UKC

Hello

Could anyone recommend me a decent, easy to use, accurate, under£40 Cycle computer for my road bike?

Thank you

Sib

In reply to Sib81: For around £40 you could get a Cateye Strada Wireless.
I use one and it covers all of the basics.

In reply to sleavesley: Agreed....easy set up and user friendly.

In reply to Sib81: I would avoid the cateye wired ones. They're functionally good, but I've had a couple that have given up working reliably quite quickly due to what seems to be the cables breaking down. Don't know about the wireless ones though.

In reply to abr1966: Agree again. Small, neat, easy to use.

Cheers

Toby (although I actually have a polar but it's more than 40).

In reply to Sib81:

I've started using my smart phone for this plus a cheap wireless on for information while I ride.

On my phone I use an app called SatSport (cost £1.50 I think) from the android market. Gives loads of information on the ride, particularly when you upload the information to your computer. Gives things like elevation gain / loss, break down of speed for each part of the ride, map overlays etc etc. Very good for training.

You do need a smart phone with GPS though!

In reply to Sib81:

I picked up one for €8 from my local supermarket - it does all the normal speed/distance things, plus calories (although that is clearly at best a guess), and temperature (which seems pretty accurate). It's small, easy to use and seems very reliable after nearly 3000km.

To be honest, as long as it picks up every time the wheel turns, then the "accuracy" is mostly down to you. Accurate timing is easy and cheap with moderate electronics (for exmple, the clock on mine has slipped by about a minute over the last year, so that's acurate to within 0.0002%) and then all it needs to do is count how many time the wheel turns - it can't get that wrong! Where you could potentially make a mistake is measuring the circumference of your wheel - be careful about that and you'll be fine.

Unless you're swinging by Germany soon, I can't really help you with where you might find the same one, but the point I'm making is, it doesn't have to be super expensive, unless you're looking for features such as altimeter, heart rate, cadence, GPS and being able to download it onto your computer etc.


Tim

In reply to Sib81:

Have used Cateye ones for years - pretty easy to set up and very easy to use. Only ever had one where the wiring has given up - the other one that failed was because the bracket was ripped off the bars in a crash!

I've got the Strada on my road bike - I don't like the bracket, as it's not enough of a positive "click" in and so too easy to knock it off. Other than that, it's very good.

Also look at the Cateye Enduro - has a heavier duty wire than most, as aimed at mountain biking. Hasn't failed in several years of abuse!

In reply to Sib81:

Depends on what it is going on, if a road bike with aero forks I have found that cateyes are a pain to get the sensors in the right place.
My suggestion is try to get another £10 and get the mavic wintech e-bolt for £49 if you search on google, got mine last week.
It has the sensor attached to the other end (bolt) of the QR skewer, this means it doesn't even have to be attached to the forks.


Just my 2p but I like mine.

Cheers
Graham

In reply to Andrew G:

I use my smart phone too. A Nokia with gps. Free app: Sport tracker. Does what I need.

In reply to Sib81:
Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I shall have a peruse at the above mentioned and make my decision based on my next pay cheque!