armybikerider

I'm looking for a simple cyclometer. I don't do Strava, don't collect ride data, don't need GPS etc etc. All I want is current and average speed, trip distance and total distance.

Is Cateye the only real game in town? Any experience with wireless vs wired?

bampilot06

I bought the meilan m4. It’s wireless non gps, and provides everything you asked plus cadence. It’s a little wonky to set up, but doesn’t take long. I’ve put about 1200 miles on it and has worked great.

trainsktg

I’ve had both Cateye and Sigma Rox 5 units (all wireless) before transitioning to Garmin units. They were reliable basic computers. IIRC, I had some issues with the Cateye reading the cadence sensor properly if I placed my front light too close to the head unit.

Keith

Iride01 

Or get a Garmin Edge 20 or 25 and ignore the fact that it has GPS and that you can save the track and data for every ride you do. There are other GPS cyclometers with just basic function for cheap also.

With some of the non-GPS devices, I've seen some non-standard ways with how they do wireless connections. So beware of that as if you ever want to go with GPS at a later date as your sensors may money down the drain. That was a while back though so possibly they use the same wireless standards now.

Germanrazor

You are describing a Cateye for the most part IMHO.

philbob57

Sigma as well, both wired and wireless.

I don;t find the Garmin 20 & 25 compelling at the prices I've seen them at. A new Lezyne Macro Easy is $80 and it's not an orphan product, at least not yet. It'll run a lot longer than the low end Garmins on a charge.

But for the needs you've written about, Cateye and Sigma are probably the easiest to find in the US. If you feel adventurous, you might try something like a 'Sun Ding' or another cheap Chinese 'puter.

SalsaShark

I have the basic Bontrager Trip 100 on a couple whips. It has 2 display readouts, with the larger showing either current, average, or max speed. The smaller readout shows either time of day, trip distance, odometer, calories burned, or a running timer.
It is wireless and gets good battery life with daily usage in year round conditions.

armybikerider

Thanks....I think I'll stick to a simple non-GPS computer. I have a 10 year old Lynskey with an equally old Cateye Mity8 that works great for me. An even bigger revelation is that I don't even own a smart phone and get by just fine with an old flip phone. I would like to get the biggest display possible for ease of use.

August West

I used to run Planet Bike computers back in the day before I became so data obsessed and was always happy with them.

https://www.planetbike.com/protege-8-0-bike-computer/
https://www.planetbike.com/protege-9...bike-computer/

canklecat

Amazon carries several no-name non-GPS computers for under $25. Basically the same three models rebranded under several different names. They work fine. I've had one for about three years, although in January I switched to a cheap XOSS G+, which costs the same as the good Cateye computers but adds GPS and Strava connectivity if I want it. Which I do.

But the XOSS G+ will work just fine without using Strava, and you never see the GPS working. If you don't care about logging data, just reset it after every ride. It'll store a bunch of ride data which can be transferred to the XOSS smartphone app, and kept only on your phone if you don't use Strava. However if you're concerned about privacy, skip it. Most GPS computers with online connectivity run all user data through their servers, so there's no practical way to ensure privacy.

Another possibility is a smartphone with the Cyclemeter app. Cyclemeter claims privacy for all user data. It's stored only on your phone, never to any Cyclemeter/Abvio server. You have to choose to share your own data, but it's private by default. But running activity apps on smartphones can drain the battery. My old iPhone wouldn't last a 50 mile ride. My 2017 Moto E4 probably would because of its relatively large capacity battery. But phones are much bulkier and heavier than most bike computers.

armybikerider

[QUOTE=canklecat;21613897............................ It'll store a bunch of ride data which can be transferred to the XOSS smartphone app, and kept only on your phone if you don't use Strava. However if you're concerned about privacy, skip it. Most GPS computers with online connectivity run all user data through their servers, so there's no practical way to ensure privacy.

Another possibility is a smartphone with the Cyclemeter app. Cyclemeter claims privacy for all user data. It's stored only on your phone, never to any Cyclemeter/Abvio server. You have to choose to share your own data, but it's private by default. But running activity apps on smartphones can drain the battery. My old iPhone wouldn't last a 50 mile ride. My 2017 Moto E4 probably would because of its relatively large capacity battery. But phones are much bulkier and heavier than most bike computers.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestions and for taking the time to reply. BUT...I am one of the 20 - 30% of American adults that DO NOT own a smartphone. I use a flip phone for cell use and don't miss all the apps.

I wonder however, if having GPS might enable my wife to track me with her smart phone?

xroadcharlie

I have the Bontrager GO time It works for me. The smallest character's on the display are difficult to read, But the important ones, like speed, trip, timer etc are fine.