Computer recommendations?

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 17:44:45 GMT, "Tim Dunne" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Can anyone suggest a decent system that's accurate and just works
without all the pairing parlarva?

Thanks,

Tim

VDO, I've had one of these for about a month now and it's superb.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/Default.aspx?Main=ProductDetail.aspx&W=0&Manufacturer=&UberCatName=&Cat=cycle&CategoryName=Computers&ProdID=5360016248&UberCat=0

You still need to pair the transmitter and receiver but it's very simple.

Cheers

Neil

Tim Dunne said:

Hi folks

Haveing just been burned with a Sigma 1606L DTS wireless bike computer
which appears to be pants[1] I'm after a decent cycle computer - it's to fit
a Dawes galaxy, so it's fairly normal. I liked the idea of wireless and
cadence but the unreliability of the Sigma (repeated re-pairing with the
sensors and erratic readings - regardless of sensor position) have put me
off. Can anyone suggest a decent system that's accurate and just works
without all the pairing parlarva?

Well yes, I could recommend Sigma, which I've used happily for years,
but I guess you wouldn't be interested. So I would recommend Cateye,
which I've also used on one of my bikes for about three years now. The
(wireless) model I have isn't now listed, but there are several models
available, both wireless and wired. Of course, a bit of care is needed
with the initial setup, but I haven't hadn't any real problems with mine
(except for splintering the face cover when I went over the bars one
time and the bike landed down side up, but that's generally avoidable).

--
Brian G

Tim Dunne said:

Hi folks

Haveing just been burned with a Sigma 1606L DTS wireless bike
computer which appears to be pants[1] I'm after a decent cycle
computer - it's to fit a Dawes galaxy, so it's fairly normal. I liked
the idea of wireless and cadence but the unreliability of the Sigma
(repeated re-pairing with the sensors and erratic readings -
regardless of sensor position) have put me off. Can anyone suggest a
decent system that's accurate and just works without all the pairing
parlarva?

Hmm, I was looking at Sigmas to replace my Union 9W which has decided
to act funny (new batteries both ends didn't help). Wasn't aware of
this "pairing", what's the reason for that? Don't they just work out of
the box?

Anyway, I think that I may as well go the whole hog and get a
speedo/cadence/heart rate computer but have since found these are few
and far between.

I just found a Blackburn Delphi 5.0 which fits the bill but I've never
heard of them.
I suppose there's always the Polar and Garmin Edge 305 <fx: sucks
teeth>.

--
Mike

"rothers" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

VDO, I've had one of these for about a month now and it's superb.
You still need to pair the transmitter and receiver but it's very
simple.

Cheers. Does it need to be paired for every trip, or just at battery
changes?

Tim

--
Sent from Birmingham, UK timdunne at blueyonder.co.uk
'God's electrician sparked up the heavens once again, heading northbound
on the 7:10. And the lord said let there be commuters...' - Thea Gilmore
Look, mum, an anorak on a bike! Check out www.nervouscyclist.org

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 20:06:05 GMT, "Tim Dunne" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"rothers" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

VDO, I've had one of these for about a month now and it's superb.
You still need to pair the transmitter and receiver but it's very
simple.

Cheers. Does it need to be paired for every trip, or just at battery
changes?

Just at battery changes.

Cheers

Neil

in message <[email hidden]>, mb

(') said:

Tim Dunne said:

Hi folks

Haveing just been burned with a Sigma 1606L DTS wireless bike
computer which appears to be pants[1] I'm after a decent cycle
computer - it's to fit a Dawes galaxy, so it's fairly normal. I liked
the idea of wireless and cadence but the unreliability of the Sigma
(repeated re-pairing with the sensors and erratic readings -
regardless of sensor position) have put me off. Can anyone suggest a
decent system that's accurate and just works without all the pairing
parlarva?

Hmm, I was looking at Sigmas to replace my Union 9W which has decided
to act funny (new batteries both ends didn't help). Wasn't aware of
this "pairing", what's the reason for that? Don't they just work out of
the box?

Anyway, I think that I may as well go the whole hog and get a
speedo/cadence/heart rate computer but have since found these are few
and far between.

Polar do such things. I haven't used one, but I have friends who have them
and think highly of them.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Semper in faecibus sumus, sole profundum variat.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Tim

Dunne (') said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I just found a Blackburn Delphi 5.0 which fits the bill but I've

never >> heard of them.

Quoted message said:

Neither have I...

American specialist design house, been in cycling fifteen years at
least, well known for (among other things) their 'airstick' pumps,
their 'series X' lights, mirrors, racks, and so on. See, I knew you'd
heard of them.

I have now. I'm sure I've seen those lights before:
http://www.blackburndesign.com/index.html

Lifetime guarantee...
Maybe worth a try, certainly a bit cheaper than the competition.

--
Mike

mb said:

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Tim

Dunne (') said:

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

> I just found a Blackburn Delphi 5.0 which fits the bill but I've
> never heard of them.

Neither have I...

American specialist design house, been in cycling fifteen years at
least, well known for (among other things) their 'airstick' pumps,
their 'series X' lights, mirrors, racks, and so on. See, I knew
you'd heard of them.

I have now. I'm sure I've seen those lights before:
http://www.blackburndesign.com/index.html

Lifetime guarantee...
Maybe worth a try, certainly a bit cheaper than the competition.

