This past week I bought a pair of electric bikes for my wife and I. I didn’t want to go and spend big bucks on another bike computer. I went to performance bikes and they had a few on sale for $20. Now, that’s cheap. They even had one for $14.99, but I figured I can do better than that and found a wireless Bell bike computer for $19.99. I stopped by another walmart and found the schwinn 12 and 17 function computer for $10 and $15, respectively and decided to take the schwinn 12 func bike computer for $10.

Got home, and set it up on the e-bike. It took about half an hour or so because I actually read the manual carefully. I haven’t even ridden the bike yet, but I took it out on a ride the next day and the verdict is:

it does basically the samething all my bike computer does. I don’t need gps or temperature or altimeter functions. If I need GPS, I’ll put the gps computer on there from my other bike…

I took the e-bike off onto a dirt trail and the ebike was rattling around, but the bike computer had no problems keeping the speed, time, etc. I had no intermitten issues with the bike computer and it’s sensor.

The only issue I had with it is that behavior on how to reset the trip computers distance / avg time / max speed. On my cateye, I press the two buttons to reset the current ride (dist to 0, avg time to 0, max speed to 0). When I do this on the Schwinn bike computer, it reset the entire computer and I had to setup the computer again. The way to do it is slightly different: you have to go into the trip computer screen and hold (I think) the right button for 2 sec and you reset the current trip.

For $10 it’s a steal. If I didn’t need it right away, I would have bought it at Amazon – no tax and it’s cheaper here!

I’ll recommend this cyclometer.

Gary
Rating: 5 / 5

Today I had my first ride with it, and it performed great for such an inexpensive product. I rode to the soccer field, which is exactly 5 miles from my place (as measured on Google maps and by car). Lo and behold, the little computer measured exactly 5 miles when I got there. I was impressed. It gives the current, average, and maximum speeds, odometer and trip meter, the riding time, and has a regular watch. It tells you whether you’re speeding up or down, and whether you are currently above or below your average speed. The ONLY thing I miss on this unit is a thermometer. It’s perfect apart from that.

If I wasn’t in a hurry, I would have bought the 17-function Schwinn one that is here on Amazon, since it costs a little less than I paid for the 12-function one and measures temperature — although I don’t know how accurate that is in direct sunlight anyway. I don’t care for measures of calories and stuff like that, since I don’t believe the manufacturers know my metabolism.

Rating: 5 / 5

The display shows your speed in large letters and has a selectable smaller readout for whatever function you choose. I wind up having it show speed and time all the time. If you’re satisfied with a simple, cheap speedometer and only occasionally use the other functions, this is the one.

Here are some hints that fairly eliminate most of the small complaints.

1. Install the magnet close to the wheel’s hub and adjust it (twist the sensor in) so that the magnet passes as close as possible without touching.

2. Remove the computer when the bike is not in use. It has a quick release; store it inside or in your pocket and the battery will last.

3. Leaving it outside in direct sunlight may cause a dark splotch on the screen. This is normal for led displays, and goes away in a few seconds. Also see hint #2.

4. Read the manual to learn how to reset it (which buttons to hold down), and to calibrate it for your wheel size.

The only issues I’ve had: the buttons will eventually get some “play” if you use them a lot and become contrary, and I need to be careful to secure it firmly in the quick release mount (so that it doesn’t fall out when I hit a bump).
Rating: 5 / 5

Wheel size must be entered when the unit is first power on. This is the circumference of the wheel in millimeters. A conversion table is provided in the instructions; however, it can also be calculated as:

Diameter in inches times 25.4 = Diameter in millimeters

Diameter in millimeters times 3.1416 (Pi) = Circumference in millimeters

Example:

22″ x 25.4 = 559mm

559mm x 3.1416 = 1756mm

I really like the scan feature, which cycles the display through distance, maximum speed, average speed, and trip timer. Even in “scan mode” speed is always displayed. I found the instructions unclear in explaining how to place the unit into scan mode; however, I learned through trial & error that you press the right button multiple times until you see “SCAN” displayed below the little man on the bicycle. Then press & hold the right button for a few seconds and it should start to cycle through the displays properly.

Speed comparator shows a “+” if you’re traveling faster than your average speed or “-” if you’re traveling slower than your average speed.

Finally, another feature that I really like is the fact that the unit powers itself off after five minutes of inactivity to save the battery. The unit can also be removed from the mount on the handlebars for storage when not in use.
Rating: 5 / 5