shimano flightdeck nightmares
dan baker
considering getting one, dont.
Mine, and most other people I know in the tandem club, have found them
less than reliable, and generally hard to use even when they ARE
working. They have crummy buttons, are very hard (non-intuitive) to
setup, and break without warning and with alarming frequency.
Unfortunately, they are also about the only way to get a visual
indication of what gear you are in on a tandem equipped with STI
shifters. Which brings me to the actual technical question....
Does anyone know of a good alternative? its pretty hard to see the
rear cassette on a tandem from the front seat!
Also, does anyone have any suggestion on how best to get Shimano to
listen to how crummy these things are and either fix them or take them
back? I've been fooling around with mine for 4 months now, written
emails and letters to Shimano with NO response at all.
anyway, I am looking forward to hearing if there are alternatives to
visual indication of current gear position on a tandem....
dan
Dave Thompson
cable as it come out of the shifter. It has a clear window with a red 'ball'
that indicates what cog your rear derailluer is on. It's simple, easy to
install and works well. I can't find a reference to point you to, but if you
want, e-mail me off-line and I'll send you a pic.
Dave
"dan baker" <bot...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Gary Mishler
> considering getting one, dont.
>
> Mine, and most other people I know in the tandem club, have found them
> less than reliable, and generally hard to use even when they ARE
> working. They have crummy buttons, are very hard (non-intuitive) to
> setup, and break without warning and with alarming frequency.
< rest of post snipped ... >
Gee, I have ridden a 6500 Flightdeck for five years and thousands of miles
and never had one bit of trouble. Followed procedures in the manual and
found it easy to set up, have had no trouble with buttons and it's never
once malfunctioned.
Are all the ones in your tandem club installed or setup by the same shop? I
know it's really important to have the switches and such in the shifters set
up properly.
I don't know if there is some change between the 6500 and 6501 to account
for the difference in performance???
Anyone else here have similar results?
Nick Payne
inline Dura-Ace gear indicators. My LBS gave me three last week when I asked
for one...
Nick
Mike Jacoubowsky
They're apparently not giving them to the customers whose bikes they came
with. We do, and just ordered some new ones, and they're *not* free; if the
shop that gave you three of them had to buy them, they'd sell for about $9
apiece.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
"Nick Payne" <nickDO...@afpDOTgov.au> wrote in message
news:lAC6a.7$tQ1....@nsw.nnrp.telstra.net...
Mike Jacoubowsky
they'd be. Problems have been extremely rare, especially once they moved to
the one button/side setup. My guess is that yours may have been installed
by someone who doesn't do a lot of them. We sell over 200/year, and have
problems of the sort you're describing with, at most, 5.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
"dan baker" <bot...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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David Obando
months, and loved it so much that I went out just recently and bought two
(one for each bike, though the unit can store information for up to four
bikes)...
It's gotten completely submerged, I've slammed my chest full force onto it
(that log shouldn't have had the second log hiding behind it) I've dumped
the bike everywhere from moderately hard to "Oh there it is about 100 yards
down the hill" and the thing keeps working like nobody's business... I had
the first 6501 installed in about 30 minutes, and the second one installed
in 15... I followed the directions and thought the programming was rather
simple, and the auto start and stop feature makes things a breeze! you just
zero the trip meter, hit start, and the rest is just cycling thru (no pun
intended) whichever display you might want to see... Honestly I'm no whiz
at all but found the Flightdeck second nature to operate the 2nd time I used
it...
I think with all the problems you're having with yours their are only two
explanations:
1) the flightdecks suffer from very serious variations in quality off the
production line, and I just happened to get two good one's in a row
or...
Come to think about it, you sound reasonably capable so I guess I only have
one explanation (above)
But what do you mean by "break"? the Harness? the mounting? the case
itself? Just curious because mine appear to be bulletproof... and the only
thing that would possess me to take it off my bike is the increasing
tendency I am experiencing toward being a weight weenie :) (though I will
never get to the point where I think about saving 3 grams by flushing out
the lubricating grease in the hub seals)
Although the cadence feature is great, second only in greatness to the
visual gear display, I've gotten fairly decent at judging cadence by
memorizing speeds in particular gear combos.
I think the only time the thing ever gave me erroneous info is after bombing
thru some thick underbrush and the wireless sensor on my front fork got hung
up on what I suspect was a branch, and twisted away from the wheel... I just
stopped, released the tie strap swung it back into position retightened, and
I was on my way.
Honestly, I think just about everyone could live WITHOUT a computer on their
bike, in fact, I'm certain of it, but there is a coolness factor that can't
be denied, particularly by a recreational rider such as myself. And there
are those long, straight sections of trail where its just something fun to
play around with...
I think the only thing missing on the 6501 is a wireless heart rate
sensor... Maybe that will be in the 6502...
Have Fun!
David
"dan baker" <bot...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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marten gerritsen
> ...just a rant against shimano 6501 flightdecks. in case anyone is
> considering getting one, dont.
>
> Mine, and most other people I know in the tandem club, have found them
> less than reliable, and generally hard to use even when they ARE
> working. They have crummy buttons, are very hard (non-intuitive) to
> setup, and break without warning and with alarming frequency.
many problems with flitedecks are solved by removing the connectors from
the levers, bending the contactlips outward, and reinstalling. Make sure
you do this somewhere where you have a chance in retrieving the tiny
screws.
/Marten
dougc
My Flight Deck, which is about a year old, has done flaky things since
I got it. It sometimes will report a ludicrous Max speed for a ride.