My LBS is selling these for 165 ukp. They look pretty good but that's
a lot of money compared to my Electron halogen pair. I've got a
Blackburn MARS 3.0 red flasher which I'm really happy with. It's much
brighter and more noticeable over a wide range of angles than a lot of
others I've seen.

Chris
--
Chris Eilbeck

Tim Dunne said:

I can recommend GPS; I log my routes using a garmin 60CS and Memory Map;
it's fantastic and I don't have to consult paper maps as often.

GPS combined with mapping software is great. I have a small computer
which is wired up on my road bike and I haven't bothered using it since
I got a gps. For off road stuff there is no contest unless you need a
cadence reading.

--
James

Simon Brooke said:

My current new work toy is a HP iPAQ 6515, which is a pocket PC cum phone
cum (remarkably good quality) camera cum GPS cum pretty much anything else
under the sun. It doesn't, sadly, have a cadence sensor... But apart from
that it's going to be (at least, it will once I've written the software) a
remarkably interesting addition to cycling expeditions,.

Sounds interesting. What do you expect the battery life to be like while
it's running bluetooth and GPS receivers throughout a trip ? Can you
run it off an extra cell in a pannier, or do you want the ipaq to be
fitted to you rather than the bike ?

If you don't mind doing a bit of electronics as well as software,
maybe you could use a Bluetooth mouse as a cadence sensor. A mouse
is designed to count pulses so it's quite close to what you need,
and will auto-power-down when there are no pulses. Since it has
two counting axes, you could use it for wheel pulses as well
(even though GPS gives you speed etc.). You might need some bodgery
to provide the necessary quadrature signal : a single pulse input
probably won't work. An interesting enhancement might be to run
the mouse off rectified dynamo power and use a signal extracted
from the dynamo's AC to provide the wheel signal.

-adrian

in message <[email hidden]>, Adrian Godwin

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

My current new work toy is a HP iPAQ 6515, which is a pocket PC cum
phone cum (remarkably good quality) camera cum GPS cum pretty much
anything else under the sun. It doesn't, sadly, have a cadence sensor...
But apart from that it's going to be (at least, it will once I've
written the software) a remarkably interesting addition to cycling
expeditions,

Sounds interesting. What do you expect the battery life to be like while
it's running bluetooth and GPS receivers throughout a trip ? Can you
run it off an extra cell in a pannier, or do you want the ipaq to be
fitted to you rather than the bike ?

Well, we're (or my customers are) currently using them with a plug-in
bar-code reader which runs off the iPAQ battery, and so far it seems to do
an eight hour duty cycle with GPS and bar-code reader and GPRS all powered
up without any difficulty. HP sell aftermarket batteries with twice the
capacity of the standard battery, and people in Hong Kong sell aftermarket
batteries with a claimed four times the capacity of the standard (with a
bulge in the rear cover). So I don't particularly see keeping Bluetooth
powered up for the length of any reasonable ride as being problematic.

Quoted message said:

If you don't mind doing a bit of electronics as well as software,
maybe you could use a Bluetooth mouse as a cadence sensor. A mouse
is designed to count pulses so it's quite close to what you need,
and will auto-power-down when there are no pulses. Since it has
two counting axes, you could use it for wheel pulses as well
(even though GPS gives you speed etc.). You might need some bodgery
to provide the necessary quadrature signal : a single pulse input
probably won't work. An interesting enhancement might be to run
the mouse off rectified dynamo power and use a signal extracted
from the dynamo's AC to provide the wheel signal.

That's an interesting idea but a long way beyond my competence.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; An enamorata is for life, not just for weekends.

Tim Dunne said:

"rothers" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

VDO, I've had one of these for about a month now and it's superb.
You still need to pair the transmitter and receiver but it's very
simple.

Cheers. Does it need to be paired for every trip, or just at battery
changes?

Just at battery changes.

Only complaint about the VDO is that you have to press something on the
computer to wake it up after 30 mins inactivity. Doesn't matter what, and
the display does tell you, but its not totally automatic.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Adrian Godwin

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

My current new work toy is a HP iPAQ 6515, which is a pocket PC cum
phone cum (remarkably good quality) camera cum GPS cum pretty much
anything else under the sun. It doesn't, sadly, have a cadence
sensor... But apart from that it's going to be (at least, it will
once I've written the software) a remarkably interesting addition
to cycling expeditions,

Sounds interesting. What do you expect the battery life to be like
while it's running bluetooth and GPS receivers throughout a trip ?
Can you run it off an extra cell in a pannier, or do you want the
ipaq to be fitted to you rather than the bike ?

Well, we're (or my customers are) currently using them with a plug-in
bar-code reader which runs off the iPAQ battery, and so far it seems
to do an eight hour duty cycle with GPS and bar-code reader and GPRS
all powered up without any difficulty. HP sell aftermarket batteries
with twice the capacity of the standard battery, and people in Hong
Kong sell aftermarket batteries with a claimed four times the
capacity of the standard (with a bulge in the rear cover). So I don't
particularly see keeping Bluetooth powered up for the length of any
reasonable ride as being problematic.

My experience with laptop batteries is that the compatible ones have a dire
lifespan even though they start with lots of capacity. I have a Dell laptop
battery which is 6 years old and still gets 80% of the life it had when it
was new. My year old Chinese copy ones (including baddly OCRed copies of the
warnings on the panel) have either failed or are down to 25% of original
capacity.

I have daydreams of doing this kind of thing, probably with a PIC chip with
built in bluetooth, but it's a silly idea for me really. Like you, I'm more
of a software person.

A