Pros

Bicycle GPS in particular ensure that you can get home quickly and efficiently. This, in turn, probably means you have gotten home more safely. Garmin sat navs and smartphone apps make it less likely that you’ll get lost when you’re riding, meaning you’ll get home in good time while it’s still light outside.

Buying Guide: Bicycle Computers

Cons

First things first, any amount of technical wizardry on your bars is a distraction from the road. Consider that 84% of drivers think that in-car technologies are a distraction. If you’re on a road with a distracted driver, and you’re distracted by your Garmin, then perhaps it’s not the safest thing.

Furthermore, we’re all aware of the dangers surrounding using recording apps. Although Strava had a lawsuit brought against them by the family of a dead cyclist thrown out, meaning that in the eyes of the US legal system the app was not at fault for his death, it is still a certainty that when apps like Strava are used, some people will be more likely to take risks.

Racing against those in cyberspace brings with it all the dangers of racing in reality: but when you’re descending a mountain on your own the roads aren’t closed, and there’s no medical car behind.