Road Cycling - altimeters

i have always wanted an altimeter to see how much elevation i am gaining/total elevation etc during a ride

i have an old casio triple sensor with an altimeter (4+ years old). not very accurate...good only for rough estimates on a mountain...not much else

i have not heard great things about many of the currently available bike computers with altimeters...too inaccurate to be useful in most cases

i realize they all depend on barometric pressure but am curious to know if there are any available (either wrist or bike mounted) that are reliable to +/- 10%...i have seen the ciclosport hac-4/suunto watches but do not know how useful they are for biking...i know they can work ok for skiing

I have a Cateye and it SUCKS (not to mince words).

I thought it would be way cool to have an altimeter while on tour this summer, but the thing is way off. You have to adjust it to the altitude that you are currently at and then it works on barometric pressure. Well, there aren't many places where the altitude is marked (besides city limit signs in Colorado).

It wound up being just a normal cyclecomputer. I am bummed with wasting the money for the gizmo.

Originally posted by pdx_gay_guy
I thought it would be way cool to have an altimeter while on tour this summer, but the thing is way off. You have to adjust it to the altitude that you are currently at and then it works on barometric pressure. Well, there aren't many places where the altitude is marked (besides city limit signs in Colorado).

Here's a thought... Carry a pilot's sectional chart (or terminal chart if you want a smaller map). They cost about US$7.00 and will cover a very large area. Elevation of airports and fields are denoted on them as well as those of important terrain features. Use that information to calibrate your computer either periodically or prior to hitting a big or important climb. You can order sectional charts from any pilot supply shop or stop in at a local airport and visit the FBO's pilot shop.

Originally posted by khuon
Here's a thought... Carry a pilot's sectional chart (or terminal chart if you want a smaller map). They cost about US$7.00 and will cover a very large area. Elevation of airports and fields are denoted on them as well as those of important terrain features. Use that information to calibrate your computer either periodically or prior to hitting a big or important climb. You can order sectional charts from any pilot supply shop or stop in at a local airport and visit the FBO's pilot shop.

Or how about a topographic map of the area? Much more widely available (and for free on many websites). They show the elevation using contour lines.. and not just at airports, etc... everywhere!

Garmin makes a model the Geko 301 GPS that is very small. It has a barometer for altitude and it will do a lot of tracking, not sure about total elevation. Check thier site, if you were looking for a cool gadget that could be it, not the cheapest option though, but it would replace almost all of your computers functions and be more accurate. It would seem easy to mount too.

http://www.active-watches.com/suuntoadvizor.html

This is what I use and it kicks butt. Great in Col. for the climbing and the decents.

Bill F.

Maybe some useful data here: http://yarchive.net/bike/altimeter.html

A variation on darrencope's suggestion, get some software like DeLorme Topo USA (http://www.delorme.com/topousa/default.asp). You can plot your route, and Topo will generate an elevation profile and calculate the total climbing elevation (along with distance, etc., etc.)

Originally posted by roadbuzz
Maybe some useful data here: http://yarchive.net/bike/altimeter.html

A variation on darrencope's suggestion, get some software like DeLorme Topo USA (http://www.delorme.com/topousa/default.asp). You can plot your route, and Topo will generate an elevation profile and calculate the total climbing elevation (along with distance, etc., etc.)

Good point. There is a lot of fantastic software out there that does just that (Topo USA being just one of quite a few). I guess I was thinking more of free stuff, but maybe the money spent on an altimeter would be better spent on the multi-purpose maps?