Bike Compass?

[Don Wiss]

I'd like to get a bicycle handlebar compass for when I travel. While I can follow the sun, sometimes
there are clouds, and a compass would be more accurate.

Searching Google I found: http://www.globetrotter-online-shop.de/sun_clip_on/sn06061.html I like it,
but it's expensive and a German shop. I can figure how to put it in the shopping cart, but I have no
idea whether they'd ship to the US.

Then I found this one: http://www.altimeters.net/altclipon.htm Which could be the same as the above,
but for a more reasonable price. Only $9.95.

Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?

Then to round things out I found this antique on Ebay. But no personal checks or PayPal. So the
Bidpay or money order will cost you 50% of the purchase price! Doesn't look like it would be
accurate. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2207350362

So what do others that have bicycle compasses use?

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

 

[Slartibartfast]

In article <[email protected]>, donwiss@no_spam.com says...
> Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
> reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?
>

Compasses are pretty simple. You can build one with a needle, a cork and a bowl of water (but I
wouldn't recommend putting it on a bike)

I'm sure this one would be fine, and bells can be pretty handy.

 

[Alex Colvin]

>Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
>reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?

I have one. it's not bad, if you've got an aluminum bike. Otherwise it's handy for locating the
frame while you're riding.

I wouldn't use it for plotting a course, but it'll give you a rough heading. Has a lovely tone, too.

You may be able to find it in a bike shop that caters to kids.

--
mac the naïf

 

[Christopher R.]

>>Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
>>reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?
>
>I have one. it's not bad, if you've got an aluminum bike. Otherwise it's handy for locating the
>frame while you're riding.
>
>I wouldn't use it for plotting a course, but it'll give you a rough heading. Has a lovely
>tone, too.
>
>You may be able to find it in a bike shop that caters to kids.

I've had two of these and a friend had one. Two of the three demagnitized after a while (six months)
but my current one is still going strong(one year plus). I've had no problems mounting it to either
my road or mountain bike. The bell trigger rotates around the base so that you can adjust it for
easy reach.

I purchased mine at a local quality bike store.

Chris Law Newark, DE

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 22:36:02 -0500, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote:
>I'd like to get a bicycle handlebar compass for when I travel. While I can

I'd love to have a good compass for my mountain bike. Those trails can get confusing, and if my GPS
batteries run out and I'm lost, I would have to take a compass out of my camelbak every time I had
to make a decision.

>Searching Google I found: http://www.globetrotter-online-shop.de/sun_clip_on/sn06061.html I like
>it, but it's expensive and a German shop. I can figure how to put it in the shopping cart, but I
>have no idea whether they'd ship to the US.

That looks good. Maybe I'll buy one, if you or I can figure it out.

>Then I found this one: http://www.altimeters.net/altclipon.htm Which could be the same as the
>above, but for a more reasonable price. Only $9.95.

It looks a little cheezy...not to say that the other one is guaranteed to be good.

>Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
>reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?

It's terrible. It appears to be exactly the same thing as the one sold under the Bell brand name. I
bought it in Wal Mart. The compass does not function. The bell does go "ding". The little spring on
which the bell whacker mounts is surprisingly tough to break with wire cutters.

>Then to round things out I found this antique on Ebay. But no personal checks or PayPal. So the
>Bidpay or money order will cost you 50% of the purchase price! Doesn't look like it would be
>accurate. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2207350362

It appears to be dung.

>So what do others that have bicycle compasses use?

If you've got money and like toys, a GPS with a _real_ compass (not just a bearing indicator that
estimates direction via GPS tracking). The Garmin Etrex model line all can mount to the handlebar; I
have the handlebar mount for my Etrex Venture (which lacks the real compass).

I've considered getting an automotive compass and rigging a mount for it. I suspect that's going to
yield the best results.

>Don <donwiss at panix.com>.
--
Rick "Terminally lost" Onanian

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 05:47:44 GMT, Slartibartfast <[email protected]> wrote:
>donwiss@no_spam.com says...
>> Then looking at Nashbar I found one at: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?&sku=2387 Really
>> reasonable. Only $3.45 including a bell! Can it be any good?
>
>Compasses are pretty simple. You can build one with a needle, a cork and a bowl of water (but I
>wouldn't recommend putting it on a bike)
>
>I'm sure this one would be fine, and bells can be pretty handy.

Nope...their complexity exceeds the effort put in by Bell Sports to design and manufacture that
item. I had one, it was 100% useless.
--
Rick "Bitter bike compass compadre" Onanian