Cycling computers

[john]

Hi all. Thought I'd ask all of you who use computers for recomendations. I've been on the fence about using a computer to track mileage for some time now, but I believe I'd like to try.

The criteria: 

1. It has to be very simple to operate and easy to read.

2. I don't need or want heart rate monitor or anything like altitude or anything complicated.

3. I'm just interested in tracking mileage (how far was my ride today? I seldom know - which is not always a bad thing, but I get curious).

4. I don't want to spend a lot of money. I'm thinking I can do this for $30 or so?

Thanks.

John

[Bruce Herbitter]

Cheap & simple.  $16.99 + 20% more off today only. Cateye 8

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_135906_-1___202553

John

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[William R.]

Hi John. Do you have a smart phone by any chance? If so and if you already take yours with you when you ride then you already have a cycle computer. I use a app called Cyclemeter but there are many more options out there. I turn it on when I head out on a ride, put in my bag and forget it. But you could get a handlebar mount for your phone and go that way. These apps are so intuitive they make traditional cycle computers obsolete. Nothing against not having a smart phone of course. There are great deals out there on the more traditional cycle computers. My most recent experience is with a Cateye Wireless. I wasn't happy with it. Very confusing to program. If I were going that route I would look for a cheap, wired Avocet 35 from back in the 90's. I found their operation simple. Never needed all the cadence and heart rate stuff.

[Peter Morgano]

I got a no name wireless from my lbs 3 years ago, still works great. It was 40 bucks.

[IanA]

I just use a wired Cateye.  Older model, but basically similar to this one in terms of function http://www.rei.com/product/838365/cateye-cc-vl520-velo-7-wired-bike-computer

I've found my old Cateye to be very accurate for distance readings.  Mine isn't waterproof in an extended downpour, so now I'm in the habit of putting a small plastic bag over it in rain.  It would be better if waterproof.  I prefer wired instead of wireless, due to battery life.

Something that is hard to find on a cheaper computer is illumination. In addition to basic function, illumination for me would be the most useful feature,

I only use the computer for longer rides (touring and randonneuring. ,For commuting, I don't find a computer useful.

Ian A

Edmonton, AB Canada.

[Garth]

My favorite is my actual PC !!  Yes, if/when I wish to know how far I rode, I just go to google maps. I have my home destination coordinates as the start page, then I simply click to "add destination" points as needed, as a simple point A to B often chooses the fastest route for cars, not necessarily the one I chose.

[WETH]

I like the Planet Bike Protege 9. I bought mine at REI. I first learned of it through reviews on the Crazy Guy on a Bike website: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/reviews/board/message/?o=1&thread_id=41518&page=1&nested=0&v=1C

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sun, 2013-04-28 at 11:40 -0700, William R. wrote:
> My most recent experience is with a Cateye Wireless. I wasn't happy
> with it. Very confusing to program. If I were going that route I would
> look for a cheap, wired Avocet 35 from back in the 90's. I found their
> operation simple. Never needed all the cadence and heart rate stuff.

I found the Wireless Micro instructions almost incomprehensible;
fortunately, there are "English translations" available that make much
more sense.

More recently, I purchased a Cateye Strada Wireless. Cheap, limited
functions but it has everything I want and not much that I don't; and it
turns out it's pretty easy to figure out how to set up.

[Steve Palincsar]

Wheel World has the Cateye Mity 8 (wired) available on closeout for $20.
I've got a bunch of them. Functions I use: odometer, average, distance
1 (current ride), distance 2 (which I use to track when to next clean
the chain), elapsed time. I ignore max speed and time.

The Strada Wireless has the same functions in a simple, small wireless
computer but it's around $45. I've got one of these, too.

[PATRICK MOORE]

+1 for Cyclemeter. One POCES (piece of Chinese electric shite) to take care, not only of the data for four (4) (IV) bikes, but also to tell your time, download your email, tell your temperature, find your directions, get your library books, keep your daughter amused, etc etc etc. I hear tell that the 4 manages GPS more efficiently than the 3G (free with 2 yrs ATT) so i think I'll upgrade sometime this year.

John

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http://resumespecialties.com/index.html

patric...@resumespecialties.com

Albuquerque, NM

[Eric Peterson]

As I have a number of bikes, I have standardized on certain components.

One of which was the Cateye wired cyclocomputers - they have worked great for me.

Now Cateye has dropped all those models and replaced them new versions that have less functionality.

So Cateye is acting just like Microsoft and Shimano, and discontinuing an item and making it unavailable.

I guess that is progress.

I have checked Wheel Works a number of times, but the the Cateye Mity8 is always "Sorry, this item is currently not available. Please check back".

