New Boardman Computer

Bar Shaker

The unit is fully spec'd, easy to fit and works well, never losing its signals. The numbers are not massive but are ample size for me to read without my reading glasses. At £50 the price is fine too. That's the good bit.

The bad bit is that you can't see any data if you are wearing polarised cycling glasses.

What a mistake to make!

Who can recommend a good alternative... wireless, with cadence and altitude?

kitsunegari

Oh dear! How on earth did they miss that?!

Bar Shaker

Yep, tragic product testing, from a company that I really respect too. I have two of their bikes and think they are superb.

I am sure it can be rectified at the production level by spending an extra 3p on the plastic screen. But that's no good for me as my unit is useless - well, useless on sunny days.

My two emails to Halfords, asking if I have a rogue/faulty unit (both mails acknowledged as received), have been met with a deafening silence.

Oh dear indeed.

I am struggling to find an alternative that does cadence and vert. I may have to bite the bullet and get a Garmin.

danowat

The M.F.D. on my Mazda 6 is the same!

ballspondroad

But don't LCDs work by filtering light through light polarising films ? And these films are incorporated into the LCD screen, so how could you ensure that your glasses and the LCD have compatible polarisation ? You'd need to produce separate L and R polarised screens ?

Bar Shaker

My wife has a Cat Eye which doesn't have this problem.

kitsunegari

Hard to find, especially at that price Bar. The Cateye lot for example seem to have either Cadance or Altitude as separate features, but not on the same unit. Looks like Boardman need to get back to the drawing board quickly to redesign the screen as it's a real market if they can get one in at £50.

ballspondroad

Having had a ponder you can probably get it to work by rotating the screen but you may need to develop the ability to read text upside down or at 90 degrees. Or you could wear your sunglasses at a funny angle a la Eric Morecombe.

kitsunegari

Bar Shaker wrote:

My wife has a Cat Eye which doesn't have this problem.

No my Cateye doesn't have this problem either. But then again it's the micro wireless that doesn't do cadence or altitude.

I'm after a Garmin eventually, but a few other things to spend on first.

Bar Shaker

PMSL at the Eric Morecombe thought.

I tried rotating it around and that's not the problem. The plastic window is cloudy under polarisation and rotating it means different areas go dark. It must have a random crystalised structure to the plastic that is not uniform.

It's a great unit apart from this and the first time I used it, it was overcast so I wore my clear Bolle glasses. It worked brilliantly.

Yep, I can't find anything with all of those functions under a Garmin 500. In fact it works that well that I have even thought of cutting my own bit of clear plastic to replace the screen. What a pain.

kitsunegari

For me it would come down to whats more important - polarised cycling glasses or your cadence. At least until you can stretch to the Garmin. Fortunately I get all my glasses for free, so don't have to worry about that .

Bar Shaker

I have been using my iPhone on a stem mount for nav, vert and speed/distance but am concerned the vibration may not do it any long term favours.

I can buy the Garmin now but my wife (a far more experienced and fitter cyclist than me) is already taking the pi55 out of what I have spent on cycling in the past few months, top notch glasses being another of my purchases.

Last time out I was extolling the benefit of having cadence info to her, before she disappeared off up a hill. She doesn't know I have this problem but any more bling kit and I will never live it down.

kitsunegari

Does the iphone have a harddrive or flash memory? If the latter then it shouldn't really cause any problems.

Bar Shaker

I suspect its flash memory but don't really know.

softlad

I'm not sure, but it may be possible to ride the bike without any of these gadgets....

Bar Shaker

Yes you don't need any of it but it's nice to have, especially if you are pushing your fitness and want to track your progress.

antfly

Use non-polarized specs.

mudslinger

I'm not sure, but it may be possible to ride the bike without any of these gadgets....

That did make me smile

rake

what is the benefit of polarised glasses , gone fishing aside.

Bar Shaker

Reduced glare, better contrast meaning surface contours are clearer.

I've ordered some non polarised lenses. Not an ideal solution at all, especially as the lenses cost more than the computer.

Bar Shaker

I've been in touch with Halfords and they have now addressed the screen polarization with new units arriving in the shops soon (a couple of weeks I think they said). Their customer care people have been very helpful.

I have changed the title of this thread as I have carried on using the Boardman computer and have found it to be an excellent bit of kit. It was marred by the early unit screen polarization but for most people this wouldn't be a problem and it won't be a problem for anyone when the new production units hit the shops. Its still the only cycle computer that gives cadence and gives vertical climb in one unit. When the unit is sub £50, that's impressive.

If you don't wear polaroids when cycling or can wait for the new batch to hit the shops, this computer is well worth considering.

antfly

There are several others that have cadence and an altimeter and some with heart rate too but they are a fair bit more expensive.

Bar Shaker

I couldn't find anything other than a GPS unit that did alti and cadence.

gregster10217

What are peoples thoughts on this computer? I was reasonable interested, but got a typical response from the dweeb in Halfords today saying 'Boardman aren't that good, go for a Cateye.'
I've already got a Cateye and like the altimeter feature on this.

So what's it like? Worth buying, or keep saving and get a more recognised/trusted brand?

sportvan

There is currently a £10 voucher at halfords for every £50 spent so this brings the unit down to £40.

The one I have seems to have a backlight and an LCD brightness level of 1-4.
have not had chance to test as still awaiting delivery of the new bike.

gregster10217

For £40 I think it's worth a go to see what it's like. Will let you know if I get it (if I can find a voucher - presumably instore?) and what I think.

antfly

It`s 15% off online, I think maybe you get a voucher by e-mail if you spend £50.