one of those computer things on a bike!

jeremyrundle

Now I am no commuter but would like to know what my speed is sometimes and distance, so please can you proper cyclists that have these gizmos let me know if oen is any good, I do not wnat a flash expensive one thanks.

JR

craker

well Tesco and Aldi do them for £cheap as do ebay. I bought a cheapy one from Halfords a while ago that needed a new battery every month (I kept taking them back and demanding a new one, my current one has lasted a couple of years now).

If you want one that wont break after a couple of years have a look at a Cateye for £13


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=26194

bails87

Yep, I've never had any problems with a cateye one.

rhann

had a cateye micro wireless for about 5 years

jeremyrundle

Yes that is what I hear Catseyes appear the one to get thanks

Andrew N

my Cateye wireless lasted a while...although the sensor did eventually fall to bits just as I was starting a 4 week cycle tour, which was quite disappointing.

The cheaper Cateye (with a wire) I had was less successful and after a short while the computer began resetting itself half way through rides. Fine for measuring speed but useless for distance!

n.battison

Got mine from aldi and it is fine for me, also the speed/dist matches up with the gps on my phone so all is good.

Blue Meanie

I wouldn't bother with wireless; twice the batteries to fail/replace, interference and price.

After a few years though they can become a bit OCD and self-defeating as a motivation tool, I used to train with some tape over the display to stop me clock watching and only check it after the ride.

daveyroids

I have a Cateye and a cheap Aldi computer. I find that there is no difference in the performance of the computers. Both are wireless however the Cateye looks better. Batteries seem to last a reasonable time. I switched from wired to wireless when I kept snapping the wires. Mind I am the only person I know that has done this.

Lancslad

I have an aldi one and a cateye velo8. The cateye is far easier to use and I wouldnt buy another aldi one for the extra £9 the cateye was. Its just a shame they dont come with backlight screens for night riding.

wgwarburton

Hi,
I have used a wired Cateye (fine 'till the wires got damaged) and a couple of Halfords comps- the 8-function was adequate, the 5-function was cheap.

The cheapest of them (Halfords 5-function, about a fiver?) I got to use as a cadence counter on a fixie- it's a little heavy on batteries, the connections a touch unreliable and the screen lacks contrast. It's fine for what I'm using it for but I wouldn't want to track a tour with it.

As a general rule I'd say it's a classic case of getting what you pay for. If you want lots of features (multiple wheel size settings to swap between bikes, trip meters, cadence etc.) then you need to pay more but for a basic speed/distance/trip meter you just need to choose how well you want it designed & built and pay accordingly.
I'd be wary of cheap wireless units, though, especially if you use inexpensive LED lights. There are known problems with interference and I would expect (ie I don't have personal experience) that this is more likely to be an issue at the bottom end of the market.

Cheers,
W.

jeremyrundle

My thanks to you all, a £12 cateye will do me fine, wired, so thanks for the advice.

rolf_f

WGWarburton wrote:

I'd be wary of cheap wireless units, though, especially if you use inexpensive LED lights. There are known problems with interference and I would expect (ie I don't have personal experience) that this is more likely to be an issue at the bottom end of the market.

No it isn't! I have had interference problems with decent Smart LED lights and an expensive VDO wireless computer. I did post a request for suggestions for computers which aren't susceptible to this and the only suggestion was to buy a wired computer

What does work to eliminate interference are the RSP Asteri lights that I now mainly use. As well as being hugely bright for the money and hugely compact with it, they can sit right next to a wireless computer without bothering it. Probably something to do with the case being metal.

Best computer I have is a Lidl one. Maybe not so waterproof as the VDO (separate buttons) but the functionality is much better, the display more comprehensive, reliability better and the price a good third cheaper.

bails87

My DX lights are fine with my Cateye wireless, so don't blame the cheap stuff!

wgwarburton

Hi,
OK, fair enough... me talking carp again...

Hmm, carp.... reminds me, it's almost Christmas Eve in Poland...

Cheers,
W.

Finlab6

There's a wireless one half price in Edinburgh bike coop sale reduced to £12.49. Starts 28/12/10

jeremyrundle

I bought the BBB 03 (for £14), as suggested, wired, so good I just got another for my other commuter bike.

Thank you all.

nwallace

Blue Meanie wrote:

After a few years though they can become a bit OCD and self-defeating as a motivation tool, I used to train with some tape over the display to stop me clock watching and only check it after the ride.

I work on the basis that if I can read it I'm not going fast enough downhill.

Drysuitdiver

tesco do a good one for about a tenner. 17 functions including cadence ( pedal revs for the plebs)

its what i have on my bike

daveyroids

Will have to call into Tesco sounds good.

mudcow007

i got fed up of having to measure the wheels on my bike to make the computer accurate especially when changing from my skinny bike to my (kona) stinky

so i went and treated my self to a Holux GPSport its basically a gps tracker, im made up with it, it records where you have been an tells you average speeds aswell as maximum an tries to work out your CO2 you saved an calories

to get it working, open the box, charge it up off your computer or plug in charger connect the mount to your bike an away you go

i got mine off ebay for £50