Reliable Bike computers (Not GPS Units). TD 2015 riders take note.

[blurltd]

I used a CatEye Wireless Bike Computer (as a backup) last year from Banff to the US, Mexico border similar to this model attached. Dumbest design EVER. That tiny little button looking thing does nothing! You have to use 1, 2, 3, finger gestures to get to certain menus by pushing down on the entire unit. The entire unit is your button! Soooooo when the road gets rough, guess what? That unit starts to cycle through menus on it’s own. My bad for being idiot and buying this thing. The only good thing about this unit is it did not crap out on me with the bad weather.

I’m now in the market for a new one as a back up to my GPS. What reliable bike computer did you use on our Tour Divide? The only function I need is mileage (obviously), MPH, and time and date. Something that I can reset the daily mileage with one finger vs three fingers in hopes of it not resetting something else. Of course I can go to a store and push buttons to find one I like but I need to know how it survived through the wet weather and rugged conditions.

Thanks!

[sfuller]

I've always used one of the Cateye Strada Wireless computers as a GPS backup (and as my primary before I ever had a GPS). It's small and has always worked well for me. It's seen more than its share of rain and kept on ticking. It does mileage, time, date and speed, as well as tracking moving time.

[RideLikeAlf]

I used a Cateye Enduro 8 computer for TD in 2012 and it never skipped a beat. It's wired (heavy duty wiring), big buttons and large displayed numbers. Doesn't have many functions, but then you don't need much for TD.

I've had bad experience with wireless computers due to range (distance from sensor to computer) limitations and signal interference from battery pack to front light cabling. If you go this route, make sure you test it all out with all of your other handlebar electrics switched on before you get too far south of Banff.   

[Snowbd2u]

I agree on the wireless working flawlessly. I too had the cateye wireless and it worked great in 2014. Rain snow and all sorts of weather. Had no issues. I would just reset it each time I flipped the map.

[james-o]

I used a VDO MC1 as recommended by others on here, was my sole navigation aid. Wired version. Took both a head unit and a wire kit as spares. Never let me down but others have reported issues. The navigator function up/down adjust was the feature I wanted it for, I used it fairly often to avoid mental arithmetic that I knew I'd mess up and I accurately calibrating it based on loaded bike wheel roll-out distance. Pre-tested it and it worked well, the menu toggle navigation was good. Not sure if they're still available but the features will be in other models I expect.

[ArisaemaDracontium]

I have zero ultra racing experience, just 20 years of mtb and touring experience. For what that's worth.

I tried wireless for a while, had three different models at one time, but they all failed and I'll be sticking with a simple wire unit for a while. Problem with wireless is that both the battery in the unit and in the sensor tend to drain fast. When one goes down the whole system is shot, and you never know which is causing the problem.

The Cateye Mity/Enduro computers have been redo tousle reliable for me. I still have two old Mity 3 & Enduro 2 computers in sevice. All they need is a new battery every 2-3 years.

Enduro 8 has a stem mount option. Worth looking into.

[RonK]

The Cateye Enduro is hard to beat. Simple one-button operation and a heavy duty wire. Cheap enough too.

[Gimmearaise]

+1 on the Enduro.

[jeremy11]

Not on the tour divide, but on my commuter bike I've completely filled up a Cateye Velo 5 (9999.9 miles) and now am on a Velo 7 with close to 2000 miles on it.  No problems with either one - cheap and wired.