Were you able to make a purchase recently of this product from Wheel Works?

Thanks,

Eric Peterson 

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sun, 2013-04-28 at 18:22 -0700, Eric Peterson wrote:
> As I have a number of bikes, I have standardized on certain
> components.
> One of which was the Cateye wired cyclocomputers - they have worked
> great for me.
> Now Cateye has dropped all those models and replaced them new versions
> that have less functionality.
> So Cateye is acting just like Microsoft and Shimano, and discontinuing
> an item and making it unavailable.
> I guess that is progress.
>
>
> I have checked Wheel Works a number of times, but the the Cateye Mity8
> is always "Sorry, this item is currently not available. Please check
> back".
>
>
> Were you able to make a purchase recently of this product from Wheel
> Works?
>

No, just found it on a google search.

If the Mity 8's no longer available, I'd suggest the Strada Wireless as
an alternative.

[john]

Eric, Steve:

Thanks for suggesting the MItty8. I went to Wheel Works, as Steve directed, and found it was "unavailable at this time".  I'll look into the Strada, but have reservations about going wireless. What's the difference in battery life (wireless vs. wired)? Also: What's the verdict on the Cateye 7 or 8? Thanks.

John

[Michael]

I like mileage and temperature to be features on my cyclometer.

That way I can see how much temp extremes I can take for reference.

Good to know so you don't psych yourself outta a ride just because you heard its gonna be 105 and humid tomorrow for your metric century.

If you have already ridden that hot several times, and you know so by past cyclometer readings, then you will be confident and not hand wringing the night before.

[Mike Schiller]

Google Maps does have a bicycle button that finds the best cycling route. It works pretty  good.

~mike

[Helmut Wong]

On Sunday, April 28, 2013 3:07:50 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote:

+1 for Cyclemeter. One POCES (piece of Chinese electric shite) to take care, not only of the data for four (4) (IV) 

Please be sensitive to using the term "Chinese" in a pejorative manner. I understand that the country exports a lot of consumer goods worldwide, and there are many criticisms of their labor practices; but it's easy for the conversation to devolve into a blanket condemnation of all things -- and all people -- of Chinese origin.

Thanks,

H.

[RoadieRyan]

Blackburn Delphi or Atom series large display makes it easy to read, the Atom I use currently is wireless easy to set up and has a stem mount option I like that keeps my bars clear of clutter. Both series available on Amazon.& Nashbar

[Stephen S]

agreed

[Eric Peterson]

The new Cat Eye wired models are Velo 7, Velo 8, Velo 9.

I suppose they work well enough. I have a Velo 9. 

The mounting system is cheaper,

Also some have dubious features such as calories consumed, or a calculation of carbon offset.

These replace the useful feature (no longer available) of being able to set the odometer (which now I believe just goes up to 9999 then resets to 0). 

Wireless to me means one more battery to replace, and dealing with interference problems.

Eric Peterson

[Steve Palincsar]

Or, you could check the weather.com hourly forecast for the area where
you'll be riding before you leave home.

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sun, 2013-04-28 at 19:08 -0700, john wrote:
> Eric, Steve:
>
>
> Thanks for suggesting the MItty8. I went to Wheel Works, as Steve
> directed, and found it was "unavailable at this time". I'll look into
> the Strada, but have reservations about going wireless. What's the
> difference in battery life (wireless vs. wired)? Also: What's the
> verdict on the Cateye 7 or 8? Thanks.

Battery life with wireless is typically less than with wired, and you
have twice as many batteries. On the other hand, installation is
simpler.

The battery life on the (now discontinued) Wireless Micro was
dramatically less than I had grown used to on the (now very long
discontinued) Cateye Cordless II's I used on most of my bikes in the
1990s and 2000s (the last one of which quit early this year, wouldn't
work at under 40 degrees even with brand new batteries) replaced by the
Strada Wireless).

The Strada Wireless is too new for me to have any idea of battery life.

I've never seen them in person, but according to specs the wired Velo 7
and Velo 9 only have 1 trip distance, which doesn't work for me because
I rely on trip distance 2 to keep track of mileage since the last chain
cleaning. The additional "features" of the Velo 9, calorie consumption
and carbon offset, are IMHO entirely worthless.

[Bruce Baker]

Hi John,

I'm suprised I haven't seen mapmyride pop in this discussion.  I have been using this since 2010 and like it a lot.  It is free and generates a bunch of statistics on daily, weekly,monthly and annual distance.  It also breaks down each ride into segments.  The iphone app for this works great.  There were a few snags early on but most seem to be worked out at this time.

Bruce

John

--

[Scott G.]

