Does anyone run a bike computer with an altimeter? It would be nice to know how far the climbs are without obsessively counting contours, making me look even more of a map nerd than I actually am. Are they any good? Reliable? I've heard that one of them (the VDO Cytec, I think) snaps off the bars too easily. Not good with my falling off regularity. Any thoughts?

I use a Garmin Geko 301 GPS which has an altimeter as one of it's features.

Very good IMHO of course.

Great - thanks. What is the battery life on those GPS new-fangled things? Does it measure speed and actual distance travelled stuff too? Cheers

The VDO 1.0 I have does altitude but I got that about three years ago. It's still firmly attached to the bars though despite it's share of abuse.

In your situation though I'd consider the gps. It does what you want and more.

I use a Ciclosport HAC4 which has an altimeter. It costs about £170 which is quite pricey but it does all the normal bike things, speed, distance, cadence, power, heart rate etc.

It stores about sixty hours of data which you can download to a PC. The software you get with it is useable but not brilliant.

From a technical point of view, because the HAC4 uses barometric pressure I think it measures height more accurately than a GPS. The batteries are all user changeable and last about a year.

I've had mine about two years and am pleased with it. One final point, they come in specifc metric (km) or imperial (miles) versions so make sure you get the right one.

Oops, excuse the superfluous apostrophe ^.^

Only worth it if it's GPS based (i.e. triangulates off satellites). A 'standard' baro doesn't know what the air pressure is, so if it rises or falls by just 1mb, your altimeter will think you've descended / climbed 27 ft. And the pressure can change surprisingly quickly, and by 20mb or more in a day.

I've got a Garmin Foreunner 201 GPS and it's excellent - it's not the current model so you should be able to pick one up on eBay for £50, plus £12 for a handlebar mount. Speed (current/max/average), distances, lap times (you set the lap [e.g. 5 miles]), calories, altitude, total times/distances (i.e. over rides/weeks/months), rest times (you set the speed below which it counts as 'stopped'), lat/long co-ordinates, an iffy 'map' mode, etc etc. Battery life from fully charged is 12 hours (maybe a little more). And even on wooded trails it's ability to pick up a GPS signal is actually quite good - for those times it can't it waits until it can then calculates what's been going on based on 'as-the-crow-flies' from its last known position.

The Garmin Edge does it all.

Hopefully the teething problem some have had from new (first batches) have ironed them selves out.

I have a Polar S725X with an altimeter, I never actually look at it during the ride, but seeing the trace is quite interesting when you upload it. The 'ascended height' is quite good too.

But then the altimeter is really a secondary feature, I'd suggest it'll be better on GPS based offerings.

OK, now I've got the GPS (thanks for your advice) it seems the next decision is mapping software. It strikes me the MemoryMap and Track Logs seem to be the main offerings - any experiences? Is the 1:50000 workable, or should it be 1:25000?

I have found the Tracklogs 1:25000 software a great bit of kit.

(Pity I have lost my GPS though !)

Adam