Customer Reviews

VDO MC1.0+ Wireless Altimeter/Cycle Computer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased the VDO MC1.0+
unfortunately the first unit had a bit of a problem.
The temperature reading was about 35 degrees higher than the actual temperature.
Let me say that Bikesomewhere really rocks they issued me an RMA and within the week I had my new unit. Thanks again for making the online buying experience very pleasant.

The setup was fairly straight forward on the computer. The install guide is all done with pictures so it's easy to follow. I will say that they need to state which is up and which is down on the sending unit that you attach to your fork. The picture stinks and if you place it upside down the computer has a hard time detecting the signal.

The initial setup of the computer is fairly straight forward once you realize there is a 3rd button on the rubber piece that says MC1.0+

My only complaint and it's a minor one is that setting the base elevation took forever. The digits move at only 10ft at a time. My elevation here in Colorado is 6800ft so it took a long time for the computer to get up to that value.

Once I got thru the defective unit, the physical installation and the calibration it was time to take a ride and see how well it all worked.

The trip distance time all worked as any normal bicycle computer. The temperature reading is nice to have.

The altimeter the real selling point on this device is very cool. I took it out on a familiar trail and it is very easy to read. there is a readout of %grade that changes as you climb it also records your steepest climb as well as your average climb grade. This all works great.
The computer also keeps a record of how many feet you have climbed for the trip and over all.

The computer recorded that I climbed 1500 feet for my ride and looking at some of the information I have on the trail this is very close to being the actual elevation gain.

So this product seems to work as advertised. I hope that the initial quality holds up to the test of time. I will try and update this review in a years time so you can see how it's holding up.

Just a quick update on this product. I've had it for about 18 months and it has worked flawlessly. It has been nice seeing my elevation gains and incline grade. I have had to replace the batteries in the unit but other than it has been free from any kind of problems.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for altimeter features in a bike computer.
One nit picky thing is that the elevation that you are at is very large in the display taking up a lot of real estate, they should make that smaller IMHO. Its not all that important to know what your elevation currently is. I'm more intrested in how much I've climbed or what the grade is than knowing that.

This is a great cyclometer. One thing I learned while setting wheel size is to use the method of marking your front tire and the floor where they meet and moving forward through one revolution and precisely marking that spot on the floor/ground where the line on the tire hits its low point. HERE'S THE TIP: make sure you're on the bike when you try this as that pressure will change the circumference of your tire! Also, it's important to be on a uniformly hard surface, and make your line as straight as possible. My road bike tires are listed as 700x23C, which is 2133 cm (84"). When I measured without my weight on the bike I calculated 2118 cm (83 13/32"). With my weight on the bike, it measured 2103.4 cm (82 13/16")!

I purchased this advanced bike computer because I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and like to know the gradients, temperature, and altitude, features only available on the more expensive models.

It does everything advertised with high accuracy. Note that because it's wireless it can accumulate mileage when not in use, if it comes in proximity of an electronic disturbance, although it's a rare occurrence.

The only minor quibble I have is the shiny area around the display, which glares in the bright sun, and the awkward button positions.

Overall, I think it's the best bike computer of its class available today.

For its size, cost, and setup -- this thing is great. I love this unit mainly for its barometric altimeter and nice large number display. The absolute altitude is not too useful because things flucuate with the weather. But over the course of a ride its usually stable enough to tell me a pretty accurate climbing total, which is what i'm mostly interested in. It also provides slope information to, so when you can't go up the hill -- it will tell you why. :P

Things I like:
its a basic bike computer with functions you expect, speed, distance, time, averages, etc.

Its a decent altitude measure, which is great if you train on hills. Even if you don't know how long the road is, if you know the elevation target you can gauge how much more is left.

Things missing:
Any sort of download capacity. You can't capture ride info to a computer or anything for recording progress. That said, if you really wanted to, you could record information in a (gasp) notebook at the end of your ride.

Its not a gps -- so no tracklogs or anything.

It doesn't do heart rate.

It does not (I *think*) have a cadence sensor hookup.

Things I don't like:
Using the buttons and menus. Luckily I don't want to do much with it except re-zero at the start and occasionally switch from average speed, total distance and total altitude. Setting up the unit and navigating the menus is not intuitive. But its easy enough and so far -- no bike computer I've seen does this well.

