How Fast Am I Going? No Bike Computer!? HOT Commute BikeBlogger
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How fast am I going? I get that question a lot, and it is hot today with no bike computer and the summer heat index exceeding 100F! While doing some bike maintenance I damaged the wire that goes to my bike computer, so now I no longer have a functioning bike computer. Do you really need a bike computer? I pondered this question during my bike commute to work today when I inadvertently glanced down to see it wasn't there. I know based on my experience that my total average speed in the city is 15 MPH. Knowing that and total time I can calculate the approximate total distance traveled during my rides without a computer. For example, 15 minutes is my regular commute time from home to work. At an average speed of 15 MPH my total distance is approximately 15 minutes x (15 miles / 1 hour) x (1 hour / 60 minutes) = 3.75 miles. That's correct. Bike computers can be fun to keep track of your progress though, especially for those who train with power meters, cadence calculators and heart rate monitors. Of course you can just use a smartphone app to calculate some things, but I prefer a bike computer I like to use a bike computer mainly to track my instanteous speed. Trip distance, clock and odometer are the only other outputs I care about. Video - No Strava? Fork In The Road Cycle Commute To Work Bike Blogger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdxlk4Gn5No Subscribe to BikeBlogger http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=BikeBlogger Bike Blogger Channel http://www.youtube.com/BikeBlogger Bike Blogger Website http://www.bikeblogger.com
Comments
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Have you considered getting a Garmin? I have one on my bike and I love it. It is very accurate. As a test to see just how accurate it is I tested it on a road that I have measured with a measuring wheel so I can do road running intervals on it. The Garmin was dead on. Love the videos especially the River Des Pares.
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As much as I'm in STL, I had to subscribe. Very interesting videos! Getting a bike fit tomorrow afternoon for my first bike purchase (for fitness / town riding).
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It's blazing hot down here in Florida! HOT commutes in the forecast!
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I'm an engineer, therefore a data junkie. I use a Cateye Velo 7 to monitor current and average speed, and every commute I also record on Strava so I can compare the speed to the bike computer and get all kinds of graphs to look at, and see if I can get a PR on a segment.
What's really cool about Strava is the flyby function, where it will show your commute slowed down on a map and show other riders that passed you, ones that you passed or crossed your path, etc. Invariably I get at least one Lance Armstrong blow by me and using flyby I can see who it is and what his ride was. Being in a crowded Bay Area, I sometimes get 6 for 7 Strava users cross my path on a given commute.
Some people I cross paths with have 20-30 mile rides so it's hard to complain about my 6.5 mile commute. -
As I was examining the footage you appeared to not be going 100 miles per hour, you were going 200 mph!!!!
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"Where am I going?...is this a dead end?"...no, it was that main shortcut you've used dozens upon dozens of times except approaching from the South. I guess that was maybe only funny for those who've been watching long enough to know that shortcut corner.
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no trip computer? use Strava!
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Plot twist: We are not real... We are fictitious accounts made by Bike Blogger so that he can talk to himself. ;)
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"only" 1,000 miles on the bearings? My commuter road bike has 10,500 miles and I've never once touched the headset bearings. Methinks yours are crappy. 😂😂😂
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I use a VDO Wireless computer. A magnet on a spoke plus a transmitter on the fork. The computer is on the handlebars. No wires and no problems so far.
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Love your videos.
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I feel like if I get a real bike computer like a Garmin or something like that I'll start enjoying my rides less. I'm worried that it'll have a bunch of metrics on it that I will have to constantly worry about keeping up with. I like to immerse myself in my own thoughts and nothing else when I'm riding.
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Nope, not a stats guy, but I do keep track of my ride mileage just long enough to enter it in the National Bike Challenge data base so they can tell us all how special we are (bit of sarcasm) by burning calories instead of petroleum products. Since I have a bunch of bikes I have a inexpensive Cateye GPS Stealth 50 ($60 on sale) and a mount on each bike so there's never a wire to worry or fiddle with and it's completely transferable to whichever bike I ride. Phones are verbitten.
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If it's the clicking noise we hear, that sounds a lot like a handlebar/stem click. It would also explain why it mostly happens when you are climbing and pulling on the bars more.
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yeah, as long as I got water to dump down the old radiator I'm ok in the heat. when I go to Dunkin Doughnuts to upload and will be there for a while, I always bring a hoodie and bundle up. people look at me like I'm a weird-o LOL. the AC is about as cool as it is in their own homes yet THEY don't lay around bundled up. But what they simply don't get it......cycling will cause your body's heat regulation to go super cool. I'm still using the small window fan to keep the air moving in my cabin. AC would be completely out of the question! I'd freeze my nuts off!!
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Can't remember you crossing that railtrack before.
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what camera are you using and how is it mounted ?
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It should be possible to repair that wire with some soldering and electrical tape. You could also go for a Sigma BC 5.12 which is a very simple but nice computer, just as the 509. If you are REALLY desperate I think I can fix a brand new 509 for you. I have also seen new spare part brackets on different websites so that's a possibility too.
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I have always run computers on all my bikes until about a year ago. Now I only use a wired computer on my road/commuter bike. My utility bike and gravel bike, both built in the past year, I decided to just go without. Both of those are much slower than my road bike, and I just really don't care about knowing what speed I'm going or how far I've gone at all times. I use Strava to track miles and average speed on all my bikes anyway, and I can just stop and look at my phone to see my distance.
It also came about because I broke the wire on one of my computers. Instead of buying a whole new one I was going to try to fix it, then never got around to it, and now I just don't even care about it, despite the fact that I'm a numbers and stats junkie (hence why I track rides with Strava for all my different bikes). -
Just rejoin the wire. The computer will still work It's a easy fix
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