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Submitted by
Matthew
a Cross Country Rider
from Renton, Wa
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | very acurate | | Weaknesses: | overengineered mounting and speed sensor, display fades out and turns black, computer is hard to install on the mounting bracket, almost impossible to memorize the function of the buttons. | | Similar Products Used: | Sigma sport BC 1200 | | Bike Setup: | Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo | | Bottom Line: | This product is not very good. The wheel sensor and ring did not fit my bike well and probably would not fit many bikes well. The mounting bracket deforms when it is tightened to the handle bar making it very difficult to install the computer. On several cold rainy rides the screen started turning black but did return to normal later. The two buttons in combination with the fact that the the screen only diplays one function at a time makes using the computer difficult. Much better computers can be had for 2/3 the price. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Leon Fu
a Racer
from Randolph, NJ
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Stand, Scotch Plains | | Strengths: | Small, light, simple to use. | | Weaknesses: | Unreliable. Doesn't seem water resistant. Doesn't mount correctly on certain forks. | | Similar Products Used: | Cateye's | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Eclipse '99 | | Bottom Line: | I am on my 3rd units. These computers are unreliable. They don't seem to stand up well to the rain. The first unit I had must have short circuit. At first I thought the battery died, but when I replaced it, it drained it in 2 weeks. I sent that one in for warrenty. The second one lasted less than a year and then the left button stopped working! The 3rd unit (also covered under warrenty) I had wasn't displaying the right speed even though I calibrated the wheel circumfrance correctly.
I finally gave up and bought a $20 Cateye Mitty 3 from Performance Bike. So far so good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Francis
a Cross Country Rider
from BC Canada
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | My Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100000.00 | | Purchased At: | Christmas Gift | | Strengths: | Nice display, colour, Good functions, I like it, precise. I like the solidity of the mounting. I do lots of on road and serios off road riding and it stands up to it. | | Weaknesses: | The mounting system. I couldnt mount it on my old bike so it stayed in the box for two years. I have a new one now it has worked so far for the last few weeks. I couldn't put it on my Rock Shox Jetts though , I had to buy a rear mount system. There is a funny white bit at the side of the screen, but it might be from when I accidentally dropped it. | | Similar Products Used: | NONE!!!! | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Marlin
Rock Shox Jetts
I do lots of on road and serios off road riding and it stands up to it. It is my buddy. | | Bottom Line: | It works well, but it needs a new mounting system. I do like it much. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jesse Smith
a Racer
from Tucson
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt. Lemmon | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Full Cycle | | Strengths: | Variety of functions | | Weaknesses: | Battery life. | | Similar Products Used: | Cateye Enduro 2, VDO Sprint Plus | | Bike Setup: | Road bike | | Bottom Line: | I really liked the design of the functions. You can program in specific tire diameters, program in odometer miles after changing batteries, keeps an "all-time" max speed, trip odo, trip average speed. The buttons were well designed with posative feel. The disk magnet works well with road bikes, but I could see how it wouldn't be so hot for mountain bikes. I like the look of having a magnet close to the hub instead of mid-spoke positioning. The instructions were pretty good.
I had problems with what I think might have been battery life. The display would go dead, and I'd change the battery and it would work well. After a while the display would go dead. I'd take out the battery and clean it and the contacts with a pencil eraser and it would work for a while, then poop out again. I've had the same battery in a Cateye Enduro 2 for 4 years. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SFA
a Cross Country Rider
from NJ
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | bike show | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Uhhh no | | Weaknesses: | weak | | Similar Products Used: | dont bother with these pieces anymore | | Bike Setup: | specialized | | Bottom Line: | This thing is a piece. The magnet doesnt fit any hubs right. The sensor won't fit any phat forks. It is now in many pieces in many places that I dont know of (I don't really care either) It's just a really big pain in the ass. Doesn't work when riding fast on trails. Good for nothing garbage. I could go on but I leave you with 1 flaming piece o'crap. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dom
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Longevity
Ease of use
Clear readout | | Weaknesses: | Initial Setup | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Kona Mokomoko
Marzocchi z2 Abomb | | Bottom Line: | Had this for 5 years and never a problem. Circular hub magnet stays put and works when wet, muddy, whatever. It does speed, distance, average speed and there's a timer. What else could you want?
