Wired Bike Computer

I've owned CatEye bike computers through many decades of road biking and this is one of the best and lowest-priced models I've owned. It doesn't do cadence, alas, but the other readings are all that I need and are displayed in clearly legible numbers. Setup is easy-ish and the unit has now been exposed to +2,100 mi. of riding -- incl. serious rain & blazing sun -- and the unit keeps going along looking fresh as when I bought it. Highly recommended as a v. good basic bike computer.

This is my first foray into the realm of bicycle computers. I started riding again after my two kids got old enough to be on their own. I ride mostly in town, commuting ten miles or so to and from the usual places, but I also started going on some suitably longer trips out into the countryside. And after a while, after all that time spent pedaling and pedaling, one begins to wonder certain things, like: "How fast am I actually going, how many miles am I traveling on these trips, and how long is all of this taking?" I know what you're thinking: "So why do I need a bike computer when all this information can be obtained using my smartphone's maps or other such apps along with GPS positioning?" Well, I tried that, and even after just a few trips, this bike computer is MUCH easier to use than any smartphone. Some things like this computer or any bike computer for that matter are just better suited to do one specific job. Anyway, everything is included in order to successfully install the VELO 7. If anything, you might need a few more zip ties. It took me about an hour. I have a TREK mountain bike. It has shocks, V-brakes and handlebars with a three inch rise. I also have a handlebar pannier that is situated out in front and just above the brake and shift cables; it's two handlebar clamps take up some clamping space to either side of the center handlebar clamp, and because of this, there's not much space left to add accessories like this computer. Even with all of this STUFF to contend with, installation was still a breeze. If you are thinking about installing the sensor to the rear wheel, Cuz Front Shocks, then stop that nonsense, because you won't be able to do it; the wire that runs from the wheel up to the computer itself is not long enough for rear wheel installation. It doesn't matter anyway because everything has been thought out well enough so that you can install the computer to any set of shocks. You can mount the VELO 7 on either your handlebars (parallel to you) or on your goose neck (perpendicular to you). The mount has two sets of half circles for either orientation. But if you are thinking about mounting the computer to an up-bend on your handlebars, then just realize that the mount cannot be angled back flat to the ground. The mount is rigid; it does not tilt in other words. Theft deterrent. The computer can be removed from the mount while you're away from your bike. Just slip it into your pocket! NOTE: If you really want to make the computer's data output as accurate as possible, then you need to measure the wheel's circumference as accurately as possible. Do this by marking off and measuring the distance the wheel travels in one rotation using a flat surface like the cement in your garage. Do this WHILE SITTING ON THE BIKE. If you go by the chart, then you might be off by as much as a few centimeters. That's because your tire flattens under your added weight which shortens the actual radius of the wheel/tire. Once you have this measurement (rounded to the closest centimeter, mine was 201cm) write that number down as you will input it into the computer later on. NOTE: It matters not where on your spokes and forks you mount the two sensor parts. The computer doesn't use radius measurements of any kind from your wheel for calculating data, but circumference instead (See note above). So it's easy to install, but what about the computer's functionality you ask? Well, that is even better! SIMPLICITY. That's how I would describe the functionality of the VELO 7. It has only one big button to push and one big screen to look at. That's it, and that's how it should be once you think about it: You have only one hand to push only one button, cuz the other one should be steering. And you want to be able to glance down and read the info on the big screen quickly and easily, because obviously you should be watching where you're going instead. Always on the top of the screen is SPEED. So too is something called PACE ARROW(s). SPEED is obvious but PACE not so much. These PACE ARROWS - one up, one down, or both showing at the same time - tell you when you are going faster, slower, or the same speed as your average speed. Oh, also always showing on the screen are the letters MPH, miles per hour (or KPH, kilometer per hour, if you're into that sorta thing). MPH starts flashing when you begin your trip and stays flashing until you stop at any time. The flashing MPH kinda tells you that the computer is working, making the necessary calculations. (Elapsed time is related to the flashing MPH, see below.) Pressing the big button toggles the bottom of the screen through: TM, elapsed time; DST, current trip distance; AV, average speed; MX, maximum speed; ODO, total of ALL miles regardless of current trip distance; and CLOCK, the time of day. ONE INTERESTING NOTE: The computer will stop counting elapsed time when you stop the bike. This is actually a good thing. It resumes when you begin peddling again. The flashing MPH tells you that elapsed time is happening. They are one and the same. Pressing and holding the big button for a few seconds resets everything on the current trip. All except ODO and CLOCK. ODO and CLOCK are permanent. That is until you hit the ALL CLEAR button on the back of the computer. There is an ALL CLEAR and RESET button on the back of the computer; both are small and recessed. ALL CLEAR clears the computer back the factory settings, resetting ODO and CLOCK to zero. RESET is a bit different; it allows you to change the CLOCK, change MPH or KPH, and change the circumference setting of your wheel. All this without resetting the ODO. I read online somewhere that the battery lasts for years. We'll see. The computer goes dormant after a while, and then only the clock is shown on the screen. As soon as you get on your bike and start a new trip, the computer wakes up automatically . KUDOS!!! The hardest part probably, and it's not really that difficult once you get the hang of things, is setting up the computer itself. You have to push the RESET button on the back and toggle through some simple menus using the big button on the front, then input some info. I liken it to setting up a Casio wristwatch. Remember those things? Push the wrong button and you're back resetting everything and starting over. It can get frustrating. But it's not that bad though really. Simple to install. Easy to use. Intuitive design. Actually gives you valuable data at a glance when riding. Smarter than some people I know. A big screen. This thing will literally "Get You To The Church On Time." The price is great for what you get. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! -----UPDATE:8/13/2015----- I started having some weird intermittent signal generation problems. When riding, the computer would go to 0 (zero) MPH and ELAPSED TIME would stop. It would then start up again, then stop, then start. But things finally got worse and it stopped altogether. At first I thought it was the sensor down on the wheel; I thought the two sensor parts were misaligned or were too far apart to work properly. But that was not the case. The problem instead was a loose wire up on the mount. I must have removed the computer from the mount once too forcefully because one of those metal pickups dislodged itself just enough from its wire to stop making contact, either that or they were never properly aligned to begin with. So, I had to realign the pickup with its wire. I did this by popping out pickup from the wire using a sharp, pointed knife. Then I just pressed it back into the wire. This must have done the trick because the computer began to work again. No more intermittent signal problems. Little things like this can drive me crazy. But, I'll just file this one under "Working Out All The Bugs." Still Highly Recommended!

