computer recommendation please

Terry [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

I want a computer that does not switch itself off when I stop for a
honey sandwich, because I am not the type to remember to restart it.I
know it's mainly vanity, but it can sometimes be useful to know how
far you have gone along your route and what speeds you are averaging.
Can anyone recommend one that restarts itself when you move off
again?I will have to brace myself for the price because my current one
is from Lidl, cost nearly nothing, and is in other respects fine,
wireless too.
I would prefer a model that is really simple to use and does not have
lots of extra features.

Cateye Mity 8 (Or Enduro... it's the same thing). ~=A315. Auto timer will=
=20
start and stop when you do.

Odometer
Trip Distance 1
Trip Distance 2 (Can be reset independantly, good for weekly mileage)
Maximum speed
Average speed
Current speed (Displayed all the time)

Some other stuff including catering for two wheel sizes. Can be set up=20
very quickly and easily for basic use.

Are you sure that your Lidl one doesn't have an Auto Timer (Or similarly=20
named function)? I thought they were common place.

Jon

Jon Senior jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk said:

Terry [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

I want a computer that does not switch itself off when I stop for a
honey sandwich, because I am not the type to remember to restart it.I
know it's mainly vanity, but it can sometimes be useful to know how
far you have gone along your route and what speeds you are averaging.
Can anyone recommend one that restarts itself when you move off
again?I will have to brace myself for the price because my current one
is from Lidl, cost nearly nothing, and is in other respects fine,
wireless too.
I would prefer a model that is really simple to use and does not have
lots of extra features.

Cateye Mity 8 (Or Enduro... it's the same thing). ~£15. Auto timer will
start and stop when you do.

Odometer
Trip Distance 1
Trip Distance 2 (Can be reset independantly, good for weekly mileage)
Maximum speed
Average speed
Current speed (Displayed all the time)

Some other stuff including catering for two wheel sizes. Can be set up
very quickly and easily for basic use.

Are you sure that your Lidl one doesn't have an Auto Timer (Or similarly
named function)? I thought they were common place.

Halfords also do their own branded one for about 8 quid that does all of
that, although it has almost unlimited wheel size settings.

--
Andy Hewitt ** FAF#1, (Ex-OSOS#5) - FJ1200 ABS
Honda Concerto 16v: Windows free zone (Mac G5 Dual Processor)
http://www.thehewitts.plus.com - now online

Terry [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

I want a computer
I would prefer a model that is really simple to use and does not have
lots of extra features.

I'm currently using a VDO C08. Simple to set up and simple in use, the
computer's pretty good too ;-)

About £18 from Wiggle.

Pete

Terry said:

I want a computer that does not switch itself off when I stop for a
honey sandwich, because I am not the type to remember to restart it.

Most computers on the market now have auto start/stop so the world is your
lobster! Some will blank the screen if you take more than five minutes to
eat your sandwich, but they'll automatically power up again when the bike
is next moved (and restart the trip timer, etc)

Echo 7 is a good simple one, though I'm not sure it's still available.

~PB

On 4 Jul 2004 10:37:21 -0700, [email hidden] (Terry) wrote (more
or less):

Quoted message said:

I want a computer that does not switch itself off when I stop for a
honey sandwich, because I am not the type to remember to restart it.I
know it's mainly vanity, but it can sometimes be useful to know how
far you have gone along your route and what speeds you are averaging.
Can anyone recommend one that restarts itself when you move off
again?I will have to brace myself for the price because my current one
is from Lidl, cost nearly nothing, and is in other respects fine,
wireless too.
I would prefer a model that is really simple to use and does not have
lots of extra features.

Equus Judo (was £7 when I bought mine) does trip speed, trip distance,
and trip time, along with cumulative distance.

It switches stops timing when the bike stops, and the display switches
off a short time after that. Starts displaying and timing again next
time you move.

And you can switch the display back on again without startingth etimer
timing by pressing one of its two large friendly buttons.

However - the mounti ng that goes on the bars has a tendency to break.

(unless they've re-designed it since I bought my two. (the second one
was originally intended for my wife'sbike, but my mounting broke... so
I used her mounting, and now it's broke...)

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Andy Hewitt:

Quoted message said:

Halfords also do their own branded one for about 8 quid that does all of
that, although it has almost unlimited wheel size settings.

I think what Jon means is that the Cateye can be set up for two bikes with
different wheel sizes. The actual wheel size settings have a wide enough
range to cover for any eventuality.

I second the recommendation for Cateye, by the way. I use an Astrale 8,
which replaced my Velo 5 after it fell off and went under a car wheel (Velo
5 was perfectly good but I wanted to 'upgrade' to the Astrale for the
cadence function) - the one thing you have to be wary of with Cateye
computers is making sure they are properly 'clicked' into their bracket.