More often, the Avg speed for a ride will display "Err". I have run
across other people on various forums who have experienced the same
problem. My LBS tried replacing the head, but the replacement did the
same thing. I suspect that this is some sort of internal software
problem with the dynamic calculation of Avg speed,since the elements
required to statically calculate the avg are present
(duration,distance).
Last winter, I had problems with the Flite Deck stopping recording in
the middle of a ride, especially in cold weather, but that appears to
have been caused by poor electrical contact between the head and the
bracket. I clean the contacts regularly now and have not had that
problem this winter.
Gary Smiley
feedback, and are useful in organized rides when you have to follow a cue sheet.
Helps on longer rides, like centuries. How else could you know when you hit 100
miles?
Monty Montgomery
occasionally I too get "Err" for Ave speed.
Monty
Steve Palincsar
> Unfortunately, they are also about the only way to get a visual
> indication of what gear you are in on a tandem equipped with STI
> shifters. Which brings me to the actual technical question....
>
> Does anyone know of a good alternative? its pretty hard to see the rear
> cassette on a tandem from the front seat!
bar end shifters
David Obando
recreational/fitness/fun rider group that I plop myself into :) Kind of the
weekend warriors of bike riding... For the more organized/competitive/group
events I can see how an accurate computer could certainly help.
For me I just bust up the trail and the street and stop for picnics and
cruise around and every now and then someone says "How far have we gone?" :)
But I'm planning on getting far more serious as I've focused on cycling in
particular as something I want to do as a core for fitness...
I may even get a road bike soon... God help me! LoL!
Have a good one!
David
"Gary Smiley" <gasm...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:3E5B9692...@attbi.com...
dan baker
>
> It's gotten completely submerged, I've slammed my chest full force...
---------
mine is a case of no abuse on a tandem....
the weirdest thing is that is shows current speed, gear, cadence but
WILL NOT zero the trip or start/stop. I guess it might be because one
button isn't registering as pushed, BUT functions change with both
buttons when pressed individually, so its not that.
> 1) the flightdecks suffer from very serious variations in quality off the
> production line, and I just happened to get two good one's in a row
> or...
> Come to think about it, you sound reasonably capable so I guess I only have
> one explanation (above)
-------
thanx. ;)
the other minor factor is that I've very carefully packed away the
user's guide somewhere I cant find it. I am planning on changing my
big front chainring from 52 to 55, and maybe the rear cassette as
well.... I cant seem to access the "setup" features of the unit at
all. I am hoping to either get a spare from shimano, or talk someone
into scanning the english section of their manual.
d
Dave Thompson
Individual images in GIF format:
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/..._manual_en_gif/
ZIP'ed archive file of GIF images (approx 8.4MB):
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/...nual_en_gif.zip
"dan baker" <bot...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:13685ef8.03022...@posting.google.com...
Stan Lipnowski
Stan
Gary Smiley
flight deck often reports an average speed of 1/2 to 1 mph less than other bike computers in the
same group, although it reports the same distance. Go figure.
TDWFL
indicator. It fits in-line on your right shift
>cable as it come out of the shifter.
I'll vouch for the way this works. It's okay on my regular bike but I can see
it being way more useful on a tandem.
tim
dan baker
> Flight Deck manual
> Individual images in GIF format:
> http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/..._manual_en_gif/
I looked all over
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/
and did not see any manual pages. There was one shot of the unit
itself, but i didnt see any manual page scans.... do you think they
might have moved?
Bob Parker
it for use on a tandem but installed it on my single to check out. It
has worked OK for the typical computer functions but has said I've
been in 1st gear for about 2.5 years!! (I have not been). So I won't
put it on the tandem. The manual says to replace the base unit if
this happens but I wonder if that would be a waste of $.
Bob Parker
Qui si parla Campagnolo
together for the whole ride, the
flight deck often reports an average speed of 1/2 to 1 mph less than other bike
computers in the
same group, although it reports the same distance. Go figure.
Cuz you have shimano where they have Campagnolo...simple-
;-l)
Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
dan baker
> Shimano makes a Dura Ace gear indicator. It fits in-line on your right shift
> cable as it come out of the shifter. It has a clear window with a red 'ball'
> that indicates what cog your rear derailluer is on. It's simple, easy to
apparently these were too good and too inexpensive for Shimano to mess
with... my LBS dont have any and dont think they can get any. ;(
d
Dave Thompson
You might try a quick e-mail to Mike at Chain Reaction. I'll bet he has some
and/or can tell you how to get one.
"--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles"
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
-Dave
SDAbrams
which is poorly positioned on the hood. That stops the trip timer.
Marc
> Flight Deck manual
> Individual images in GIF format:
> et/~khuon/images/..._manual_en_gif/
> ZIP'ed archive file of GIF images (approx 8.4MB):
> et/~khuon/images/...nual_en_gif.zip
> "dan baker" <bot...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:13685ef8.03022514-
> 34.31...@posting.google.comnews:13685ef8.0302251434.311cdd57@posting-
Hi Dave,
I tried the 2 hyperlinks to get to the manuals. They do not function
anymore. Do you have another source?
Would really appreciate your help.
Txs
Marc
:confused:
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http://psycle-therapy.great-ride.com/shimano_flight_deck_6501_instruc.htm
Sam Salt
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Harrow
> Hi Dave,
> I tried the 2 hyperlinks to get to the manuals. They do not function
> anymore. Do you have another source?
> Would really appreciate your help.
> Txs
> Marc
> :confused:
Marc,
The Shimano Flight Deck instructions are available at:
http://bike.shimano.com/Computer/index.asp
Regards, Harrow.