What Cycle Computer?

SR7492

I'm after a half decent computer that cando and has the following features:

Speed/Distance + averages
Heart Rate Monitor
Water Resistant
Workout session upload/download
Backlight
Decent Battery
Wireless

I know there are quite a few out there but what are the good ones? I've particuar taken a liking to Polar CS200 - pretty much has everything on my list but one thing I'm not sure is the CAD feature; is this in built or do I have to set this up etc?

The other one is the Garmin 500; I think it's a favourite amongst many but for me it has too many features which quite a few people have said they don't need. However I am a gagdet guy so will not be put off by this

Any advice on the above 2 or any others guys?

Budget = £50 - £150 (max)

Thanks in advance.

Wirral_paul

Personally i wouldnt be without a cadence (CAD) sensor now as it is good to try and target a higher cadence for most rather than slogging too high a gear.

Personally i'd go with the Garmin 500 simply for the GPS it adds which the Polar doesnt. If you are a gadget lover then i'm sure you'll love the ability to download your rides to the likes of Strava and so on. Makes interesting reading and you can see the improvements you are making on your usual routes.

dodgerdog

The CS200 is good and the cad funsctionality works easily but the upload is tortuous using the built in speaker to transmit data so you need to understand how to enable a microphone on your computer. For ease I have grabbed a cheap CS500 from Ebay which gives wirless USB data transfer and the same functionality as the Garmin 500 (i think, less direction indication).

Peddle Up!

After a lot of reading around and annoying people here with questions I went for a Garmin 800. I still think it's overpriced, the instructions provided are dreadful but the unit itself is very good. Unlike other solutions I looked at including smartphones and cheaper units the Garmin works well and is tough enough to survive our sometimes awful weather and the odd spill off the bike. "Yer pays yer money..."

SR7492

Thanks guys for the input so far.

A question on the cadence, do I have to set up this up like I have to do with wireless transmitter? Or does the computer work this out?

Sorry, totally new to cadence.

RonB

Well, with the Garmin500 it is fairly straightforward. You get the one receiver unit, which needs to find a couple of sensors, one on a rear spoke for speed and one on the crank for cadence. During setup the receiver uses coloured LEDs to show that it has found them and that's that.

mattheww385

Bryton Rider 20? With a Speed/Cadence Sensor will probably set you back around £120, which is substantially cheaper than the Edge 500 and very competitive with the 200 as it has a better feature set. Or the Rider 35, which has a few more features (and is closer in functionality to the Edge 500) but will be around the top end of your budget.

John.T

SR7492 wrote:

Thanks guys for the input so far.
A question on the cadence, do I have to set up this up like I have to do with wireless transmitter? Or does the computer work this out?
Sorry, totally new to cadence.

You will need to fit a Polar cadence transmitter and crank magnet to your bike. These will probably be an extra to the main unit. (Depends on how you buy). You will then have to enable cadence in the head unit menu ( I think. I had a 400 2 years ago and have forgotten a bit).
You can not really compare a Polar to a Garmin 500. They both do the measurement of speed, distance etc but the Garmin adds in all the GPS data. I replaced my CS400 with a Garmin 500 and upload rides to http://ridewithgps.com/. I have all the data that I had from the CS400 but can look at it on a map or satellite image.

t.m.h.n.e.t

John.T wrote:

SR7492 wrote:

Thanks guys for the input so far.
A question on the cadence, do I have to set up this up like I have to do with wireless transmitter? Or does the computer work this out?
Sorry, totally new to cadence.

You will need to fit a Polar cadence transmitter and crank magnet to your bike. These will probably be an extra to the main unit. (Depends on how you buy). You will then have to enable cadence in the head unit menu ( I think. I had a 400 2 years ago and have forgotten a bit).
You can not really compare a Polar to a Garmin 500. They both do the measurement of speed, distance etc but the Garmin adds in all the GPS data. I replaced my CS400 with a Garmin 500 and upload rides to http://ridewithgps.com/. I have all the data that I had from the CS400 but can look at it on a map or satellite image.

Magnet is included with the CS200CAD but the speed sensor is front wheel so useless for turbos.

Cateye V3 though it doesn't have upload ability has a combined rear speed/cad unit +HRM + is a really nice puter

SR7492

Thanks guys

I think a cadence will be good as I do want to improve on my cycling.

