Flightdeck - Worthwhile?

Tony B said:

Seems the 105's on my new bike are Flightdeck compatible.
As a real sucker for gadgets, the set-up appeals to me but
they are a bit pricey, almost in the region of buying a
used Garmin Legend off e-bay. So, to any Shimano
Flightdeck owners out there, or even non-owners with axes
to grind, what's the group thoughts on this particular bit
of techno candy?

Good:

Very nice having the controls at fingertips No
reliability problems (6 months -- no dodgy readings)
Big, clear display Simple setup

Bad:

No auto-start Takes up lots of handlebar space if you
don't have the centre-mounted bracket as it won't fit
over stem bolts. Mine doesn't and I don't know why -- is
it reserved for the wireless version? I think you can
buy the brackets separately Average speed is not part of
the main (default) group of data Annoying display of
gear ration when shifting -- would be more useful to
show gear inches

Cadence function is useful on the flat, but not at all
accurate on gradients.

Simonb said:

Annoying display of gear ration when shifting

^^
ratio,
obvious-
ly

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 22:57:06 +0100, "Simonb"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Annoying display of gear ration when shifting

You are limited to a number of shifts per day?

--
Guy
===
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88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

Tony B said:

Seems the 105's on my new bike are Flightdeck compatible.
As a real sucker for gadgets, the set-up appeals to me but
they are a bit pricey, almost in the region of buying a
used Garmin Legend off e-bay. So, to any Shimano
Flightdeck owners out there, or even non-owners with axes
to grind, what's the group thoughts on this particular bit
of techno candy?

Thanks in advance,

Tony B

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use. Most
handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise, and would be a lot less confident if I dropped
down three and found I'd run out of sprockets and not
changed down at all...

Mostly spends it's time on speed/cadence variety (with
gear readout). No backlight so can be hard to see
sometimes. Fits to front wheel so not compatible with use
on a turbo trainer.

Doesn't auto-start unless you've manually started (make sure
you get the 6501 not the 6500 for this feature though). Can
be used on up to 4 bikes (6501 only, again).

Seems to have distance/time/speed on one set of display
options, requiring press of button to flick to other set
which is speed, av, cadence, etc.

Can be finicky to get working and involves fitting little
pcb's inside the flightdeck shifters - make sure it's
working reliably before retaping the bars ;-) Oh, and check
the hoods have the little spot press bits on and make sure
you get the right wire kit for them, there's two different
sorts out there - one has two buttons on one hood, the other
has one on each hood, iirc.

Like I said, I couldn't do without mine (and had mild panic
after I got it stuck in config mode (no gear display!!)
halfway through a ride on sat, and ended up defaulting it
totally, and cycling the ride back with utterly wrong gear
teeth sizes in it, but at least I knew which gear I was in
(graphical display is wonderful for that).

Takes a while to configure up, cos it needs to know how
many teeth on each chainring and sprocket, so it can work
out the cadence.

Velvet

Just zis Guy said:

You are limited to a number of shifts per day?

That's right. It's Shimano's new system for getting a longer
life out of its parts. Can be a bit frustrating, especially
when coming up to hills at the end of a long day. Ho hum --
that's progress.

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

Quoted message said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise, ....

It's easy to learn to keep track without ever looking.
Let's say you have a double chainset and 9 sprockets at the
back. Now call the front rings S and B for 'small' and
'big'. Then before you start, look at your sprockets and
see where the chain is. Suppose it's on sprocket 2, and the
chain is on the small ring. Now say to yourself (under your
breath - don't want to worry the bystanders :-) "S2, I am
in gear S2".

After that, every time you change, say something to yourself
like "Changing up, I am now in S3". And so on. After about a
week of this you will never again need to look at the
flightdeck display, any shifter-mounted indicators, or the
rear sprockets. You will simply *know* what gear you are in,
and you will be slightly safer for not having to look.

Great thing is that it works on and off-road.
--
Mark South Citizen of the World, Denizen of the Net <<Tiens!
Ce poulet a une grenade!

Mark South said:

"Velvet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:1KWic.1617$2k.12674319@news-
text.cableinet.net...

Quoted message said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise, ....

It's easy to learn to keep track without ever looking.
Let's say you have a double chainset and 9 sprockets at
the back. Now call the front rings S and B for 'small' and
'big'. Then before you start, look at your sprockets and
see where the chain is. Suppose it's on sprocket 2, and
the chain is on the small ring. Now say to yourself (under
your breath - don't want to worry the bystanders :-) "S2,
I am in gear S2".

