cycle computers

[malraff]

hi all

just have my road bike now a month and i need/want a cycle computer, i cycle purely for recreation/fitness and i want to increase my mileage (doing 30 -40 miles at the moment).

so.. what do you recommend? do i just need a 15-20 quid job? or do i go for cadence and heart rate? how do the cheap end wireless models work? i have read some are useless in the rain! i live in ireland so thats an instant no go!

any advice appreciated

mal

 

[Monkspeed]

This is what I want to know also, been looking at them myself this morning!

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I used to have a Cateye Velo 8 that is extremley popular, but now I have a Sigma BC1009 as the Cateye came loose from it's bracket as I did not fully push it onto it's bracket. I think the Sigma is better for the cash because it has a bigger display, I prefer the twist and lock securing method to the handlebar bracket, you can just reset the particular parameter that you want instead of everything like on the Velo, it also has total time spent riding on the bike. The other reason I like it better is that I also used to own a basic wireless Velo and for some reason it reset itself and lost all data. With the wireless Velo and the Velo 8 as far as I am aware there is no way of entering an odometer value. Well nothing mentioned in the instructions or nothing that I could find on the web. I think that is pretty rubbish and obviously you can do it on the Sigma computer. The more expensive Cateye computers do allow this though. The only thing that the Velo 8 had that the BC1009 does not is an estimate of how many calories burned. I do not miss this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-Bc100...ZIRE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322572707&sr=8-1

 

[snorri]

For recreation/fitness a basic model is probably all you would need. These would have an odometer, trip recorder, average speed and maximum speed and will indicate current speed when on the move. Unless you become more interested in cycle sport, heart rate and cadence measurement is unlikely to be of great interest.
Wireless computers may look a little neater on the bike, but they require two batteries, one on the sensor another in the display unit. Some wireless computers occasionally suffer from radio interference from traffic management equipment in built up areas. I haven't heard of them being useless in rain, mine has been OK for some 12 years.
Take a look at the Cateye and Sigma ranges, they offer a selection for less than £20.

 

[HLaB]

If you go too cheap with wireless they are prone to interference; my cheapie (circa £15) raleigh echo was prone to interference when the batteries are low or traffic is dense but my circa £35 Cateye Micro Wireless isn't or my much dearer Wireless GPS. Where you draw the line though I wouldn't worry about the weather I bought my Echo when I lived in Dublin and was exposed to quite a bit of rain over 4 years and it was quite reliable then its only in 6 years since that in traffic (new ignition systems ?) it has become interference prone. My other two computers have also had plenty of soakings in Sunny Scotland and haven't suffered either.

 

[malraff]

just spied some user reviews on wiggle complaining of various rain issues..
i do plan on joining a cycle club in the new year, so who knows where that will lead in the sport side of things- already talk of mizzen to malin (one end of ireland to the other ) in the summer, if that was the case - would/should i be interested in cadence? or will realistically over time become accustomed to what rpm etc i am at

 

[HLaB]

just spied some user reviews on wiggle complaining of various rain issues..
i do plan on joining a cycle club in the new year, so who knows where that will lead in the sport side of things- already talk of mizzen to malin (one end of ireland to the other ) in the summer, if that was the case - would/should i be interested in cadence? or will realistically over time become accustomed to what rpm etc i am at

I have a cadence monitor fitted to my best bike but live without it on my other bikes, imo you soon get to know how you feel/ how you are spinning, without one and besides riding in a group you often don't have time to view them.

 

[malraff]

cheers guys for the advice