that is even realistic?). Ok- the aforementioned Cateye is a fine little computer that will do what you want. But- it's only a matter of time before you go GPS. There's just too much fun stuff you can do with one (Strava.com for instance). In the meantime, there are plenty of free or dirt cheap apps for your iphone/andriod. So, instead of getting a bike computer, just get a phone mount. The main disadvantage of using your phone is its limited battery life in GPS mode for long rides (~4hrs?) then, while you're enjoying your nice big illuminated display showing you all your numbers, you can think about getting a dedicated unit (like an Garmin Edge 500). But that's for the road... For the Trainer: Get an Ant+ USB plug (comes with any garmin) and a Garmin Speed/Cadence sensor, both about $35 but you can buy used to save $. Once you have these two items, go to TrainerRoad.com and sign-up. I believe it's free for 30 days, then $10/mo. It really changes your trainer experience if you plan on doing a lot of trainer rides. Basically, it lets you train via power profiles. very very cool. In the old days (like, uh last year), you'd need to spend $1500 on a computrainer to get this. Oh, a Heart Rate monitor is a great training tool as well. |