Award Winning Global Tri-Sport Shop
Useful dual functions make it great for navigating route guides
Out of the box, this unit had a display that was virtually unreadable. Removing the battery, leaving it for 10 minutes and then booting it back up again cured the problem. Then we were presented with a crystal clear, information-packed display which can be read from a distance.The mountings were easy and quick to install, and the unit simple to set up and program. The altimeter thought we were on Everest though, and wandered back up there by itself after a few days. But... this is a well made unit that works a treat, and once you get into the ins and outs of it, it's difficult to find anything better for the money.
An intuitive unit, though the altimeter is a little optimistic
With a large easy-to-read display and a fairly intuitive setting up sequence, the CS300 with bike-mounted cadence and speed sensors is a corker. The main unit is a wrist-watch device, but the handlebar mount is simple to fit and doesn't bend the wrist strap too much - someone at Polar has really thought about that aspect of the design, and we like it. The fact that this unit is at home on the bike as it is off will really suit someone who is after a no-nonsense HRM that they can wear as a watch (without the usual bulk) for running, swimming, walking, in the gym or strapped to the mount on the bars. Neither HID lights nor LED lights caused interference, and the Wearlink coded chest strap is the most comfortable yet secure strap in this test. The functions are more or less exactly what is needed for a mid - to high-end system, with interval training and programmed zone training easy to use and switch between on the move. After your excercise, transferring data from the watch to a PC (or your settings from your PC to the unit) is fairly simple with speakers and a microphone, and you can download the free software needed. It's easy to use and the free software is good - certainly among the best for regular training monitoring.
Easy to read and use with a fantastic chest sensor and interference-free top notch performance.
Sleek, black and moody. This is what a bike computer should look like and it'd happily grace the bars of even the most bling pro. The V3 is packed with features too, delivering both cadence and heart rate, while the strap and sensor are included in the price, making the whole package extremely good value.Set-up is easy with the computer being bar or stem mountable, with the combined speed-cadence sensor fitting neatly to your rear stay. Rear wheel sensing has the additional plus that you can use it on your turbo. Speed, cadence and heart rate synching are all seamless and extremely robust against interference.
Although it doesn't offer a download option perse, the appearance of training data recall, including heart rate, isn't bad. My only gripes are that both the display and the buttons are a little on the small side.
We already rate the little Strada with wires, but for an extra £15 you can have a wireless unit that is more or less exactly the same diminuitive size - 45x30x12mm. It doesn't have any buttons as such: to operate it and take the easy-to-read dual-line display through the modes you simply press the body of the computer towards the base. Its operation is that simple. If you know your wheel size, you don't have to read the instructions, it's that easy to install.Aside from its simplicity, one of the best things about it is the fact that high powered LED and HID lights did not affect it, it carried on working well no matter how much we tried to interfere with it.
Small but perfectly formed function-packed wireless wonderfulness.
Simply put, the Strada is everything that the general rider could seriously want from a wireless computer, wrapped up in an innovative and unobtrusive package. Tick off the mainstay functions and add in a programmable odometer, auto start/stop, auto power saving mode, pace arrow, and dual wheel size settings - so you can easily swap between bikes - and you've got everything that most riders could realistically ask for a 4.5 x 3 x 1.2cm wireless package. It's also simple to use and set up. Rather than having fiddly buttons, almost the entire screen is one single button that requires little precision - just push an cycle through the computer's functions in sequence. The sensor/transmitter itself is similarly compact, and impressively impervious to interference from other transmitters.
For minimalist, real world, real rider performance, the Strada Wireless can't be beaten
Knog are undoubtedly an innovative brand with some fantastic ideas and some equally curious monikers. However for all the N.E.R.D's many charms, more traditional wireless computers have the edge if value for money is your highest priority.The brand have continued the theme of its lighting range and applied it to computers. Available in a choice of four colours (red, white, blue and black) both head unit and fork sensor are cloaked in medical silicone, which not only makes for an extremely manipulative and secure means of attachment but also provides excellent weather-proofing. It took me eight minutes to install and calibrate the unit for two bikes; such is the intelligence of the design. The only tool required was a Philips screwdriver for the spoke magnet - so remember to take both head and sensor with you when locking in the street.It won't make the tea but there are the usual functions and a few that might pleasantly surprise. There's current, average and maximum speed, a choice of 12/24hr clock, trip and day distance, total riding time, odometer, low battery indicator, backlight and scanning where all the modes rotate on a loop. Relative speed is basically a posh pacer arrow in the form of a bar graph allowing comparison between present output and average speed. Fun, if a little Geeky and something to bore the rest of the ride group with at rest stops.Substantial size and crystal clear display coupled with the backlight means it's a doddle to read which is great news for anyone but particularly time trailists and triathletes using tri bars. Despite using other brands spoke magnets and testing in close proximity to both electricity substations and phase one nuclear power stations, readouts proved consistently accurate. This leads me to conclude the silicone helps block radio interference that drove early wireless models haywire.
Great design and a delight to use but pricey
We're loving Knog's new stuff at the moment, and this super-simple-to-setup computer is no exception.The head unit and sensor block both use their trademark surgical-grade silicon casing, with stretchy tail hooking back on to the body to secure them to the fork and bar.Screw on the wheel magnet (which even fits flat or fat spokes), type in the measured wheel circumference and you're good to go.The head unit can be oriented to work on bars or stem, and you can scroll through the functions manually by pressing the whole unit (great if you have cold, numb hands or thick gloves) or let it auto scroll.The big, easily visible numbers even roll up and over when they change and there's a backlight that comes in handy for after-hours sessions.
Not the cheapest 12-function cordless computer, but simple to set up and use