Really waterproof cycle computer?

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Konstantin Shemyak.

I'm using a Sigma BC1600 for a couple of years and it never faded even
after heavy rain. I don't know if it's better sealed than the more
basics models, maybe you just got more rain than me...
Anyway you can mount it on the stem too.

Francesco

In article <[email hidden]>, Konstantin

Shemyak () said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Not tried the washing machine test, but I've personally had no problems
with Cateye computers - Mity & Astrale - in Serious Rain.

Cateye sell a separate stem mount kit which attaches to the stem with
cable ties
<URL:http://www.settlecycles.co.uk/bespoke/cateye/MITY3spares.html?pid=
1332>

Backlit computers are something of a rarity, though Sigma make computer
lights which strap to the bars <URL:http://www.parker-
international.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/99/groupID/1/categoryID
/106/v/>. Alternatively, a helmet-mounted light or head torch will do
the trick.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Although the hippopotamus hath no sting in its tail, the wise man would
rather be seated upon the back of a bee.

Dave Larrington said:

Not tried the washing machine test, but I've personally had no problems
with Cateye computers - Mity & Astrale - in Serious Rain.

I'll second the vote for the Mity.
I left mine on my MTB, on the roof of my car. Got caught in a
torrential rain for 30+ minutes, while driving aboiut 50-60mph. When I
got home I realized what had happened & I was SURE the computer would
be a loss, but it worked just fine. Still does, a couple of years & a
couple of batteries later.

Dave Larrington said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Konstantin

Shemyak () said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Not tried the washing machine test, but I've personally had no problems
with Cateye computers - Mity & Astrale - in Serious Rain.

My cateyes have stopped when very wet, once the contacts dry out, they
work again. The box itself is fine, it's the contacts for the senders
that get b0rked by heavy rain.

I haven't had the same problem with my new Sigma BC1200, the contact
area is a much more positive fit and I suspect, less vulnerable to
water ingress.

"Francesco Devittori" <frenkatfrenkdtcm> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Konstantin Shemyak.

I'm using a Sigma BC1600 for a couple of years and it never faded even
after heavy rain. I don't know if it's better sealed than the more basics
models, maybe you just got more rain than me...
Anyway you can mount it on the stem too.

Francesco

Sigma BC800 here, no problems riding in the rain.
-tom

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:34:46 GMT, Konstantin Shemyak <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Don't laugh. The stupid-cheap $9 Schwinn at Walmart. No washer cycle testing,
but literally dozens of rain rides, including getting caught in torrential
thunderstorms during the hurricanes that hit Florida last year. It isn't a stem
mount, but the bracket is offset so it only uses 3/8" of bar space and the head
rides inline, over or in front of the stem. Oh, it has a latch holding the head
to the mount so it doesn't squirt out if you press a button clumsily. Oops, no
backlight. You'll have to arrange your lighting so some of the splash
illuminates it.

Ron

"Konstantin Shemyak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Konstantin Shemyak.

Just a couple of observations:

1) Often when using the CatEye wired computers the computer is just fine but
the treminals in the mount short out with mud and water. I have used WD 40
or Vasoline to help keep gunk out of the terminals. This often helps

2) Since switching to the Polar wireless system everything has been great in
all weather conditions, perhaps a wireless system would serve you well.

Dave

Noblesville, IN

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I'll echo a few other posts: my CatEye Mity has held quite well
through the few times I was caught in a downpour.

Also, some time back, "waterproof" pretty much disappeared from the
lexicon. I'd have to guess that somebody banged their scuba watch
against a rock at 130 feet, cracking the crystal and ruining the
watch. Thereafter, everything was called "water resistant."

In fact, I recall a dive watch that came from the manufacturer
displayed in a tube filled with water. That watch, too, was called
'water-resistant.'
--
Live simply so that others may simply live

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

My avocet 40 has been through the rain many times with no ill affects.
Unfortunately the mount won't fit most stems and it is not back lit.
--------------
Alex

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Konstantin Shemyak.

Regarding VDO computers, these are supposed to be high-quality, so I
recently bought a VDO C2D2. This is a wireless unit. The speed reading
dropped out at least five times on my first ride, seemingly every time
I rode near high-tension power lines. I don't know if this is
symptomatic of all wireless computers, but I returned it for a wired
unit, the MC1.0.
The wired handlebar mount is two pieces of plastic press-fit together.
They separated on the first ride, leaving the cyclometer dangling from
the handlebars by it's connecting wire. I repaired the mount with krazy
glue, but so far, I'm not all that impressed with the quality of VDO
computers.
Regarding your specific questions, I haven't ridden it in the rain yet,
so I don't know about that. And, as far as I know, none of the VDO
computers have built-in illumination.

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Konstantin Shemyak.

