Recommend A Bike Computer With Rear Wheel Sensor

[tlarwa]

I'm looking to replace my trusty (and beloved ... really) Flight Deck computer. Not because it doesn't work, but because I want to be able to track my indoor mileage over the winter, and it doesn't offer a rear wheel sensor. I'm looking for recommendations for a new unit that offers a cadence function, as well as all the other typical functions. Wireless would be best, as long as it is reliable. Price is secondary to function.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Tom

[dbh]

Depends if you want GPS or not. I run a Garmin 500 with cadence sensor. No wires, took a few minutes to set up and install on my rear wheel and chainstay. Absolutely no complaints. I got the bundled unit with cadence and heart rate monitor for around $250 shipped a few months back from PBK.

[ergott]

I've always liked Cateye. They have the V series and Strada double wireless that have cadence and speed in a single rear sensor.

[11.4]

Cateye wireless cadence computer is nice but the screen is small and doesn't have much contrast for me.

The Garmin 500 is superb for this application. You can change one of the three data displays to optimize for whatever you want to see while on the trainer -- I have it set up for laps with cadence, stopwatch, and heartrate, which give me everything I need for winter intervals. If I want a distance measure, I can get it on a different screen.

Turn off the GPS each time you start up and the battery won't need recharging till spring (GPS doesn't do you much good while you're sitting still and it eats a ton of power). For winter I mount the head on one of those FSA extenders that push the display forward of the bars. That gets it out of the line of sweat from my face and puts it where I can see it with my head upright.

[martinrjensen]

If you are gonna use it indoors get a Cateye wired Astrale and don't remove your FlightDeck. Just use the Astrale for the indoor training and then remove it. It's can be had for about $20 - $25.00 on sale and it's a really good unit. I actually have that on 3 of my 4 road bikes. I love it. (I have a FlightDeck on the 4th bike and it's my winter rain bikeI'm looking to replace my trusty (and beloved ... really) Flight Deck computer. Not because it doesn't work, but because I want to be able to track my indoor mileage over the winter, and it doesn't offer a rear wheel sensor. I'm looking for recommendations for a new unit that offers a cadence function, as well as all the other typical functions. Wireless would be best, as long as it is reliable. Price is secondary to function.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Tom

[Nil Else]

If you are gonna use it indoors get a Cateye wired Astrale and don't remove your FlightDeck. Just use the Astrale for the indoor training and then remove it. It's can be had for about $20 - $25.00 on sale and it's a really good unit. I actually have that on 3 of my 4 road bikes. I love it.

+1. I have Cateye Astrale on two bikes that are regularly used indoors on trainers.

[endosch2]

The Garmin edge 500 is the best, hands down. So much more info than anything else. This blog below is the most comprehensive resource anywhere on what you can do with Garmins - I have an edge 500 and a forerunner 305. I use the sport tracks software which is an open source software that allows you to slice and dice any piece of data you want.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/p/product-reviews.html

[dimsy]

i loved the cateye strada double wireless, my complaints with it were that due to the nature of how you change different info fields, (clicking down the body of the unit) it tends to rattle a bit, also as 11.4 mentioned, the contrast is crap and with no backlight it makes reading any info at night impossible. I tried the garmin 705 and wasn't happy, i mean it functioned just fine, but it was big & bulky, and for me it was a pain to have to upload data, the lack of an autostart function left me with unlogged rides as my absentmindedness tends to cause me to forget to hit the "start" button. I've been meaning to try a sigma unit, specifically the rox 9.0 as it has a bunch of nice features + backlight and data logging (no gps though) and it has one feature i thought the 705 needed... temperature.

good luck!

[barker]

More praise for the Garmin Edge 500. Very easy to set up and the display is fully customizable to show only the desired data. The ANT+ wireless is also a plus.

[dimsy]

More praise for the Garmin Edge 500. Very easy to set up and the display is fully customizable to show only the desired data. The ANT+ wireless is also a plus.

does the 500 auto start? or do you have to click the start button for the unit to actually log data?

thanks :)

[barker]

does the 500 auto start? or do you have to click the start button for the unit to actually log data?

thanks :)

You just need to hit start at the beginning of your ride. After that it will auto-pause and auto-resume once it senses speed. Auto-pause can also be turned off so that it continuously runs. It can be programed to stop recording data at speeds other than zero.

[tlarwa]

Good stuff ... I have been looking at the Garmin 500, mainly because I want a GPS unit. Based on these recommendations, it sounds like I need to decide between a 2nd unit used with my Flight Deck, or a wholesale move to the Garmin. Decisions, decisions! I think these are 2 valid options, though, and appreciate the input. I wasn't sure how the sensors on the Garmin worked, but it appears they are rear wheel based.

Thanks again!

Tom

[steampunk]

+1 on the edge 500.

i have a data page setup for indoor use with the big HR graph, HR zone, cadence, and elapsed time.

[11.4]

Another point to consider: The whole electronics world on bikes is shifting to ANT+ protocol. If you go with any other wireless approach, you'll find yourself outdated within a couple years or less. So Stick with some kind of ANT+ product -- Suunto, Garmin, SRM, Powertap, etc. An investment in other protocols (such as Polar, Cateye, etc.) has a limited lifetime or is not capable of integrating with other more progressive products.

[soulspinner]

My buddy has a VDO that has every function, including air temp ,% grade etc. Sweet.