TripleB67

Interested in hearing if you use a wired or wireless cycling computer on your road bike and what you see as the pros/cons of each type?

I've got a CatEye Enduro 2 wired computer on my mountain bike (currently riding this bike on the road) that I bought back in probably 2000...absolutely love it. Deadly accurate and battery lasts forever. I also have a Garmin Forerunner 305 watch on my bike that I used to use for running. I like having it so I can upload my rides to my computer....but after about 7 weeks into my cycling career I'm finding I seem to care less and less about having my rides on my computer. It doesn't seem near as accurate as my Enduro---after a 40 mile ride they were about 1.5 miles apart from each other...in zooming into the route the Garmin recorded it shows me going through grass, trees, houses, etc.

Going to be getting a road bike early next year...plan on leaving the Enduro 2 on my road bike so will be looking to get a new cycling computer.

Thanks for any advice!!!

TripleB67

bikemig 

I used to run wired computers; then I bought a wireless and I'd never go back. One downside is that battery life tends to be shorter. The battery won't last forever like your enduro 2. I used to own one and loved it as well.

I picked up a lezyne super gps and love it. More complicated than a simple wired computer but it has a lot of very cool extra functionality. Lack of wires is a plus and it has good battery life.

steelbikeguy

Wired computers.

Pro's: long battery life, lower cost, only one battery.

Con's: you have to figure out how to route the wires in a secure fashion that is visually acceptable. Also, it's one more thing you have to remove or accommodate when performing maintenance that requires removing the handlebars or fork.

I should mention that I don't use computer that sense pedal cadence. With the extra wires, I think I'd go with a wireless computer for that application.

EricSteven5

Wireless are great, but beware that some certain models will be susceptible to interference when using high powered headlights. Can cause wildly inaccurate readings and/or simply not read speed at all when lights are on.

doctor j

Wired. Very reliable. Long battery life.

cb400bill

Wireless. Had a wired one for years and hated the wires.

Not doubting if could happen, but I have never had a problem with my headlight interfering with it.

crankythunder

I had to go to wired on my recumbents with a extra long wire because the distance between mounting position and wheel was too far away fot the computer to read the sensor

Cyclist0084

^^ This!!

Had a wireless computer a few years back and could never use it after dark. I thought maybe it was because it was a cheap model from Wally World. Turns out even a more expensive one from my LBS had problems when my headlight was on. I use my phone nowadays. Might not be quite as accurate, but it does the job I need it to do.

fietsbob

My 80's German Ciclomaster offered a wireless, by just mounting the computer down where the wheel magnet was .
Putting the magnetic pulse sensor in the side of the computer .

seedsbelize 

Extremely short battery life, coupled with interference issues, has driven me back to wired. My cateye is within half a km of strava over a 110 km distance.

Seattle Forrest

The question boils down to: do you care about looks?

ItsJustMe

I go wired only. It only takes a tiny bit of care to make the wire all but invisible, and they're more reliable, cheaper, and the batteries last longer.

But I only have it there for speed/time. If I were doing cadence I might care more about wires. As is, you can only really see the wires a little on the front, and up there it's a forest of brake and shifter cables and headlight cable anyway, the comp sensor wire isn't even really noticeable.

oni_koroshi

Wired is great in that the battery lasts forever, its reliable, and it's cheap. The downside is the cable routing can look ugly and the speed sensor is usually on the front wheel so you won't get anything when on a trainer except cadence.

With wireless it can get expensive and for a little bit more you can get a wireless GPS and ANT+ support. It really depends on your budget and what you want to do with it.

deex

I use the Wahoo RFLKT with a cadence/speed and heart monitor added on. It works great. Of course I also have to carry the phone.

ItsJustMe

FWIW, get some electrical tape the same color as your frame, tape the wires down with that. If you can't find it, use black and tape in a nice looking pattern, you can make it look good.

gauvins

I'd say that it largely depends on the metrics you want to track. if you only care about speed, wired are an option. A bit less so if you also want cadence (generally means 2 cables to run to your computer head). And I do not know of any wired HRM.

I personally prefer ANT+ over proprietary protocols. These sensors can be used by multiple devices at once (e.g. a dedicated computer head + a smartphone and/or a smartwatch).

There are very few ANT+ computer heads that aren't also a navigation device. (the vast majority of ANT+ devices integrate GPS and map display, which means a battery life measured in (few) hours). The Bontrager Node 1.1 is a basic ANT+ head. It is inexpensive, has a battery life measured in months and connects/displays data within seconds of being activated.

Seattle Forrest

Once you go beyond around 10 to 12 hours, battery life starts to be less of an issue for most people.

metro2005

I've had a wireless VDO cycling computer and that thing just ate batteries and they where expensive batteries too (and off course: 2 of them) . Then there was the interference at traffic lights, bridges and just random disconnects. In the end the battery compartment of the sensor was al rusted out due to salt and weather influences so i went back to wired again. Battery life: Around 4-5 years instead of 3-6 months and always an accurate reading.
The only 'problem' is that you have a cable running from the sensor to the computer but i dont think its that big of a deal. Sure wireless looks nice but in the end i just want something that works and keeps on working.

So wired all the way.

steelbikeguy

perhaps, or perhaps not....

I would argue that this looks as good as a lot of wireless setups.....





Steve in Peoria

(edit: please ignore the hairy legs when considering the aesthetics of the photo. )

Nachoman

Wired. But only if you can keep it clean loooking.

ItsJustMe

The "clean look" thing has always baffled me. First off, just about any bike, up front where the wire is for most basic comps, is a mess of brake and shifter cables anyway. Second, it takes about 5 minutes with a bit of vinyl tape to make the cable pretty much disappear.

Seattle Forrest

My legs look like chewbacca. I just like to ride bikes. It's a great photo, I love the visible sense of motion. Nice bike, too!

Here's mine.

steelbikeguy

The "candy" paint on the International looks great in direct sun, as does the chrome. It certainly makes it easier to take a good photo. The camera was a cheap Android phone, which is why the spokes look severely bent... but it does make you think that the bike is moving 100 mph.

lovely scenery!
It does make me feel a bit of a chill, though... better put on the arm warmers!

Steve in Peoria

VegasTriker

I've used wired computers for as long as I have had computers on a bike (~17 years) and recently tried to install a wireless computer on a recumbent trike. Couldn't get it to work even though it worked fine off the trike and the distance between the sensor and computer was less than half the max stated on the instructions. It turned out that parts of the aluminum frame were between the sensor and the computer blocking the RF signal. I've snagged the wires on the computer a few times over the years but it you route them carefully this should be rare.

John_V 

Same setup here! I always have my phone with me anyway, so it really doesn't matter.