DJ1960

I love my Garmin Forerruner 201. GPS Based, of course. It sells for slightly more than $120. Another 10$ or so for the bike mount. For $250-ish you can get the 301 model with heart rater monitor.

tourist

I don't have the 201, but some people using this device like it a lot. The only chirp I've heard is that it's a bit heavy.

DJ1960

Well, it is several times (3 maybe) heavier than my other computer, Shimano Flightdeck, but it is still not really heavy. I wear it every morning running too and it does not bother me at all.

Some nice features like incline in %, slope grade with other words. All other usual features too.

Craig C

I own the Specialized Turbo Pro mentioned previously. I'm a numbers junkie too, and I find the altitude functions to be amazingly accurate. I just set the altitude before I leave, and the tops of the mountains I climb are within 20 feet (out of 2500) of what it always says and what a topo says. I love being able to see what I've accomplished in terms of elevation gain. For under $100, I've been really impressed.

OC Roadie

I've been using th Specialized Turbo Pro for a couple of months now. I really like it, the altimeter function works great. It's true if you want an accurate altitue reading, you must calibrate at the start of each ride (very simple to do if you know your starting elevation). Even if you don't calibrate, it still keeps accurate measurements of total feet climbed. The overvall feet climbed feature is really cool (the reason I got it) and very accurate. I've done a couple of centuries with this cpu, one advertised 12,000 feet of climbing and the other 7,000 on both rides the cpu was within 100' of the advertised numbers. Overall this cpu is very easy to install and operate, it has nice big numbers on the led diplay. I would recomend it, I got mine on eBay for $70, I think it retails for about $100.

iowarose

I have the Vetta 100A and like it generally. You do have to calibrate it before every ride, but that's no guarantee it will stay accurate during the ride, depending on the ride length and weather. Today, for example, when I was riding into a 20mph or so headwind and clearly riding uphill (I'm guessing about a 5% grade), the altimeter showed me descending at a -4% grade. The thermometer function also doesn't seem especially accurate.

I like the unit overall, but I'm not going to settle any bets with it, if you know what I mean.

tanguy frame

Do you noitice that %grade is overstated? I just put the Vetta 100A on my bike and if I believed it, I'd be climbing walls!
Jacob

SSP

I think it does tend to get "fooled" into reporting numbers that are too high for max grade. I suspect that it "samples" a bit too frequently, leading to the "overstated" problem.

It's a tough issue in terms of software design, however...a slower rate of sampling could easily lead to understated grades (it would suck to be on a steep right-hand switchback and have the Vetta showing something like 5%).

rjjasick

I've got a Specialized Turbo Pro and Polar 720i. I've noticed that the 720 reads less than the Turbo. I've done the same 25 mile route using both at the same time and each computer is within 10' of each time I ride the loop. I rode a 4 lap race this weekend that when I went back and checked the computer graphs, the 720 was almost dead on with each of the 4 climbs. I didn't have the Turbo since I was on a new bike. I'm getting a Vetta 100a any day now, so when I can compare all three I'll report back. I think the only truly accurate way to read the current % grade is with a true inclinometer. A measured plastic device thingie that has a buble in it, just like a level. Although I would think they would be difficult to read riding a bike.

apmech

Just found this on Ebay!
You can buy the Specialized Turbo pro for $60.00 .. ie.. Regular price is $110.

A great deal..

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1