For cost/longevity it gets five dead robins. Only problem is I forgot how to calibrate it if ever I change tyres. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Petersburg, FL
Date Reviewed: September 1, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Santos | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
easy to use, large display, you can reset individual read outs or all at once, cool colors | | Weaknesses: |
EVERYTHING ELSE!!! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!! The display goes bad after a while and it often reads 0.0 when your riding. It works when it wants to. | | Similar Products Used: |
Sigma 800...Like it but the cord snapped yesterday. :( | | Bike Setup: |
Gary Fisher Hoo Koo & Joshua F3 | | Bottom Line: | When I first got it, it worked great...for about 45 miles, then it reset for the first time. I figured out if I left it on the bike (hoping it would get stolen if I parked it) It wouldn't reset. Everything was fine for a few more hundred miles (just a few weeks for the amount I ride) and then the display went bad...It just quit working. I replaced the battery and it worked better for about a week, then it cut off again. So it was finally retired (after 6 months and about 750 miles).Foolishly, when I got my new bike in June, (before the first one died for good) I got another Avocet 35 because I thought it would be good if the 2 bikes could share computers. The replacement's display hasn't worn out yet, but it also is very finicky about working. It seems the sensor has a hard time reading the magnet on the hub. It's really a piece of crap. I'm tired of writing about it because it's making me more upset. If I could give it 0 blazing horses or whatever they are, I would. So I'll give it one. I've had the Sigma 800 ever since I had to replace the first Avocet 35 and it works well aside from the cord snapping yesterday...guess I have to go wireless now. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Doyle
a Weekend Warrior
from South San Francisco, California
Date Reviewed: August 31, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Montara Mountain | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Large display, simple to use. | | Weaknesses: |
Magnet/sensor mounting is akward. | | Similar Products Used: |
Cateye Enduro 2 | | Bike Setup: |
Novara Alight, Rock Shock Jett XC | | Bottom Line: | Had to trash this computer recently. The display faded to the point where I thought that the battery had died, but when I put in a fresh one, the same thing happened. It got to the point where no matter how many times I changed the battery, the display would last no longer than 1 hour. Also the fork mounting of the magnet/sensor is really wierd. It mounts down near the hub, and was not very secure on my bike. I had to use some grip tape to keep the sensor in place, and even then sometimes I was not getting any reading at all. I really don't think that this product should be marketed for MTB riders. It just cannot take the G-shock punishment of MTB riding. It's unfortunate, because I really liked the unit at first. Due to the display problem, I switched to the Cateye Enduro 2. I've had it for 3 weeks now, and it seems to be designed to take a bit more punishment. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MTBikerJM
a Cross-Country Rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: August 30, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Easy to view display.
Easy to use buttons. | | Weaknesses: |
Display does not last for more than one ride. Battery or display is burnt out. I've gone through 3 warranty returns already. All of them have the same problem. | | Similar Products Used: |
Performance Axiom 8 (also sucks). | | Bike Setup: |
I have two of these computers. One for my road bike, which I've had for over a year. And one on my new mountain bike, which I've had since early June. The new one is giving me all of the problems. The one on the road bike is just fine. | | Bottom Line: | I would not recommend this computer to anyone and am in the market for a new one, since I'm getting my money back (if I can) for this piece of crap. Giving it two chilis only because the one on my road bike has lasted this long and that's why I decided to get one for my MTB. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PE
a Cross-Country Rider
from Ann Arbor, MI
Date Reviewed: July 16, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
poto | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
easy to read display, pretty simple to use | | Weaknesses: |
1)the hub mounting feature. I have a specialized stout hub which made for difficult installation. Had to zip tie the thing on. After a year of riding the magnet has cut a groove into my fork leg. Not too happy with that.
2)bar mount- hard as hell to pull the computer off the mounting bracket.
