Cateye Strada Wireless Questions
 

Just got it today and installed it. It's raining so I can't get a good test of it, but just from spinning the front wheel it seems to work great. I do have 2 questions though.
1) About how long will the batteries last? And do they tend to wear out at the same time, or will I be replacing one a lot more than the other?
2) From what I can tell, there is no way to turn the unit off? It just goes idle and displays the time, and if I don't use it for 2 weeks it goes into sleep mode? Is that correct?
Thanks!

1. I ride my bike everyday the batteries in my Strada Wireless lasted about 1100 miles or 6 months before I replaced both at the same time.

2. You are correct.

To question #1: If you believe the instructions, the battery life is "Approx. 1 year (If the computer is used for 1 hour/day; the battery life will vary depending on the conditions of use.)" but as noted "the factory-loaded battery life might be shorter than the above-mentioned specification." Me? I've been using mine almost daily for close to three years and have yet to change the batteries and have not had issues.

To question #2: Sleep mode just means the clock turns off too. Once you get the wheel moving again, the whole things just comes back to life. No worries.

Thanks guys. I can't wait to get out and actually use it. Maybe tomorrow, but I think it's going to be cold and windy. So much for Florida being the sunshine state.

I just got this same computer. Haven't used it yet, but I have to say the instructions on how to set it are a nightmare. The most confusing mess I've ever seen. Particularly difficult trying to figure out how to manually change the odometer.

It's been a few months since I've had to do this, but...

1. With the computer removed from its mount, press the MENU button on the back to activate the menu screen
2. Using the MODE button, toggle through the screens until you reach the odometer screen ("Odo" and "InPut" should be visible).
3. Press and hold the MODE button to activate the manual input
4. The first digit should flash. Press MODE repeatedly until you reach the desired value for that digit. Then press and hold MODE to move to the next digit.
5. Repeat step #4 until you have entered desired odo reading
6. Press MENU when you are finished

Cateye suggests approx 1yr usage of 1-hr/day on the computer; the life of the sensor battery "should" be near 10,000km. FWIW, I replaced my computer battery when the display began to fade at slightly over one year (and just under 10,000 miles). I've never replaced that bike's sensor battery, which now has twice the mileage suggested by Cateye. Regardless, batteries are cheap and can be found in two-packs everywhere.

You actually can put the computer to sleep manually by using the MODE and MENU buttons on the back of the unit. I forget the sequence (hold one, press the other twice?). The directions for doing this might be on the instruction sheet. In any case, when the computer reverts back to the current time after several minutes of nonuse, it is effectively in "idle" and isn't draining the battery by any means.

Do you ride in wet weather? I've heard (or maybe read on BF) that some cateye users have added some sort of grease (lithium?, electrical?, electrician's?, don't recall which) to the back of the battery to better seal out moisture and protect the contacts. Might be something worth searching. FYI, I ride in dry weather almost exclusively and haven't had a personal need to check this out. (And so you know, I'm not afraid of getting wet; it just seldom rains in the desert)

I got less than a year on the factory battery in the head unit.

I've gone over a year on the replacement battery.

I'm still on the original battery on the sending unit.

As for the directions ... they are comically confusing for what is a very simple computer.

I think something was lost in the translation.

I have been contemplating moving to a wireless with cadence (I believe it is the double wireless). Has anyone encountered any transmission issues with this product given two wireless signals. Do both sensors attach to the rear of the bike?

Not two sensors. Double uses a chainstay mounted unit that senses both a magnet (on rear wheel) and magnet on crank.

Well I braved the cold and took a ride this morning. Put 10 miles on it and I love it. Having my speed displayed is helping me with my shifting and keeping my speed consistent. And I love the odometer and trip meter so I can keep track of my mileage. Definitely worth the $37 I spent on it.

Double Wireless madness
 

i just removed my Strada Wireless (it will go on another bicycle) and put on a Strada Double Wireless -- the one with cadence.

I can get nothing to show on the head unit — no MPH, no cadence.

Magnets are as close as can be to the two parts of the sending unit.

I took out the factory battery in the sending unit and put in a fresh one.

Still, no signal of anything with the wheel or crank is turning.

WTF? :notamused:

Head unit looks OK — I don't think the battery is weak (though the display does not appear as strong as it does in the Strada I took off). So I think I'm OK up there. I'd swap out the battery, to be sure, but don't have a stack of those batteries lying around.

Any ideas?

I bought a pack of 30 batteries from dealextreme for something like 3 dollars, and then I stopped caring about how long they last...

Sometimes when I've replaced the battery unit or removed the comuter from the mounting bracket I could not get the computer to put up any readings.

After messing with it I found that if you walk with your bike at a slow pace it will then show a reading, strange but it has worked for me.

Aside from double checking distances between sensors and computer alignment with sensor....

Hope this helps

Fixed!

I changed the battery in the computer. When I did, it wouldn't work ... so, checked those crazy directions, which said to hit the "all clear" to start some kind of initiation.

I did, it did ... and now everything is hitting on all eight cylinders.

Thank you
 

Thank you so much, this was the ONLY post in the internet (all of it) that made sense so I could reset my mileage.
Thank you
PA

You're welcome. I try to make the occasional sensible contribution on the internet to make up for some of my nonsense. Now that you're registered at BF, you've got to keep coming around.