Road Cycling - stock poll: what cyclocomputer do you use?

and how do you like it?

i need a new computer this year. i used a flightdeck for a few years, but i'm now running non-fd-compatible levers and that thing was way overkill for me anyway. i just need the basic functions to keep track of my rides, speed, distance, average speed, etc.

The new Cateye wireless on my road bike. Just basic functions.......... No cadence....I can count in my head.... Simple, clean setup.

I used a Cateye Enduro 8 here. Great cyclocomputer.

polar s510 on the road bike, wireless sigma sport bc 1200 [for training only] on the cyclocross bike. i like both quite a bit. i like the polar's hrm integration and the download. i like the sigma sport's display and flexibility, and the fact that i can just pull it off for races.

If you want the basics at a good price, cateye.

You can get a mity 3 for like 15.00 at performance, or 26.00 at the LBS. Simple, Durable, easy to read, easy to use, easy to mount etc....

Topeak - Panoram -great for my 'Bent

Nashbar has a sale on a Cateye for $14.95

I just bought one for my Winsdor and mounted it all by myself, and it works fine except that i can't figure out how to zero out the second distance mileage - have to get the manual out, I guess!

Am going to buy another to replace the broken one on my mtn bike.

Recently mounted a Polar s720i (wireless cadence and speed sensor) to my bike. Before that, I had a Cateye Astrale 8 and never had any problems with it.

BTW, since I've figured out how to mount the speed sensor on to my aero fork, I now love my new Polar set up.

Best one I've found for the mtb is the Cateye Mity 3.
Currently use a Vetta RT77 on the road bike. I really like the cadence feature. No offense to any of the previous posts, but I don't want to be counting cadence while I ride. My $.02.

Cateye Astrale. I used to have a MITY 3 but I ripped up the wires and the cadence feature of the Astrale won me over.

Cateye Astrale on two bikes. I like the cadence feature.

Like the Fixer I too have a Cateye Wireless-but the older version. It works like a charm even when soaking wet. I also don't need cadience, after you practice a while it becomes natural anyway.

My old computer was the wired kind and the somehow the wire got pulled out of it and that's why I decided to try wireless and I like the cleaner look.

Cateye Mitly 3 for me. It's about 4 yrs old, it's been through the wash, and still functions perfectly.

Does anyone make a computer that shows both time and distance on the same display? Those are the two functions I care most about and it would be nice to see both at the same time.

and how do you like it?

i need a new computer this year. i used a flightdeck for a few years, but i'm now running non-fd-compatible levers and that thing was way overkill for me anyway. i just need the basic functions to keep track of my rides, speed, distance, average speed, etc.

Trek Fusion, wired. $30 and it does everything and has been reliable through a few crashes, numerous wind and rain stroms, freezing weather, and general abuse.

Cateye Astrale CD100 on the road bike - love the cadence feature
Cateye Enduro II on the MTB - Heavier wires are nice
Cateye Enduro on my commuter

Posted by DnvrFox - 12-26-03 at 09:18 PM
Nashbar has a sale on a Cateye for $14.95

I just bought one for my Winsdor and mounted it all by myself, and it works fine except that i can't figure out how to zero out the second distance mileage...

The Cateyes I own that have multiple odometers are zeroed this way, display whichever odometer you want to reset, hold down both buttons simutaneously for a couple seconds, the mileage should go to zero. Hope that helps.

T/E

I have been using the same Avocet 15 for over 18 years now. Its been on five or six different bikes, All it does is speed, distance and time - has taken a licking and keeps on ticking. I think it has between 90,000 and 100,000 miles on it.

I just bought a supergo computer for the backup bike for $8.95. It is a fairly nice computer - no cadance and you can't set the timer for a time trial/interval very easily, but it has a bunch of functions.

I like the Specialized computers. Easy to use, simple sensor/magnet design, spare harnesses are readily available, and they're sturdy.

Trek Fusion, wired. $30 and it does everything and has been reliable through a few crashes, numerous wind and rain stroms, freezing weather, and general abuse.

hey! I have that too, but with the cadence feature. The Fusion C, I think. I was intending to get the astrale, but it was out of stock, and the LBS guy talked me into it...plus it was five bucks cheaper then the astrale.

