hdeyong

I'm a 50+ who has returned to bicycling in a bit more serious way than just going for a spin around the block. Nothing too much, maybe the odd day trip, or even an overnighter at a B&B or motel.
I got a new bike, really like it, got a fairly simple rack, bottle holders, and an electronic speedo. After fiddling around with it for 15 minutes trying to program it, I gave up. No, I'm not a Luddite, I love my laptop, iPad, internet radio, etc.
All I want to know is how fast I'm going and how far I've gone. I don't need, or want, a clock, a stop watch, a defibrillator, a moon cycle indicator or a weather report in Tuktayuktuk.
Is there such a thing? Mechanical or electronic? Actually, mechanical sounds pretty good because you don't have to worry about batteries.

KLiNCK

If you are in Canada, you can pick up one of these at Mountain Equipment Co-op:

https://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cyclin...g-computer.jsp

5 basic functions, waterproof and very easy to use / install. The batteries in mine are on their third season.

ItsJustMe

You can pick up a basic Cateye comp for $20 or less, probably locally.

Personally I use a Planet Bike Protege 9, though the 8 or 5 would be fine for you too. I just mention it because even though they're a bit more expensive, they are very durable. I've had my 9 for about 7 years now.

You're going to get a certain number of functions simply because it costs exactly $0 to implement them. Clock, speedo, average speed, max speed, trends, etc cost nothing, they're just programming on the chip, so taking them off wouldn't save any money, so they'd just be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage by selling such a computer.

hdeyong

Ok, thanks, Klinck. If I don't get this one going, I'll be back in Canada soon, in London, and they have a store there.
Itsjustme, you're right. If it costs the manufacturer nothing to ad features, then why wouldn't they? Cameras are the same way. I'm a semi-pro photographer, and I probably use about 15% of the menus in my cameras.
What I may do is take the thing back off, which just means cutting 6 nylon ties, take it into the house where it's warm, sit down with the instructions and a cuppa, and do it there, then remount it.

chaadster

I'd suggest checking out the Knog NERD 5 (as in functions) computer. It's the simplest to use that I've seen because it's one-button operation; all you do is depress the screen-- a crisp, solid, click action-- to cycle through functions, and hold to reset. Those two-button types require remembering which button does which, and often awkward, simultaneous pushing to reset, which is a PITA. The Knog NERD is also wireless, which is nice, and I'm going on year 3 with the batteries, so no issues there. Knog's typical silicone strap mounting make positioning, installing/removing a tool-less breeze. The Knog 12 adds night time illumination, too.

I haven't seen a mechanical speedo on a bike less than 50 years old, so I'm not sure they even exist anymore.