What bike computers measure elevation?

Harold Burton wrote:
:: I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me
:: the total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but
:: Cateye doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

the polar 720i does it, though there must be less expensive ones that do
this also.

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
there if you want to pay for it.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

In article <[email hidden]>,

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

VDO's lovely & expensive MC 1.0 will do this. they even make a
wireless model.

bill said:

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
there if you want to pay for it.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

Not all GPS units have the altitude feature. Although they are much
more common on newer models than on earlier ones.

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Does Avocet still sell its Model 50 "altimeter" computer?

gds said:

bill said:

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
there if you want to pay for it.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

Not all GPS units have the altitude feature. Although they are much
more common on newer models than on earlier ones.

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

bill said:

gds said:

bill said:

Harold Burton wrote:
> I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
> total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
> doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?
Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
there if you want to pay for it.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

Not all GPS units have the altitude feature. Although they are much
more common on newer models than on earlier ones.

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

bill said:

gds said:

bill said:

Harold Burton wrote:
> I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
> total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
> doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?
Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
there if you want to pay for it.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

Not all GPS units have the altitude feature. Although they are much
more common on newer models than on earlier ones.

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

That is a silly reply. If the GPS unit has no altitude read out -and
not all do- then it makes no difference that the data is "there for the
taking" as there is no way to "take it."

Dan said:

I also have an Oregon Scientific Sport watch/bike computer with
altimeter, HR, cadence, etc. but I have never used it. It also connects
to the PC:
http://www.digitalgiftstore.com/rp107-000box.html

I don't have the box anymore but would be happy to let anybody have it
for $100 plus say $20 to box it up and post it (in the US).

actually, I see much cheaper:

http://tinyurl.com/y9f4jg

gds said:

bill said:

gds said:

bill wrote:
> Harold Burton wrote:
>> I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
>> total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
>> doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?
> Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will resolve
> not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation. This comes
> in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators can tell not
> only where the address is you are calling from but also what floor you
> are on. That might be more than you want to know, but the stuff is out
> there if you want to pay for it.
>
> --
> Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka
Not all GPS units have the altitude feature. Although they are much
more common on newer models than on earlier ones.

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

That is a silly reply. If the GPS unit has no altitude read out -and
not all do- then it makes no difference that the data is "there for the
taking" as there is no way to "take it."

Ask a 911 operator who gets an emergency call from someone in a high
rise and does not know what floor they are on. The newer GPS enabled
phones are supposed to give them that information. Whether you can
access it yourself is another can of worms since I don't own one and
don't want one. As I said "The data IS there". Whether you can use it is
not my problem, just depends on how much you want to spend. A friend had
a Radio Shack unit that gave elevation back in 2001, and it only cost
him about $100 the so they should be cheaper now.

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <[email hidden]>,

bill 'just use comcast' said:

Quoted message said:

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

The GPS's that display altitude generally
use a internal barometer to do it. It is only very recently
with the addition of WAAS signal that GPS can have any
reasonable accuracy wrt altitude. Even then most GPS's can
not approach the accuracy of a recently calibrated barometer.

GPS does not work by triangulation, but by time codes to calculate
distance, you know how far you are from the satellite, not what
angle. It takes a minimum of 4 satellites to determine a
position and the more satellites available the more accurate
the positioning data. I suggest a quick read of Wikipedia's
GPS article.

If you want altitude data, the Garmin Edge 205/305 is a very nice if
pricy cyclometer.

http://www.garmin.com/products/edge305/

_ Booker C. Bense

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Bill Baka said:

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me
the total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but
Cateye doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Quoted message said:

Anything with a GPS is capable of giving elevation since it will
resolve not only you latitude and longitude, but also you elevation.
This comes in handy for GPS enabled cell phones so the 911 operators
can tell not only where the address is you are calling from but also
what floor you are on. That might be more than you want to know,
but the stuff is out there if you want to pay for it.

GPS does not give reasonable vertical resolution for bicycling.
Besides, collecting the cumulative elevation by most of the bicycle
instruments is inaccurate because they add every groundswell within
their resolution, thereby giving inflated estimates of climbing (or
descending).

Jobst Brandt

Booker C. Bense said:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <[email hidden]>,

bill 'just use comcast' said:

The information is there for the taking since a GPS uses the
triangulation of information from 3 satellites meaning you can be at one
and only one point in space (hopefully on the Earth).

The GPS's that display altitude generally
use a internal barometer to do it. It is only very recently
with the addition of WAAS signal that GPS can have any
reasonable accuracy wrt altitude. Even then most GPS's can
not approach the accuracy of a recently calibrated barometer.