The handlebar strap is rather frail, and the unit clips into the mount *hard* -- and drains the batteries when its in the unit. So I remove it when not riding to preserve the battery which works well. The problem is it was so hard to remove, that twisting it that hard always felt like I was going to break the mount strap. I solved this by using a file to strip down the "nub" on the mount so that it clicks in easier. This basically solves this problem, and I recommend doing so -- just don't make it too loose, as you can't easily put the plastic material back after you file it.

Bottom line:
despite its shortcomings, I really like this unit, enough that when I lost the head unit I purchased a replacement rather than getting a newer flashier gps powered device.

I've started biking again, and, living in San Francisco, I wanted an altimeter to see just how much up and down I was really doing. I also use my bike to commute, and was interested in tracking the daily distance over various routes.

My daily commute includes a trip on BART, and that, unfortunately, is for me the downfall of this device. It is somehow picking up speed readings from the train. Imagine my surprise when the first day I used it, I took it out of my pocket when I got out of the station, only to discover my top speed was 69mph. I suppose I could that to impress the chicks, but I'd rather know what I've done on the bike. I was equally surprised though to find that on the same trip, the altimeter was accurate to about 20' (+- 5% overall), which I think is pretty good considering I had just traveled through a tube at 69mph a couple hundred feet below sea level.

I'll probably trade it for the wired version. I really like the convenience and cleanliness of the wireless, but the reception from the BART totally screws up my trip/total distance and average/top speed. If I weren't taking a train every day, (Or if I could just turn it off) I'd rank it higher... It seems to perform very well under normal conditions. Controls are easy to use, the numbers are readable and the layout is clean while showing a lot of information in a small package. The only real negative for me, besides the wireless interference, is that there is has no backlight, and I'm often riding in the dark, but this is minor... I can read it ok when passing under a streetlight. Also, speed is measured in .5 increments (not tenths). I don't mind this, but it seems to annoy some people in other reviews I've read.

If you're not taking BART, (and you're probably not), it seems to be an accurate and reliable instrument at a decent price.

Pros: Gives temperature, grade, altitude plus more
Cons: Altitude not always perfectly accurate but can be adjusted

I've had this computer for a few years and it's always worked well.

Lost the main computer head on a ride tonight because of a few minor bumps. I like the functions other than an altimeter requiring constant recalibration. But the mountings are just really low quality. Lost the main computer tonight and now what do I do now with this after paying $120 plus?

Update:

I contacted Amazon about this problem and they immediately sent me a new replacement unit. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING. I will continue to use Amazon for many purchase in the future. Thanks Amazon.com!!!!

However, I still think the mounting method for the transmitter and computer head piece should be enhanced because these thin wire ties that hold them seem very vulnerable to breakage. At least use a thicker wire tire VDO. These thin wire ties are risky for securing the relative costly components.

This bike computer is very helpful and easy to use and read. Also great as it can come with us if we stop and leave our bikes. Gives good information that is useful but doesn't overdo it. We like it and would recommend it.

love this computer. plethora of data, easily accessed while riding. if only it had button to order smoothie at end of ride. i live and ride in the mountains and weather conditions change often. home altitude needs to be reset quite often, but process is simple. i have checked distance and climbing against google and computer is very accurate. great choice! but can't someone come up with a better attachmentk solution that zip ties?

I have been using this for about a month and so far it works really well. The setup and installation were easy. So far the mount seems sturdy - it clicks securely in place and does not come out easily. While this works for me, others who want to remove the unit regularly may not like it.

The altimeter is quite sensitive (it even registers the change in elevation when you lay your bike down). The readings are pretty accurate - I have compared them to one friend's Garmin Edge 800 and to another friend's Polar wristwatch. Over the course of a ride with over 4000 feet of climbing, the reading for total feet of climbing is less than 100 feet different. Actual elevations have been less than 50 feet different.

I have used this on two night rides where a handlebar-mounted light was also used and had no problem with it.

The only issue I have had is that actual elevation sometimes fluctuates over extended periods (several days) when the bike is parked but that may be due to changing atmospheric conditions. The instructions even give the procedure to re-calibrate the unit due to changing weather.