Long tour - whcih Computer

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

One with a motor attached to it?

(Sorry.) <eg>

If you just want basic stuff -- MPH/KPH, total distance, average speed,
elapsed time, etc., then almost any brand or type will do.

If you want cadence and jazz, then someone else should have a suggestion.

Bill "just the facts, man" S.

Bill,

Not any computer will do for the basics on a longer ride.
Many/Most/All? reset average speed and elapsed rolling time after 10
hours of riding. If your ride is longer than 10 hours all you've got
is is current speed that is accurate on the computer. After a few days
riding I even lose track of the elapsed time. I'd sure like one which
didn't zero out/reset until at least 100 hours. Is there any that will
keep data for a longer ride?

Bill Sornson said:

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

One with a motor attached to it?

(Sorry.) <eg>

If you just want basic stuff -- MPH/KPH, total distance, average speed,
elapsed time, etc., then almost any brand or type will do.

If you want cadence and jazz, then someone else should have a suggestion.

Bill "just the facts, man" S.

Quoted message said:

Bill,

Not any computer will do for the basics on a longer ride.
Many/Most/All? reset average speed and elapsed rolling time after 10
hours of riding. If your ride is longer than 10 hours all you've got
is is current speed that is accurate on the computer. After a few days
riding I even lose track of the elapsed time. I'd sure like one which
didn't zero out/reset until at least 100 hours. Is there any that will
keep data for a longer ride?

I was going to say that. Specialized computers zero everthing out after
10 elapsed hours. Cateyes don't, if I remember right.

Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

Bill,

Not any computer will do for the basics on a longer ride.
Many/Most/All? reset average speed and elapsed rolling time after 10
hours of riding. If your ride is longer than 10 hours all you've got
is is current speed that is accurate on the computer. After a few days
riding I even lose track of the elapsed time. I'd sure like one which
didn't zero out/reset until at least 100 hours. Is there any that will
keep data for a longer ride?

I was going to say that. Specialized computers zero everthing out after
10 elapsed hours. Cateyes don't, if I remember right.

Dear Cal,

A quick look at the Cateye manuals here shows that at least one has
two independent trip distances up to 999.99 km. One is listed as being
for multiple-day distances, so it must ignore the 9:59:59 timer limit:

http://www.cateye.com/en/pdfs/ED300v1_E-1.pdf

Other models are listed here:

http://www.cateye.com/en/tech_support/manual_downloads.php

Probably the best thing to do if no one posts a clear yes-I-use-this
explanation that fits the specific situation would be to email Cateye
tech support:

http://www.cateye.com/en/contact_us/index.php

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

Bill,

Not any computer will do for the basics on a longer ride.
Many/Most/All? reset average speed and elapsed rolling time after 10
hours of riding. If your ride is longer than 10 hours all you've got
is is current speed that is accurate on the computer. After a few days
riding I even lose track of the elapsed time. I'd sure like one which
didn't zero out/reset until at least 100 hours. Is there any that will
keep data for a longer ride?

I was going to say that. Specialized computers zero everthing out after
10 elapsed hours. Cateyes don't, if I remember right.

Dear Cal,

A quick look at the Cateye manuals here shows that at least one has
two independent trip distances up to 999.99 km. One is listed as being
for multiple-day distances, so it must ignore the 9:59:59 timer limit:

http://www.cateye.com/en/pdfs/ED300v1_E-1.pdf

Other models are listed here:

http://www.cateye.com/en/tech_support/manual_downloads.php

Probably the best thing to do if no one posts a clear yes-I-use-this
explanation that fits the specific situation would be to email Cateye
tech support:

http://www.cateye.com/en/contact_us/index.php

Randonneurs are very picky about distance and timer limits in computers,
since they legitimately aim for 1200 km rides with 70-90 hours of riding
time. You know, to figure out your average speed during your PBP run.

If Ben Lewis was still posting here regularly, he'd remind me what his
current computer is, and what its limitations are.

For my part, I'd say that since Bill hasn't defined his needs, I'd note
that a computer is only rarely a really important piece of touring
equipment. It is a minor navigational aid, might have occasional use for
obeying speed limits, and beyond that its purpose is entertainment. In
other words, don't sweat this piece of equipment too much.

If your local shop sells them, Filzer seems to be making a sort-of
modular computer, with or without wireless kit, and with or without
cadence, that goes locally for about $25. That's roughly half what
computers with comparable features usually start at.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

--
Michael Tissington
http://www.oaklodge.com

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

--
Michael Tissington
http://www.oaklodge.com

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

They work in the southern hemisphere too you know.

Friday

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

That's what I would use, definitely. It will cost 10x more, however,
but if you get one that does street routing and get the appropriate
maps you might find that to be useful.

