Bicycle Mechanics - Computer installation

I picked up a Cateye Mity 8 for my fixie, but I noticed in the directions it has no place where it specifies how far from the center of the wheel it should be. Do I just put it anywhere and it figures out where the sensor is on the wheel?

Also, has anyone used the Mity vs. the Enduro? I have the Mity on my cross bike, but I was thinking I might want the beefier cord of the Enduro for the street. Anyone damage their cord before?

It does not matter how far from the center you put it. You get the same results.

Oh right because you put in wheel size.

I'm a genius, really.

Oh right because you put in wheel size.

I'm a genius, really.

We geniuses need to stick together. :D

That's not the first time I've heard that, nor will it be the last.

I put my sensor as near to the hub as possible. I think I read that suggestion on Sheldon's site. Then my LBS decided to raise it up one day for no apparent reason. I guess they didn't like it that way.

Oh cool, I'm a genius, too. At least that's what the wife calls me at times. :D

The only thing that the sensor does is to count wheel revolutions. The hub turns exactly the same number of times as the rim so height doesn't make any difference.

The biggest single problem with computers is getting the pick up the right distance from the magnet. Since the spokes angle inward from the hub flange to the rim, mounting close to the hub might put the magnet too close to the fork and mounting near the rim might move the magnet too far away.

I guess that technically you'll get less polar enertia by mounting the magnet close to the hub, but that force won't be enough that you'll ever feel it. If you have a large frame size, you might not have enough wire to do a neat installation if you try to mount the pickup too low on the fork.

I always try to mount the pickup in front of the fork. That way, if you ever bend something so that the magnet hits the pickup, the wheel rotation will just knock the pickup out of the way rather than jam it into the spokes.

Yeah but you forget sheldons reasoning for putting it nearer to the hub.


The closer in you mount it, the more slowly it will pass by the sensor, giving the sensor's magnetic switch more time to respond. If the magnet is too far out, the computer may give erratic readings at higher speeds.

Yeah but you forget sheldons reasoning for putting it nearer to the hub.

Well, I've never encountered that problem, possibly because I don't ride fast enough to confuse that little reed switch.

I picked up a Cateye Mity 8 for my fixie, but I noticed in the directions it has no place where it specifies how far from the center of the wheel it should be. Do I just put it anywhere and it figures out where the sensor is on the wheel?

Also, has anyone used the Mity vs. the Enduro? I have the Mity on my cross bike, but I was thinking I might want the beefier cord of the Enduro for the street. Anyone damage their cord before?


i also have the Mity 8. I bought it 3 days ago (Saturday). It says in the manual that the magnet must be within 5mm of the little black receiver thingy. On my bike ('05 Giant AC), the closer the magnet and reciever were to the hub, the less clearance there was between the two, so yes, I'd say that the magnet should be installed close to the hub for stronger magnet impulses (thats how the computer determines speed etc.).

Hope it helped

i also have the Mity 8. I bought it 3 days ago (Saturday). It says in the manual that the magnet must be within 5mm of the little black receiver thingy. On my bike ('05 Giant AC), the closer the magnet and reciever were to the hub, the less clearance there was between the two, so yes, I'd say that the magnet should be installed close to the hub for stronger magnet impulses (thats how the computer determines speed etc.).

Hope it helped


You can't generalize and say all computers should have the sensors close or far from the hub. The different brands and even models of the same brand have magnets and sensors that stick out or are closer to the spokes or the fork. And the forks are different and so are the wheels. Fortunately the distance from the center of the wheel means absolutely nothing to the computer. Some bikes must have the magnet and the sensor almost against the rim to have the magnet/sensor gap correct.

You just have to put them where the gap is correct from the magnet to the sensor. Period.

If you have a wireless sensor and you place it close to the hub as Sheldon advises, the transmitter may be too far away from the receiver to work. My hybrid has a wireless computer and I have the sensor mounted high on the fork which is the only way it will work. On one large hill near my house I routinely get the bike as fast as 35 mph and have never noticed any erratic readings at those speeds.