My cheapo Topeak Comp 130 is OK after a lot of rain (Where I live has
1.8m of rain per year for any comparison). The top cover is o-ring
sealed. It needs the terminals cleaning occasionally - might try some
kind of grease like the other posters mention on that. It is quite
sensitive to the magnet being mounted correctly as it has two pickups in
the sensor and you can move the magnet to the other one to solve pickup
problems. If the fork and spoke slope in relation to each other this
moves the magnet further or closer etc.

This one does not mount on the stem however. One thing you could try
to sort out lack of handle bar space is the Minoura Spacebar, which
gives you extra room, and also lets you either move the light back or
the speedo forward in relation to the light so you can use the light
spill to see the speedo. Using this method you can have a choice of a
wider range of speedo. This is what I did until I got a(n) handlebar bag
which meant I had to move the light altogether and barely had room for
the speedo. I moved the light back and could also see what gear I was in
on my flat bar shifters. Now I check this and the speedo under the
occasional streetlight while riding between towns.

Konstantin Shemyak wrote:

Cateye Mity 3 doesn't mind rain, IME. (Mity 8 is the new version).

Quoted message said:

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right.

Cateye make a stem bracket, though your lights could go on a Minoura Space
Bracket.

Quoted message said:

And, hey, it must have a backlight for night
riding.

A few computers with backlights are available, but everything else about
them isn't necessarily desirable.

Quoted message said:

Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night
under rain? 🙂

How are you with a soldering iron? I'm not especially good but have
managed to make "LEDs on stalks" to read my computers where there are no
street lamps, one with a second LED for a compass.

Ingredients: 5mm LED, thick solid core wire, thin flexible wire, lithium
coin cell in holder*, resistor (if necessary), tiny microswitch with
lever, epoxy resin, heat shrink sleeving, self amalgamating rubber tape,
reuseable cable tie.
The epoxy reinforces and strain-relieves the joints, the sleeving and
tape insulates and waterproofs the whole thing. Arch over the computer
and bend to adjust the position.

* Alternatively, wire directly to your front light battery. Superbright
green LED for 3V coin cell, or white for higher voltage.

~PB

Konstantin Shemyak wrote:

Cateye Mity 3 doesn't mind rain, IME. (Mity 8 is the new version).

Quoted message said:

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right.

Cateye make a stem bracket, though your lights could go on a Minoura Space
Bracket.

Quoted message said:

And, hey, it must have a backlight for night
riding.

A few computers with backlights are available, but everything else about
them isn't necessarily desirable.

Quoted message said:

Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night
under rain? 🙂

How are you with a soldering iron? I'm not especially good but have
managed to make "LEDs on stalks" to read my computers where there are no
street lamps, one with a second LED for a compass.

Ingredients: 5mm LED, thick solid core wire, thin flexible wire, lithium
coin cell in holder*, resistor (if necessary), tiny microswitch with
lever, epoxy resin, heat shrink sleeving, self amalgamating rubber tape,
reuseable cable tie.
The epoxy reinforces and strain-relieves the joints, the sleeving and
tape insulates and waterproofs the whole thing. Arch over the computer
and bend to adjust the position.

* Alternatively, wire directly to your front light battery. Superbright
green LED for 3V coin cell, or white for higher voltage.

~PB

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

I haven't had that problem with either basic or advanced Sigmas,
but I do twist them off and dry them when I get home (as with
lights).

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

I haven't had that problem with either basic or advanced Sigmas,
but I do twist them off and dry them when I get home (as with
lights).

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Quoting Konstantin Shemyak <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement

No? My Mity 3 has been through the washing machine at least thrice, in the
Cam a few times, in at least half a dozen pints of beer...

.... and it works in the rain, too.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Second Teleute, January.

Konstantin Shemyak said:

Looking for a cycle computer, which withstands washing in the machine...
or at least does not fade after a really heavy rain. Sigma and CatEye
do not fill this simple requirement (but I was using basic models,
maybe more advanced ones are also better protected?).

VDO (vdocyclecomputers.com) markets theirs as "water resistant";
has anybody real experience with that?

I also want to mount it on the stem, because all handlebar space is
sometimes occupied with lights. This excludes all CatEyes, if I
understand it right. And, hey, it must have a backlight for night riding.
Am I aiming for too much? No one else rides in the night under rain? 🙂

Maybe I'm missing something here vs. the responses you've gotten so
far. When you say you want a "computer, which ... at least does not
fade after a really heavy rain," do you mean you want the computer to
survive the rain, or operate in the rain? I've used Sigma BC600 and
Cateye Astrale computers. Both of them will short out the contacts in
sufficiently heavy rain; the speed and odometers don't register
anything. Both of them, when the contacts dried, continued to
operate.

When I ride at night, I just glance at the computer when I go past a
street light, rain or no rain. (Almost slipped and said rain or
'shine...)

Pat

Email address works as is.

shingle quality electrical tape over the seams