CatEye Velo Wireless-CC-VT230W Cycle Computers - Black

When i saw "Made in Japan" printed on the back of the box I've got exited - not many things are made outside of China now days! Unfortunately, did not live up to the expectations. The speed sensor ( the one which you attach to the fork) does not connect to the computer, or/and to the magnet sensor (which you attach to the wheel spokes). I've tried everything - replaced the battery of the speed sensor, changed different positions of both the magnet and the sensor,moved them up and down to ensure alignment, moved from right to left side of the front fork and reversed back, but always same result - not working. I bought this to use it on a commuting bike which has rather wide tyres (more like a MTB) and therefore has wider forks to accommodate this size of tyres, which obviously makes the distance between the magnet and the sensor greater than 5mm as recommended on the manual. If this is the reason ( I'm just guessing) not to pick up any signal, then the manufacturer and Amazon should have stated in the user manual that is not suitable for certain type of bikes. I have used all sorts of trackers from unbranded to Topeak on all sorts of bikes from road bikes to MTB and have some minor problems long the way, especially after a while they need re-adjustments, but this is the first device ever to fail new from the box. This is disappointing as i have some friends which are quite happy with other products of this brand....may be is just my luck!?Update: Managed to get signal by shortening the distance between spokes magnet and speed sensor. First, I've twisted the sensor in so i can get it closer to the spokes - it worked but it was still loosing signal because the distance was still more than 10mm. Then i watched i brilliant idea on YouTube - i have doubled up the size of the magnet by simply attaching another small magnet on the top of it. This reduced the gap with another 3mm. The signal is more steady now, but still needs re-adjusting from time to time especially when you ride on a bumpy surfaces. Yes, i have managed to get it working but i shouldn't been doing all this DIY stuff, therefore my score remains negative!

Having used a previous model I thought this would be an ideal repalcement when I managed to lose the last one. Works well and has an easy-to-read display, however, I was initially flummoxed by the speed readings being very slow to update, or sometimes just sitting at 0.0mph. The distance being measured was also not correct. Well, it turns out that many flashing LED lights emit RF noise when the flash, and this intetupts the signal to the computer. If you use flashing lights, you may need to move them some distance away from the computer, to prevent interference! Turns out this is mentioned in the online manual, just not the one supplied with the computer itself.

I see there is about 1300 reviews on Amazon for this at the moment, it has a score of almost five stars. I find that utterly unbelievable which makes one question these reviews. Its ok, just ok. If you go into the 1 and 2 star reviews, you will find some correct observations that I agree with. We will see, but I am not convinced it can be that accurate, yes, the instructions are hard to follow, one of the zip ties was faulty so I have now ordered a small bag of these from Screwfix. Its seems very difficult to slide it on & off its mount. It can also measure in MPH which is a positive. The transmitter is on my front fork and the transmitter or magnet part on a spoke - the instructions says these need to be no more than 5mm apart - well that will be impossible on my bike- thats a very narrow distance - they will pass, at least 12mm apart. The only thing I care about is this doesn't ever lock up my front wheel - I don't think it will, but its a bit of a worry as a device (a reflector came loose) locked my front wheel (about 30 years ago) and it nearly killed me - I was fired head over heels off my bike, but I'm not as bulletproof now. I presume they sell vast Nos of these worldwide. I wouldn't say not to buy this, but its not great either.

If like me you track your rides on Strava (or similar app) from your phone that's sitting in your rear pocket, then this is perfect for giving you basic info as you cycle along. Speed, max speed, average speed, distance and time all measured and can be viewed at the touch of the easy to reach single button on the front. In terms of accuracy, I set up.my 700 x 25c wheels as per the instructions and it's absolutely spot on. Average speed and distance match my Strava so no complaints at all. Used in rain also and no issues yet.

This was easy enough to install and not totally dissimilar to a previous Cateye bike computer which wasn't wireless like this unit is.It seemed to be working fine when I initially tried it in the house by spinning the front wheel but on my ride the next morning it just seemed to display a random speed for an indefinite of time which seemed to far out of accuracy to be correct, for example it was showing 4mph when I was certainly traveling somewhere between 15-18mph.I thought that it might just be because I hadn't mounted the unit properly or that the sensor may have been too far from the magnet, however over the next couple of days when I have used my bike for my commute (along a mixture of town & country roads) I found that it still behaved erratically to the point that it was just useless and annoying.The return process was simple enough though as it was bought through Amazon Prime.I went for a refund rather than an exchange as I don't want to go through another pointless time wasting exercise.My other Cateye purchases have all been great so I was disappointed that this one didn't work as it should.Maybe I'll look at another brand next time.