Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Looking for a cyclocomputer.

Must have a "decent" look to it

must have cadence, distance, avg speed, max speed, odometer, all those goodies

backlight optional

must be nicely secured to the mount. (i lost my wireless one in tall grass while doing some road-side bike servicing)

budget: $50

dont care if its wired/wireless (is wired usually more reliable?)

Wired is usually more reliable and uses less batteries. Other than that, I wouldn't know what fits your fashion sense.

hmmm you want it to have cadence huh? I'm not sure you can afford that if your budget is only 50 dollars. The cycle computer I use is a cateye micro wireless. It cost me 60 dollars and tells me my average, max and current speed. As well as the time, odometer for my individual trip and total distance. It also has display "A" for one bike and "B" for another bike so i can keep track of my road and mountain bike. Hope this helps.

I have the Cateye Strada Cadence which ran me around $50.00, but it's wired. I have a compact frame road bike that the computer is on and the cable is barely long enough to make it from the chain stay to the stem where it's mounted. I have just enough cable to be able to turn the handlebars to just past 90 degrees. I mainly purchased it so I can get speed and distance while on my trainer as both sensors (speed and cadence) are mounted on the chain stay. So far, it has been a very good computer although you have to be careful when changing modes or you can clear your current ride stats if you hold it down too long.

Cateye Astrale 8, go wired.

http://www.amazon.com/Cateye-CC-CD200-Astrale-8-Function-Computer/dp/B000R6QR3Q

Must have a "decent" look to it

must have cadence, distance, avg speed, max speed, odometer, all those goodies

backlight optional

must be nicely secured to the mount. (i lost my wireless one in tall grass while doing some road-side bike servicing)

budget: $50

dont care if its wired/wireless (is wired usually more reliable?)

Sigma BC1609 (http://www.sigmasport.com/en/produkte/bikecomputer/topline_2009_wired/bc1609/). Wired. It twists into place and is very secure. I went through 6...yes, six...Cateyes in one year and switch over because of the mount. An added benefit of the Sigma is that you can get a second mount for another bike and it will track the distance and time for that bike. I use one type of mount for road bikes and one for mountain bikes.

Sigma BC1609 (http://www.sigmasport.com/en/produkte/bikecomputer/topline_2009_wired/bc1609/). Wired. It twists into place and is very secure. I went through 6...yes, six...Cateyes in one year and switch over because of the mount. An added benefit of the Sigma is that you can get a second mount for another bike and it will track the distance and time for that bike. I use one type of mount for road bikes and one for mountain bikes.

I have that computer and I love it. The temp thing is a cool thing to have, and it has a backlight and cadence plus all the other mumbo jumbo you wanted. Modern bike has it for only $34 plus shipping, see: http://www.modernbike.com/itemgroup.asp?igpk=2126181279&SSAID=314743

I just bought the Knog N.E.R.D 12.Waiting to be delivered....
http://di1-3.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/c0/88/a3/99268442-260x260-0-0_Knog+Knog+Nerd+12+Function+Bike+Computer.jpg

I have the Sigma BC1609 wired, with cadence. I think I paid like $38 for it on Amazon. It works very well, but I do think I'd go for the wireless next time. It's just a cleaner installation. It's around $50 on Amazon.

I had several wireless units from Cateye and VDO but neither lasted long, and average of 3 years; so this time I shied away from the wireless units. Also wireless cadence drives the price up higher. And with wireless the battery in the sending unit last about 8 months, not a big deal unless your on a ride so I carried a spare. The computer batteries outlasted the computers in wireless comps.

I'd definetely go with wired, the wireless units are more expensive and less reliable in my experience.