Mission Control and TCDw

[dbsmith]

After years of Cateye and Garmin, I've aged out of un-assisted cycling. Just bought a Turbo Como 5.0 IGH (with Enviolo, belt drive, radar, etc.). I few years ago I would have laughed at myself but I'm old and that's my excuse!

Paired my HRM to the TDCw and it works fine. But it seems that any recording of a ride has to be done via my phone and the Mission Control app? Not crazy about taking my phone every time I ride (and there's no place to mount it on Como handlebars, anyway).

Is there a program built into the TDCw to record individual rides that I just haven't found yet?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is there a program built into the TDCw to record individual rides that I just haven't found yet?

Not. Mission Control is expected to record your rides.
For your information: The modern Garmin Edge or Wahoo ELMNT bike GPS computers are fully compatible with your Vado, and will serve the purposes of ride recording (taking the data from your e-bike via ANT+) and GPS navigation. Also as an extra display...

 

[dbsmith]

Not. Mission Control is expected to record your rides.
For your information: The modern Garmin Edge or Wahoo ELMNT bike GPS computers are fully compatible with your Vado, and will serve the purposes of ride recording (taking the data from your e-bike via ANT+) and GPS navigation. Also as an extra display...

Thanks for the reply. My new bike is a Como and it isn't obvious that there's any good way to mount a Garmin OR a phone. The handlebars aren't round except at the very ends, where the grips and brakes already reside.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks for the reply. My new bike is a Como and it isn't obvious that there's any good way to mount a Garmin OR a phone. The handlebars aren't round except at the very ends, where the grips and brakes already reside.

Oh. No round space of 22.2 mm left past the brake lever?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Thanks for the reply. My new bike is a Como and it isn't obvious that there's any good way to mount a Garmin OR a phone. The handlebars aren't round except at the very ends, where the grips and brakes already reside.

There are plenty of bar phone mounts on the web if you look hard enough. There should be enough room on your Como bars just beside the rt/lft grips to attach a phone to as this member has done on his Como 4.

A Peak Design universal bar mount could also work. Both my wife and I have the out-front versions and they function incredibly well utilizing a magnetic catch. In our case, we use 3rd party cases and the Peak Design universal adapters.

 

[Ben J]

I love the Peak Design phone mount.

For V-shaped bars you might be able to find a "bridge" (there's one for Brompton for sure) which gives you a straight bar across the V.

The TCD also uses a Garmin-style mount so as long as you have slack you can buy a Garmin mount (there is a huge selection) and move the TCD somewhere else. You could then mount a Garmin Edge in the center if that's what you want. I'm not sure if the center area is a normal stem on the Como, but if so you can get stem mounts for other attachments.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

if the center area is a normal stem on the Como

It's not It is Ye Good Ole Specialized

 

[dbsmith]

Thanks, all, for the input.
I've found that the (ancient!) Garmin mount -- the one that uses rubber bands to attach -- works OK for a simple solution. All I'm really trying to capture is a record of each ride, not data about speed or distance. I think the Garmin will give me HR and the route without adding any sensors to the bike; download to Garmin Express; that's enough. Would prefer that the TCDw kept an off-loadable record (without Mission Control) seems like it should be dead simple. But what do I know?!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Even the Bosch Nyon display is inferior to a decent bike GPS computer.

What is your Garmin model, may I ask? Too old for the Specialized ANT+ compatibility?

 

[dbsmith]

I currently have two Garmin units, an Edge 520 and Edge Explore 2. The 520 I've had for years, the Explore 2 is brand new.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I currently have two Garmin units, an Edge 520 and Edge Explore 2. The 520 I've had for years, the Explore 2 is brand new.

The Explore 2 might be compatible with your e-bike. Why not just try it? Look for E-Bike, Cadence and Power sensors when your e-bike is on!
There also is a handy E-Bike Field data field in the Garmin IQ store.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Stefan’s right about the Explorer 2. I got one several weeks ago, find that it does everything I would have expected. On my Creo it displays all three fields noted above, along with battery percentage… although it doesn‘t read the range extender separately, and therefore only reads for whichever battery is actually being used at the time. No big deal.

I sat atop the Wahoo/Garmin wall for a good long while, swaying this way and that, and finally fell on the Garmin side since the Explore 2 seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. I’ve been very happy with it, once getting through that first week or so learning the Garmin universe.

My policy is to use Garmin Connect to get rides over to Ride With GPS, and stay far away from the Garmin IQ store stuff. Way too much crap and things that just get in the way. YMMV, of course!

 

[dbsmith]

Successfully paired the Explore 2 with the Como 5.0. Will take a ride tomorrow and see what it tracks.
As I said earlier, the Explore 2 was brand new to me (as is e-biking) so hadn't really thought about its capabilities. I liked that the display is larger than many and the touch interface has been around long enough that it works reliably (unlike an earlier Garmin I had). The e-bike pairing is a nice surprise. Interesting to see what it shows me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Good to learn about your positive experience with the Garmin Explore 2, Dave! Just a little note: the Como does not take the Range Extender battery, good for @dbsmith!

@dbsmith: Just fancy I was riding a Giant Trance E+ for a year, not being aware Garmin Edge or Wahoo ELEMNT were fully compatible with Specialized or Giant e-bikes and having constant issues with the Giant display! Since @DaveMatthews explained the capability, my brother has been riding the Giant with Garmin Edge 530, and I went through 3 different Wahoo ELEMNT versions (each being good but I was looking for the latest & greatest, haha!)

That's how I have configured my Wahoo to work with my Vado (and Vado SL).