RecumBum

After deciding that my old cyclocomputers needed replacing, I did some searching for their successor.

I wanted a cadence display on the new computer, and ideally I wanted both current cadence and average cadence. But I couldn’t find a mid-range computer with average cadence. I wasn’t willing to pay $150 for a higher-end computer with average cadence (as well as other features), so decided that displaying instantaneous cadence would have to be good enough.

I gave some consideration to products from companies such as Blackburn, dB, VDO, and Vetta, but in the end decided to go with Cateye. They’re the most reliable products from what I’ve read, and my experience with the Cateye Cordless 7 on the EZ-Sport has been good.

I determined I could go with either the Astrale 8 or the Strada Cadence. The Strada is the newer product, and has the cleaner design, so that was my first choice.

I checked some local bike shops, but none had the Strada Cadence. A few had the Astrale 8 in stock, but not at a great price. One shop wanted as much as $50 for it.

I started shopping online, and came across BikeTireDirect, which had the Astrale 8 for $29.95 and the Strada Cadence for $32.95. For only three bucks difference, and the best price I’d seen, I placed the order for the Strada.

After receiving the unit and verifying that the wires were long enough for my bike (they were), I had to remove the old cyclocomputers. I took this opportunity to clean up the handlebar and front post where the old Bell computer had been installed. For some reason whoever had set this up had used some sort of super-sticky gummy tape under the computer mounting bracket and under the speed sensor. That cleaned up with some WD-40 and elbow grease.

I then installed the new unit, wrapping it around brake cables as it snaked down the handlebar post. I had to split apart the cable another eight inches or so to get enough length for the cadence sensor. Everything installed very smoothly, didn’t require much fiddling around, and worked first time out.

The most amazing part was the cadence sensor, which just happened to slide into the extender bracket I’d installed on the front derailleur post. This is just an odd piece I’d scavenged from an old broken rear taillight, so the fact that the sensor snapped into it like they were designed to go together was just pure luck. But that sure did save me some time and hassle.

The cyclocomputer itself is designed with no external buttons at all. The unit itself can be pushed (against the mounting bracket) to switch between modes. On the back is a button that puts the computer into its setup mode, as well as a recessed reset switch. Setup and operation are straightforward. I used the wheel configuration number from the Bell, and will test that as I get a chance to ride the bike over a longer distance. I took a short spin up and down the street to test it, and all seemed in order.

In the end, this exercise left me with a much cleaner handlebar, a bit more orderly wire routing, and hopefully a reliable computer for a long time to come. I lose the “average cadence” statistic, bit that’s a tradeoff I can live with.