Ditching My Bike Computer

I've been riding with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt v2 for the past year and a half. While it's useful, I realized that I have more fun on my bike riding without it. Here's why I'm ditching my bike computer for good.

🚲 Wabi Cycles - Bikes that are so good, they're the only bikes I own:

✨ The Track Specific Chain Gang Bracelet:

📹 zachy (My 2nd Channel):

📷 Instagram:

🧡 Join the Reasonably Dangerous Strava Club:

🚴🏽 Catch my rides:

0:00 - Riding Is Less Fun
1:25 - Makes Me More cOmPeTiTiVe
4:02 - I'm Always Looking Down
6:37 - Sponsor: Wabi Cycles
7:34 - It's Annoying

#fixedgear

[arjay]

Stopped using mine since last year. Going by “feeling” is the best! Cheers from Manila!

[galenkehler]

A true track rider would be riding with the computer mounted under your seat where you cant see it.

[WCIIIReiniger]

I get your point.
For me it is essential to navigate on a new route and I use my powermeter to measure my performance and to manage my energy and recovery. Also I am a number guy.
Btw. you can turn off most of the annoying noises.

[hernehill]

Me too, but for fun interval workouts I rubber band a cheap analog Timex watch with a sweep second hand to my bars. Hard effort/high revs for 30 seconds, easy/low 90 for recovery, and repeat. Or a balls out sprint for 10 and then 50 easy. Love that little sweep hand. An analog watch on vintage steel looks cool too.

[kolpakken]

I love my Wahoo! I'm also not a competitive cyclist and just keep the roadie features and sounds disabled. Its so customizable that a lot of the negatives you point out can simply be turned off. I keep things like ride time, moving time, temperature, sunset/sunrise time etc on the stats page and then just leave the map up. I also love the integration with bike lights.

[Charusel]

Every time I think I want a bike computer, my Garmin watch reminds me that its tracking all of the important stuff for someone who bikes for fitness. To me the computer can be a gateway drug into the world of "performance everything". You'll see the numbers then suddenly you want lighter components, more aerodynamic everything then next thing you know, you're on a 15k bike yet, you haven't peaked physically.

[newoldsteel]

Dude, PREACH! I cannot stand a screen in my vision when I ride, and only record for time purposes on my Apple Watch which I also kind of hate lol. Going by feel makes the ride WAY more fun. Especially cycling shouldn’t be electronic anything (other than bike lights)!

[rident]

Gonna drop the helmet mirror next - too close to being another screen!! :D

No, I feel ya. I got mine as a gift and I turn off and trim out a lot of features/displays from it. I turn off all the audio notifications I can. Climb half screen and only when on a climb. Map screen is main screen. Stats screen is sunrise/set, time of day, speed, and next turn if on a planned route. Music screen to control my bluetooth speaker when I'm using it. I also have drink reminders turned on. So I admit, I only use like 10% of the thing and also wonder about the value of it. I don't want to wear a watch though and phones are too big and distracting IMO for mounting on bars and enjoying the experience.

Bike computers just do not serve the casual/commuter market very well today. They are setup to be a personal trainer, a lifestyle device, a gamification tool for exercise and a statistical data collector. But I want a mapping tool that I rarely have to charge which can control my music and tell me how much longer I can be out party pacing it with my friends before the daylight is gone.

[NimbbleNuggets]

bike computers are good if you want to track kom or max speed like a roady. But its more fun without it 😂

[jonathangapay]

I bought my Garmin Edge 530 just for navigation, especially for new routes. Seeing my heart is a bonus when doing climbs.

[Archiconocido]

I use a simple speed-and odometer, and timer. That's all and more I ever needed as a solo rider.

[TannerValentine]

Not sure if it counts as a bike computer, but as a city biker I've loved having a tiny gps display so I can see my current speed and have an odometer. The speed is nice not for trying to stay fast, but just so I can actually quantify how different bikes/gear ratios/whatever impacts how I bike. I never knew how fast bikes can be before getting it! More importantly though, I LOVE having an odometer because its fun to see my weekly mileage, but also because it gives me a great idea of the amount of miles I've put on different parts so I can appropriately service parts at good intervals.

[lovesowing]

I have a Beeline, it's great for maps and doesn't feel like it's pushing me to ride faster or anything like that. Big fan, would totally recommend if you still want a map on your bike!

[jedi.knight]

i never graduated from strava. been riding fixed since 2012 and stopped caring about recording my rides a few years ago, way to easy to forget to hit record lol. also came to the realization that nobody cares, as long as you ride your bike :)

[sflores]

I just use a Garmin watch which I check before and after my ride. Push start at the beginning of the ride and then save at the end of the ride. The stats important to me are my heart rate and the time of day. Getting up in age so I have to watch those.

[Brian_Jones]

I’ve gone through this same mental process many times, removing and replacing the computer. I’m currently in a phase where it’s removed and I’m pretty sure it’ll be permanent. Computers lead to me getting burnt out which then causes me to take time off my bike instead of just riding because I love it, no matter how far or short or fast or slow the ride is.

[mohongzhi]

Not really use my 1030P for years. Most fun ride is no data under my nose (although i will always record any ride with my fenix watch anyway) and put my watch in my pocket (yes i still use a heart rate strap). Nowadays i find it's still good to use my edge on the map page and together with a clock and heart rate on map page, that's all when i do most rides. It's always have my position on the map that won't kill any fun.

[akaraikiriakatsuki]

XD It's pretty useful if you tried to like it.

You can manually pause it to avoid it making sounds, start it again when you are about to start riding.

There are times that I was about to enter a corner and I have to check the speed to know how much brake I should apply and when to apply to exit the turn safely.

PS I am using a significantly cheaper computer.

[tommyofastora]

Great vid! Sucks that my Wahoo turned out to just be an expensive Strava tracker since the navigation is total ass. BUT the fact that I can ride all day in the city, eat food, ride more, take a rest, and have it all be on a single strava ride is dope. No worrying about my watch or phone being sucked dry is great.

[basilyashchenko]

The only reason I still have a bike computer is GPS navigation. I use it when I explore new routes. For the rest of my rides I leave it at home. I don`t need to control myself in order to not to grab it the last moment. I don`t look at it when it`s on my stem unless I have to look for a new turn. I customized the screen to only show my the map and current speed.