Price is right and it works. Compared to models from the 80's and 90's, this has a less than desirable handlebar mount using double sided tape and two small zip ties. It really needs a clamp that wraps around the handlebar like Cateye used to have (as did every brand).

My 25-yr old Trek bike computer died and I needed a new one and also wanted one for my 12-yr old grandson’s bike. So, I bought one of these for the boy, took a little over 30 min to mount it, and it was indeed easy. Easy to mount, easy to set up, and easy to read. It had all the features I wanted for him and me: current speed, elapsed time, trip distance, average speed, maximum speed, total distance since unit was installed, and clock time. Easy to rotate thru the displays with the large single push button and the display is clear, large, and easy to read. It does not integrate with GPS or other devices, or provide cadence or the gear you are in – just the basics and that is all I need these days and all my grandson needs. My only complaint, having now worked with two of these units is the SET switch on the back. You need a tool to push it in and it is fussy. On the first one it took me multiple tries to get the hang of it, but the SET button is something I will probably not need to use again. When we ride together, side by side, we race and read off our speeds to each other, and the two units agree within about ½ mph. I mapped a recent trip on Google maps and the computed mileage was within a few percent of the odometers. Apparently, the calibration worked well. On his bike I simply used the wheel size and on mine I actually marked off the distance on the garage floor for one rotation of the tire. Both worked within the accuracy we need. Happy grandson and happy granddad. We’ve been using them for a month or so and all is good.

I like most cateye products, this one has a large display and provides plenty of different stats. Easy to program. Easy to install and the battery lasted a few seasons.

The instructions are okay but they leave out some steps. The magnet and sensor must be installed on the right side of the bike. The wire between the sensor and the display base is not long enough to mount the sensor on the rear wheel. The magnet mounts on a wheel spoke and the sensor mounts on a fork. As you go radially inward from the outside of the wheel to the hub, the distance between the wheel spokes and the fork decreases, so you have to find the "sweet spot" where the distance between the magnet and the sensor is 5 mm (3/16 inch) or slightly less. The wire ties that come with the speedometer/odometer are light duty (0.10 inch wide). They must be used to mount the display base because larger wire ties will not fit through the slots in the display base. But for all other wire ties, I recommend heavier duty (0.19 inch wide) wire ties to make the installation stronger. Use sunlight resistant (black) wire ties. Use plenty of wire ties but make sure you leave slack in the wire in the right places to allow the wheel to turn all the way to the left and right without pulling the wire taut. I set my speedometer/odometer for 26 inch to match my 26 inch bike. I checked the accuracy between mile markers on the bike path I use and the calibration was perfect. When you start riding, the speedometer/odometer turns on automatically. However, it doesn't seem to turn off completely (after a time period of non-use, half of the display goes blank). I cannot find a way to turn it off completely, to conserve the battery. The battery is supposed to last 3 years - time will tell if that is true. Overall, I am very pleased. This speedometer/odometer does everything I wanted, and so far it is working very well.

