General Cycling Discussion - What new features would you like to have in your new bicycle computer. And why?

The good bicycle computer is essential on the long distance tour. One has to know how far is until the next camping ground, next food store, or LBS.

I can not imagine riding on the trail by map in the new country, without computer.

The question is: what new features would you like to have in your new computer. And why?

I would like to have the possibility to know my coordinates on the map. It means GPS functions.

I would like to have the light under the screen to see the display during the night.

Next: more durable battery.

Mobile phone & SMS capabilities.

Altitude meter.

What else?

Hi,
I would like a Planet Bike that was
1)wireless
2)rugged
3)backlit for nite riding
4)cadence
5)incline
6) and as long as I am hallucinating......watt output!

i want a candy dispenser

heart rate
large, readable, numbers
calories per hour
calories
emergency locator beacon
weather radio
temperature
humidity
stolen bike locator (like lojack)
On the GPS:
nearest restroom
nearby restaurants, grouped by cuisine, dress code, and price range
nearest medical facitility
nearest law enforcement facility or officer
nearest bike shop

Oooohhhh!!! LoJack! I want that!

Originally posted by Crack'n'fail
i want a candy dispenser

Do you mean possibility to order candies over the Internet from your bike computer? :)

no, i mean I push a button and piece of mint chocolate pops out into my hand!
LOL

I did think of a more serious idea:

what about a computer that you can program your route into. It would take into consideration topography, distance and your past performances to let you know when you were overexerting and were going to bonk, or when you were being weak and could easily stand to ride harder and still finish strong.

Originally posted by late
Oooohhhh!!! LoJack! I want that!

That would be my 2nd cousin on my fathers side :lol:


Marty

Can we set the default homepage on this bike computer to bikeforums.net? :)

The only feature that i would like, is a nice backlight for night rides. K.I.S.S.!

How about:
- female radar,
- headwind deflector,
- clear sky inducer.

Head-up display and rear-view camera with IFF to locate dangerous drivers. (cars need to have radio transmitters broadcasting past motoring offenses)

Distance to Empty

WiFi, a color LCD and a DVD drive.:roflmao:

I'm suddenly reminded of that Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "The Cycling Tour" where they've developed "accident survivable food"...

"Yes, do you know that in our laboratories, we have developed a cheese sandwich that can withstand an impact of 4,000 pounds per square inch? ... Amazing, isn't it? We have also developed a tomato which can eject itself when an accident is imminent."

A radar that can tell you how fast the bike in front of you or behind you is doing. And it can warn you when a car/bike is going to pass you really close. I don't think that's hard to make.

How about a bottle openner and a cork screw!:beer:

I would like one with some legs that pop out and pedal for me.

No one mentioned the ability to do splits. For some reason that appeals to me. I.e., keep total mileage going for point a to d, but to also see how far from b to c along the route without losing the a to d. Maybe some already do this.

Fox, the cateye mity3 / 8 has dual trip distances which is sort of what you'd like.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
the ability to do splits.
Touchdown! Why in the #*&%$ can't I push a button and have the little beastie squirrel away up to, say 10 samples ,of my current mileage, average speed, and ride time for retrieval when I get home?

this...


Originally posted by FOG
heart rate
large, readable, numbers
calories per hour
calories
emergency locator beacon
weather radio
temperature
humidity
stolen bike locator (like lojack)
On the GPS:
nearest restroom
nearby restaurants, grouped by cuisine, dress code, and price range
nearest medical facitility
nearest law enforcement facility or officer
nearest bike shop


plus this...

I would like one with some legs that pop out and pedal for me.

and this...

I would like to have the possibility to know my coordinates on the map. It means GPS functions.
I would like to have the light under the screen to see the display during the night.

Next: more durable battery.

Mobile phone & SMS capabilities.

Altitude meter.


I think that's it...

A digital camera.

That way, I can take pictures while on the road.

Average cadence.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
No one mentioned the ability to do splits. For some reason that appeals to me. I.e., keep total mileage going for point a to d, but to also see how far from b to c along the route without losing the a to d. Maybe some already do this.

The old Cateye CC-8000 ATC had a 10-memory split that not only recorded times but also distance and avg speeds. It was called the "memo" feature. I miss my old ATC and will purchase another one if I can ever find it again. Sadly it's been discontinued for a long time now.