I like it, but the cadence and time readings are bit small, but I suppose thats what you get when you have three things displaying at one time.

I use the Echo w-2 on all but one of my bikes, and the one that dosen't have that, is the bike friday I have, it has the cateye astral I think wireless also, because at the time I had to get it, my LBS was out of the echo's....I've been using the echo's for 3 years now, they I feel are simple to use and easy to read and don't have many mechanical problems..

Benjamin

hey! I have that too, but with the cadence feature. The Fusion C, I think. I was intending to get the astrale, but it was out of stock, and the LBS guy talked me into it...plus it was five bucks cheaper then the astrale.

I like it, but the cadence and time readings are bit small, but I suppose thats what you get when you have three things displaying at one time.

My son gave me mine for my birthday. The thing I like about it is it has a three line display so I can display elapsed time, current speed, and distance.
I might upgrade when I get my new bike, but, this one has worked great!

and how do you like it?

i need a new computer this year. i used a flightdeck for a few years, but i'm now running non-fd-compatible levers and that thing was way overkill for me anyway. i just need the basic functions to keep track of my rides, speed, distance, average speed, etc.


Cateye wireless!

Started out with the MITY 3, then tried the Astrale. Went back to the MITY 3. For me, the simpler, the better.

I use the Vetta H100.

I got the wireless with cadence kit. I too don't like to count and find that I will set it on cadence display (shows speed and cadence) and set to maintain a cadence of 95-100 rpms.

If I see it fall or rise I can quickly shift instead of trying to count or percieve that I am spinning too fast or too slow.

I like the wireless cadence because it doesn't require long wires running from the pedal to the handlebar...

Cateye Enduro 2 to fit the mount for the large diameter bars on my Zurich. Two Cateye Tomos on my other bikes. Performance doesn't carry the Tomo anymore, but the Mity 3 is on sale for $15. It tells you the basic info.

Cateye Astrale 8: it has worked flawlessly. I do wish it had a trend arrow to show if I'm above or below the average for that ride. Although it only has a two-line display, it's very easy to page through the various outputs.

Does anyone make a computer that shows both time and distance on the same display? Those are the two functions I care most about and it would be nice to see both at the same time.

the specialized can show speed, time and distance at the same time. its pretty cool, the time and speed always shows graphicly and mileage can be show in the digital panel.

http://www.specialized.com/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=5107&JServSessionIdroot=2xmd1n6cak.j27002

the down side is that the display is not the easiest to read.

I also use the mity 3 and a cyclosport. both of these have the basic fuctions but the mity is a little easier to read. the cyclesport was on sale for 10 bucks.

I've thought about adding various features that'd be fun (I like climbing and an altimeter would be sweet) but have opted to stay basic and inexpensive with my computers. Speed, distance, ride time, average and max speeds. These bits of info are about all I really need to monitor my ride and track my performance.

on the MTB I use a bottom-of-the-line Specialized computer. I set it to display distance while riding (can't look down to see speed when on a good trail anyway!!). After a ride I look at distance, ride time, and average speed. It's a good tough computer too; more than a few times it's popped of the base upon crashes, and I've just snapped it back in place and it still works. ....."takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'"

on the ROAD: Cateye Mity3. Good, inexpensive, and reliable. Real basic computer on which I can simultaneously display distance and present speed. I like to go back after a ride and look at my distance and average speed.

I don't want to be distracted by too much information while riding. While cadence is important, by now I've spent enough time riding and on trainers to know what a good spin is, and don't need this feature on my computer.

Short answer: Cateye Mity 3 can be had for cheap, and has all the basic functionality.
`
Long answer: I've had 4 different computers. An Avocet (the best pick-up mechanism, IMO, but had to give up on it when I couldn't find the right replacement battery), a Vetta (one of the buttons popped out), Cateye (details below), and most recently a Specialized. The pickup on my Cateye broke (hit by magnet... my bad). I decided to try one of the 2004 Specialized Turbo Elite computers, thinking the lap timer also tracked mileage. Bzzzt. Wrong! It's just a lap timer... my Polar S210 has the same function and does it better. The Turbo also has cadence. After two weeks, I now know for a fact that I basically live at 100rpm, and don't need it anymore (well, it's useful for the trainer, I suppose). There are lots of functions, which means more button pressing to get to them. But here's the kicker. One of the displays is Odometer, and once it's displayed you have to press another button to get the trip mileage. Maybe I'm weird, but I use the Odo to track mileage long term, and would prefer the trip distance as the default distance display. What were they thinking???? Oh! Also it's the only cyclocomputer I've ever had that didn't indicate current speed above or below average. It's wireless, but I couldn't give a R/A about that.

