Mounting a wired cyclo computer - a project.
08-29-05 | 12:57 PM
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Montreal, Canada
Bikes: 2003 KHS F20-Westwood folding & enough parts to make several more bikes...
I ride a folding bike though this is sort of a general bike project. If there's a way to cross-post to the folder-forum, that'd be cool
An oddity of this style bike (20" wheel folder) is the distance between bars and front fork. Not usually a problem - except, it seems, for wireless cyclocomputers if you've got the bars raised to accomodate a 6'0" rider: not enough signal strength to work reliably. (!)
The other day I gave my wireless comp to my dad as his old comp was toast and bought a new VDO wired model.
Quick install and a 7km ride yesterday. Worked fine. Ugly wire running down the front of the bike. NOT usually a problem - except this rig has a folding stem and certain angles of fold were likely to tear the wire off.
BTW: I Googled on installing computers and advice generally came back "run the wire along the front brake cable." No dice: the wire isn't long enough.
So, the rainy day project: dismantle the front end of the bike, run the cable through the star-fangled nut, down the threadless stem and hinge, through the head tube and down the back of the left fork to the sensor.
What might have been a 20 minute project on a regular bike turned into 4 hours and involved, drilling, Dremeling and soldering.
Some pics of the process.
Last two pics show the only external evidence of the installation - inch of wire at the top, about 6 inches running from out of the fork to the sensor.
.
Biggest difficulty was the lower extremities: there's a second set of stem hardware below the hinge - complete with long bolt and wedge - that keeps the fork in place on the bottom half of the hinge.
Had to drill a hole in the wedge and the bolt-flange to run the wire. If it weren't for that, this would've been a walk in the park.
Acid test: the computer still works.
An oddity of this style bike (20" wheel folder) is the distance between bars and front fork. Not usually a problem - except, it seems, for wireless cyclocomputers if you've got the bars raised to accomodate a 6'0" rider: not enough signal strength to work reliably. (!)
The other day I gave my wireless comp to my dad as his old comp was toast and bought a new VDO wired model.
Quick install and a 7km ride yesterday. Worked fine. Ugly wire running down the front of the bike. NOT usually a problem - except this rig has a folding stem and certain angles of fold were likely to tear the wire off.
BTW: I Googled on installing computers and advice generally came back "run the wire along the front brake cable." No dice: the wire isn't long enough.
So, the rainy day project: dismantle the front end of the bike, run the cable through the star-fangled nut, down the threadless stem and hinge, through the head tube and down the back of the left fork to the sensor.
What might have been a 20 minute project on a regular bike turned into 4 hours and involved, drilling, Dremeling and soldering.
Some pics of the process.
Last two pics show the only external evidence of the installation - inch of wire at the top, about 6 inches running from out of the fork to the sensor.
.Biggest difficulty was the lower extremities: there's a second set of stem hardware below the hinge - complete with long bolt and wedge - that keeps the fork in place on the bottom half of the hinge.
Had to drill a hole in the wedge and the bolt-flange to run the wire. If it weren't for that, this would've been a walk in the park.
Acid test: the computer still works.
