I have a 2012 Cervelo P2 and I am looking at getting a node 2.1 or similar for my bike. I have a your basic Bontrager 5W on my trainer bike (Trek 1.1 alpha) and I am just having a hard time seeing the need for the heart rate monitor, cadence, altimater etc. I race my Cervelo in sprint and olympic length Triathlons. and do do some of longer rides 30-60miles on the Cervelo. Is it really worth the extra money to get the cadence, heart rate monitor and altimater?

I ride the cervelo one maybe 2 times a week.

Would it be worth buying a computer with all those functions that also has the function to distinguish between two bicycles?
That way you can whack it on whatever bike you are using at the time and the odometer will change accordingly etc.

I have thought of that as well. The big thing is that my other bike already has a computer on it. I could transfer that one over to my Cervelo. The thing that I am wondering, for those that have the computers that are ant+ have you found it to be an advantage having the heart rate monitor, cadence and altimeter and such over just a speedo and average speed?

Cadence is a really good thing to monitor.
HR is important as well for serious training (as power is).
altimeter - a nice gadget


Oren

Why not go crazy and get a garmin and hook yourself up to strava as well?

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If you are competing in Triathlons the HR should really come in handy to monitor your effort, but it still depends on how you ride, I dont even use a computer on my time trial bike, the most accurate way for me to gauge my speed is to listen to my legs. But its always worth a try, HR works for 90%+ of the population! Also cadence is very handy, it always seems to feel like you are pushing a slower cadence then you actually are IMO, i'd recommend aiming for about 90RPM then going from there to find your optimum, as it tends to about 90+ for most people.

Ignoring price, the Garmins are nice. And my Edge 800 has just worked, with no glitches non-talking sensors and other stuff which wastes your time. Can't say the same for the Edge 500 I had - that had software of Microsoft-level quality and crashed every time you wanted to use its advanced functions - although by now I would hope Garmin have sorted it all out.

Best bit is that they record your ride so you have a ready-made training diary against which you can set quantitative goals etc. It beats recording rides on paper because the route helps you remember what you did, and all of the small things like time, temperature are recorded automatically. Garmin Connect is not as good as Trainingpeaks to analyse things for example, but it's enough for me.

For riding on holiday or exploring beyond rides you know already the mapping on the Edge 800 is great. If you already know all the roads where you live and don't travel then the Edge 500 is enough.

The 500 software seems to be sorted out now, at least for the commonly used functions. Mine's not crashed or locked up for the last few sw versions.

Thanks for the replys. A Garmin would be a great device to get my hands on, but for $300 I think for now I can wait. The Node 2.1 with all the bells and whistles is $200, yeah, it might not do all that the Garmin does but I am really just interested in speed (max, average, current), heart rate, and cadence. So the extra $100 for the Garmin right now to me just isnt right. But, it doesnt change that it is still a great computer.

Right now since I am still so unsure, I am going to trust my legs. The near future thoughts of an ironman man may change my mind though. Thank you again for all your help.