Simple Analogue odometer - no wires no batteries, any ideas?

pouch
pouch Posts: 7
edited January 2010 in Commuting chat
I am looking for a simple odometer for my commuter.
No batteries, no wires, just bolted to the forks and clicked over by a spoke mounted pin.

Just like you used to stick on your Raleigh Grifter. :)

Seriously, I want bolted to the bike so I can record my overall distance travelled.
Cant be stolen and does not have wires all around the bike and batteries that go flat
I can't find one anywhere??

Any ideas?

Comments

  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    pouch wrote:
    I am looking for a simple odometer for my commuter.
    No batteries, no wires, just bolted to the forks and clicked over by a spoke mounted pin.

    Just like you used to stick on your Raleigh Grifter. :)

    Seriously, I want bolted to the bike so I can record my overall distance travelled.
    Cant be stolen and does not have wires all around the bike and batteries that go flat
    I can't find one anywhere??

    Any ideas?

    How about this:

    http://www.amazon.com/SCHOOL-BICYCLE-SPEEDOMETER-26-27in-WHEELS/dp/B001G42MBO

    I used to have one of these on an old bike....
    I think I know the one you mean though, small thing bolted to front fork, with a star like wheel that got turned by a pin attached to the spoke. Must be available somewhere!!

    Otherwise get with the times grandpa!!
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • pouch
    pouch Posts: 7
    No need for all that speedo stuff and long cable.
    Exactly what you say small thing bolted to fork with star wheel!

    What and miss the chance of checking out my overall mileage whilst drinking a nice cup of horlicks at the end of the day :wink:
  • squeeler
    squeeler Posts: 144
    My wife wants one of those too for her shopping bike for exactly the same reasons as you. I can't find them anywhere either :cry:
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Can be done even more simply. Just attach a cable tie to one of the spokes so that it pings against the fork when the wheel goes round.

    Count the clicks as you ride along, simple arithmetic conversion to get distance.

    Can also be upgraded to fully-functioning bicycle computer by the addition of handlebar-mounted notebook and pocket calculator...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    Maybe this:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120516999573
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • Runoutofgears
    Runoutofgears Posts: 348
    I remember those!
    I ache, therefore I am.
  • kelsen
    kelsen Posts: 2,003
    Can't help on the odometer thingy, but really, how much does a simple wireless computer cost these days? A tenner? Ok, so you have to change the battery, but they're normally good for about a year.
  • pouch
    pouch Posts: 7
    Of course I could buy a cycle computer for £10 or £15 without wires.
    Which I don't need.

    Also I have to take it on and off the bike everytime I leave it locked up.
    Just want to track the bike use I am accumulating over the year...

    And it is proper old skool.. and I like that :)
  • Chunkers1980
    Chunkers1980 Posts: 8,035
    pouch wrote:
    Of course I could buy a cycle computer for £10 or £15 without wires.
    Which I don't need.

    Also I have to take it on and off the bike everytime I leave it locked up.
    Just want to track the bike use I am accumulating over the year...

    And it is proper old skool.. and I like that :)

    This is all true. I had one back in the very early 90's.

    2 downsides over a wireless comp no-one has mentioned.

    You get a pronounced click every rev.

    And.. as they're not digi, you have to buy a version that is set to your tyre circumference so if you have a bigger or smaller tyre/wheel or want it on a different bike you can't without it being inaccurate or buying a new one.

    Sort of like a type writer.. Now who uses one of those these days.
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    Bet you don't get one.....

    Is this your mobile phone by any chance? None of that fancy namby pamby texting nonsense or 3G, and a proper dial!!

    portable_executive_telephone.jpg
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Tie string to house.

    Roll out string to location.

    Measure string
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • pouch
    pouch Posts: 7
    Found one.... :)

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-MILEOMETE ... 4a9db95c18

    Actually
    I only have a trim phone with a very curly cable.. I can almost get to the local shop with it!
    :roll:
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    pouch wrote:
    Found one.... :)

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-MILEOMETE ... 4a9db95c18

    Actually
    I only have a trim phone with a very curly cable.. I can almost get to the local shop with it!
    :roll:

    Wow, i'm impressed!! I did have one of them. What is curious is that it says it fits a 28" wheel, and the add mentions "Chopper", never had a chopper, but I am guessing their front wheels are not 28". maybe you fit it to chopper rear!

    All the best with it, let up know if it works.
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    What is this, luddite extremism?

    Get with the times man!

    Or get a GPS app for your mobile and use that to track mileage... :roll:





    :wink:
  • Wooliferkins
    Wooliferkins Posts: 2,060
    Trimphone! Bloody modernist.
    Neil
    Help I'm Being Oppressed
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    pouch wrote:
    Found one.... :)

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-MILEOMETE ... 4a9db95c18

    Actually
    I only have a trim phone with a very curly cable.. I can almost get to the local shop with it!
    :roll:
    Read this on the listing
    PLEASE NOTE (DUE TO NEG. FEEDBACK) THEY MEASURE DISTANCE IN KM MEANS THAT THEY MEASURE DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS , THANKS .
    So checked out his feedback and found a negative left because it measures in kms (which was stated in the listing). Are some people really that stupid.
    Whippet
  • deptfordmarmoset
    deptfordmarmoset Posts: 3,118
    To be fair, -null-, the seller might have started the confusion off by saying it was a MILEometer.

    My dad, 93, has got one of those clickety things on his bike. After a hiccup on my old bike, I borrowed his - well, he wasn't using it that much! - and after a 4 mile commute, the clicking started to really annoy me so I took it off. And then when I returned the bike I put it back on but the wrong way round and it started to subtract miles.
    Looking for a cycling buddy?

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