The Best Cycling Computers
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When it comes to cycling computers, bicyclists tend to love them or hate them. Those in the latter category crave the freedom of riding without technological interference. I used to be one of those people. I was disdainful of taking along a computer that could talk to GPS satellites, display where I was on a map, and tell me my speed, distance, heart rate, cadence, and a whole host of other data I didn’t care about or even know existed. Then my partner started training for a 350-mile gravel race, which in turn inspired me to train for the companion 100-mile race. I quickly discovered on our training rides that it was pretty nice to have a trustworthy device designed to attach to my handlebars so I can safely see it.
Sure, you could always just mount a smartphone on your handlebars, but bike computers are purpose-built to handle bad weather, crashes, and full days in the sun—all situations where a smartphone might be unreliable or difficult to read. And on those extra-long days when I bailed and my partner was out riding solo in the dark and in hypothermic conditions, I realized it might be good to have a way to find him should he run into trouble, which happened during the race. He blew out the sidewall on a tire and was stranded by the side of the road at midnight. Since his GPS-enabled cycling computer allowed me to remotely track his ride via a companion app on my iPhone, I knew exactly where to pick him up before my own race started at 7 am.
GPS devices aren’t foolproof when it comes to safety, however. Last May, gravel cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson was murdered by a bad actor who purportedly stalked her via her public settings on a popular training app. It is especially important for solo riders to carefully monitor their fitness apps’ privacy settings so their whereabouts remain protected from public view.
And as for carefree cyclists who prefer to enjoy the ride rather than obsess about stats, there’s a way to have it both ways: Most of these devices have screens that can be programmed to turn off while riding. So I can still enlist safety features like precision mapping, ride tracking, and alarm alerts that will go off if I get lost or have a crash. If I want to check where I am or how long I’ve ridden, I can push a button and the screen comes back to life. The dopamine rush of a hard-won Strava trophy, however, will have to wait until I get home.
Update, December 2022: We've swapped in the new version of the Wahoo Fitness Elemnt Roam as our recommended mid-priced option and removed the older version.
Be sure to check out our other cycling-related guides, including our bike accessories buying guide, which includes advice on finding the right helmet, lock, saddle, and other essentials. We also have buying guides for ebikes and electric cargo bikes.
What to Know Before You Buy
Photograph: Bo Zaunders/Getty ImagesBike Computers 101
Cycling computers come in two designs. The simpler—and more budget-friendly—computers pair a magnet placed on a front-wheel spoke to a sensor attached to the bike's fork. Together, the two measure how fast the wheel rotates, which the computer uses to calculate speed, average speed, and distance traveled. The second type, which is more common and more sophisticated, is a GPS-enabled device that uses satellite triangulation to track your position, speed, distance, and time. These more expensive and full-featured computers can also record cycling-specific data like cadence, power, and heart rate when connected to specialized wireless sensors, all of which can then be uploaded via Bluetooth to cycling training apps like Strava or MapMyRide.
Most GPS cycling computers are so complex that this guide only scratches the surface of their available features. Before you buy any computer, it’s important to figure out what you want and need in a device. Would a basic model that shows your speed and mileage be good enough? Do you already track your heart rate on a Garmin watch or Apple Watch? Do you ride solo on rural roads, where GPS is necessary? If you can, do some side-by-side comparisons at a local bike shop or outdoor retailer to better study the capabilities of the devices that seem like the best fit.
Keep in mind that while cycling computers can be costly, and some seem to err on the side of over-the-top capability, almost all of them are enhanced with safety features that could save your life, namely precision mapping that can get you out of a jam in foreign, unfamiliar territory; a preprogrammed alarm that can be texted to select friends and families in the event of a debilitating crash; and a tracking feature that allows select friends or loved ones to know where you are on solo rides. These extra pieces of insurance are increasingly essential in an increasingly crazy world.
Best Basic Option
The GOTime cycling computer represents the most basic style of device on the market, tracking distance and speed via a magnet-and-sensor connection on the wheel. The data collected by the fork-mounted sensor is transmitted via a wireless signal with a 27-inch range; this means that, unlike older cycling computers, you don’t have to run a wire from the sensor up to the head unit. The LED screen is ensconced in a protective rubber case about the size of a chunky watch that easily attaches to handlebars via a grippy rubber strap and integrated mounting clip. The juice for the computer screen, which also tracks the time of day and ride duration, is provided by a CR2032 coin cell battery, while the sensor power comes from a small A23 battery.
I liked the straightforward simplicity of this featherlight 1.2-ounce unit. The one button on the bottom scrolls through time of day, ride time, miles traveled, cumulative miles traveled, speed, and average speed. For cyclists who simply want to track miles, this is the device for you. There’s nothing to go haywire other than an occasional dead battery.