GPS does not work by triangulation, but by time codes to calculate
distance, you know how far you are from the satellite, not what
angle. It takes a minimum of 4 satellites to determine a
position and the more satellites available the more accurate
the positioning data. I suggest a quick read of Wikipedia's
GPS article.

You totally don't understand GPS I take it. It uses a highly accurate
time signal from no less than 3 satellites and calculates your position
in 3 dimensions, period. I suggest you go to NASA or JPL's site and look
at the real information. Wikipedia's data is not all that reliable since
it is a public domain work in progress and good data can be overwritten
with bad if someone doesn't know what they are posting to it.
GPS can be represented by three spheres surrounding three satellites.
There can be 2 points of intersection but one would put you either
inside the Earth or hundreds of miles out in space, so it isn't rocket
science to figure it out.

Quoted message said:

If you want altitude data, the Garmin Edge 205/305 is a very nice if
pricy cyclometer.

http://www.garmin.com/products/edge305/

_ Booker C. Bense

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--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

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

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

I was checking out Blackburn on the web a couple days ago and I see that
their top of line cycle computer has this function. The Delphi 6.0 I think
it's model number was. The URL was:
http://www.delphicyclometers.com/home.html

You would probably have to find a Blackburn dealer for the price. I did not
even know they made computers.

Regards
Mike

bill wrote:
e. As I said "The data IS there". Whether you can use it is

Quoted message said:

not my problem,

That is even sillier. Someone asks for advice and you give some, but it
is based on wrong information. Then you say it is someone elses
problem. Why bother to respond if you don't care if it's meaningful?

gds said:

bill wrote:
e. As I said "The data IS there". Whether you can use it is

Quoted message said:

not my problem,

That is even sillier. Someone asks for advice and you give some, but it
is based on wrong information. Then you say it is someone elses
problem. Why bother to respond if you don't care if it's meaningful?

I said the data is there and you can use it if you want to buy a decent
GPS enabled (insert whatever) device. That is neither silly nor
meaningless. A barometer can be very misleading if the weather changes
although it might tell you to go home if your altitude reading goes up
on a descent (storm coming at you fast).

--
Bill (Sleepless biker) Baka

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:03:52 -0500, "Mike Enarson" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

I was checking out Blackburn on the web a couple days ago and I see that
their top of line cycle computer has this function. The Delphi 6.0 I think
it's model number was. The URL was:
http://www.delphicyclometers.com/home.html

You would probably have to find a Blackburn dealer for the price. I did not
even know they made computers.

Regards
Mike

$140 on Amazon. Has percentage grade function also.

Harold Burton said:

I'm looking for a bike computer with a barometer that will give me the
total climb on a ride. I had an old Cateye that did this but Cateye
doesn't make such a beast any more. Any suggestions?

Where are you located? I have one Cateye Altimeter computer left. They are not available for 2007.
Contact me for price if interested.
Dan Burkhart
www.boomerbicycle.ca

Quoted message said:

GPS does not give reasonable vertical resolution for bicycling.

I think GPS can actually determine elevation with adequate accuracy for
most cyclists these days. I have carried a bike computer with barometric
altimeter and a GPS unit at the same time in order to compare the two.
In some ways the GPS may be better since it isn't effected by
non-elevation pressure changes. Also, the barometric units can register
elevation changes as air speed changes due (I guess) to Bernoulli's
theorem. I have watched the displayed elevation on mine jump up and down
on a flat ride with a gusty head wind.

Quoted message said:

Besides, collecting the cumulative elevation by most of the bicycle
instruments is inaccurate because they add every groundswell within
their resolution, thereby giving inflated estimates of climbing (or
descending).

We would have to agree on what accurate means before I agree with this.
So long as one knows what is being measured and how, it doesn't matter
too much. On relatively flat terrain the error can be huge but who cares
about total climb on flat terrain? As far as I can tell, barometric
units work well enough on a steady climb of fair steepness. None of us
can agree on how to quantify things like slope and total climb anyway
(how high does a bump have to be to count? Should we count a 100 ft
climb in 1/10 mile and disregard a steady 100 ft climb in 10 miles?).
Whatever method a computer uses to measure total climb, it can still be
useful for qualitative comparison with other records by the same method.
If I am really interested in the data, I will usually load it into the
PC and filter or process it in some way. With USGS topographical maps
available on line these days, it is easy to check elevations too.

Quoted message said:

Jobst Brandt

For me, the best thing about a bike computer that recorded elevation is
that I climbed a lot of hills to see what it would say.

Dan Merrick