Koobazaur
07-06-12, 10:11 AM
I ride my Escape 2.0 Hybrid and its about time to get a bike comp! Now I don't care (yet) about super fancy features like heart rate monitors or extraterrestial life detectors, and just want some basic and mid-range stuff, mainly:
* Standard stuff like Travel distance, speed, average speed, max speed, odometer (same as RPM?). And accuracy (should that even be a concern, tho?)
* Automatic stop/start cause I hit a lot of red lights
* Optional-but-Desired: Separating between "current trip" and "total" for the above values would be nice
* Optional-but-Desired: Current Temperature and Time
* BONUS: Current incline grade (that is not GPS-tracked but just a gyro type thing) - I haven't seen any lower-end comps have that, tho, so I doubt ill get it.
Now I DONT want:
* Calories Burn (grossly inaccurate and I dont need to shed pounds)
* HR monitor (dont want anything strapping to my chest, and not that OCD about my "zones")
* GPS (I usually look up my routes pre/post the ride, and it just adds a lot of extra cost)
* Wireless is unneeded, I had wired one and it didnt bother me and is significantly cheaper.
What I am considering and would appreciate your feedback:
* Cadence - how exactly is it measured and how "useful" would it be for me? Is it effectively just RPM? I am not a training/pro/race cyclist, so I don't think I'd care for it.
* Hooking up to my PC / Bluetooth - I guess I could use that to export my times and averages? But since I don't care for GPS tracking I dont see much value in this. Am I wrong?
I use to have this (http://www.amazon.com/Bell-1006407-F12-Bike-Computer/dp/B001FCFK5C/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1) bike comp way way back, which is a surprisingly cheap comp that comes with almost all of my desired functionality. However I figured I might invest in something a wee bit more advanced to see if I care for the extra features (cadence, trip vs. total, temperate etc.)
So far I researched SIGMA and really liked Sigma BC 1609 (http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-1609-Cadence-Bicycle-Speedometer/dp/B0030CHBM0/ref=sr_1_16?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-16) as it comes with cadence and temp monitors. How is the CADENCE variation of that model? I dont care for the STS one since, as I said, is wireless. The lower models seemed a little lacking in features, and the higher ones had too much stuff I didnt need not warranting the price hike.
What about other companies like Cateye CC-VL810 (http://www.amazon.com/Cateye-CC-VL810-8-Function-Bicycle-Computer/dp/B000R5NRDA/ref=sr_1_11?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-11) or Ventura IV (http://www.amazon.com/Ventura-244540-IV-Bicycle-Computer/dp/B001NGD50M/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-4)? I haven't really researched them as much as Sigma so don't know what the "equivalent" models are, and how they might suit my needs.
Thanks for advice!
* Standard stuff like Travel distance, speed, average speed, max speed, odometer (same as RPM?). And accuracy (should that even be a concern, tho?)
* Automatic stop/start cause I hit a lot of red lights
* Optional-but-Desired: Separating between "current trip" and "total" for the above values would be nice
* Optional-but-Desired: Current Temperature and Time
* BONUS: Current incline grade (that is not GPS-tracked but just a gyro type thing) - I haven't seen any lower-end comps have that, tho, so I doubt ill get it.
Now I DONT want:
* Calories Burn (grossly inaccurate and I dont need to shed pounds)
* HR monitor (dont want anything strapping to my chest, and not that OCD about my "zones")
* GPS (I usually look up my routes pre/post the ride, and it just adds a lot of extra cost)
* Wireless is unneeded, I had wired one and it didnt bother me and is significantly cheaper.
What I am considering and would appreciate your feedback:
* Cadence - how exactly is it measured and how "useful" would it be for me? Is it effectively just RPM? I am not a training/pro/race cyclist, so I don't think I'd care for it.
* Hooking up to my PC / Bluetooth - I guess I could use that to export my times and averages? But since I don't care for GPS tracking I dont see much value in this. Am I wrong?
I use to have this (http://www.amazon.com/Bell-1006407-F12-Bike-Computer/dp/B001FCFK5C/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1) bike comp way way back, which is a surprisingly cheap comp that comes with almost all of my desired functionality. However I figured I might invest in something a wee bit more advanced to see if I care for the extra features (cadence, trip vs. total, temperate etc.)
So far I researched SIGMA and really liked Sigma BC 1609 (http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-1609-Cadence-Bicycle-Speedometer/dp/B0030CHBM0/ref=sr_1_16?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-16) as it comes with cadence and temp monitors. How is the CADENCE variation of that model? I dont care for the STS one since, as I said, is wireless. The lower models seemed a little lacking in features, and the higher ones had too much stuff I didnt need not warranting the price hike.
What about other companies like Cateye CC-VL810 (http://www.amazon.com/Cateye-CC-VL810-8-Function-Bicycle-Computer/dp/B000R5NRDA/ref=sr_1_11?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-11) or Ventura IV (http://www.amazon.com/Ventura-244540-IV-Bicycle-Computer/dp/B001NGD50M/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1338699710&sr=1-4)? I haven't really researched them as much as Sigma so don't know what the "equivalent" models are, and how they might suit my needs.
Thanks for advice!
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