I'd like a complete cycling computer please.

[J B L]

Hi all,

Can you recommend a computer that:

- does the normal things: speed, distance, time, elevation etc...
- heart rate
- GPS.

I'd like to be able to load the data of each ride on my computer and be able to compare week by week where I've been where i've improved or not.

Battery life is important as well as sturdiness as it'll be used on a mountain bike for an entire day. I am happy to take a spare battery.

I saw many on various sites ranging anywhere between £100 to £800. My budget will be closer to the lower end of that scale, circa £250-350.

Thanks for your help.

[MATRS]

Garmin 500

[robpearson]

Edge 500 unless you need to be able to follow routes on it in which case edge 800

[J B L]

Had a look at it and it's exactelly what I need.

Cheers.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Garmin 500. Oh, it's been said. Still, it's the correct answer.

[J B L]

Twice . Thanks anyway.

Question: they mention 18h battery, would that be with GPS and cardio enabled? Not that I am planning an 18h straight stretch but over 2 or 3 days without power it could put that claim to the test.

How long would it last in failrly warm conditions with all functions working?

Solar chargers? Any good?

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Last week I was doing about 7 hours a day. That was with heart/cadence/power on. It ran the battery about half way down. Charging is quick and easy - you can double the Iphone plug with the Garmin connector.

[J B L]

Perfect.

I don't have an iphone... I'm a caveman, my phone can't even take pictures. Had it for years, if it works, I don't throw it away.

[robpearson]

18 hours is with everything on, never had cause to try using it with gps disabled although most of the packs come with speed and cadence sensor, so if you don't care about sharing your route with the world afterwards, you could do this.

[J B L]

^ I'd rather leave it on as well for the world to see how unfit I truly am.

[Tokamak]

A possible alternative is the Forerunner 610.

Its not cycling specific but that does mean that if you dont do all of your exercise on your bike you can still record it.

Only thing Id suggest is to get a £3 screen protector for it from amazon/ebay, mine works flawlessly with this in place.

Battery life is great (re-charge over usb, syncing with your pc is a breeze and great satellite link)

[amnesia182]

robpearson said:

18 hours is with everything on, never had cause to try using it with gps disabled although most of the packs come with speed and cadence sensor, so if you don't care about sharing your route with the world afterwards, you could do this.

The disable GPS function is for use on turbos / rollers... it gets well confused if it detects the wheels going round and it's not moving anywhere :-)

Wouldn't be without my Edge 500 (unless someone gave me a 800 !)