One Disadvantage of having a wireless cyclometer

[spingineer]

I was on 84 just south of the 84/35 junction. I was heading southbound, and my wireless Blackburn Delphi 6.0 started registering my speed first at 30, then 50, then 40, then 51. Too many fluctuations in speed to be accurate. So I stopped at the intersection of 84 and W OLH. Even when stopped, my Blackburn was registering 25. So I headed up WOLH, and eventually, my speed registered 5, which is more like it. The rest of the ride registered speeds that were as expected. My thought was there is something along 84 near Skylonda that causes my Blackburn to go haywire.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this on their wireless bike computers? Polar? Garmin? VDO? Although it does feel nice to be going 50 without even trying, but I know it's not realistic.

[BlastRadius]

May not be related but the guy at Chain Reaction in Redwood City told me the Blackburn rep was seeing 50% failure rate with the Delphi wireless stuff. I personally stick with wired speed and cadence.

[parity]

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this on their wireless bike computers? Polar? Garmin? VDO? Although it does feel nice to be going 50 without even trying, but I know it's not realistic.

I'd check the battery on your speed sensor. If its low then it can give faulty readings.

[cccorlew]

UFOs. Gottta be. Or maybe the CIA.

[kster]

For a while I was using the Cateye CD300DW, I didn't have any problems with the computer reading the sender unit but I hated adjusting the sensors for speed & cadence. I'm now using the GPS basd Garmin Edge 205 on my two bikes. There are no sensors, just snap it in and ride.

[Dchiefransom]

I've got a Cateye Micro Wireless, and Cateye told me the computer can get interference from outside signals, even other wireless computers. My first indication is the Max Speed is very high at the end of the ride, even though everything else is normal.

[spingineer]

I'd check the battery on your speed sensor. If its low then it can give faulty readings.

Thanks for the tip, Parity. The only oddity I find is with the sudden jumps in speed. I'll change the battery and give it a shot.

[Ziemas]

Electric fields made my VDO go crazy. The overhead wires of the trams and hanging halogen lights in cafes were particularly bad.

[spingineer]

The only problem is, I'm not sure if the Blackburn Delphi 6.0 comes in a wired version.

[Steve MacK]

My Topeak Comp 150 wireless works great, until I turn my headlight on. At which time it starts reading about 5 mph slower, and getting erratic. The headlight is mounted on the bar right next to the computer. Moving it away an inch or two helps. Yep, EMI sources drive these things crazy.

[rydaddy]

Mine does the same thing when I have the high powered commuter light on. My Specialized Turbo Elite is basically useless when I am riding in the dark.

[unhookt]

Definitely check the battery

[superunleaded]

+1 on the battery. All of my computers, wired and wireless, gives that erratic reading when the battery is about to go. I have Mavic wireless, wired Polar, wired Cateye, wired and wireless dB 4LW.

[abc80]

I often get outrageous max speed readings with my Cateye Micro wireless. I've only caught it "in the act" once, registering about 77 mph while waiting at a traffic light.
I recently bought a VDO wireless. I chose it because it also has wireless cadence. So far it seems to be working fine, but I've only used it twice. I am a little worried about having three batteries to replace though.