So, I've got a shortlist of gadgets although the obvious Garmin Edge 500 is the one that tickets most boxes (exc the price)

Having taken on board your comments and done some google'ing; I've come up with the following:

Garmin Edge 500 + HRM/CAD
Holux 260 Pro+
Sigma Rox 9.1
Cateye V3/Strada

The Holux is cheaper than the Edge but doesn't look as good - they are very much like for like but the Hulux does come in considerably cheaper.

I've had a look at Sigma, seems decent but can't really find any reviews on this - any comments from anyone? Also, does this run on GPS?

The V3 has got good reviews but I don't think it has CAD.

Decisions, decisions and more decisions . . . . . . .

Help me cipher this lads (plz )

Thanks

t.m.h.n.e.t

SR7492 wrote:

Thanks guys

I think a cadence will be good as I do want to improve on my cycling.

So, I've got a shortlist of gadgets although the obvious Garmin Edge 500 is the one that tickets most boxes (exc the price)

Having taken on board your comments and done some google'ing; I've come up with the following:

Garmin Edge 500 + HRM/CAD
Holux 260 Pro+
Sigma Rox 9.1
Cateye V3/Strada

The Holux is cheaper than the Edge but doesn't look as good - they are very much like for like but the Hulux does come in considerably cheaper.

I've had a look at Sigma, seems decent but can't really find any reviews on this - any comments from anyone? Also, does this run on GPS?

The V3 has got good reviews but I don't think it has CAD.

Decisions, decisions and more decisions . . . . . . .

Help me cipher this lads (plz )

Thanks

The cateye V3 has cadence. It uses a single rear unit for both speed and cadence. The cad magnet is simply stuck to or cable tied to your crank.

(I know this for certain because I'm looking at my bike which has it mounted :P)

John.T

The only ones that have GPS are Garmin, Bryton and Hulux. The rest are just measuring devices with varying download ability.
I do not find cadence really useful now as I have a pretty fair idea anyway.

PhildB

I've been researching which computer also.. - the best thing I have found, which has all the standard gubbings, AND cadence and is wireless, for a reasonable price (ie £50 odd) is the Sigma 1690 Wireless with Cadence

http://bikeodometers.blogspot.com/2012/ ... dence.html

MartinB2444

I have a Garmin GPS and am very pleased with it. It is nice and compact but the display is very clear even when when I'm sweating my way up long climbs. I wouldn't be without the GPS facility because I really like being able to upload my ride info.

One problem with computers is you can become a bit of a slave to them. Also, who wants to be peering down at their computer, going flat out on a steep descent because you want to check your max speed. Knowing I can access my data after the ride encourages me to judge my things by feel.

Martin

thescouselander

PhildB wrote:

I've been researching which computer also.. - the best thing I have found, which has all the standard gubbings, AND cadence and is wireless, for a reasonable price (ie £50 odd) is the Sigma 1690 Wireless with Cadence

http://bikeodometers.blogspot.com/2012/ ... dence.html

I also have one of these but I went with the wired version as the fire safety systems at work interfere with wireless bike computers running the battery down. If found it to be very good - my only complaint is that the screen picks up scratches easily.

iPip

+1 for the Edge 500. I'd buy another one tomorrow if I lost it. I can't say I use every feature, but I know it has everything I want it to and probably a few things I might in future. Check out Handtec for competitive prices.

Pigtail

MartinB2444 wrote:

One problem with computers is you can become a bit of a slave to them. Also, who wants to be peering down at their computer, going flat out on a steep descent because you want to check your max speed. Knowing I can access my data after the ride encourages me to judge my things by feel.

Martin

I have a 500, and really like it - but this quote is so apt for me. An ambition is to hit 50 mph. The last time I tried it I was concentrating on staying alive, with my nose a few inches from the computer, with no chance of focusing on it even if I tried. I got home, uploaded the information, and it came out at 49.9 mph!

SR7492

Thanks everyone for their input!

I decided to go for the Edge 500 with HRM/CAD.

I liked the Neutral Black/Grey one but then noticed the Black/Red option which I thought would look even better on my bike. Funnily enough, that one was £30 more than the other two (£255)

Anyway, I guess I'm pretty good at getting good deals so after a few calls etc I got the BLK/RED Inc HRM/CAD for £179.99. Should be coming through the post shortly.

Happy days