Is it worth it?

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Well, for those of you that read my recent post on my little accident in the cowpoo-pool, apart from my shoes, it appears that my cycle computer has also been a casualty of this rather unpleasant experience :blush:.

I realised it had stopped working the next time I used the bike. I took the sensor apart (it's a basic cateye vectra wireless one) and it didn't look as if any moisture had got in, but I left it open for a few days anyway, just in case. It's still not working and in theory I suppose it might just be the battery that has run out, but that seems rather coincidental, considering it died just after the mud bath. Had a look round the shops and the replacement batteries are about £5.00. Now, if I knew it was definitely a battery problem, I would simply get a new one, but that somehow seems a bit unlikely, and being a poor student, I don't want to fork out a fiver for a battery only to then realise it's still not working and then having to buy a new computer which might need a completely different battery anyway.

So, I'm wondering, shall I get the battery or would I be better off just getting a new basic computer? If so, any suggestion for cheap, basic and wireless? What are the chances the current one will come back to life?

Any ideas/tips/suggestions???

Thanks,
Jana :smile:
 
Location
Herts
Do poor students (an oxymoron these days?) know another poor student with a cheap multimeter? Possibly a poor student taking an electronics or electricians course?
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
The batteries for mine (Cateye wireless) were £1.99 each. If you have a look round the shops like Poundstretchers you can get a pack of about 30 button batteries in various sizes for a quid, there should be one the right size.
 
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punkypossum

punkypossum

Donut Devil
Dayvo said:
Depends on how much you want to pay for it, the functions it has, its reliability, and if you intend landing in the shoot again soon! :blush:

Intend isn't quite the word I would use - my first landing was rather unintentional, so I can't really predict when my next poo-paddle is due! Can get a new vectra for £20, but it's not proved very disaster-resistant, so not sure if I want to go for another one....and the micro, which seems to do a lot more is only £25 (not that I really have £20 quid, let alone £25 :smile:)

As for John, what on earth is a multimeter??? I'm a non-technical girlie remember!!! :smile:
 
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punkypossum

punkypossum

Donut Devil
Smokin Joe said:
The batteries for mine (Cateye wireless) were £1.99 each. If you have a look round the shops like Poundstretchers you can get a pack of about 30 button batteries in various sizes for a quid, there should be one the right size.

Tried that...they only have the little ones in the packs, the sensor needs a fairly big one :blush: Cheapest I could find was Wilkos at £4.65 :smile:
 

Elmer Fudd

Miserable Old Bar Steward
punkypossum said:
Intend isn't quite the word I would use - my first landing was rather unintentional, so I can't really predict when my next poo-paddle is due! Can get a new vectra for £20, but it's not proved very disaster-resistant, so not sure if I want to go for another one....and the micro, which seems to do a lot more is only £25 (not that I really have £20 quid, let alone £25 :smile:)

As for John, what on earth is a multimeter??? I'm a non-technical girlie remember!!! :blush:
A multimeter is an electronic test meter for testing anything erm, electric. You can poke the probes in the wall sockets willy nilly if you want to check for power.
Ignore the last bit unless you know what you're looking for, electric shocks (a) feckin' hurt, (:smile: are fatal.
 

frog

Guest
Sounds like you're looking at a replacement battery. Batteries work when their two poles are connected and the current flows. Remove wires and the current stops. Drop the battery into something which conducts, even sligitly, and it will discharge. Not rechargeable either, when they're gone they stay gone I think you're looking at a CR2032 which is about the lowest price one of the coin cell batteries. Try Tesco's on their battery rack. Usually at the end of an aisle.

Usually, I'd buy Duracell because you get much more life out of them. However, as you're not sure if the sensor is kaput then I'd go for something like a Varta brand which will be about half the price.
 

cyclebum

Senior Member
Location
Cheshire
Whatever you do don't buy a wireless 9 function from Halfords as I have had nothing but trouble with it. It suddenly decides to zero itself at will (did 26 miles the other day but it showed 9!:blush:). I've had 1 replacement and this one is the same. The manager has now told me they are getting some good ones in at not too much more than this one and not only will she replace it but she will fit it herself and use it as training for her staff. It's a wired one though which I have been led to believe is more reliable which must be an improvement;):smile:
 
Wired ones are more reliable in my exp. The trouble with wired ones is that they have to be attached to the bike properly which is something that many folks appear to have difficulty with.
 

frog

Guest
The problem I found with wired computers is the cable fatiguing and breaking over time. If you use just the zip tags that come with the kit you then squeeze the cable agains the frame or forks. Over time that snaps the very fine cable which transmits the data to the computer. I've never worn out a computer, it's always the cables which go first.

On the wireless side I find my Solidlights 1203D light interferes with the signals between the sensor and the computer so I don't get anything on the screen. I've eventually settled for a Garmin Edge which works independently of the wheel's rotation.

When it came to fitting computer cables to a frame or fork I found that putting a loop of insulation tape around the bar a couple of times, lay in the wire, and then a couple more loops of tape held it in place and I didn't get the fatigue fractures I used to get.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
Also the wireless ones have 2 batteries don't they?
I've gone back to wired myself because of the interference problem - my max speed used to be regularly recorded as 55mph!
 

Blonde

New Member
Location
Bury, Lancashire
Pound shops often sell whole cards of those watch type batteries for a quid if that's the sort it takes. Aldi/Lidl 'puters are godamnugly (the brackets' are a bit on the chunky side) but work perfectly well and are under a tenner. The last one I bought was an ordinary corded one for about £6. My cordless one was only three quid more from Spa Cycles.
 
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