A Quick Tip on Managing Your Garmin or Wahoo

Hot n’ Fresh from the DDA Newsletter…

Hello Fellow Cyclist,

One of the first suggestions I give to new athletes I work with is to reexamine each screen on their cycling computer. In short, your cycling computer should be a tool for focus, not distraction. 

Focus not Distraction
I talk a bit about streamlining data in our free eBook and our free Cycling Workout Guide, but here are two quick tips.

1. Reduce the number of data channels to no more than three.
2. Reduce your total number of data screens to no more than four.

Get Work Done
I think it’s most helpful to have two primary screens. A “get work done” screen and a “ride your bike” screen. The “get work done” screen has the bare essentials for offering the most relevant feedback for a workout. These three data channels are

1. Lap duration
2. Lap power
3. Current power

With these three data channels, you can see our intent is to consume feedback that focuses our effort and improves our ability to execute high quality intervals. Anything else is a distraction. 

Ride Your Bike
When it comes to the “ride your bike” screen, we strive for the exact opposite in our screen layout. We want to minimize data that narrows our focus to insignificant ride details.

I like to streamline my “ride your bike” screen even further with just two channels.

1. Time of Day
2. Ride Duration 

That’s it—no need to look at power, HR, or distance. I want my computer screen to remind me about the simplicity of riding a bike; no other details are needed. 

You can check out more data screen examples in our free eBook or with our free Cycling Workout Guide. 

Do you have any cycling computer screen combinations you’ve found to be helpful? Please share! I would love to hear what you’ve learned.