zastolj

I'm looking at new non-gps odometers for my road bike and I even feel like going wired just for old times sake. I'm scrolling through Sigma's site and looking at the current models and noticed they all attach with cable ties nowadays? Why is this, for cost saving? I don't like cable ties at all and would much rather use o-rings! I see some old outgoing models with o-rings still on sale, the "Pure 1" for example. Seems like the mount is different.

https://sigmasport.com/product-category/bike-computer/

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Si...mputer-p47453/

pdlamb

First, I'm with you on wired "cyclocomputer" odometers. Inexpensive, reliable, remember to change batteries every year (or two) instead of having to recharge after every ride (or week's worth of rides).

Not sure what your hangup is with cable ties. By the time I mount a wired unit, it's going to stay there and not be switched from one bike to another. It just takes a few more minutes to make sure the ends of the ties are oriented so I don't see or grab them regularly.

But if you want something with an O-ring mount (and are you really going to twirl the wires around the fork??), is there some reason you're only looking at Sigma? Other manufacturers made these, and you could be looking at Cateye, Planet Bike, etc.

zastolj

Really no reason for a Sigma in particular but I'd like a known brand with a history. I've looked a Cateye too but it looks like they have the same issue.

Well maybe it's an issue only in my mind, I guess I just have a thing for o-rings haha...

Like you said, I've grown tired of charging my GPS! Plus I don't have any use for the huge amount of data it gathers or even the navigation features.

Tourist in MSN

I have some old computers with the wheel magnet. The oldest ones had a bracket that wrapped around handlebar, which worked great when all handlebars were same diameter. Those no longer fit on my newer bikes.

And some newer ones that are about a decade old with cable ties. I started to like cable ties, for example you could strap the mounting plate on a handlebar (cable ties run fore and aft) or a stem (cable ties run side to side), which gave me more flexibility in mounting. And they fit on any diameter bar or stem.

The first time I ever saw a bike computer with cable ties, it was a Tour de France pro racing bike, my first thought was that I was surprised that something that cheap would be on that expensive of a bike. But once I bought such a computer, I saw it as very practical instead of as cheap.

My wired one is more precise for distance, the wireless ones seem to vary from ride to ride. My wired one does not have cadence which I would like to have.

Mine are no longer made, thus I am not suggesting a brand or model.

Iride01 

Wire ties they only have to give you a few. And you can easily source wire ties. Sigma is a less expensive product so probably cost considerations. Garmin on the other hand gives a crap load of o-rings in various sizes for their standard mount and then usually have a out front mount included for many of their Edge cyclometers. So quite a bit of waste. Out of all the many o-rings Garmin has given me, I've used a total of four over twelve maybe thirteen years. And I've always wondered if these o-rings are the same exact material as o-rings that are made for the purpose of sealing things. If they aren't, then they'll be harder to source unless you wish to use something that might not last as long.

And believe me... when I pass by you on the road, I'm not going to notice what is holding on your cyclometer any more than I'm going to notice what cyclometer you have.

Seattle Forrest

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but a modern GPS watch needs to be charged maybe twice a month the way a lot of people will use it, leaves your bike looking clean and pristine with no zip ties, and it tells you distance even if you don't use other features. In practice this is an excellent solution.

zastolj

Yeah, to me twice a month is just too much maintenance since I have too many devices to charge in my life already. I want a more simple life and it does not get much simpler than a magnet and a wire. And there's also the money issue since even the cheapest GPS can be 10 times as expensive as a basic computer.

Trust me, wired bare-boned computers will make a comeback in a few years! There's something to be said for simple, economical good-enough devices that do the job just fine!

zastolj

This is all true, I guess I'll have to get over it.

Seattle Forrest

As long as you're enjoying yourself when you're out riding.

RB1-luvr

I have an old Sigma (it's tiny) and am thinking of putting it on one of my old bikes. I came across it while looking for a part. They are very good.

Darth Lefty 

The French constructeurs would use balsa wood clothespins to attach their cyclocomputers. The balsa was carefully saved from children's model airplane kits; the kids were instructed not to complain. They used Swiss watch movements in the prewar period but sourced them from dead German fighter pilots from late 1943 onward

John Valuk

To put another option out there, I think it's worth mentioning the Bontrager RIDEtime Elite. It is in many ways like an old-school digital cyclocomputer, but it works with ANT+ sensors.

In my experience, communication has been drama-free.

They are still available as a new retail item, but I've purchased several in new or gently-used condition on eBay for substantially less money.

I have nothing against wired-sensor cyclocomputers, and was very satisfied with the service I got from a CatEye Velo 7 (attached by, yes, cable ties). I only started looking at wireless options when I wanted to have cadence measurement.

bktourer1

My Sigma PURE 1 came with both rubber rings and very thin zip ties.
The fork sensor has the capability to use either.
Basic unit I use for around the neighborhood.

2_i 

I ride a lot at night, so a backlight is essential and Sigmas tended to have one as a must while Cateye more like never. I rework Sigma mounts so the pieces mount with hose clamps. The battery lasts for me few years rather than 1-2. Besides parts, Sigma sells whole computers as 'spare parts', off their factory store, but only to shipping addresses in EU.

BikeLite

What is a lower cost GPS watch that can do this?