I use my GPS for mountain bike rides, and I will say that it may not be
as precisely accurate when it comes to calculating distance. I suspect
(no way to ever know for sure) that it varies 0-2% from the actual
distance you roll. I would imagine a bike computer would be better.
However, part of this could be the twisty nature of riding trails, I
bet a straighter road journey wouldn't have this problem so much.

Also, it's calculation of current speed is similarly not spot-on, as
fast acceleration or deceleration throws it off. I think this is
because it needs to sort of average out the past x points to compensate
for its probable deviation from point to point.

You can do other cool things with a GPS like view your ride in google
earth or create distance/elevation profiles of your favorite rides.

Regards,
Anthony

Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
http://blog.delorenzo.ca/

right-the gps can tell you how fast, how fast to get there and when
you'll get there if your going there at that rate. desirable
ifnormation
and tell you why you won't get there!

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

--
Michael Tissington
http://www.oaklodge.com

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

I'd also recommend a GPS receiver, although not for the above reason
(I've never had a problem using a regular cyclometer anywhere in either
the northern or southern hemsipheres). But a good mapping GPS will
show you exactly where you are, alternate routes that are available,
and many useful nearby locations. When touring I've found my GPS very
handy for locating motels, restaurants, campgrounds, grocery stores,
libraries, etc. The detail level of the available maps vary quite a
bit depending on where in the world you are located. Very good maps
are readily available for most of North America, Western Europe,
Australia and some other countries, but in other areas the
GPS-compatible maps can be rather coarse - athough still useful in
showing where you are relative to main roads and nearby cities/towns.

Battery life is a major drawback compared to a regular cyclometer.
Typical run times are only about 10 - 20 hours on a pair of AAs. If
you're staying in hotels then a charger and NiMH cells are an option.
For camping you might consider a solar recharger that can sit on top of
your panniers during the day - but I'd suggest some tests at home first
since the recharge performance may be overly optimistic.

At the moment I'd look at the Garmin 60Cx model and the appropriate map
software (CityNavigator-NA/Europe/Australia/etc. I don't consider
Garmin's cycling-specific models (the 205 and 305) to be suitable for
touring since they don't support maps and they use internal proprietary
batteries.

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

Quoted message said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

--
Michael Tissington
http://www.oaklodge.com

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

I'd also recommend a GPS receiver, although not for the above reason
(I've never had a problem using a regular cyclometer anywhere in either
the northern or southern hemsipheres). But a good mapping GPS will
show you exactly where you are, alternate routes that are available,
and many useful nearby locations. When touring I've found my GPS very
handy for locating motels, restaurants, campgrounds, grocery stores,
libraries, etc. The detail level of the available maps vary quite a
bit depending on where in the world you are located. Very good maps
are readily available for most of North America, Western Europe,
Australia and some other countries, but in other areas the
GPS-compatible maps can be rather coarse - athough still useful in
showing where you are relative to main roads and nearby cities/towns.

Battery life is a major drawback compared to a regular cyclometer.
Typical run times are only about 10 - 20 hours on a pair of AAs. If
you're staying in hotels then a charger and NiMH cells are an option.
For camping you might consider a solar recharger that can sit on top of
your panniers during the day - but I'd suggest some tests at home first
since the recharge performance may be overly optimistic.

At the moment I'd look at the Garmin 60Cx model and the appropriate map
software (CityNavigator-NA/Europe/Australia/etc. I don't consider
Garmin's cycling-specific models (the 205 and 305) to be suitable for
touring since they don't support maps and they use internal proprietary
batteries.

See http://www.billcotton.com/quest_on_bicycle.htm My setup is custom made,
however. Last weekend I did a 209 mile three day camping trip. My gps and
cell phone were kept fully charge from my solar cell.
http://www.billcotton.com/MY_rides.htm#Current%20ride.

peter said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

--
Michael Tissington
http://www.oaklodge.com

Garmin.....you'll be able to receive GPS most anywhere in the northewrn
hemisphere...

I'd also recommend a GPS receiver, although not for the above reason
(I've never had a problem using a regular cyclometer anywhere in either
the northern or southern hemsipheres). But a good mapping GPS will
show you exactly where you are, alternate routes that are available,
and many useful nearby locations. When touring I've found my GPS very
handy for locating motels, restaurants, campgrounds, grocery stores,
libraries, etc. The detail level of the available maps vary quite a
bit depending on where in the world you are located. Very good maps
are readily available for most of North America, Western Europe,
Australia and some other countries, but in other areas the
GPS-compatible maps can be rather coarse - athough still useful in
showing where you are relative to main roads and nearby cities/towns.

