On Father's day, (a celebration when American kids try to show affection to their fathers who they would not listen to the rest of the year), my son gave me a bell bicycle computer. It is a little watch-sized device that mounts on the handlebars of my bicycle with nylon cable ties and the magnet sensor combination attaches to the spokes and fork.
I am a pretty simple minded fellow. I am suspicious of anything I can't hear whir tick, or see the gears move. All I want in a bike is to get to work and back, I am not a recreational biker who waits all week for Sunday morning so I could go for a two-hour racing ramble; but it was a thoughtful gift so I cut open the package and put it on.
Install.
It was easy to install. Cable ties are simple and the sensor arrangement was no problem. I needed to fiddle a little bit to get the magnet on the spokes to be close enough to the sensor without hitting the sensor but that was only a moment's adjustment.
Programming.
I had problems programming it. I read the instruction manual very carefully. (Meaning I opened the little book in English and Spanish and skimmed the pages two or three times being sure to read at least 40% of the words and look at each picture). I first had to put the battery in and that was OK. Next, there were settings like what was my wheel size and that was just by finding a code in the book and entering that code, which I got correctly by pushing right and left buttons.
After that, it was downhill. I was supposed to put my height and weight in next but got confused and passed that feature. I tried to go back but couldn't figure out how. I tried to take the battery out as that often resets many electronic devices but the battery was now held with a spring, and looked like it would need a tool and engineering degree to get it out.
What did I want it for anyway?
The height and weight were to calculate my calories used and my fat burned. I don't care.I am not worried about losing calories or burning fat, (I can fit in the same pants my teenage kids wear and not many fifty-six-year-old men can say that). All I want is to know how far I was riding to work and how far home. I have a wristwatch so the clock that I couldn't set didn't matter.
I gave up programming it, after all, I am pretty simple and those extra fun things are beyond me. I just clicked it on the holder and bicycled to work.
Surprise! I like it!
It was fun to see my miles per hour as I was racing along and to see my average speed when I got to work. This will give me a measure to use to develop my progress and set a few goals. I felt gratified to see how many miles I had ridden and was surprised at what my top speed going downhill. I can see that the bell bicycle computer is going to make riding to work a little more fun.
I am a pretty simple minded fellow. I am suspicious of anything I can't hear whir tick, or see the gears move. All I want in a bike is to get to work and back, I am not a recreational biker who waits all week for Sunday morning so I could go for a two-hour racing ramble; but it was a thoughtful gift so I cut open the package and put it on.
Install.
It was easy to install. Cable ties are simple and the sensor arrangement was no problem. I needed to fiddle a little bit to get the magnet on the spokes to be close enough to the sensor without hitting the sensor but that was only a moment's adjustment.
Programming.
I had problems programming it. I read the instruction manual very carefully. (Meaning I opened the little book in English and Spanish and skimmed the pages two or three times being sure to read at least 40% of the words and look at each picture). I first had to put the battery in and that was OK. Next, there were settings like what was my wheel size and that was just by finding a code in the book and entering that code, which I got correctly by pushing right and left buttons.
After that, it was downhill. I was supposed to put my height and weight in next but got confused and passed that feature. I tried to go back but couldn't figure out how. I tried to take the battery out as that often resets many electronic devices but the battery was now held with a spring, and looked like it would need a tool and engineering degree to get it out.
What did I want it for anyway?
The height and weight were to calculate my calories used and my fat burned. I don't care.I am not worried about losing calories or burning fat, (I can fit in the same pants my teenage kids wear and not many fifty-six-year-old men can say that). All I want is to know how far I was riding to work and how far home. I have a wristwatch so the clock that I couldn't set didn't matter.
I gave up programming it, after all, I am pretty simple and those extra fun things are beyond me. I just clicked it on the holder and bicycled to work.
Surprise! I like it!
It was fun to see my miles per hour as I was racing along and to see my average speed when I got to work. This will give me a measure to use to develop my progress and set a few goals. I felt gratified to see how many miles I had ridden and was surprised at what my top speed going downhill. I can see that the bell bicycle computer is going to make riding to work a little more fun.
