green814

Just upgraded my wife from a '88 Maruishi with d.t. shifter to a new(er) '04 Giant OCR3. I know the Flightdeck cyclometer will show what gear you are in & considered it to help her keep track along with the other info. My ? is, is it worth the money for the setup? I put her CHEAPIE Wallyworld Schwinn cyclometer on for now, but would like to get a little nicer one for her.

She feels way more comfortable on this bike than the old one, & can't wait to ride after work since I picked it up on Monday. She said it feels just like when she hops on her Trek WSD MTB.

Thank you for the advanced feedback,
Chris

Fox Farm

I have seen very few of those on the road, same for the Campy Ero Brain units. Probably nice for the first few months on the bike as you become familiar with what gear you are in. After than, it will be second nature and if all else fails, look down for 1 second.

brian416

Flight decks are awesome. We have 4 of them at my house on the road bikes and they don't ever malfunction. It is really nice to be able to look at the computer to see what gear you are in, plus its nice to be able to scroll through the computer with your hands on the hoods.

tjspahr

I have had them in the past; My feeling is no, not worth the money. If you really want the gear indication, get one of Shimano's inline indicators; they're cheaper.

The computer really isn't better than other units. The virtual cadence is nice, but certainly not a deal maker/breaker.

Psimet2001 

No.

TJKnight

I vote no.

I can always look down to see what gear I'm in, or guesstimate with my legs. Having used the Flight Deck (and returned it) and the Garmin Edge with HR/cadence, I prefer the Edge 305.

AssosMan

At MSRP, my vote will be no (the same for Assos). I paid $60 shipped for my 6502 and sc-70 combo and am very pleased.

green814

I figured at retail the answer would probably be NO. I have been watching a computer (6502) on ebay, haven't seen a harness though.

Thank you for all the replies so far!

Chris

fosmith

negative. if you have the shop do it you will be forever hated. plus, i don't really see the point...a cateye works just fine for about half the price.

i know folks like em, but i don't get it.

Old School

No -- get a Cateye.

rollin

Many better and cheaper options out there. I think the new one is going to be wireless.

I use my cadence to measure my average so virtual cadence is useless unless I'm on a fixie.

patentcad

The new one that comes with the 7900 series will be worth the money if it's not $200. Includes HR, Altitude, gear selection, yada yada ad nauseum.

njm

Why would the people at the shop hate to do this? Do you mean if you brought in a unit purchased online?

I have been considering the flight deck, but my big question is, would I have to disconnect the shifter cables to install it? I am doing more work myself lately but I'm not ready to fiddle with my shifters just yet.

Retro Grouch 

You don't have to disconnect the shifter cables but you do have to untape the top part of the handlebar. The shifter connection screws onto the side of the brifter with 2 teensy phillips screws. The front lawn wouldn't be a good place to install a Flight Deck on your bike.

MONGO!

I love mine, the gear indicator is great, I use it all the time, plus you can control it from the hoods.

tjspahr

Depends on hand position. I found that the redesign of the hoods from 9 to 10 speed placed the on/off button in a place that I constantly hit.

white lobster

I didn't really get the hang of it until I'd installed 3 or 4 of them. After that, the installation and programming were pretty straightforward. It definitely takes longer than a regular computer, but the shop should charge you accordingly, so it's all good. As long as you're comfortable taping your bars, you can install a FlightDeck.

And yes, definitely don't lose the screws.

Camilo

As someone who has ridden derailleur bikes since the early 70s - I love the gear indicator on the Flight Deck. So, it is not something that one thinks is good until he/she gets used to the gearing and/or looking down. I think this is especially handy for a newer or less experienced or savvy rider.

I also love the controls on the hoods. This is probably the thing that is best about flight deck. I think it's stupid to have to remove your hands from the bars to change between the various functions of normal computers.

The other features are pretty generic. I happen to like the virtual cadence because it doesn't require a second sensor on the crank - and lately I've been looking at it at the end of fast hills to make sure I'm in a high enough gear not to have to pedal at "130" when I start pedaling again. An actual cadence sensor wouldn't do that.

Whether that is worth it to you, I don't know. Mine came with my used 9 speed bike, and parts for 9 speed are cheap. I actually broke one of the wires from my original clamping it in the stem, so it's not a quality issue. Then I replaced the computer head because the one I had was all beat up by previous owner, and I found it very cheap on line ($10?). I also bought a unit for my daughter's Sora 8 speed - same parts as the 9 speed, and cheap. Maybe $40 for everything: computer and sensor/mount/wiring harness.

jecjec81

For a beginner like me, the computer helps me to get familiarize to what gear I am on. The control switch on the hoods is a plus as you can select modes easily when cruising. For me this is worth it.

ninjanoir78

60$ where??

Nachoman

Hahahaha! I didn't put the connection together. Thank you! I just switched from 9 speed to 10 speed and all of a sudden I've noticed that I'm accidently pausing the computer. I NEVER did that on my nine speed ultegras!

Nachoman

I'm installing one for my wife, and one for my son, for that very reason.

dogbreathpnw

I have the Flight Deck on my racing bike and my tandem. They're both nine speed setups (a bit older). I wouldn't buy another one, for the simple reason that when you jump on the hoods (like when you stand to go up a hill), your hand bumps the buttons and can cause the computer to stop measuring distance.
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I compensate by leaving it in virtual cadence mode, which means that a single quick tap is not enough to bugger me up.
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To add insult to injury, I've added the Polar setup to my race bike because I'm always recording my heart rate while riding. I think you shouldn't both with it.

jsmithepa

For a product called "flightdeck" I was expecting altimeter, GPS, windspeed and direction, emergency radio.

pista

I don't want a ton of data to stare at. I have other things to look out for like traffic, glass on the road,, etc. I have a Cateye Strada that is more than adequate. I know what gear I'm in - a quick look down there.....Most of the time I know what gear I'm in anyways just by the feel of the bike.