After that, every time you change, say something to
yourself like "Changing up, I am now in S3". And so on.
After about a week of this you will never again need to
look at the flightdeck display, any shifter-mounted
indicators, or the rear sprockets. You will simply *know*
what gear you are in, and you will be slightly safer for
not having to look.

Great thing is that it works on and off-road.

Umm, but... I can drop down 1, 2, or 3 gears using my STI
levers. It's not always clear where I've ended up - it
depends on whether I push the lever and release (usually but
not always a single gear change down) or push and hold (can
result in 2 or 3 but sometimes 1).

Changing up is a fixed 1-gear increase, but changing down is
an entirely different kettle of fish... and it's a triple on
the front, though I'm almost exclusively in the small and
medium of those, very rarely on the large ;-)

Velvet

"Mark South" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... .net...

Quoted message said:

It's easy to learn to keep track without ever looking.
Let's say you have

a

Quoted message said:

double chainset and 9 sprockets at the back. Now call the
front rings S

and

Quoted message said:

B for 'small' and 'big'. Then before you start, look at
your sprockets

and

Quoted message said:

see where the chain is. Suppose it's on sprocket 2, and
the chain is on

the

Quoted message said:

small ring. Now say to yourself (under your breath - don't
want to worry the bystanders :-) "S2, I am in gear S2".

After that, every time you change, say something to
yourself like

"Changing

Quoted message said:

up, I am now in S3". And so on. After about a week of this
you will

never

Quoted message said:

again need to look at the flightdeck display, any shifter-
mounted indicators, or the rear sprockets. You will simply
*know* what gear you

are

Quoted message said:

in, and you will be slightly safer for not having to look.

Wha....? You mean you count _all_ your gear changes for the
whole ride? How far are your rides? Haven't you got anything
else to think about while riding?

I can't understand anyway why it's so necessary to know
which gear you're
in. You can tell by how hard it is to peddle whether you
need to change up or down. What else is there to know?

Rich

Tony B said:

Seems the 105's on my new bike are Flightdeck compatible.
As a real sucker for gadgets, the set-up appeals to me but
they are a bit pricey, almost in the region of buying a
used Garmin Legend off e-bay. So, to any Shimano
Flightdeck owners out there, or even non-owners with axes
to grind, what's the group thoughts on this particular bit
of techno candy?

I have no axe to grind and I've not used Flightdeck. I just
look down to see what gear I am in unless is feels and
sounds right. Low tech = high reliability.

Velvet said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise

I work that out by feeling whether I'm working too hard: if
yes, change down. If no, consider changing up.

--
Guy
===
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Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

Quoted message said:

I have no axe to grind and I've not used Flightdeck. I
just look down to

see

Quoted message said:

what gear I am in unless is feels and sounds right. Low
tech = high reliability.

Yes but, high tech = more fun!

I agree, though: I use both methods as I rode for a long
time before I bought a Flight Deck. It's actually pretty
handy to have the info right there -- especially when you're
flat out or honking up hills -- I doubt I'd miss it though.
Just wish it would calculate the gear inches.

Richard Goodman said:

"Mark South" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... .net...

Quoted message said:

It's easy to learn to keep track without ever looking.
Let's say you have

a

Quoted message said:

double chainset and 9 sprockets at the back. Now call the
front rings S

and

Quoted message said:

B for 'small' and 'big'. Then before you start, look at
your sprockets

and

Quoted message said:

see where the chain is. Suppose it's on sprocket 2, and
the chain is on

the

Quoted message said:

small ring. Now say to yourself (under your breath - don't
want to worry the bystanders :-) "S2, I am in gear S2".

After that, every time you change, say something to
yourself like

"Changing

Quoted message said:

up, I am now in S3". And so on. After about a week of this
you will

never

Quoted message said:

again need to look at the flightdeck display, any shifter-
mounted indicators, or the rear sprockets. You will simply
*know* what gear you

are

Quoted message said:

in, and you will be slightly safer for not having to look.

Wha....? You mean you count _all_ your gear changes for
the whole ride? How far are your rides? Haven't you got
anything else to think about while riding?

I can't understand anyway why it's so necessary to know
which gear you're
in. You can tell by how hard it is to peddle whether you
need to change up or down. What else is there to
know?

Rich

Um, cos if you try to change down from lowest on middle
chainring you fail dismally, and by the time you've sorted
out changing down the chainring and up the groupset, your
ability to cycle up that hill's well and truly gone?

Velvet

Velvet said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise, and would be a lot less confident if I dropped
down three and found I'd run out of sprockets and not
changed down at all...

