Which bike computer?

[adrian]

As of last Saturday, I'm in the market for a new bike computer. I was wondering if people could make any recommendations. I have been using a VDO 10 cordless but have gone through a couple of them now and want to change.

Is there any benefit to be gained from the Flight Deck ones if I've got Dura Ace 9-speed?

Is an altitude function helpful? I don't race but am doing a few longer rides/sportives this year.

I'd be willing to spend up to about £100.

Cheers

[siwickm]

Have a look at the Polar range with the HRM and speedo. These are really good, not sure what you can get for £100 but worth a look.

Cheers

Marek..

http://www.heartratemonitor.co.uk

[adrian]

Thanks for that, Marek - reckon the CS200cad will do me nicely. Free Special Delivery and still cheaper than getting it at Evans!

Cheers

Adrian

[sylv]

Flightdeck is brilliant but might be a hassle to install.
Think it can accommodate either 9 or 10 speed.
Works out your cadence from speed and gear ratio.
You can view the data without moving your hands from the hoods.
Viewing your ratio is also quite nice, you get used to using this function.
I stay away from computers that do also HRM now as have had problems with some - I use a simple watch/HRM.

[Phil L]

If you want to be a geeky gadget man, try a GPS bike computer.

Garmin are the market leaders and run this excellent site: [url]http://www.motionbased.com/[/url] Its database service is rather strained at the moment - due the increasing popularity of GPS particularly in the US. They claim to be ugrading their systems this week.

In the bottom left hand corner there are ads for latest models - the Garmin Edge 305 (cycle only) and Garmin Forerunner 205/305 (running and cycling). They are quite pricey at the moment, but the old Forerunner 301 is till available and Amazon has it for £144 (if you can stretch that far, and not forgetting you are getting a heart rate monitor too) ... [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007W5LJQ/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/202-8534697-3842261[/url]

There are cheaper non-heart rate monitor versions of this - Forerunner 201 and 101. I have the 301 and fairly pleased with it (read some of the blog comments about it on Motionbased site).

There is also some very good freeware software to upload your data into which overlays your tracks onto maps, show charts of your heart rate, speed, elevation, etc... [url]http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/[/url]

...just in case you wanted to join the world of geeks!!!

[adrian]

Hmm, it would be interesting to see where I'd got lost/stacked it/blown up/had a gypsy's (not in residential areas, of course)...

Phil, is the Forerunner 301 tricky to install?

[Ian A4size]

I cant vouch for the 301 but i have just got the 305 forerunner- just turn it on and you are away! No calibration it picks up times etc from the sattelite, you can enter your HR zones or it will do it for you- just tell it how old you are, the great thing about it is you do not have to have anything attached to the bike so whatever one you ride you can keep all the data in one place. ( yep i know its sad)

[adrian]

Oh, crikey - you boys and your newfangled gadgets'll see me in the workhouse. Erm, Ian, can you mount the 305 on the bike, or do you have to wear it on your wrist?

[Phil L]

Adrian, as Ian mentioned, the 301 is the same and doesn't need set up other than entering some personal details. However, you will need to install software on your PC to analyze the data and view your tracks. Garmin supply something called Training Center with the 301 (and 305) which I don't like or trust.

Beware of some of the short comings of GPS, as I do have some small gripes with the 301 (I'm not sure how well the 305 have addressed these).

When you switch on, it can take 5 to 10 minutes to lock onto the satellites which means that I usually have to put the GPS outside 10 minutes before I go cycling. It needs to be stationary to lock on the satellites too.

When you stop for a few minutes, but still moving the GPS slightly, it gets confused and the speed spikes very high (e.g.. shows 250mph +) - which screws up the graphs

The average speed comes out much lower than my normal bike computer, probably down to getting confused about whether you are stationary or not. So I still like to have a basic bike computer as well for back up and comparison (speed usually compares very well).

You can loose the satellite signal under thick tree cover - doesn't happen too often on the road bike.

Sometimes for some unknown reason, it doesn't always capture the data straight away, and may kick in 20 to 60 minutes into the ride - very frustrating.

Overall I am fairly pleased with the 301, but the new offerings from Garmin look more sleaker and from the write ups I have read should perform better as well. Here is a good and reputable site that has the new range in stock if you really want to go mad... [url]http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/gps-fitness.html[/url]

[Ian A4size]

305 can be bike mounted i'm sure, it takes the 305 about 30 secs to find the satellites i used it on tuesday night and i can honestly say it was thick cloud cover and i was riding thru a lot of tree cover and it never missed a thing- no speed spikes or HR jumps. It was nice to see a bit of data/feedback on one of my regular training loops( rustle of anorak)
1400ft climbing ,HR Av 152 ,17.2 mph , 52.49 mins, PB time this year! . Phil I use motion based at the moment and have looked at the site you suggested in an earlier thread- sport tracks?- looks good. It really is a nice toy to play with, I have not yet sussed how to export data into google earth to get a map overlay.. but its only a matter of time.

[Snoop Doug]

I find the sun dial mounted to the handlebars of my penny farthing to be a most bodacious cycle computer, although the wearing of a miners safety helmet to provide the "sun" in inclement weather I do find most inconvenient.

Cheers - Snoop