Road Cycling - Shimano Flightdeck computers

Anyone have info on the shimano flight deck computer? It has no buttons and somehow it's wired into your shifters so it can display what gear your in. Gives all the normal display info along with cadence. Wondering if it's worth the $$$. I've seen the head unit for ~$40 + $90 for mounting kit.

many people swear by them, i personally do not use them due to the fact that it is useless on a trainer. you need to have "Flight Deck" compatible shift levers. go to http://www.shimano.com and take a look.

I have one. They work great.

Are your STI levers 100% Flight Deck compatible?
All Shimano STI levers may be used with a Flight Deck computer. All functions except Virtual Cadence, Gear Indicator and the Gear Ratio display will work fine on any STI lever. To use Virtual Cadence, Gear Indicator and the Gear Ratio display plus all of the other functions your levers must be 100% Flight Deck compatible. An easy way to check for 100% compatibility is to:

1) Check for the words "Flight Deck" on the lever assembly.
2) Check for rubber buttons on the road STI lever hood(s). Do you have two buttons on the right and none on the left hood or one button on each hood?
3) Look inside the lever for a flat, ribbon like wire cable.

The ribbon cable is not always easy to see and a few older, pre-2000, levers did not have rubber buttons on the hoods. However all 100% Flight Deck compatible STI levers do have the "Flight Deck" script.

You can get the head unit and a wireless mounting kit for less than you mentioned in your post. Check out this site for alot of info on Flight Deck. If you have any problems programming it, let me know.

http://www.branfordbike.com/computer/comp6.html#item2

Rob

I have the Flightdeck on my road machine. I really like it for the reasons you mention. I get cadence with no additional cables or devices, I get a graphical gear indicator, and I get to change modes without taking my hands from the hoods.

Anyone have info on the shimano flight deck computer? It has no buttons and somehow it's wired into your shifters so it can display what gear your in. Gives all the normal display info along with cadence. Wondering if it's worth the $$$. I've seen the head unit for ~$40 + $90 for mounting kit.
I've been using a Flight Deck now for over 2 years and would find it difficult to do without. Basically, it adds cadence and a gear graphic to a standard bike computer, and gives you the very considerable convenience of allowing you to change modes without removing your hands from the bars. I had the wired model initially and upgraded to the wireless mount. Good product. Only problem I've encountered is that the gear selection info was erratic initially. That was easily fixed by cleaning the circuit board contacts and bending out the "fingers" that rest against these contacts.

Another wholehearted endorsement here. Mine come on my bike sans manual, one thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to display average speed.

Anyone have info on the shimano flight deck computer? It has no buttons and somehow it's wired into your shifters so it can display what gear your in. Gives all the normal display info along with cadence. Wondering if it's worth the $$$. I've seen the head unit for ~$40 + $90 for mounting kit.

They're nice units. Having the buttons integrated into the shifters is a nice touch for some but cumbersome for others. I have one and while it has a lot of bells and whistles, it’s really over-kill for what I need. The gear display is something I don’t really care much about and that takes up a good portion of the screen. Also the cadence function is virtual and not real-time, not that it matters that much, but it’s also not a function I use on a regular basis. My Flightdeck is the wired version and I needed to have the wiring harness replaced once. I’m not quite sure what happened to it but the shop replaced it at no charge without questioning what had happened.

If those are all things you feel you want and need, it may be the computer for you. I personally don’t care to spend that much on a speedometer again.

phew.... $90 for the mounting kit!!??? :(

thats a bit off, its about half of that.

Another wholehearted endorsement here. Mine come on my bike sans manual, one thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to display average speed.

Just got mine today - the 6501 (on my new '04 LeMond Buenos Aires). The manual says avg. speed is in the "trip distance group", which is activated by pressing the Mode button until "TIM" is displayed. Then press the ST/SP button. Avg. speed should be the 4th display (as "AVE"), after "TIM" (time), "DST" (distance), and "MAX" (max. speed).

Hope that helps.