Bike computers (esp looking for triathletes' feedback)

[Susie]

I used to have a Cateye on my bike that has since bitten the dust.  Calvin told me last night that my blond fuzzy kids* want to get me a new bike computer for mother's day.  (He is cute.)

Problem:  I am swamped at work and have no time to research and figure out what I want.  

I am trying to decide whether I want a dedicated bike computer (if so what kind?), or to get a Garmin 910xt instead.  Right now I have a 210, which works fine for running, but does have some significant limitations for tri's.  Namely, it can't get wet, so I can't wear it for a whole tri.  I don't really want to fumble to put on my Garmin in transition, and I race better with feedback.  My previous HIM plan was to put my 210 on my bike handlebars, and race with a regular old non-GPS watch to at least have an overall elapsed time for the run.  It's not perfect.

WWYD?  For ballpark cost, the 910 is about as much money as I'm looking to spend, but I'm ok with that price point.  I could probably buy w/o HRM, and just use the chest strap that I currently use w/ my 210, right?

Would a 910 be better to have for doing brick workouts than saving the bike & run as separate files with the 210?  I feel like I'm bricking all the damn time these days.  OTOH, a dedicated bike computer feels like one of those Things You Should Have.

Tagging Ironwomen kams trigal chw57 reginaphalange72 - any suggestions for me?

*Gratuitous blond fuzzy kids:  These are from Lake Placid last summer.  One wants to go swim laps of the IMLP swim course, the other is too pretty to get wet.
 

[chw57]

I used to have a crappy bike computer but it died. I'm extremely attached to my 910XT. I adore it.

[chw57]

I will add, however, I definitely don't use it to its full capacity. I still reset and change to run mode when I brick which I know is ridiculous.

[kams]

May 6, 2014 16:28:36 GMT -5 chw57 said:

I will add, however, I definitely don't use it to its full capacity. I still reset and change to run mode when I brick which I know is ridiculous.

Oh my gosh, me too exactly.

I have the 310xt

[chw57]

I will also add that I LOVE being able to use it in the pool because I am horrible at keeping track of yards beyond about 200

[Deleted]

I love my 910xt. I can just hit the lap button when doing tris/bricks. It's handy because the workouts can even include "laps" for transition. Great for timing in practice.

[joenali]

Ahem!! You did not tag me!!! Lol!!

[sadlebred]

May 6, 2014 15:29:06 GMT -5 Susie said:

I am trying to decide whether I want a dedicated bike computer (if so what kind?), or to get a Garmin 910xt instead.  Right now I have a 210, which works fine for running, but does have some significant limitations for tri's.  Namely, it can't get wet, so I can't wear it for a whole tri.  I don't really want to fumble to put on my Garmin in transition, and I race better with feedback.  My previous HIM plan was to put my 210 on my bike handlebars, and race with a regular old non-GPS watch to at least have an overall elapsed time for the run.  It's not perfect.
 

I am hurt that I wasn't tagged.

FWIW, I use a Garmin 500 and a bike computer on all of my bikes. I'm a nerd.  I can't comment on the 910xt since I'm not familiar with it.

If you decide to get both, I have the Specialized Speedzone Sport Wireless on several bikes and can't seem to kill it. I have to replace the battery in each of them about once/year. I bought a 10 pack or watch batteries on Amazon for a few bucks. As a bonus, it's only $40. A bike computer is generally more accurate on the bike b/c the Garmin does not record every second and every foot of the ride like a bike computer. The distance on my Garmin is usually shorter than the computer. My computer lines up closely with others and their computers after a ride (again, bike nerds).

www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/computers/speedzone-computers/speedzone-sport-wireless

[Susie]

Sorry joenali & sadlebred - I didn't tag you guys because I remembered joenali did IM training w/ a watch & HRM, and I didn't figure sadle had a reason to try out the 910, which is obviously a contender just because of the versatility for tris. No slight intended!

[gt7301b]

May 6, 2014 21:29:12 GMT -5 @mn06 said:

All I have to say is you're dogs are beautiful! Carry on.

Sent from my PH44100 using Tapatalk

I had to open this post twice just to look at doggie D. again.

[katinthehat]

First, your kids are way cuter than my kids

Second, I have a dedicated bike computer - the Garmin Edge 500 and I love it. It's virtually indestructible and super duper easy to use. Plus, it's a really good deal right now as well.

www.amazon.com/Garmin-Edge-500-Cycling-GPS/dp/B002O0QBE8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1399467101&sr=8-6&keywords=garmin+edge

I thought about getting a more tri specific watch for a while but I like the more sport specific focus of having separate computers for each event. I rarely do OWS though and am not advanced enough to need anything to work in the pool besides a basic stop watch.

(And the 500 is great because it's really easy to switch between bikes so when I was using husband's, we had it set up for my road, his road and his tri bike and you can customize the screens depending on which bike you are riding, etc.)

[katinthehat]

Oh just thought to add this. I don't know how sturdy the 910xt is (although it looks like a freaking black box) but I dropped my 310 watch once taking it off my bike and it destroyed it. For whatever reason, I tend to drop stuff off my bike a lot, so if you are going to get something for multisport use, get one that's very rugged.

Or you know, not be a clumsy fool like me.

[emilyj]

I have the 910xt and I love it. I wear it for everything - individual workouts in each, bricks, and I wore it in last weekend's race.

I still have a regular Cateye on my bike, which I use to monitor my cadence when I ride, and I will keep for that purpose, but I do love my 910xt.

I'm still playing around with all the features, but what I have loved the most so far are a) using it during swim practice, and hitting the interval button to see the difference between my sets - did I really descend that last set? How much? and b) you can set a distance alert on it. Last weekend when I raced, I set a 500m interval for the swim, and a 5 mile interval for the bike. It was so nice to feel the alerts go off out in the open water, because I knew exactly how far I had gone, how much was left, etc. Same thing with the bike. It took a lot of the 'where I am' thinking out.

[trigal]

I have a basic bike computer on my tri bike (and my road bike for that matter). Occasionally I use the power meter that we have (DH and I share it). When I ride without the power meter and when I run, I wear my Garmin 610. When I race triathlons, I wear only a basic sports watch and race by feel, which has worked relatively well for me. When I do run-only races, I wear the Garmin so I can pace myself. I've considered the Garmin for shorter tris, but would never wear it for a full IM. The numbers can get too distracting and screw up the day.

Not much help. Sorry!