The Strada wireless (old style analog), did not play nice with the SON hub or Berthoud fenders.

There is a new digital 2.4ghz version coming.

[PATRICK MOORE]

Sorry, no intention of offending. I have Chinese blood myself, as my mother is Filipino. The "POS" refers to the plastic electronic shite, not to the makers.

Patrick "little brown brother [see Howard Taft] Moore"

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[Allingham II, Thomas J]

I love everything about Cyclemeter except its heavy battery drain – I can’t get it to last more than 30 miles or so.  I’m a slow rider and all, but sheesh…

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[Steve Palincsar]

On Sun, 2013-04-28 at 18:42 -0700, Fai Mao wrote:
> I use and like the Cat-Eye Strata with cadence. I have both the wired
> and wireless versions. I find the wired versions to be really reliably
> but sometimes difficult to setup I seem to have a hard time getting
> the magnets close enough for the sensor to read. But once I get that
> figured out they are reliable and work well. The wireless one is
> really persnickety

Do you really feel cadence is worth it? I had it on a bike once back 20
years ago, and although it was interesting for the first couple of
weeks, I quit paying attention to it after a little while, and never
missed it when it quit working. Haven't had it for a long time and
wouldn't bother with it again.

[Eric Platt]

I'm with Steve on this, no cadence for me, please.  Had one when getting back into cycling and was just as happy to get rid of it when the bike was sold.

 

The new wired Cateye Velo models are cheap, but they seem to work okay.  My favorite was the Enduro series as it had a larger diameter wire which holds up well.  Mine is still going after about a decade.

 

Did try a wireless for a bit, but there are too many areas where I ride that have interference with the sensor.  Mainly 3 or 4 underground pipelines on or next to bike trails.  They look a lot cleaner, though and if I could get past that complaint would probably switch over.

 

Eric Platt

St. Paul, MN

[Robert F. Harrison]

I agree...cadence was interesting for a bit, but once I discovered that my cadence is pretty consistent I didn't care when I broke the bit that measured it by accident. Indeed I've now managed to lose the entire Garmin gps unit (a few years old and not used much anyway but still....). 

I use the cheapest available wired units now because I'm only interested in my time on the bike and sometimes my distance. I keep track of my time on the bike as we have a goal at work having to do with fitness and essentially everyone is encouraged to 'exercise' two hours a week. By that standard I finished the entire year before the end of April and yes, I'm aware that bicycling doesn't constitute the only sort of exercise one can do - but it is easy to track. :-)

Aloha,

Bob

--
Robert Harrison

Honolulu, HI
rfhar...@gmail.com
statrix.com

[Nick Worthington]

I have a Lucas cyclometer and a pocket watch on one of my bikes - but I mostly use MapMyRide on my smartphone :.)

Nick

On Sunday, April 28, 2013 11:13:52 AM UTC-7, john wrote:

Hi all. Thought I'd ask all of you who use computers for recomendations. I've been on the fence about using a computer to track mileage for some time now, but I believe I'd like to try.

Thanks.

John

[Steven Frederick]

...Did try a wireless for a bit, but there are too many areas where I ride that have interference with the sensor.... 

Yeah, I don't use them for that reason as well.  But I do kind of miss the (false) triple digit maximum speeds though!

[Ron Mc]

if you don't mind the wires, the Cateye Cadence is cheap

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/10893613039136828338?q=cateye+cadence&rlz=1C1PRFA_enUS414US414&oq=cateye+cadence&aqs=chrome.0.57j0l3j62.2705j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=o4eCUavhM6qB0QHxMw&ved=0CKEBELkk  

It's what I have on my daughter's bike, and it has really helped with her spin.  

There is also only one battery to keep up with

On Sunday, April 28, 2013 1:13:52 PM UTC-5, john wrote:

Hi all. Thought I'd ask all of you who use computers for recomendations. I've been on the fence about using a computer to track mileage for some time now, but I believe I'd like to try.

[Bryan]

I spend too much of my life looking at a screen. I really don't want to see one when I'm on my bike! 

Bryan 

[bobish]

Well, you've gotten many good suggestions here. I used to have some sort of computer on every bike. I even mounted my car GPS to the hadlebars with some spare parts. Why not? It didn't cost me a penny and the GPS had a bike mode. Got enough juice from each charge for most day trips. But nowadays only 2 out of our 5 bikes has have computers—even then, one of those those has a dead battery I doubt I'll replace. So, I'm enjoying going mostly without these days, as it allows me focus on other things about my rides. The one computer left is a planet bike protege (9, I think) and it's good. No complaints.