For such a simple device, however, be prepared to spend at least 15 minutes on the setup: The protective rubber covering needs to come off to insert the battery, and the sensor and magnet need to be properly placed on the spoke and fork respectively.
Best High-End Option
It’s a little frightening how much this solar-powered device can do. It’s an upgrade from the $600 Garmin 1040, using mostly the same design but adding solar power along with some other improvements. The upper and lower panels above and below the 3.5-inch touchscreen capture 100 percent of the sun’s rays, while the screen itself also captures solar power but at a less efficient rate. The extended battery life is impressive: While the battery-powered Garmin 1040 averages 35 hours and is capable of 70 hours in battery-saver mode, this solar version of the 1040 increases that average to 45 hours and extends battery-saver mode to 100 hours. That’s a game changer for ultracyclists who need to eke out every bit of battery power for their multi-day efforts. (Although I’d still pack an extra battery, in case of overcast skies.)
Storage has also doubled from 32 GB in the 1040 to 64 GB in the solar version. While the 1040 comes preloaded with only North America maps, the solar version is preloaded with maps for North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with room for more. (One surprising caveat for a unit this sophisticated: Maps cannot be downloaded wirelessly. The unit needs to be plugged in, which requires advance planning if you’re going to places with limited GPS access.)
Because the GPS is enhanced with GNSS technology, which determines location by measuring the distance to four or more satellites, the mapping is spot-on accurate, even in the backcountry. It also includes enhancements like Forksight mode, which displays upcoming forks in the road with surrounding geographic context that allows you to more easily understand where you are in a trail system; “turn-by-turn” direction mode that sounds alerts for each upcoming turn; and off-course notifications should you get sidetracked.
Like the earlier model, the 1040 Solar has safety features like live tracking and incident detection. The former allows a third party, when given permission by the cyclist, to track the ride; the latter sounds an alarm to emergency contacts if a blunt-force action like a crash causes it to go off.
I spent a month testing this computer and still didn't have enough time to properly investigate the seemingly endless number of training features. One interesting new one, however, is Power Guide, a tool (which requires an accompanying power meter) that helps riders map out their effort on a specific downloaded course. By crunching your FTP (Functional Threshold Power, or the highest average power you can sustain for approximately an hour, measured in watts) with the course’s elevation and the projected time of finishing, the device will map out a strategy to hit your target, sort of like a coach on your handlebars telling you exactly how fast and hard you need to be riding with every pedal stroke.
Additionally, riders can sync training plans with apps like TrainingPeaks; set nutrition and hydration alerts that remind them to eat and drink at time-allotted intervals; scroll to screens that assess how your body is holding up to variations in heat and altitude; track mountain biking metrics like jump count, jump distance, and hang time; and choose from daily suggested workouts.
I found a few glitches, namely that pop-up notifications like texts transmitted from smartphones are hard to read. Also, the waterproof device’s touchscreen seemed at times hypersensitive to sweat or rain. When inundated, the drops would cause the computer to switch screens.
The Best Mid-Priced Option
Wahoo offers two solid cycling computers: the $300 Elemnt Bolt, a sleek, small, aerodynamic unit designed for racing; and the larger Elemnt Roam, about the size of a pack of Marlboros, that’s designed for way-finding. The Roam had been on the market for three years when it was updated in October 2022. I've been testing this new version.
The newest iteration of the Roam, which looks exactly like its older sibling, offers dual-frequency GPS. The oversimplified explanation: dual frequency allows the GPS unit to operate on two frequency bands instead of one. Single-frequency GPS devices offer accuracy within 15 feet. Dual-frequency GPS devices offer accuracy within centimeters.
Where can this make a difference? Say you’re bikepacking on poorly maintained singletrack through an aspen forest in the Rockies. With single-frequency GPS, objects like towering trees can block or confuse the signal, which can create route inaccuracies, which can get you lost. That might not be a big deal in an urban setting where you can stop at the local coffee shop to ask for directions. But in the wilderness, getting off track by 15 feet might mean making a crucial error.
With the strengthened dual signal, turn-by-turn navigation prompts for all maps of any file types—either preloaded or uploaded via apps like Strava, Komoot, or Ride with GPS—are spot-on accurate. Should you somehow make a wrong turn, there’s a rerouting feature that will quickly get you back on track. If you’re really lost, the “breadcrumb” feature navigates you back to your starting point even if the device is offline.