In order of preference, for features, price and ease of use: Cateye Mity 3, Vetta something or other (cheap), Avocet (expensive considering functionality), Specialized.

I have a cateye OS 1.1 one my bike.One word, AMAZING.It has a ton of features and can graph yearly,monthly,weekly and daily rides.You can also change the font size on its massive screen.Nik

Shimano , it came with the bike but before I used Sigma with out problems .
If you can get one that works off the rear wheel as it makes indoor training much more fun (?) .

ps forgot : even washed (machine ) the Sigma in my jersey pocket without problems ........... what a putz .

I use A SigmaSport 1600 w/ cadence kit. It works/looks great.

another vote for Cateye Astrale. I've got the older
model and it works great. If you are looking at them be
aware that there are different sensor options (front
or rear mount), could make a difference if you use
a trainer and want to continue using computer.

Marty

Wow!! CFF those bars are just soo cool looking to me everytime I see them. Simoni runs them on his team bike and I just like them a lot!!..I know they are really light, so for a road bike it's got to be pretty cool and sweet for it!!..

Benjamin

Planet Bike 8.0 It starts automatically, you rarely have to touch a button. Once ot's on, you can look down and see time, speed, avg speed, distance and time in the saddle all on the same screen. You get 5 pieces of info on the screen at once, and you can chose which of those is on the screen to suit your needs. You can also have the odometer,max speed,and stop watch. But the BEST feature is that i don't lose miles by forgetting to turn it on.

by the looks of the bars and computer, someone has some money to burn.

On the roadbike.. Sigma Sport Targa Ti..

MTB. Trek Fusion Cyclo

On other roadbike: Vetta Cyclocomputer

I love my bars Cinelli ram bar to death.So light and comfortable.I get things at cost at my lbs cause I pretty much live there.I also have a Carbon Fiber Fetish, so hence my name C.F.F I actually work for Ford building freestars all day long.I have a tendancy to go big or go home.Before this I was a downhiller and owned a Balfa BB7, Banshee Morphine, 24 Pornking,Giant AC1 and a Brodie fury.But I sold all of them to concentrate on my 2 favorite hobbies, Road cycling(racing this season) and Photography.I'm glad u guys like my bars. Thanks, Nik

Has anyone any experience with Shimano's Flight Deck (http://bike.shimano.com/Computer/index.asp)?

I have a cateye astrale 8, love the cadence, It helped me get an internal rhythm going.

I've used lots of different cycle computers. Flightdecks, Sigma BC800 wireless along with Cateye Enduros, Astrales, Astrale 8s and the new wireless model.

Of them all, the Cateye have been the easiest to install and use. They also seem to be more reliable, at least for me. I have very little time on the new wireless model but so far so good.

The Sigma burnt through batteries faster than I was willing to replace them. The Flightdeck is just more than I care about or need not to mention costing about twice what it should.

Look into the Specialized Speed Zone computers. They have what you want (and for a little more $$ more than what you want)

Good luck...Bill

Has anyone tried an 'ergo brain"? I'm buying a computer soon and am stsrting to wonder if it isn't best to stick with manufacturers who specialise,like polar and cateye rather than those who "buy in".

This is just a nit, but thought I'd mention it. You'd only notice it on a fast ride when you're pushing to get your average speed up. The Mity 3 average speed will fluctuate strangely... like say your average speed is 18.5, and you're riding between 19 and 21 mph. The average will bump up to 18.6, then drop back to 18.5, and fluctuate back and forth for a while. Thing is, as long as you're exceeding 18.5, the average should eventually become 18.6, and and so on, increasing monotonically.