3)Computer is very inconsistent. with the original battery it was better but still had problems. I'd be cruising down a hill prabably going close to 20mph and the computer would register my speed at 4mph. Sometimes it would just stop functioning all together. the inconsistency got me fed up and so I removed the unit and pitched it. | | Bike Setup: |
'97 Spec. Stumpjumper Comp with RS Judy XC | | Bottom Line: | The mounting units could use some redesign. If the unit is working properly no problems but the inconsistency in the readings can really get to you. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Racer
from Bend, Oregon
Date Reviewed: May 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
All of the right functions. | | Weaknesses: |
Hub-fork mount. | | Similar Products Used: |
Avocet 15 | | Bike Setup: |
Specialized M2 Pro, SX Ti | | Bottom Line: | While it worked, it was very nice. No problems at all. Then the hub ring started to pop off whenever I put my wheel on my bike, which for some very odd reason screwed the whole computer up. It won't come on all of the time, and when it does, speeds aren't accurate. I liked my 15 much better, but it didn't have enough functions. A new design for the transmiter would make this the perfect computer. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Santiago, Chile
Date Reviewed: May 18, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Simple, easy to read | | Weaknesses: |
After 1 year, the unit resets itself almost every ride, when I simply try to reset the stopwatch function. Therefore I lost my accumulated mileage. | | Similar Products Used: |
Avocet, other models | | Bike Setup: |
Voodoo Bizango
Rock Shox SID | | Bottom Line: | I liked it while it worked, and it should have worked alot longer, it is not complcated technology. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sky
a cross-country rider
from Seneca Falls NY
Date Reviewed: December 29, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I like the 35 generally, it's been reliable. I also like the pace arrow thing. The only problem I had was a coupla years ago one of the buttons quit working and it took 3 monthes for the factory to fix it. What's with that? Also the magnet ring is kind odd. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keith Crosier
a weekend warrior
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: December 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had my 35 for about a couple of years. It works well in all conditions, does what I need, and has been reliable. But ... (i) it was hell's own delight, as we say hereabouts, fixing the sensor to my new Rock Shox and there are no Avocet dealers anywhere in the UK any more, who might be able to supply or order an adaptor (ii) Avocet HQ don't answer e-mails or faxes (iii)as another reviewer remarks, you'll just about pull the bars off trying to disengage the computer from its mounting. I suppose that means intending thieves will have the same problem. Philosophical, we Scots. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Tam
a
from Cupertino, CA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had the computer for over a year and it works well and had no complaints, but I got a new bike this year with Mavic Crossland wheels and the magnet does not attach to the hub very well. I wish Avocet made a magnet that attaches to the Crossland better. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Geoff Leverton
a weekend warrior
from Vancouver, B.C.
Date Reviewed: March 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The computer functions very well both on-road and off-road riding. The display is easy to read and the buttons are straight forward. It gives me all of the data that I am looking for at a glance. The Avocet 35 has worked reliably in a variety of conditions including rainy, muddy conditions and snow (yes it does snow in Vancouver every so often!)My only complaint would be with the mounting system. The computer is extremely difficult to remove from the bracket. I'm not sure if it is just my computer, or if this is a common trait for the Avocet 35.Overall, I'm quite happy with the Avocet, I just wish it was a little easier to remove from the bracket when I want to lock my bike up. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mario Cuen
a cross-country rider
from USA
Date Reviewed: December 30, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have used one of these for 3 years and have been very happy with the performance. It can handle very rough mtb'ing conditions without problems. I really like the magnet ring.The only problem that I have had is when I reset it at the end of the year. If the buttons are pressed in the wrong sequence, the computer will read speeds accurately but suddenly, for a second or two, will read very high speeds - 189 kph, wow! Not a big deal but it throws off the average speed and max speed. If this happens then remove the batteries, press both buttons for 30 seconds, replace batteries and start again. Keep the manual if you plan to reset it. The sequence is not obvious.Otherwise, excellent computer. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B. Bynum
a
from Coos Bay, Oregon
Date Reviewed: August 19, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have a model 35. Have about 900 miles off-road on it and it still works fine and is accurate. It does have a problem with water getting in (very wet conditions here in Oregon) and the display is discolored from the water (but it still works). I do think the buttons are too small and hard to press when riding. My buddy has one with about 2000 miles on it. His LCD has developed a large black area that prevents full reading of the display and the speed sometimes misteriously reads 100 mph+ (wow!). He also complains about the buttons. I will check other brands out seriously when I buy a new one. Overall for the price I give it 2 chilies. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a cross-country rider