If you're without your flightdeck and unsure, then a quick
glance down at the chainwheels and sprockets will tell you
what gear you're in. Quick, easy, and doesn't need
batteries!

My feeling on computers overall... if you're curious as to
the stats of your ride beyond what a quick squiz at the map
will tell you, or if you're doing sport training, worth
having. But I'm not that bothered, and have never had one,
and not really missed it not being there.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext.
33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Cadence function is useful on the flat, but not at all
accurate on gradients.

It's accurate whenever you are moving at a steady speed.
It's also useful on freewheeling mega-descents as it
constantly tells you what cadence you would be doing if you
were actually pedalling. This helps you select the ideal
gear before gravity-assist mode runs out of steam.

--
Dave...

Dave Kahn said:

It's accurate whenever you are moving at a steady speed.
It's also useful on freewheeling mega-descents as it
constantly tells you what cadence you would be doing if
you were actually pedalling. This helps you select the
ideal gear before gravity-assist mode runs out of steam.

Maybe I'm missing someting here, but when I'm on a
freewheeling descent I can usually be fairly confident that
top gear is the one I'll want when the gravity wears off...

--
Guy
===
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Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

Quoted message said:

My feeling on computers overall... I'm not that bothered, and have never had one, and not really missed it not being there.

I used to feel the same, so I never got myself a computer. But I was given one for a Christmas present and quickly became addicted to it - now I feel that something's missing if I go out without it.

I particularly like it for the fact that it tells me exactly how fast I just went down that mega hill (hit 43mph yesterday... wheeee!).

And although I'm not a seriously sporty rider, I've also found it useful having the cadence function for guidance to help me keep up a steady spinning rhythm.

Can't comment on the Flight Deck specifically, but having only ten fairly widely spaced gears means I usually know which gear I'm in without even looking.

d.

Just zis Guy said:

Velvet said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in - I have no clue
otherwise

I work that out by feeling whether I'm working too hard:
if yes, change down. If no, consider changing up.

Ah, but I find it invaluable for knowing if I:

a) need to change down - and by how far - when coming up to
a junction (thus avoiding the I'm-in-too-high-a-gear
weaving wobble when setting off again)
b) need to try and work out how many gears to change up/down
quickly whilst shifting front chainring
c) am about to need to change front chainring on account of
having run out of sprockets to play with

I know if I need to change up/down (other than coming up to
junctions) by feel - that isn't the reason why I have it.
The faffing around changing front chainrings, and the
consequences of me running out of gears when changing down
on hills are what make it invaluable. I've ridden a
recumbent trike and there's no problems with gearing on
those, because getting the gears totally wrong doesn't
generally lead to wobbling around in front of cars or
falling off - though it can lead to immense leg strain if I
go the wrong way and change up on approaching a junction,
but that's again not quite as bad, and is only due to 'bents
not having sti shifters on ;-)

I'm sure if I didn't have it I'd learn, but it'd be yet
another experience on a bike involving large amounts of
stress and mild panic which I can do without while I
continue to improve my other (and more important) skills.

Velvet

Velvet posted ...

Quoted message said:

Tony B said:

So, to any Shimano Flightdeck owners out there, or even
non-owners with axes to grind, what's the group thoughts
on this particular bit of techno candy?

Quoted message said:

Love my flightdeck, but it's not that intuitive to use.
Most handy for knowing what gear I'm in -

I dunno, maybe it's me, but don't you just subconsciously
count so 'know' what gear you're in anyway ? Gear
changing is so intuitive through feel, sensory feedback
etc that I would have thought things like 'Flightdeck'
were merely more gadgets to add on rather than doing
anything 'really' useful.

Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with gadgets like
this, if you like 'em then keep paying for 'em .. 😉

--
Paul

(8(|) Homer rocks .. 😉

Velvet said:

Ah, but I find it invaluable for knowing if I:

Quoted message said:

a) need to change down - and by how far - when coming up
to a junction (thus avoiding the I'm-in-too-high-a-gear
weaving wobble when setting off again)
b) need to try and work out how many gears to change
up/down quickly whilst shifting front chainring
c) am about to need to change front chainring on account
of having run out of sprockets to play with

All problems I simply don't recognise. Of course, bar ends
make multiple shifts very easy anyway.

Quoted message said:

I'm sure if I didn't have it I'd learn, but it'd be yet
another experience on a bike involving large amounts of
stress and mild panic

Hmmm. Like I say, not a problem I've ever experienced.

--
Guy
===
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