Recumbant Trike Computer

Mike Fox said:

My bike computer died and I looking for the replacement.  Needs to be
wireless and work on 20 inch wheels.  Also want altitude/height gained
and reasonable price.  Suggestions?
Thanks
Mike

I use a Gramin Geko 301 GPS. I have a few small mounts which sit on
my bikes (and trike) and it works very well. Gives distance, speed,
average speed, time moving, position, altitude, height gain and far
too many other things to list. Also links to a PC if necessary.
Downsides are - 2 AAA battteries last for a ful day only (I use
rechargables so not a major issue) and no cadence thingy.

Other than that - very versatile on and off all the bikes / trikes.

biking-geordie said:

Mike Fox said:

My bike computer died and I looking for the replacement.  Needs to be
wireless and work on 20 inch wheels.  Also want altitude/height gained
and reasonable price.  Suggestions?
Thanks
Mike

I use a Gramin Geko 301 GPS.  I have a few small mounts which sit on
my bikes (and trike) and it works very well.  Gives distance, speed,
average speed, time moving, position, altitude, height gain and far
too many other things to list.  Also links to a PC if necessary.
Downsides are - 2 AAA battteries last for a ful day only (I use
rechargables so not a major issue) and no cadence thingy.

Other than that - very versatile on and off all the bikes / trikes.

Sorry - that should be a Garmin not a Gramin . .

"biking-geordie" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I use a Gramin Geko 301 GPS. [...]
Downsides are - 2 AAA battteries last for a ful day only (I use
rechargables so not a major issue) and no cadence thingy.

That and compared to simple cyclometers, GPS-based speed and
distance devices may be somewhat less accurate in mileage
measurements, susceptible to signal loss, and cost more... %^)

Cyclometers can be accurate, reliable, and cheap. And their battery
life is measured in months or years, not hours or days.

I like GPS receivers and use a general purpose mapping GPS when
touring or riding new routes. It is the mapping/routing capabilities,
however, that make it most useful for those purposes for me, not
the speed and distance capabilities.

Jon

Jon said:

"biking-geordie" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I use a Gramin Geko 301 GPS. [...]
Downsides are - 2 AAA battteries last for a ful day only (I use
rechargables so not a major issue) and no cadence thingy.

That and compared to simple cyclometers, GPS-based speed and
distance devices may be somewhat less accurate in mileage
measurements, susceptible to signal loss, and cost more... %^)

Cyclometers can be accurate, reliable, and cheap. And their battery
life is measured in months or years, not hours or days.

I like GPS receivers and use a general purpose mapping GPS when
touring or riding new routes. It is the mapping/routing capabilities,
however, that make it most useful for those purposes for me, not
the speed and distance capabilities.

Jon

I use a good old El-Cheapo CatEye computer on my trike. Cost...about
20 bucks. If it get stolen the so what. I am not out a ton of money.
Battery life is FAR FAR longer than the "one day" thing you are
reffering to.

I'll stick with a Rand McNally atlas, gas station maps ((where
available)) and my own sense of direction when I travel on back roads.
I believe in this....when riding a bike one is NEVER lost.....they are
simply going a "little out of the way"...........

Usually more fun that way too.

"Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Jon said:

[...]
Cyclometers can be accurate, reliable, and cheap. And their battery
life is measured in months or years, not hours or days.

I like GPS receivers and use a general purpose mapping GPS when
touring or riding new routes. It is the mapping/routing capabilities,
however, that make it most useful for those purposes for me, not
the speed and distance capabilities.

I use a good old El-Cheapo CatEye computer on my trike. Cost...about
20 bucks. If it get stolen the so what. I am not out a ton of money.
Battery life is FAR FAR longer than the "one day" thing you are
reffering to.

For me, it's not an either/or. Mapping GPS is an adjunct. All my bikes
have inexpensive cyclometers. I don't my GPS use it for most "regular"
rides. I carry my GPS on a neck strap rather than attached to the bike.

Quoted message said:

I'll stick with a Rand McNally atlas, gas station maps ((where
available)) and my own sense of direction when I travel on back roads.

I find the GPS maps to be at least as and often more accurate and
up-to-date than printed maps. Sometimes, on-line maps such
as at Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, etc., will have more up-to-date
data. GPS map data is available for update only about once a year.
Paper maps are generally updated no more often than that.

One big advantage paper maps have over GPS maps is size. And
vice versa! %^) It's more difficult to get an overall perspective of an
unfamiliar area using a 2 inch screen. Details become unclear or
disappear at higher "zoom" levels. On the other hand, very detailed
maps for enitre regions or countries can be loaded onto small
memory cards.

Quoted message said:

I believe in this....when riding a bike one is NEVER lost.....they are
simply going a "little out of the way"...........

Usually more fun that way too.

Non-deterministic routing certainly can be interesting. %^) And exploring
backroads can be rewarding in many circumstances. But sometimes you
need to get from point A to point B in a specific timeframe. Hard to beat
good maps, compass, cyclometer, GPS, and informed advice for doing
that. For me, it's not either cyclometer or GPS, paper maps or GPS,--
I use some or all in conjunction.

Again, relative to simple cyclometers, the tradeoffs for speed and distance
GPS devices doesn't make them attractive to me. Comparing non-mapping
GPS devices vs cyclometers, the GPSs:

+ require no calibration for speed and distance
+ are not bike specific
+ may log position data for later download
+ may have better displays
- require time to aquire satellite fix and may lose fix
- require more battery power
- are more expensive
- are more complex
- are no more accurate (than a reasonably well calibrated cyclometer)
- are less automatic

Mapping GPS devices have all those pluses and minus, and are even
more expensive! But they do much more than speed and distance.

Jon