Hi
i would like to buy a cyccle computer with a cadence monitor, and would appreciate some advice/recommendation on a good one.

thanks in anticipation

Tom Robinson

The only one that I know of (for MTBs) is the Shimano Flight Deck, and that requires XTR shifters, IIRC. I've not used one myself, but I may well get one.

Specialized Elite offers Cadence and it uses cordless Tacho. Got one on my bike, oh and it's backlit. Nice, miss the temp readout though :(

Tom

I used to have a Cateye Astrale (before the computer & bike got stolen!!!) which had cadence. The only trouble was that I found the sensors weren't always reliable and I also wasn't too keen on all the extra cabling.

Out of interest, I am about to buy a new computer myself. Anyone recommend a good cordless one ???

Cheers & merry xmas ...

I rate the VDO cytec computers, got a new cordless one to go on my new bike 2 months ago and it hasn't missed a beat. My previous corded one still works fine too (after 14 mths use) and never had the problems I've heard of with other computers of them stopping in the cold.

Don't think they do cadence tho', Sorry Tom.

The Sigma BC1200 (I think thats the one) and the cordless one has the option of buying a cadence upgrade. Well thought out, good value and with all the options your likely to need.

Flightdecks work on LX, XT and XTR shifters. The also do an expensive cordless version now.

Doesnt Flightdeck only work on STI shifters though?

Thanks all for the replies

best wishes Tom

"Doesnt Flightdeck only work on STI shifters though?"
Erm... on the road shifters, yes, but I don't think that's the case for the MTB stuff. AFAIK the little window thingies are replaced by Flight Deck stuff... but I don't know.

I've run a Specialised Speedzone Elite for 8 months now with no problems, backlite, waterproof and fully cordless.

But I see they have a new model for 2003 with temperature and an a altimeter pricey at just under a hundred notes.

Specialized Speedzone Elite is not *fully* cordless. It uses a cable for the cadence.

And the new Mavic Win-tech if you want to get really techy. But it's not available here for a few months, will be almost £100 and is 1st gerneration Mavic which I was advised may be, er, tempremental.

I've had astrale's on both my MTB and the missus' before and found them ok, but the wires got damaged on both quite quickly. However, I have just ordered a new one for the road bike.

The flightdeck does replace the little windows, arruming that you have fairly modern shifters. But at £30 for the unit + either £20 for the wired or £40 for the unwired fitting kit it is quite pricey compared to the £30 Astrale.

Flightdeck is a superb bit of kit though

Cadence sensors can be pretty vulnerable to breaking off , especially if you put them on an MTB. The best one i've seen is the astrale. Bear in mind though mounting kits tend to be 20-25 quid each, which is almost the cost of a new computer. To be honest I'd only bother with cadence on a turbo trainer as your less likely to snap the sensors.

I find my Flightdeck superb on my road bike, but the mtb solution is a lot less elegant. I'd go for the Mavic Wintech for a mtb. It looks like an excellent bit of kit, and you could buy extra mounting kits for your other bikes. The final option would be a Polar heart rate monitor with cordless speed and cadence sensors. This is offered with the more expensive Polar hrms, but could be worth it if you think you might be getting a hrm at some point anyway. Personally I reckon cadence is the single best measure to have. It fits far better with listening to your body than a hrm.

The Polar set up would be close to £400 IIRC for speed + cadence + S720i.

That's serious money over the £29 Astrale. Got the Astrale on the road bike on Saturday and works well. The advantage of the Astrale over the polar, flightdeck and the wintech is that it will work on a turbo as weel as speed is taken from the rear wheel.

Flight deck is far better than having cables running down to the cranks.
BUT you need to have compatiable shifters,and need to find the right model as shimano ditched for mtbs due to poor sales.The new funky xtr shifters won't do it.

Still can't see the benefits of knowing your cadence.

Spinning is trendy at the moment 'cos Lance A spins,but when Jan U kicks his ass this year will all be pushing big gears !!!

This is all far too scientific for me. Knowing my cadence won't make that hill any smaller!

I agree with the badger...