I have a vintage Woodlands Schwinn from the 80's and this odometer fit it perfectly, in fact I actually had extra cable. The instructions are very detailed and setup was rather simple. Once setup I tested against GPS and found it to be accurate. I've already logged over 250miles with it. Simple and easy to use, it was exactly what I was looking for. It was only designed to be used with one bike, but that's fine with me, I only have one bike anyway. I used the the detailed tire size setting (number followed by [ ] in the tire size settings. even though I have 26" tires on my bike I wanted the most accurate measurement I could get. Helpful tip for setting tire size, start by fully inflating your tires. Then ignore their equation L = 100-299cm instead place a chalk mark (or piece of tape) on the side of your tire. Lay a tape measure out on the ground extend it for about 8 feet. Next line the chalk mark or tape up with 0 next to the tape measure (do not ride on top of the tape measure) Next and this part is important, Sit on you bike seat, then use your toes slowly roll your bike forward along the tape measure. You can use a wall or have second person help balance your bike, just make sure your full weight is on it as this will give the most accurate measurement. Where the chalk or tape touches the tape measure again will be the 'L' value in CM that you enter into the detailed size setting. For me it was 207 cm, If I had left it at 26" it the L value would have been 205 and ODO would have been way off. I read other reviews regarding it not clipping securely. I didn't find this to be the case, in fact it was challenging to remove after clipping in the bracket. I leave mine on my bike all the time (except to correct the time when daylight savings time comes) but if you are planning to remove it daily or multiple times a day, I could see the clip that hold it in wearing out. A few other features that I discovered why reading the manual that I thought were pretty cool: Yes, you manually change the odometer to enter in previous distances from a past cycling computer (or when you change the battery). The odometer goes from 0 to 99,999 km or mi and the speedometer goes from 0-124.9mph (199.9 km/h). It does have a hard time registering speeds under 4mph though. Also I'm not sure how save it is to go 124mph on a bike, So attempt at your own risk with that one. Yes, you can change the time on the clock without having to completely resetting the computer and erasing your miles. Simply go to the clock mode and then press the set button on the back of the computer. Keep in mind that the Velo 7 does NOT have Calorie Consumption and Carbon Offset on it. But usually these aren't accurate anyway.

I have three Cat Eye Velo 2 models from 1993 that all still function as new so I have a lot of faith in the Cat Eye Velo wired models. They do not have unnecessary information that is totally impossible to have any accuracy meaning on any model regardless of costs. They give the information I want and nothing more. Having less functions means easier to setup and setup again when the battery dies. I am sticking to the simplest wired model for a few reasons. First off there is only one battery to replace and being wired it should last well over three years before you have to change it and reset everything again. Expect less than a third of that battery life with a wireless unit. I find it hilarious that people actually buy models thinking they are getting such features as "Fat Burned" or Calories Burned" It's technologically impossible for anything other than an expensive stationary bike to give any accuracy for either of these functions. The following must be figured into the equation for anything close to accurate readings on calories or fat burned. Are you on a heavy clunker bike or a light high performance bike? The device can't tell. Are you on flat ground or working hard to go up hills or just coasting downhill? The device can't tell. Are you riding with a head wind or tail wind and at what wind speed? The device can't tell. NONE can be taken into account by the bike computer regardless of price. These are just a few things that come to mind and hopefully if you have normal brain function you will realize any bike computer that claims to give calories burned or fat burned information can't possibly have the slightest degree of accuracy. In short, NONE can do it yet many claim to have these features at an increased price. I am sure the manufacturers realize gathering such data by only counting the number of wheel revolutions per second or minute is not possible but advertise the features as a sales pitch only. Don't fall for it. It's simply not possible and all you will really get for the extra money is worthless incorrect readings, shorter battery life and an overly complicated unit at a higher price. If all you want is current speed, average speed, distance per trip, total distance and a clock this is the ONLY one you need. You may think wireless is a bit easier to install and to some degree it is but it is also more prone to give inaccurate readings and the sensor to magnet distance is very crucial for any kind of accuracy on a wireless unit. The distance you can have the sensor from the spoke magnet and still get accurate readings is a full double the range of a wireless unit. I'd rather spend a few more minutes running and tying off the wire than have inaccuracy, poor battery life and two batteries to replace. This is simply one such item where "less is more" and from my experience with earlier models, you can expect this model to outlive your bike. I already made the mistake of trying another brand. It's not a mistake I will make again.

Hållarens plastfjäder som låser datorn i hållaren gick sönder (gick av) efter bara några få användningar.

This works exactly as it should- I have one on my cross-country mountain bike and it took about 10min to install. Love that it starts up and stops with your activity (based on rotations of the wheel) and makes me push myself a little bit further than I normally would by seeing stats. UPDATE: I've also bought a 2nd unit and installed on my winter training spin bike- although there's no way to properly calibrate actual speed/distance on a spin bike, the relative speed/distance are something I monitor in a workout and the timer is also helpful. I would recommend this to a friend ;-)

Übersichtlicher kleiner Fahradcomputer, bewußt ausgewählt wegen der Kabelverbindung. Tut was er soll, sehr zuverlässig. Programmierung einfach, zeigt mehr Daten an als ich benötige. Display groß genug um auch aus sitzender Position heraus alles erkennen zu können.

Ottimo prodotto

Good