bike computer - Yes or No?

i've tried all sorts of different stuff - partly by dint of having to test it - but my favourite is probably a smartphone app. you can log your rides and look at your data, but for the ride itself the phone is in your pocket and you're not so distracted by it. like garmins too though

I like to know how I'm progressing.

Smart phone apps are great but a dedicated cycle computer
Is handy for the noob to expert.

It's not for everyone though.

What are your riding goals?

Having fun means you can junk your computer.

I did my first big ride without a bike computer in ages today, just because I forgot to put it on charge. I quite enjoyed not having my speed and heart rate staring up at me.

In general, I like to know how my training is going, good or bad. I don't become a slave to it, though. If my speed is slower than normal on a particular day... so what? And if it's quicker, I don't necessarily get too excited. I use if more to gauge the general trends in my fitness.

Santa is bringing me a Garmin 200 to play with !

I have only ever used the basic Cateye bike comp which gives speed, distance and time so playing with the 200 should be fun.

I have a little Garmin 500 on my road bike and wouldn't be without it. But I do admit that I sometimes fall into the trap of just sitting there looking at the numbers, not good.

But the Garmin setup is so slick that when I'm in front of the computer I can look at rides I did a couple of years ago and try and look for evidence that I am improving. That's what makes it so useful.

Don't bother logging my time spent commuting. Its a short commute in any case but I think I'm more afraid of forgetting to take the computer off the bike when I park up!

i have a computer on both my road and MTB bikes, and sometimes the CX bike, if i want to fixate on the figures i look at it and worry about speed and distance and all that sort of stuff.
and handy when racing as you can see time/distance left to run.

if i want a nice ride i just don't look at it, simple, well maybe when i get home and see i've done x amount of miles and had fun doing it

I have a very basic one, just shows me speed, distance and avg speed. I use my phone to track my GPS, Mileage and lately my heart rate through a bluetooth heart rate monitor

All the time - to the point where I don't feel 'right' being without a computer, unless it is a purely local ride to the shops or something.

1. I like to log my miles and get a year total, and while I could estimate that would feel like cheating.

2. When I'm training I use a heart rate monitor and train to a program so I need the computer to display HR. I also like to keep an eye on cadence although that is one that can be done by feel.

3. On a group ride there are times when it is useful to know your speed, rather than wait for someone at the back to start blowing up or begging for the pace to come down.