Just fitted a new Cateye Velo 9 to replace the bike computer on the Planet X that broke a few weeks ago. I would have bought a Velo 7, which looks exactly the same and has two less functions, but the 9 came up on an Amazon sale and worked out a bit cheaper.
I like these. They’re very accurate once calibrated, easy to read at a glance and simple to use. I only actually need the distance function.
Certainly, I can’t see myself using the ‘calories burned’ and ‘carbon offset’ functions that I now have. I doubt I’ll find myself wondering how much carbon dioxide I’ve spared the atmosphere from by cycling instead of driving a car. Because I don’t cycle as an alternative to driving, 99% of the time. It’s all about doing time and distance on the bike, not getting from A to B.
But just for fun I calculate that, if I’d used a car instead of a bike since January 2015, in doing so I’d have burned something like 1850 litres of petrol, which at £1.20 a litre comes to about £2225. But I’d certainly have saved some time.
In other news, I’ve fitted the Cannondale with new titanium stem bolts. The old steel ones had a hint of surface rust and of course – these ones are lighter. They’re beautifully machined, I must say.
I’m not sure how many grams lighter the Cannondale is, for having new aluminium cage bolts and titanium stem bolts. 40 maybe? Not many. But it’s more of a hobby really, shaving small quantities of weight off your bike.