Simple and effective, the chances are most of you reading this already own some kind of bike computer. And, of course, if you own an HRM or power meter and don’t own a bike computer, you’ll struggle to make much use of either (unless you use your smartphone instead).

There are hoards of different computers on the market, that range all the way from simple little offerings that record speed and distance, right up to thoroughly comprehensive gadgets like Garmin’s Edge 1000 that’ll even notify you when you receive text messages.

Buyer’s Guide: GPS-equipped bike computers

As ever, the peak point for effectiveness is somewhere in the middle, and you certainly don’t need to drop £400 on a computer in order to acquire something that’ll boost your training.

Whether you simply want to track your time for a given ride and are aiming to beat it, or are after some new, as-yet uncharted routes to follow and spice up your training, you’ll find a bike computer can be a big help. Many will also record your rides so you can spend endless hours sifting through training data to figure out just where those elusive marginal gains are to be found.