Nothing silly about the question, not for this geek anyway... :-) I've been a fan of Garmin units for many years, used Polar before that. The basic units of 20 years ago left me wanting for more, whereas the latest Garmin units, even the most basic are really good, especially with the new sensors that don't require magnets.
What I look for mainly, are Heart Rate and cadence, I get informed on speed and distance secondarily as part of tracking my improvements and I also like looking at temperature to quantify how I feel. And, of course, the gradient. I just like having that data available and correlating my feelings and perceptions during my rides to the data. I tried Cyclemeter on my iPhone for a while, and found the use of the iPhone on the handlebars cumbersome. Also, if I stopped to take photos, call or text, very often Cyclemeter would pause and I'd be unaware until some later point when I'd realize it wasn't tracking the ride. It's still the best iPhone app, but for me the Garmin experience is the most complete. I have nothing against those who don't like them or just use a basic tool, but I like the uploading of the rides to track them, look back at past rides, plan new routes using RideWithGPS and then upload them to the Garmin. And, I keep screens that are both cluttered with data or minimalists and alternate as it suits my mood or a particular ride. Garmin offers different models to suit different needs and preferences. There are a number of new competitors that seem to be pretty good as well. René On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, Deacon Patrick <lamontg...@mac.com> wrote: > Good ol' map and compass work well for this too, though require a bit more > mindfulness. And if a phone has GPS and an offline map (I use topomaps), > location is found in 30 s. just by turning off airplane mode, no matter how > remote you are. So far I've used this five times, and needed it only two of > those, and that since 2012 doing tours on great divide MTB trail, > continental divide trail, and Colorado Trail, all of which have some > significant head scratchers (usually of the "I know where I am, but where > do I go from here" variety). > > With abandon, > Patrick > > But again, its nice when touring, especially in remote areas with no cell >> service, when you're trying to find your way on countryoads and you need to >> know how far you've gone so that you can be looking out for that unmarked >> right turn you're supposed to make... >> >> :-) >> >> On Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:07:14 AM UTC-7, Deacon Patrick wrote: >>> >>> I use the simplest one possible. None. >>> >>> Ask yourself: what do I REALLY need to know as I ride? Does it truly >>> matter to me that I see my speed? My average? Does any of that information >>> help me enjoy the ride? Or does it have me riding to the numbers? Pushing >>> myself instead of "just riding"? >>> >>> The reality is that if you don't use a computer, you can still track >>> basic info like distance and time (and thus average speed) with a clock and >>> basic map. If you have a smart phone, or watch, you can track those in a >>> general way on the ride. >>> >>> I find technology is WAY overrated and am far happier riding without the >>> numbers in my face. >>> >>> With abandon, >>> Patrick >>> >>> On Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:18:51 AM UTC-6, bluebirdonabicycle wrote: >>>> >>>> Maybe its my age but its a confusing world looking at the many >>>> different cyclometers (or whatever they are called) >>>> Im looking for something wireless, simple that has the basic >>>> (important) features like....How fast? Distance? Total miles? >>>> But well built. >>>> Most I look at seem cluttered with endless features. >>>> Any opinions from those who have traveled this road? >>>> >>>> BBOB >>>> >>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com');> > . > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com');>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