The Velo 5 (£13) and Velo 8 (£15) are both cheaper than the Mity 8 too. The
number refers to the number of functions, I believe. All have the choice of
autostart or manual operation so would be suitable for the OP.

d.

davek said:

The Velo 5 (£13) and Velo 8 (£15) are both cheaper than the Mity 8
too. The number refers to the number of functions, I believe.

It doesn't with Cateye because, for example, Mity 8 has the same functions
as Mity 3 (just arranged differently).

I like the Mity 3 but I think those who want maximum simplicity will find
Mity 3 or 8 too over-featured. The Velo models should be better in that
respect.

~PB

davek said:

Andy Hewitt:

Quoted message said:

Halfords also do their own branded one for about 8 quid that does all of
that, although it has almost unlimited wheel size settings.

I think what Jon means is that the Cateye can be set up for two bikes with
different wheel sizes. The actual wheel size settings have a wide enough
range to cover for any eventuality.

Righto.

--
Andy Hewitt ** FAF#1, (Ex-OSOS#5) - FJ1200 ABS
Honda Concerto 16v: Windows free zone (Mac G5 Dual Processor)
http://www.thehewitts.plus.com - now online

Pete Biggs [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

davek said:

The Velo 5 (=A313) and Velo 8 (=A315) are both cheaper than the Mity 8
too. The number refers to the number of functions, I believe.

=20
It doesn't with Cateye because, for example, Mity 8 has the same function=

s

Quoted message said:

as Mity 3 (just arranged differently).

Cateye have now moved to this numbering system, hence your computer=20
changing from Mity 3 to Mity 8.

Jon

davek [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

I second the recommendation for Cateye, by the way. I use an Astrale 8,
which replaced my Velo 5 after it fell off and went under a car wheel (Velo
5 was perfectly good but I wanted to 'upgrade' to the Astrale for the
cadence function) - the one thing you have to be wary of with Cateye
computers is making sure they are properly 'clicked' into their bracket.

<sniff> I had an old Astrale which I upgraded to the Astrale 8 when I
bought the Giant. It lasted about 6 months (IIRC) then popped from the
bracket (Obviously wasn't in properly). I noticed at one point when I
tried to check my speed and retraced my route from work hoping to pick
it up. I finally found it about 4 metres from where I had stopped which
sadly happened to be a crossroads. It was mostly flat and the screen had
gone completely black.

I replaced it with the Enduro simply because I intended to use it on two
bikes, and having cadence and speed on a fixed seemed a little
pointless. I now have three mounting brackets and two wheel sizes and it
happily swaps between the Giant, the fixer and the bent.

The Cateye computers have always served me well and I quite like the
ergonomics of them hence the recommendation. If your LBS is good they
should have a little demo thing with a wheel that you can spin so that
you can see what they look like in action.

Jon

Jon Senior said:

<sniff> I had an old Astrale which I upgraded to the Astrale 8 when I
bought the Giant. It lasted about 6 months (IIRC) then popped from the
bracket (Obviously wasn't in properly).

Could be a problem with the bracket - the one on my MTB appears to have the
wedge thing wot locates in the hole in the back of the computer the wrong
way round. It stays in most of the time, but resetting it requires that you
hold it in place with the other hand. Bah!

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

Dave Larrington:

Quoted message said:

It stays in most of the time, but resetting it requires that you
hold it in place with the other hand. Bah!

I find with my Astrale that the clip on the bracket often doesn't manage to
locate itself properly into the notch on the back of the computer - you have
to actually push the clip up until it clicks reassuringly into place. If you
do this you should find that the computer is firmly attached and can't be
pushed off just by presing the start/stop button, which is the problem I
previously had.

d.

davek said:

I find with my Astrale that the clip on the bracket often doesn't
manage to locate itself properly into the notch on the back of the
computer - you have to actually push the clip up until it clicks
reassuringly into place. If you do this you should find that the
computer is firmly attached and can't be pushed off just by presing
the start/stop button, which is the problem I previously had.

All my other Cateye computers (8 of them!) behave thus, but the one on the
MTB is Wilfully Different. Also it's one of the Astrales with the front
wheel sensor and the wire is only j-u-s-t long enough. Bah!

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

Dave Larrington [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

All my other Cateye computers (8 of them!) behave thus, but the one on the
MTB is Wilfully Different. Also it's one of the Astrales with the front
wheel sensor and the wire is only j-u-s-t long enough. Bah!

It sounds startling similar to mine. I would recommend investing in a
replacement mount for it (If they're not too expensive!) or considering
some surgery of the existing one.

Jon

Jon Senior:

Quoted message said:

It sounds startling similar to mine. I would recommend investing in a
replacement mount for it (If they're not too expensive!) or considering
some surgery of the existing one.

Unfortunately, replacement mounts for Cateye computers are almost as
expensive as buying a whole new computer set.

If I'd kept the mount for the Velo that got run over I'd happily donate it,
btu foolishly I didn't think to keep it.

d.

Thanks for these recommendations, I shall be able to improve my data collection.

TerryJ