Road Cycling - Need help choosing a computer...

Hi,
I was wondering what computer I should get for my bike? I am thinking of getting a Flight Deck, but i don't know if it is compatible with my bike because it may be too old. Everything is stock, with its 8 speed and STI shifters. I want to have a gear indicator, also.

Thanks!
Mick

I have recently upgraded to a Flight Deck and I love it...best computer I've had so far, the digital gear readout is handy. Only thing I wish it had was a backlight for low light conditions.

Hi,
I was wondering what computer I should get for my bike? I am thinking of getting a Flight Deck, but i don't know if it is compatible with my bike because it may be too old. Everything is stock, with its 8 speed and STI shifters. I want to have a gear indicator, also.

Thanks!
Mick

The Flight Deck will not work with 8 speed shifters. Shimano has a little gear indicator for it's 9 speed shifters that's simply a tube that the shift cable runs through with a bright orange "ball" that rides with the cable to show you what gear you're in. There's no reason this wouldn't work with 8 speed.

Ask your bike shop, they probably throw a couple of these away every week.

-murray

Well, what I was looking for was an odometer and a speedometer. It would be nice if I could tell what gear I was in, but it's not my primary concern. Are there any computer alternatives for a bke with an 8 speed?

Well, what I was looking for was an odometer and a speedometer. It would be nice if I could tell what gear I was in, but it's not my primary concern. Are there any computer alternatives for a bke with an 8 speed?

Just about any computer (other than Flight Deck) will work. Look at some of the other discussions here and/or check out your bike shop or online catalogs.

-murray

I really like my Catseye Astrale 8 with cadence. But there are several computers out there with all kinds of different features.

Use the Search at the top of these forums and you will find several other posts where peaople talk about the computers they like and why. That is what I did and found it very useful

I have the orange ball indicator. It doesn't give an exact gear, just an idea of where on the cassette you are. Mostly I never look at it since I change gears based on resistance and cadence.
I have a Mavic Wintech wireless with cadence on my road-bike and its okay:
no interference problems with rain/electric lines or HRM.
Front wheel skewer pickup so no problems with a fork-mount.
Cadence pickup is large, and I keep fearing that I'll hit it with my water bottle and knock it off, but so far no problems.
Way too expensive.

I have the astrale 8 on my commuter bike and I really like it:
rear-wheel pickup and cadence pickup both on the chainstay (out of the way)
Would still give speed if using a trainer, and wish I had it on my road-bike.
Cheap $40 US.
wire runs underneath the downtube, so no wires dangling and looking messy.

It depends what functions you need.
you can decide puter functions into 5 groups:

1) speed/distance
2) cadence
3) altitude
4) Heart rate
5) clock/timers
and then there are wired and wireless computers. you need to decide which functions are important to you and then it will be easy to choose the right model

The Flight Deck will not work with 8 speed shifters. -murray

Shimano says the Flight Deck will work with 7, 8 or 9 speeds. I do know that it works with my wifes 8 speed Sora.

http://bike.shimano.com/Computer/chart.asp

Hi,
I was wondering what computer I should get for my bike? I am thinking of getting a Flight Deck, but i don't know if it is compatible with my bike because it may be too old. Everything is stock, with its 8 speed and STI shifters. I want to have a gear indicator, also.

Thanks!
Mick


Flight Deck is probably the most expensive computer you can get for so little. Front wheel sensor - buttons on the hoods and gear indicator (who needs that anyway?)....

get a Astrale from Cateye... cheaper and more simple. Rear wheel sensor and cadence. Saves you a lot more battery cost too.

Planet Bike. It's idiot proof, trust me on that one. I was always forgetting to turn my fancy Cateye wireless on. Turns itself on, tells you all you need to know, and it's cheap.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=12090&subcategory_ID=4110