Submitted by
Aslan
a Cross Country Rider
from Chico, CA
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2012
Strengths: Has an altimeter.
Weaknesses: Does not function reliably.
Bottom Line:
I just want it to function reliably. Barring that, I would like someone in the warranty department to get back to me after sending four emails over the course of 6 months. I don't feel like that is an unreasonable expectation. I have read the manual, many times. I have changed the battery many times. I have checked the wiring and connections. It just doesn't work. That happens sometimes. I get that. It is how the company handles a defective product that matters and on that score..... 1 flaming turd for VDO.
Similar Products Used: Cat Eye AT 100 - was great for 10 years.
Bike Setup: Moots Cinco & Moots YBB
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
easymzm
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2010
Strengths: Lots of info on display at once, reliable (so far), large easy to press buttons, Altitude functions.
Weaknesses: Some items on display could be larger, not cheap
Bottom Line:
A great computer with a lot of info on display at once on the screen. It has three buttons which are all easy to press even on a moving bike with gloved hands. The altimeter is fairly accurate and a great feature for those crazy climbs. I have yet to have any issues with this wireless computer.
Similar Products Used: Sigma sport BC1100, Specialized
Bike Setup: Blur XC CArbon Fox F120 RLC,
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Submitted by
JZazzi
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay Area, CA
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2009
Strengths: -Altitude, %grade, and speed are permanently displayed. Those are three of the most useful numbers in cycling, no digging in menus to find them!
-Memory for two bikes and tire sizes (road and mountain in my case)
-Absolutely bomb proof: I once sent it through the washing machine on accident and it wasn't harmed in the least! It's been through a bunch of crashes on the mountain bike too.
-really well priced for what you get!
-big, easy to read numbers
Weaknesses: -sometimes have to manually calibrate absolute elevation when leaving the house, but the delta gains and %grade are always accurate. (any altimeter that uses barometric pressure and temperature will fluctuate like this, as a result of changes in local weather) The elevation changes with weather by only a hundred feet or so, it's not a really big deal and I usually don't bother recalibrating.
Bottom Line:
The three buttons easily separate the commonly used mileage functions, the altitude functions, and everything else. Changing settings and navigation is really simple.
Did I mention mine survived a trip through the washing machine on accident?
The build quality is top notch. I've been using mine for over 6 years now and it shows no signs of fatigue.
Just wanted to give this a big thumbs up for a great 5 year warranty and great service to back it up. They now have a presence in the US (New Hampshire). Started having some problems so I emailed them for support, got immediate feedback, was asked to mail it in, did that on a Monday, buy Thursday I got confirmation that my new computer was in the mail.
Submitted by
dick52
a Racer
from san jose, ca. usa
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2008
Strengths: many features for altitude. great for training for climbing. two odometers is a great thing to have. I love to know what grades i;m climbing
Weaknesses: had to warranty the transmitter after second week;they sent that out for free. Altimeter went out after 1 year and 8 months. have to spend $28 to send it back to germany for warranty repair. don't know if its worth it after one other repair
Bottom Line:
after two problems, i don't think i could recommend this computer.
Weaknesses: The only possible negative might be that it's a bit heavier than the units that don't have an altimeter...but that should only concern weight weenies on road bikes.
Bottom Line:
One thing I learned while setting wheel size is to use the method of marking your front tire and the floor where they meet and moving forward through one revolution and precisely marking that spot on the floor/ground where the line on the tire hits its low point. HERE"S THE TIP: make sure you're on the bike when you try this as that pressure will change the circumference of your tire! Also, it's important to be on a uniformly hard surface, and make your line as straight as possible. My road bike tires are listed as 700x23C, which is 2133 cm (84"). When I measured without my weight on the bike I calculated 2118 cm (83 13/32"). With my weight on the bike, it measured 2103.4 cm (82 13/16")! This difference will be more pronounced with a mountain bike, given that the tires depress more than on a road bike (because of lower pressure).
Submitted by
Roger Haferkamp
a Weekend Warrior
from Agoura Hills, CA USA
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2008
Strengths: Well built, accurate, altitude functions.
Weaknesses: Mount, fork sensor easily broken
Bottom Line:
I got this for training for the Death Ride a few years ago. Had tried several others but this one is the best. The mount can twist off (break) if your heavy handed like me and I broke the fork mount once by tightening the zips too much. Spares are readily available.
Submitted by
geoff
a Cross Country Rider
from stratford, CT
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2007
Strengths: Accurate, loads of features, Altimeter! Case is larger and thicker than most computers, looks rugged. Bikesomewhere and ibexsports.com (importer) were great in support when i needed it.
Weaknesses: None, assuming you understand that extreme changes in weather will require an easy operation of resetting the barometer. Initial computer had multiple problems.
Bottom Line:
This is for the wired version of the MC1. I wanted to avoid some of the finikyness that I had read about online before I bought mine. My second unit has been flawless for about a month now. With daily riding, I've only had to reset the barometer on it twice, and that was after major snow storms. I ride the same single track trails every day and see very consistent results. My first unit arrived with multiple problems, it kept erasing the settings i would enter, the altimeter would dramatically climb on it own while it rested on my desk, the first time I used it it shutdown and never came back. I emailed Bikesomewhere, they referred me to Ibexsports who called me and sent out a replacement and a call tag the same day. I'd give it 5 chilis except for it's cost.
Similar Products Used: sigma 1200, sigma 1600 wireless
Bike Setup: RM XC
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2007
Strengths: Multiple ways to interpret altitude gain.
Weaknesses: Could use a few more functions: GPS, heart rate monitor, cadence, ability to download email and play mp3s, and a police radio scanner.
Bottom Line:
This is an awesome product for those who enjoy climbing. There are plenty of other functions - distance, time, etc. - but this is obviously a computer for those who enjoy getting high. So many read-outs - altitude gained, total altitude, slope percentage, average grade, etc., etc. - and so little time to read all those read-outs. That's why it's so much fun.
Similar Products Used: The version Specialized put out (stolen, with my bike) - which had fewer altitude functions, and has been discontinued. Too bad, I thought it had a cleaner interface.
Weaknesses: will pick-up electric pulse from laptop computer, and/or (VDO) speedometer in car (BMW) and begin reading computer and/or car's info as speed, inclination, etc.
Bottom Line:
Main reason for owning this unit is the altimiter. All functions work well and realiable, despite weather, trail and road conditions. If you know you're going into a race or century and can get the data -- total elevation gain, distance, etc., you can use this computer to find appropriate training rides.
Bike Setup: I use this computer on five bikes: two rd. and three mtb., for training and racing. each bike has it's own docking station, so I just move the computer bike to bike and go!
Strengths: German technology! Giant screen. Multiple information in each screen. Very accurate info. Pretty good price. It's wireless. Good design. Lightweight.
Weaknesses: None so far. Maybe it could offer cadence and pulsometer info (it'be awesome then).
Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a great bike computer this is one of the best so far. It shows you the usual functions with the addition of temperature, inclination, feets climbed, altitude and other useful info. I've got three and never ever any problem trust me. So congatulations for VDO and their engineers.
Similar Products Used: Cateye Wireless Altimeter. Cateye Cordless series computers. Topeak Panoram 17 functions wireless computer.
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper M4 2003 in red colour. Specialized Stumpjumper M4 2005 in yellow colour. Specialized Stumpjumper M5 (S-WORKS FRAME) 2004 in red & white colour. All of them with full Shimano XT group...