That said, computers for cycles has really morphed into something else entirely these days. Lots of questions I'd ask myself if I were to get into it again: Directions? Elevation? Other gps functions? Social and archiving (sharing trip data, comparing trip times, keeping logs, etc)? Just the basics (odo, current speed, clock, a couple of trip averages)?

The answers to above quesitons would dictate the type I'd choose. For just the basics, I'd go for the most basic wired, cheap unit. A cateye, planet bike, or whatever. I think they're all comparable, frankly. Anything more complicated I'd be deciding between a garmin (or equivalent) and a phone app/smart phone. Having a smart phone with me anyway (and having access to maps, weather, contact to get help already) I'd probably go for the app but not totally sure without going through the actual thought process/research.

Perry

[Boogarich]

[Boogarich]

I have the Sigma 509.  It is inexpensive ($15 at Amazon), battery last long (over a year now) has auto start/stop and is easy to use.

[Andrew McGinley]

thing about computers is, at least for me, I spend a lot of time CALIBRATING the damn thing.    You set it based on the wheel and tire combination, but that's never correct so for the next seventeen rides you are tweaking it.   You watch every mile marker like a hawk to confirm how close to accurate your computer is.   So you start doing all sorts of calculations in your head like "OK, that last mile marker my computer said 9.52 instead of 9.50….that means, I need to check it the next time."  Then the next time it says 10.54 and you are like "a-ha!  I'm onto you.  So, halfway through this ride, I'll waste 10 minutes figuring out how to access the calibration function (with one button) so I can take 1 index off the wheel-diameter…or is it add 1 index….hmmm…..doe s smaller number produce a lower or higher reading….hmmmm"    And then when you turn around on the ride, you are like…."OK gotta stop at PRECISELY at this mile marker and place the wheels down without letting them turn unnecessarily so I can continue my certifiable obsession with accuracy on the return trip……"    then the next time your tires aren't the same pressure and you even more screwed up…

meanwhile a thousand spring trees have passed you by that you will never again get to see in just that way in just that same afternoon light and thinking about something elegant and free and beautiful…...…..

[Andrew McGinley]

Forgive me if this is a tired topic, but I'd love to have a simple app that tells me how far I've gone as I'm riding based on my iPhone's GPS. Also it would be wonderful to have an app that allows me to record my bikes, swims and runs and then totals them up and so forth.

Problem is, many of the apps I've looked into are little rah rah rah personal trainers… Or "here's what you need to do to have ripped abs based on your weight and age and religion and the cycle of the moon"……. and so forth.

Any suggestions?

[PATRICK MOORE]

I use Cyclemeter which does everthing that I need it to do and much more -- except go easy on the battery. But for my short rides it is very good. Much better than Endomodo. The only real complaint are the constant and frequent updates.

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[Cyclofiend Jim]

It's been recommended by others, but Cyclemeter is pretty adaptible. They just revised it and seem to be loading in more functions than I need, but it has the ability for multiple activity modes.  I like that we can do a hike and track the distance, because our trail-running friend really appreciates the mileage info.

- Jim / cyclofiend.com

[PATRICK MOORE]

GPS, my friend, GPS. Let the satellites do the figgering for you while you watch the scenery.

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[René Sterental]

+1 for GPS... and a bike sensor for backup... Leave the computer in your pocket if you don't want to look at the numbers...

I also tried several iPhone apps, and depending on the purpose, these are the ones I like:

Cyclemeter for general purpose riding. 

Wahoo for general riding and uploading to different websites. 

Motion X GPS for riding off-road riding since it has the best maps which show all the trails. It also allows uploading and a lot of other stuff. 

On my Garmin 810 I'm now using the OpenStreet maps which I find much better than the Garmin. Motion X uses the same maps. 

What I found cumbersome is having the iPhone on the bars. 

René 

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Sent from Mailbox for iPhone

[Frank Quan]

Cateye Strada wireless on my Litespeed.  No computer on my Rivendell.  

[Andrew McGinley]

so cycle meter is worth the $5?

[Nick Payne]

Is the Google app My Tracks available for iPhone? It's what I use on my Android, it's free, and it does what you're asking. http://www.google.com/mobile/mytracks/

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[René Sterental]

Try MotionX GPS. Best for maps and finding your way...

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[PATRICK MOORE]

It cost me nothing. Just downloaded it again Friday because I managed clumsily to erase it last week. 

[Philip Williamson]

I use Google Tracks and Strava on my Android phone (both for each ride), and cyclemeter and Strava on my iPad. They all work for running and walking and driving, too.
I don't ride with the iPad anymore, but Cyclemeter was fine for it. Google's Tracks is not available for iOS devices, and I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

Philip
www.biketinker.com