from Toronto, Ontario
Date Reviewed: May 15, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Goddamn, had my avocet 35 for a month or so, and after the magnet/ring
sensor thing hit its first sapling, the sensor snapped and could not
be replaced . However, for the
couple of days I've had it, it worked beautifuly. Five chillies for
features, zero for durability. 2.5 average chillies | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jonathan
a racer
from Friant, Cal., USA
Date Reviewed: January 12, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
A day or so after I bought it, a mutation occured in it's processors that I had nothing to do with and it developed into an intelligence that only works when it wants to. It turns itself off and doesn't come back on when I press the buttons. My shop says that he will send it in for me, but this is still a pain. I Need to keep track of my riding. Not to say that this wasn't that one in a thousand, but it that one really pisses me off. If I could pick 0 stars I would have to. Jonathan | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Roach
a cross-country rider
from Fernley, Nevada
Date Reviewed: November 26, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
My wife has an older Avocet 35. I would not buy another one unless they have changed the installation and buttons. This one has a magnet-ring-thing that goes on your spokes close to your skewer, sucks. Also the buttons are too small. Specialized used to make a great one with big buttons and just a little magnet that clamped on to one spoke. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
T Lutz
a cross-country rider
from Minnesota
Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I purchased a '35' about 12 months ago. I have really enjoyed its features -
when it has worked proplerly. Two problems: the mount does not always hold the
computer securely against the metal contacts, meaning no data or mileage is
being accumulated. Second: the computer stopped working entirely. I replaced
batteries to no avail. Sent it in to Avocet through my LBS one month ago and
haven't yet had it replaced or anything (my LBS was out of stock of the '35').
I like the computer - I just wish it performed better under mountain biking
conditions. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee
a weekend warrior
from California, USA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Avocet 35 computer.
Good:
Large, readable display.
Replacement wiring / mounting hardware is less expensive compared
to that for some other cycle computers.
Has a low power mode to conserve battery life. Claimed battery life
is two years; I've had mine for just a bit less without replacing
the battery. I guess I'll find out soon how good the claim is.
The battery has outlasted the batteries that my Avocet 30 uses.
Bad:
Only shows one function (plus the pace arrow) at a time.
Other:
Has speed, maximum speed, average speed, resettable distance,
total distance (which is changeable; useful when replacing the
battery), stop watch, clock, and pace arrow (which simply shows
whether you are going faster or slower than the average speed).
The pace arrow is more useful for road riding in relatively flat
areas than it is for mountain biking or hilly road riding. Speed
granularity is 0.1mph.
Skinny fork and fat fork mountings are available; the fat
fork mounting is needed for the Kinesis aluminum road bike fork,
while the skinny fork mounting fits the Manitou 4 suspension
fork (around the dropout; no drilling is necessary, contrary to
what the Manitou 4 instruction manual says). A rear wheel wiring
kit is also available, but it may not fit bikes where the distance
between the rear wheel spokes and chainstay is large.
I have only used the Avocet 35 computer on a road bike (does
occasionally riding on dirt roads and campgrounds count as
off road? :-), but I cannot imagine how using it on a mountain
bike would make any difference. (No, I don't have a Manitou 4
suspension fork on my road bike; the wiring and mounting appears
to be the same as that for the Avocet 30 on my mountain bike.) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Deane
a cross-country rider
from Boston
Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
The Avocet 35 Cyclecomputer is a really good choice for an easy to use computer
that doesnt cost a furtune. The design is good for use while riding, and the
readout is bright in any light you'd be riding in. Install is a breeze, too.
Unless your preparing for some serious long conditioning rides, or need to
know everything about your rides for a race, the Avocet 35 is the perfect
computer. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nanci Pass
a cross-country rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
model: Avocet 35
This is a simple, easy to use, uncomplicated computer that gives you all the
information you actually need in a readable format without confusing you with
a lot of extra junk or buttons. It tells you how far you've gone, how fast you're
going, how fast you've gone, and how long it's taken you to get there. It
also holds up better than any other computer I've had. | | Overall Rating: |
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