what to replace old dead bike computer with?

[::: :::]

Yeah, I think the two sided crank setup is kind of cool for super detailed metrics, but, as you say, ultimately not any more useful than the single for the type of metric I’m really after: ftp to help guide improvement & overall fitness
It’s not a therapy bike

[smartyiak]

Not a Pioneer!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/...-possible.html
(Great rant though!)


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[Pinned]

Wahoo Element Bolt is the best head unit for most people - there is nothing better unless you want to spend $500. I'd go Wahoo over Garmin - better phone integration and better battery life. My Garmin 820 was one of the worst devices I've ever owned and Garmin only managed to make it worse over time with their software updates - was very glad to sell it. I have heard the Garmin 530/830 are better, but I am very happy with the Wahoo after a year or so of use.


For the power meter - Stages and 4iiii both work reliably. If you are doing a left side arm you won't notice the devuce at all and the reading is accurate enough to be good as long as you don't have some sort of big discrepancy between right and left legs. You do need to calibrate these prior to every ride - takes less than 30 seconds if everything pairs up quickly. I have a Gen 3 Stages power meter arm that's been pretty good - no issues beyond needing to re-pair it once or twice. I'd say the Stages is more accurate than my Rotor power meter as well. Quarq is probably the other one I'd consider if you have a SRAM crankset and wanted a spider based meter.


TLDR: Wahoo Element Bolt + Stages / 4iiii are inexpensive and reliable.

[huckbucket]

Not a Pioneer!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/...-possible.html
(Great rant though!)


Sent from my iPad using TGR Forums

I have a Pioneer single-sided Dura Ace arm and it's been great. Got it for a song. I just pair it with my Garmin head unit. Yes, the Pioneer computer world is dead.

[RShea]

I had a Sigma Wireless unit that when it worked was all I thought I needed for a few years. Similar to the Cateye in that it was not any GPS and used CR-2032 batteries in all the sensors (speed and then a Cadence sensor that I ended up having break a few times- so just ran the speed sensor for a few years.) During warranty the cycle computer quit working properly and they sent me a replacement for that. I then used that for a number of years and did not think much about it other than there were times I wished I had the working cadence but that sensor was selling for too much money to just replace that. Then after a number of years, the head unit showed low battery and even after replacing the battery and testing voltages it showed low battery still.....

I moved on to a used Garmin 800 for the better route recording. It was pretty much what I would say is all I needed- speed, has an option for cadence sensor and heart rate. It does not have every feature the newest ones with fall or incident detection, and some other things they have added to their newest units (x30 series.)
There are some that love the 500 series- specifically because it does most of the 8x0 series except it does not have a touch screen)

Only issue you have to watch for on a used unit is the battery life and of course many do upgrade to the latest and greatest so sell their Garmin x10, Garmin x20 series) because they want the newest x30 series unit.)
Everyone that I have talked to that has a Elemnt Bolt series loves their unit.

[mono]

so i upgraded a few years back to the garmin edge 520 - i think the most recent one is the 530 - i like it, it's simple, has a super clean look as there are no speed sensors or anything like that, and it's easy to use - i can switch it to the mountain bike and bc the speed distance are all from gps it works for that too

all the head units suggested in this thread are going to work and work well compared to the sigma, i rode a ton in the late 80s til early 2000s and it's a different world now when it comps to computers and tech

i put a power2max powermeter on the bike as well, NGeco Road Powermeter – Power2Max North America between that and the garmin you'd be right around $1k - all the guys i used to race with that still ride somewhat seriously use quarq powermeters - for crank based i don't think there's much difference between those, i hear good and bad on the stages as far as accuracy goes - i know sky uses them for racing - but that's probably a bigger discussion

whoever mentioned DC Rainmaker - its def the best resource - a bit lengthy for my needs but the guy is always spot on

[ts01]

.... My Garmin 820 was one of the worst devices I've ever owned and Garmin only managed to make it worse over time with their software updates - was very glad to sell it. I have heard the Garmin 530/830 are better, but I am very happy with the Wahoo after a year or so of use....

Yes - the 830 is better than the 820, by a lot. Meaning, it doesn't freeze up, it does what you ask it to do. But it's still not so good that I actually like it, as I'd say about every Garmin product I've ever dealt with. When it dies, then I'll switch to Wahoo, I've heard nothing but good things.

[Pinned]

Yes - the 830 is better than the 820, by a lot. Meaning, it doesn't freeze up, it does what you ask it to do. But it's still not so good that I actually like it, as I'd say about every Garmin product I've ever dealt with. When it dies, then I'll switch to Wahoo, I've heard nothing but good things.

The Garmin 820 pissed me off nearly every single ride. I stopped using it for about half of my riding because it was too much work to deal with just getting it to sync (which it did flawlessly for the first 2 years and then suddenly just refused to do with any regularity). The first 2 years were punctuated with freezes, crashes, restarts...but reliable syncing. The entire time it got pretty poor battery life - nowhere near claimed. Turn on the routing function and it would be a blessing if it made it 4 hours.

Wahoo, on the other hand, has been great in all regards. Syncing is solid, screen is easy to read, easy to interact with the device, phone interface / integration with all the apps is awesome. RideWithGPS, Strava, etc all just work well. I just went out for 4 hours, with routing on the entire time - had 70% battery when I left and 42% remaining right now. I wouldn't have dared try that with my Garmin...would have needed to bring a battery backup.

Elemnt Bolt is the best $280 you could spend on your bike IMO. Opens up lots of new riding possibilities.

[M_R]

Posts got tldr, but I replaced the same Cat eye unit 2 years ago with a Lezyne GPS unit, about 60% the cost of the high end Garmin and Element stuff on the market at the time and I couldn’t be happier with it, even came with a heart rate monitor too boot I have been rocking their supper high quality pumps for about a decade so gave the head unit a try, no colour or flashy features like rear radar, but has most modern features you need