Battery life is a major drawback compared to a regular cyclometer.
Typical run times are only about 10 - 20 hours on a pair of AAs. If
you're staying in hotels then a charger and NiMH cells are an option.
For camping you might consider a solar recharger that can sit on top of
your panniers during the day - but I'd suggest some tests at home first
since the recharge performance may be overly optimistic.

At the moment I'd look at the Garmin 60Cx model and the appropriate map
software (CityNavigator-NA/Europe/Australia/etc. I don't consider
Garmin's cycling-specific models (the 205 and 305) to be suitable for
touring since they don't support maps and they use internal proprietary
batteries.

Designed for motorcycle/scooter use and water resistant, I think the
TomTom Rider would be perfect for touring. I'm contemplating one for
the next Euro trip:

http://tomtom.com/products/product.php?ID=146&Language=1

R Brickston said:

On 16 Aug 2006 15:30:04 -0700, "peter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At the moment I'd look at the Garmin 60Cx model and the appropriate map
software (CityNavigator-NA/Europe/Australia/etc. I don't consider
Garmin's cycling-specific models (the 205 and 305) to be suitable for
touring since they don't support maps and they use internal proprietary
batteries.

Designed for motorcycle/scooter use and water resistant, I think the
TomTom Rider would be perfect for touring. I'm contemplating one for
the next Euro trip

But it looks much more focussed on the motorcycle application. E.g.
the power source is either the internal Li+ cell that only gives 5
hours of run time or plugging into an external 12 VDC source - readily
found on most motorcycles but not on bicycles. OTOH, the 60Cx runs for
about 20 hours on a pair of readily available AA cells (either alkaline
or NiMH rechargeable).

Quoted message said:

From what I've seen of the Rider, the software seemed very on-road

specific with little support for any hiking or trail-riding side trips
one might make on a tour, nor is the physical design very suited for
walking use and is rather big and heavy for bicycle use as well. And I
saw no mention of tracklog capabilities for recording the details of
your trip - exactly where/when you went and the elevation profile along
the way. That's one of my favorite GPS features and the new Garmins
have improved their capability by allowing an essentially unlimited
length tracklog to be kept on the memory card.

peter said:

R Brickston said:

On 16 Aug 2006 15:30:04 -0700, "peter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At the moment I'd look at the Garmin 60Cx model and the appropriate map
software (CityNavigator-NA/Europe/Australia/etc. I don't consider
Garmin's cycling-specific models (the 205 and 305) to be suitable for
touring since they don't support maps and they use internal proprietary
batteries.

Designed for motorcycle/scooter use and water resistant, I think the
TomTom Rider would be perfect for touring. I'm contemplating one for
the next Euro trip

But it looks much more focussed on the motorcycle application. E.g.
the power source is either the internal Li+ cell that only gives 5
hours of run time

At bike speed you wouldn't need to have it turned on all the time.

Quoted message said:

or plugging into an external 12 VDC source - readily
found on most motorcycles but not on bicycles. OTOH, the 60Cx runs for
about 20 hours on a pair of readily available AA cells (either alkaline
or NiMH rechargeable).

Quoted message said:

From what I've seen of the Rider, the software seemed very on-road

specific with little support for any hiking or trail-riding side trips
one might make on a tour,

Not sure about the trail or hiking, but the on screen selections for
routing includes these choices: "Bicycle Route" and "Walking Route."

http://tomtom.com/lib/img/screenshots/route_uk.jpg

Quoted message said:

nor is the physical design very suited for
walking use and is rather big and heavy for bicycle use as well.

The Rider is just 3.5 oz. heavier than the 60Cx.

The size difference isn't that much overall; 60x : 2.4” W x 6.1” H x
1.3” D; Rider : 4.5" x 3.6" x 2.3"

Quoted message said:

And I
saw no mention of tracklog capabilities for recording the details of
your trip - exactly where/when you went and the elevation profile along
the way. That's one of my favorite GPS features and the new Garmins
have improved their capability by allowing an essentially unlimited
length tracklog to be kept on the memory card.

Great features. Perhaps the Garmin zumo which is a their version of
the Rider would be better. It has this feature: "Export and review
your travels in Google™ Earth..."

Doesnt the Rider use the same maps (Navteq) as the Garmin. Is it
possible for the Rider to use this function as well?

My dad has a Rider now that he loves and I'm sure he would think this
is cool.

On 23 Aug 2006 11:26:46 -0700, "Luke Smith" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Doesnt the Rider use the same maps (Navteq) as the Garmin. Is it
possible for the Rider to use this function as well?

My dad has a Rider now that he loves and I'm sure he would think this
is cool.

The TomTom site didn't have any mention of a download to Google
mapping.

Michael Tissington said:

Any recomendations on a computer - will be doing a world tour.

How about one of these? ;-)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AO9OH6/ref=pd_sbs_sg_1/102-0188723-2349733?ie=UTF8

-John