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Whether you are a casual or a serious bicycle rider, having the right kind of bicycle accessories can greatly enhance your riding experience.

At the top of the list of required bicycle equipment for everyone should be a bicycle computer, or cyclocomputer as it is often called. These are widely available at local bike shops and online at prices starting around $20 for a basic unit, all the way up to $350 for super sophisticated units that measure and monitor everything, even your heart beat as you climb that hill or catch your breath at a stopsign.

There are still other units out there like the Edge series from Garmin that use global positioning satellites to plot your route and measure your speed and distance.

For most riders, there’s no need to spend a fortune. Getting the right bicycle equipment for measuring your performance is not any ore expensive that feeding a family of four dinner at an inexpensive fast food restaurant.

Here are the top two functions your cyclocomputer needs to have.

A speed indicator – Knowing how fast you go is not only a lot of fun but it is an important measurement to write and and compare as part of your training regimen. In general, you want to get stronger. And the faster you go is a pretty god indication of how strong you are.

An odometer – Similarly, you want to know how far you’ve traveled. The GPS units keep track of this automatically. For most of the others, you need to set the distance your bike wheel turns over a short route of, say, 10 feet or so. That setting calibrates the unit for you.

Those two, of course, are the essentials. You should easily find these at bicycle stores for between $20 and $30.

Here are three “extras” that will make your riding and training more enjoyable. They won’t add much to your cost and are highly worth the cost.

A cadence counter – Cadence is how many revolutions per minute your spin the pedals. Pro riders routinely average 120 rpm. For maximum efficiency, you should strive for at least 80.

A time of day function – Might as well look at the cyclocomputer rather than your wrist watch. No more excuses for getting lost in the ride and missing an important meeting or family obligation/

An average function – It’s nice to be able to step through the cyclocomputer and be able to see your average speed and cadence.

See why a cyclocomputer is so handy? It gives riders a benchmark by which to compare their improvement over time. Needless to say, all the data collected by the device should be logged in a journal or notebook.

These devices are very simple to install. Often, the local bike shop will do the work for you for just a few extra dollars. But anyone can do it. Total installation time is about 15 minutes.