Also new: “The Summit,” color-coded gradients in the grade data field and elevation chart when riding a third-party route or Strava segment. No wonder that Forest Service mountain road seemed ruthless and endless: You can now see that it had a 13 percent grade.
I liked the Roam’s easy-to-read screen, which uses an ambient light sensor to auto-adjust the LED backlighting. Instead of a touchscreen, there are three bottom buttons that let you scroll between customized screens like the main map, nearby Strava segments to tackle, and the home dashboard. That dashboard includes miles per hour, miles ridden, clock, ride time, heart rate (when paired with a heart rate monitor), revolutions per minute (when paired with a power meter), and average miles per hour. By pushing the button on the lower right, you can zoom in or out on the dashboard, an excellent feature for aging eyes.
Battery life is 17 hours on the newly upgraded Roam, roughly the same as on the old model. That level of stamina pales in comparison to the Garmin 1040 Solar, but the Wahoo is still a solid choice for any endeavor under that time limit. With an expanded 32 GB of memory, there’s more room to save favorite routes, detailed maps of new places, up to five structured workouts from Wahoo, as well as planned workouts from partner apps like TrainerRoad, Training Peaks, and Today’s Plan.
One of my co-testers found the included handlebar clamp too hefty, with the Roam locking into a plastic frame almost as big as the device itself. The computer is unlikely to break or slip out of position while riding, but the extended plastic bracket feels like it could snap in half in a crash.
Another Good Mid-Priced Option
Hammerhead was born in 2013, the brainchild of CEO Piet Morgan who, on a 3,000-mile ride across the US, realized that his cycling computer was falling woefully short of his needs. The key two factors of the company’s Karoo 2 is that its touchscreen is as intuitive as the one on a smartphone, and that the device is designed to get dirty, with features like “droplet rejection” that, when enabled by double-tapping a button, will lock the touchscreen to stop interference from mud and rain.
At 4.6 ounces (without the mounting hardware), the Karoo 2 is slightly larger and heavier than the Elmnt Roam, but it also has an impressively anti-glare 3.2-inch color screen that I found was the easiest to read of all the devices—a key feature, especially for cyclists with aging eyes. In addition to basics like speed, distance, and elevation, the Karoo 2’s graphic data fields include dynamic heart rate and power zone, upcoming and historical elevation, and electronic gearing (if the computer is connected to the appropriate sensors on your bike).
Another key element to the Karoo 2 is on-the-clock biweekly software updates that are accompanied by detailed emails explaining what each update accomplishes. For example, I got an update back in August that was an Improved Tire Pressure Sensor Configuration, which allows riders to configure front and rear wheel target pressure and target pressure range straight from the device. Some of these updates may not seem essential, but it’s good to know when new features flow in so you don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s outdated.
With 12 hours of battery life and 32 GB of storage, the device has plenty of juice for long efforts and enough room in its brain to download plenty of map data. One feature that my enduro-racing tester appreciated was that it “has all the bells and whistles of other similar devices,” like integration with Strava, “but it has a much simpler, intuitive, overall feel.” One issue he encountered: While out riding, the unit randomly reset to factory mode a few times. It could have been the result of accidentally pushing a few buttons, but a frustrating endeavor nonetheless because the day’s data was lost, and resetting the computer required a good Wi-Fi connection and additional time.
Best for Ebikes
Ebikes already track your battery status, assist level, and range. But their onboard computers aren’t smart enough to route you the best way home before you burn through your battery. For cyclists riding an ebike compatible with Shimano Steps or ANT+ technology, that’s where this handy device comes in: The Explore 2 has a dedicated ebike status screen that gives smart routing and range alerts based on battery status, assist level, and your planned course.
The device, which weighs 3.7 ounces without the mounting hardware, tracks your whereabouts with GPS. It also has many of the standard features found in Garmin’s higher-end models like the 1040 Solar and 1040, including a touchscreen color display and a multitude of safety and tracking features, including live ride tracking and incident detection. It also has weather alerts, bike alarms, and compatibility with an InReach Satellite system for emergency text communications in the backcountry. Something city commuters will find handy is that the Explore 2 is compatible with Garmin’s Varia rear-facing radar, which allows cyclists to view on their screen the real-time distance of an upcoming vehicle. The computer can also control Garmin’s powerful lighting system, which can be turned on and off automatically via the GPS device if you want.
There are a few advanced features in Garmin’s higher-end models that the Edge Explore 2 does not offer: the ability to sync maps and data over Wi-Fi, support for Strava Live Segments, downloadable workout support, and some training and recovery metrics. Its battery life is also limited to 16 hours. Lastly, I found that while the device is impressive overall, its 3-inch screen was harder to read than units of comparable size.
