Here’s the Trek 2.3 on a CycleOps magnetic trainer. This particular trainer is a little noisy and has some vibration (when the magnet poles pass each other) but nothing I can’t deal with.
As you can see, I’m not using a trainer tire…It just seemed unnecessary and becomes problematic when it starts getting nice outside since you can’t just take the bike off the trainer and take it outside. Worst case, I need to replace the back tire a little sooner this year.
Also, I have an Axiom Frame pack near the handlebars…After using it last year I can’t imagine riding without it. When on a long ride, I usually keep my phone, some power bars, gels, and some emergency money it for quick access.
I’ve always been into data collection and how we can analyze that data to improve our situation or the environment we find ourselves in. I figured I would combine my love of cycling and data collection with a good bike computer. What would I want from a device? Here’s a list of things I thought I wanted on a bike computer:
- Cadence sensing
- Speed sensing
- Heart Rate capture
- Altitude sensing
- Ant+ wireless for all sensors
- Ability to change the layout of the display(s)
- GPS receiver
- Data logging
The trick was to find a device that would do all of this but not break the bank in the process. The Garmin Edge 705 seemed to fit the bill, but the $650 price was a bit too much for me. I know you can do a lot with an iPhone or an Android driven phone, but there is sill a disconnect between Ant+ and these devices.
When the Garmin Edge 500 was introduced, it seemed like the perfect option for me. Granted, the 500 doesn’t have the GPS mapping, but that wasn’t as important as the GPS logging for me. With the heart rate and speed/cadence sensor, the price is still $350, but that’s still a lot less than the 705’s price.
After purchasing the 500, I was planning on doing a whole write-up on it, but someone else had already done a more thorough review than I could ever hope to. Check out their Edge 500 review here. What I was mostly interested was the data and how I could report on my cycling progress and how it could help me improve.
After about 40 miles with the 500 now I thought it would be a good time to throw some data up that the 500 provided. One thing about the 500 is the way you download the recorded data stored in the device; you connect it with a USB cable to your computer, but instead of downloading the the data to your PC, it’s uploaded directly to Garmin’s site. I don’t really like some company having access to all of my cycling data, but it does seem to work quite well.
Here are some reports on an hour long spin I did:
Obviously, I’m not showing any GPS data since the bike is stationary, but these graphs help me to set some baselines for this year.
Just thought I would write a quick update this evening on my first few sessions with the 2.3 on the trainer. I did three different sessions with a total of about 30 miles with a cumulative time of about 2 hours. Oh and my average cadence was about 70 rpm.
Initial reactions:
- The bike spins very smoothly and the fit is quite good. I feel more relaxed than on the Allez.
- The shifting with the 105 components is very smooth and sure.
- The handlebar stem seems a little long…I’m going to see if my lbs will swap it out for a shorter one.
- I have to agree with a bunch of the reviews I’ve seen for this bike in that the seat is HORRIBLE. I hate to go out and buy another one, but the stock seat has to go!
I’ve hooked up a Garmin Edge 500 to this bike and I’m putting it through it’s initial runs as well, but more on that later.
