Computers: Cadence & Power

Sea.Jocky

Hi All,

I am new to all of this with receiving my bike only a few weeks ago, but am still stuck on which computer to get!

I am on a budget and would not like to spend heinous amounts, preferably sub £100. I am after a decent wireless computer with cadence and with power, hr is not essential.

I have so far found the CatEye stealth with Ant technology but is priced at £89 but then the Ant 'add ons' are an extra £49.

Is there something else out there that can give me wireless speed cadence and power cheaper?

Thanks

Monty Dog

To get a Power Output reading you'll need either a special hub, pedals or cranks - any of which will cost £700+ All the computers offer is the means to display the data sent from a power measuring device.

Sprool

as a newcomer you can spend £30 on a wired bontrager trip 3 computer and get cadence, speed, temperature, time.

Sea.Jocky

Thanks but i do actually want Cadence and some form of Power, i know about the extremely expensive power devices using strain guages on the cranks etc, but the ANT technology looked good to me, at least it will tell me some form of power even if it is not directly true to your power actual power output and uses other measuring techniques to help. Anything else out there?

marcusjb

ANT is just the wireless protocol for devices like power meters, heart rate monitors etc. to transmit data to a head end unit (the computer).

As others have said, you would then need a power meter (in the crankset, rear hub or pedals) - and that is where things get into the big bucks.

I don't know the cateye unit, but just because it has ant doesn't mean it will display power without a meter.

marcusjb

You can download data from the computer to strava and get it's estimates on power. It is crude at best, but if you think you need power data, it is a start.

Power is one of those things that is only worth doing the right way, and then knowing what to do with the data. I have found it a gamechanger for this year's goals, but will probably sell my powertap wheel at the end of the season and get back to just riding.

rolf_f

marcusjb wrote:

You can download data from the computer to strava and get it's estimates on power. It is crude at best, but if you think you need power data, it is a start.

Power is one of those things that is only worth doing the right way, and then knowing what to do with the data. I have found it a gamechanger for this year's goals, but will probably sell my powertap wheel at the end of the season and get back to just riding.

Is it even that? Or is it just a fantasy like the calorie calculations. I look at the power numbers I see on Strava and just think 'WTF'! I can't see how they can distinguish between a 15mph ride into a stiff headwind or a 15 mph tailwind ride spinning the cranks gently.

Maybe heart rate is a more useful tool. At least at the OPs level.

ai_1

I'd suggest taking a look at VDO computers. Better value and quality than Cateye in my opinion.
You'll be able to get a wireless one for <£50

As others have said you can't have power measurement without spending a LOT more than £100.
Heart rate monitoring can be used to serve some of the same purposes at a much lower cost but it's an indirect measure of "effort" as opposed to output. I still use HR monitoring because power is just too expensive for now. If there was a cheap version I'd be using it. There isn't.
Anyone promising you power measurement on the cheap is selling you snake-oil.

ANT+ is just a wireless communication protocol. It's the most common one used for sports equipment like HR straps, foot pods, power meters, speed and cadence sensors, etc. Garmin and many others use ANT+. Others use Bluetooth or their own proprietary protocol. ANT+ doesn't measure or calculate any data. It's just a way to pass it between devices.

slowbike

I'm not sure what these computers give to you that the cheapos from supermarkets don't ... perhaps a better screen?
I started off with a tesco cheapie - had speed and cadence - I think you can get wireless ones too. That coupled with the iPhone recording the ride in my pocket gave me enough to start with - I then went to GPS computer with the bells and whistles ...

Power - you won't get it live for your budget - best you can hope for is a rough guestimation from Strava - Strava is ok, but doesn't take into account drafting, wind, drag, outside assistance etc etc but you can use it to give you rough comparisons to your previous readings - don't bother comparing to anyone elses though ...

rolf_f

Ai_1 wrote:

I'd suggest taking a look at VDO computers. Better value and quality than Cateye in my opinion.
You'll be able to get a wireless one for <£50

I had a VDO. It stank. It was a poor replacement for the Lidl one I had previously bought. It was easier to programme than the Lidl but the screen options were less well designed, it was intermittently unreliable, the display fogged and went faint, there were less functions for three times the price and the mount broke in the end.

The only place it really was better than the Lidl was that that the buttons were sealed. The Lidl ones were rubbery and capable of sticking when grit got between the button and case. Nothing terminal though.

marcusjb

Rolf F wrote:

marcusjb wrote:

You can download data from the computer to strava and get it's estimates on power. It is crude at best, but if you think you need power data, it is a start.

Power is one of those things that is only worth doing the right way, and then knowing what to do with the data. I have found it a gamechanger for this year's goals, but will probably sell my powertap wheel at the end of the season and get back to just riding.

Is it even that? Or is it just a fantasy like the calorie calculations. I look at the power numbers I see on Strava and just think 'WTF'! I can't see how they can distinguish between a 15mph ride into a stiff headwind or a 15 mph tailwind ride spinning the cranks gently.

Maybe heart rate is a more useful tool. At least at the OPs level.

You are right, in many circumstances (group-riding, head/tailwinds, poor road surfaces, non-optimal tyre pressure, rusty drivechain etc.), I'd agree it is more fantasy than even the crude I suggested. But for a solo rider, in typical conditions, it is a fairly educated guess from Strava. They have access to more real world data from actual power meter users than anyone else, for them to model from.

But, it's really not fine-grained or real enough to actually do anything with - it's just a very arbitrary number that really doesn't mean too much or have much use.

As I said, power is something that is only really meaningful if you do it properly (which currently costs a lot of money) and then know what to do with the data.

Heart rate is a good, cheaper, measurement for sure. It's not perfect and drifts about all over the place day-to-day - but it is a reasonable measure of effort and one I still use live despite having a PowerTap.

simon_masterson

No offence, but the fact that you seem to think that you definitely need power but HR isn't important suggests you don't know why you need this data or what to do with it.

Even cadence isn't necessarily that useful, and it's certainly not essential, as you can just use a calculator (e.g. Sheldon Brown's) to work out speed at given rpm.

But Sigma Sport make good computers. I use a wired bc1009.