Wireless is a nice feature for obvious reasons; it simplifies setup and keeps things clean. There are increasingly rare issues with interference from other computers, but these days, the chief downside to wireless rigs is their increased price and their decreased battery-life.anthonyjf said:I'm putting about 50 miles/week on my Trek 1000, and I'm ready for a cyclo computer. Need advise on wire or wireless, and general features to look for. Would appreciate any specific make / model.
Price isn't an issue (not rich, just willing to spend a few bucks on a good computer); are there any accuracy issues with wireless? I'm pretty sure my heart is fine, but I do want to monitor my cadence. I will look into the Astrale 8. Thanks.lokstah said:Wireless is a nice feature for obvious reasons; it simplifies setup and keeps things clean. There are increasingly rare issues with interference from other computers, but these days, the chief downside to wireless rigs is their increased price and their decreased battery-life.
Nearly all computers offer a basic suite of features: stopwatch, speed, odometer, tripometer, average speed, and so on. Up a rung on the ladder is a cadence meter -- think of this as RPM, for pedal strokes. Spend more, and you'll start seeing functions found on only the sexiest computers -- heart rate meters, altimeters, complex cross-functions, and systems that allow you to download and evaulate data on your computer.
Popular, reliable brands include CatEye, Vetta, Sigma, and Ciclosport. CatEye makes one of the most popular and best value computers on the market, the Astrale 8. It's super easy to use, offers a broad range of popular and practical features, and is one of the best-priced models offering cadence. It's not wireless.
You can find it for under $30 with a little luck. For less, you can get great models from all the above brands; spend more, and the sky's the limit. Good luck, and have fun!
Some valid concerns here, but again, I'd stress that with today's generation of wireless designs, the chief concern is battery life. Some of the latest wireless computers are truly hot sh*t, and aren't uncommon on big pro teams.anthonyjf said:Price isn't an issue (not rich, just willing to spend a few bucks on a good computer); are there any accuracy issues with wireless? I'm pretty sure my heart is fine, but I do want to monitor my cadence. I will look into the Astrale 8. Thanks.
dalronathos said:Nashbar definately has them cheap, and you can get higher end comps on sale. Definately go wireless. I do have an odd story about the wireless, I had been wondering why the high speed reading was 75 mph, until I looked at it a few minutes ago and noticed that evidently the hard drive spinning on my computer had the odometer going like crazy. Odd anyone else ever heard of this problem?
I have had both types (Sigma Sports is the brand I prefer) and I switched from wireless back to wired. The reason for the switch, is I live in Massachusetts and ride all winter. On cold days (below 30F, I know that's rare in New Orleans), the wireless would always go dead after a few miles, so I would be riding 3 hours with no data, which got frustrating. The wire model also only has one batery in the unit itself, as opposed to the wireless setup, which has batteries in the base, the computer and in the sensor. if one of them went dead, the computer was useless. I also think the wire set up looks neat in a retro kind of way. I am considering going with a Polar 720i which will give me a BC and HRM in one device. Does anyone know if this is reliable in the cold weather?anthonyjf said:I'm putting about 50 miles/week on my Trek 1000, and I'm ready for a cyclo computer. Need advise on wire or wireless, and general features to look for. Would appreciate any specific make / model.
Same here. Got an Astrale 8 and it works great. A good low cost version using wires. I suppose the CD3000DW would be nicer but that's like 4~5 times the cost I spent on my Astrale 8.str8shooter said:Astrale 8 gets my vote. Great computer for the money which includes cadance feature.
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