BTW, here's a review of the CC-8000 from BikePro:


CATEYE ATC CYCLING COMPUTER

The ATC is down right amazing!! Using a magnetic front wheel sensor the ATC presents a wide range of options across a three line Liquid Crystal Display. The upper line is 4mm high, the middle, (main) line of the display is 10mm high, and the lower line is 5mm high. All distance readings can be displayed in MPH or KPH. It has a switch selectable auto start function, that begins to read and record all trip functions, (elapsed time, maximum speed, average speed, trip distance) when the wheel starts to move. It will also stop each of the functions temporarily if the wheel stops moving, should you stop to rest and continue where you left off when you start to ride again.

With the auto function set you can accurately measure the time and distance you ride. The ATC has two trip meters, displayed on the lower line, one resettable by the user, the other is a trip distance per day function that is tied to the 24 hour clock to show how far in total, you've ridden in a 0 to 24 hour period. Both trip meters run up to 1000 miles, displayed to the 1/100 mile, then reset. The trip distance per day meter resets automatically each day at 12 midnight using the clock.

Tied to the primary trip meter, with a top line display, is a stopwatch, which runs to 10 hours, by 1 second increments. Also a product of the trip meter and clock functions are Average speed, which is displayed on the top line and Maximum speed which is displayed on the middle line, both displayed to the 1/10th MPH. Your Current speed is a middle line function, displayed to the nearest 1/10th MPH. The ATC has a 24 hour clock that is displayed at the left side of the upper line. The last of the common functions for the ATC is Total Distance or Odometer, which is displayed on the lower line, up to 100,000 miles when it resets automatically to zero.

The ATC has an uncommon and highly useful function, certainly more important than say, an altimeter. The ATC has a multi function 10 stage memory to record the trip distance, elapsed time, and split average speed for up to ten separate legs, or splits on a ride. Because this function is unique to this computer, and so fundamental in personal training, it's worth discussing in detail. Let's assume that you're riding in a local State park each day, and you've found the course you use each day can logically be broken up into 4 stages, flat ground, hill climbing, descent, and flat ground again. The point that you begin the entire ride we will call point A, when you depart point A you press the Start button on the ATC, which starts the tripmeter and stopwatch simultaneously.

After you reach the end of the flat ground portion of the ride, at a chosen and the same point each ride, you press the "MEMO" button on the right side of the case, at that instant, the ATC saves in separate memory, the stop-watched time it took you to get between A & B, also the distance between A & B, and your average speed between A & B. Now, you proceed on to point "C", when you get there you press the "MEMO" button again, at this point it records for display and review later, the elapsed time it took you to get from point A to Point C, the distance from point A to point C, and your Average speed from point B to point C. When you finally reach point E, which is the end of the second flat ride, you press the Start button again, and it saves your last ride segment, you can now step through each of your "splits" and review your performance through a special display the ATC has. One of these Memo splits can even be a break from riding, where it will recall that haven't moved an inch from the previous point, had a 0 average speed, but the passed time represents the time you rested.

The ATC uses a 36" long wire to a front-mounted, single magnet, wheel sensor, with a mounting brackets that fit up to a 1" diameter fork blade. The Cateye ATC's instruction manual is printed English, French, German, Dutch, and Italian. The ATC uses one CR 2032, 3 volt Lithium battery. The ATC can be quick programmed for wheel sizes up to 28" wheels, and has a quick release handlebar mount, so the computer head can be taken with you to prevent theft. It's durable, waterproof, has an easy to read display. With all necessary hardware it weighs only 97 grams!!! The battery will generally last 3 years. Made in Japan, Black. The ATC supply is exhausted and it is no longer made.

Well gee howabout a TV!!!

Seriously though I feel that my current wireless model has everything I really need. If I wanted some frills maybe a barometer, altitude and temperture readings for interesting information, but I'm not willing to spend a small fortune to get it like the $140 Ciclosport CM414, maybe I would consider $65 to get that additional information but no more.

sms functions?

Sounds like you guys want a GPS

Joe

SMS - short message serveice. It is the feature of the GSM standard, which is used in Europe and Asia. It allows to communicate universally at low cost.

But the message can be only up to 160 characters.

Billions SMSs are sent every month.

The old Cateye CC-8000 ATC had a 10-memory split that not only recorded times but also distance and avg speeds. It was called the "memo" feature. I miss my old ATC and will purchase another one if I can ever find it again. Sadly it's been discontinued for a long time now.

Yes, this is jujst what I want. How come no one seems to make them any more? I would think lots of folks would appreciate this.

Thanks for the review. Good reading.