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Item #5 in the top 100 in: Sports & Outdoors- Sports Electronics & Gadgets- Cyclometers

Blackburn Delphi 3.0 Bicycle Cyclometer

Blackburn Delphi 3.0 Bicycle Cyclometer

Made by Blackburn

Sales Rank on Amazon.com: 32116

Lowest Price: $38.95

Average Review: 3.5 stars

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Amazon.com Reviews

Average Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

The following review received 3 helpful votes out of 3 total votes:
Review Date: 2008-01-27
"Find it at your local bicycle shop -- well worth it!!!"

FINALLY one of the lower-priced cyclometers that delivers everything one of these should, and IT WORKS.

After being fed up and frustrated with other cyclometers that had magnets that worked only intermittently, or had difficult non-intuitive function navigation, or had wireless connections that seemed to lose their connection, this one was a joy!

The setup was simple. It comes with a HUGE user's booklet (really multiple languages in one, but each section is about 1/4" thick). The downside is, the print is really small and sometimes creeps into the binding area. But it's loaded with good info and lots of step-by-step picture diagrams.

The cyclometer includes 2 magnet sensors (for odometer/speed and cadence), and CAN BE INSTALLED TO WORK OFF THE REAR WHEEL (great for trainers). In fact, I'd recommend that, the wires are perfect length with no need to tie up excess. I installed it on a mountain bike that I'm using indoors with a trainer (it's wintertime), but it will install just as nicely on a street or racer bike.

Watch out for the flat magnet that goes on your pedal, the glue isn't that good and it will pop out. I used cloth "gaffer tape" to tape all the wires down, and even put a small piece right over that sensor magnet. (The gaffer tape does not interfere with the magnetic pickup.) (Get gaffer tape from any theatrical supply place, much better than electrical or duct tape.)

The LCD panel is big and easy to read, and after familiarizing yourself with the manual, you'll find the 4 buttons (3 front, 1 on top) become intuitive.

This one is a great bargain for under $40. If Amazon doesn't have it in stock, FIND IT. It's well worth it. 5 stars
The following review received 1 helpful votes out of 1 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-10-12
"OK"

I've owned this for 4-5 months now. I've been challenged in getting the cadence and speed sensors to pick up and can't seem to figure it out. First of all, the cadence sensor has to be real close to the magnet on the crank, but they don't give you enough rubber padding to make this work, so I had to rig my own thing--then I lost the magnet on the crank and it hasn't worked for months. I suppose I could replace it, but it kind of ticks me off. Lately, the speed sensor is going in and out and I can't seem to figure out why. The magnet on the wheel is right next to the sensor, but it doesn't pick up and then when I'm riding, it will just start to work. Maybe it's the cold weather, because this wasn't a problem all summer. Anyway, this computer is OK, but I'll probably buy a different one next spring. 3 stars
The following review received 1 helpful votes out of 1 total votes:
Review Date: 2008-09-13
"Better products out there."

I bought the Delphi 3.0 because a local sporting warehouse was having a sale - I thought $11 for a new cyclometer with a cadence function sounded like a good deal, so even though my Cateye Mity 8 was working fine, I switched. I wish I hadn't.

My main gripe with my Blackburn is the delay - my Cateye (now on another bicycle) reacts instantaneously to changes in speed, starting and stopping. That instantaneous feedback is crucial - you know exactly when you've started to slack and can pick up the pace to get back on track. My Blackburn, on the other hand, has a delay of at least two seconds. Every time I come to a stoplight and put my feet on the ground, my Blackburn will read '8 mph' or the like.

Other problems:
Even with the magnets properly aligned I often get erroneous readings. I'll be going 25 mph and all of the sudden it will show me going 14 and then jump back to 25.

The buttons often don't react or overreact. Either you press a button and nothing happens or you press a button and it jumps 2-3 screens (making you have to rotate again.) This is especially aggravating because a lot of functions require you to press and hold the button. I still can't figure out why you have to press and hold to display cadence - a.) the button doesn't do anything but turn the cadence display on or off and b.) it's ridiculous that the default is to not display the cadence, that area of the screen isn't used for anything else, which brings me to my next gripe...

The cadence display often disappears. It just decides to turn off every now and then. Again, it wouldn't be so much of a problem if you only had to tap the button to get it back on (instead of pressing and holding) or if the buttons just always worked to begin with.

It freezes. It's frozen on my twice while switching from the A to the B bike. I've just decided to that this feature is no longer usable unless I want to risk losing all of my data again.

It only has one trip feature. I really miss the two trip features from my Cateye.

The wire is ridiculously long. You'd have to be riding a 65 cm time trial bike to use up all the wire here. I have the wire wrapped around my cable housing as much as it will go, my Cannondale's thick downtube twice, and it still gets bunched up around my chainstay. It looks terrible and what's worse is that it adds unnecessary weight. The wire is also considerably thicker (and heavier) than my Cateye's.

It does have two advantages over my Cateye:
1. The cadence feature.
2. The ability to program in your odometer. This is especially useful for when it crashes.

It's still on my bike and I don't have any plans to take it off, but I certainly won't be buying another Blackburn in the future. 2 stars
The following review received 1 helpful votes out of 1 total votes:
Review Date: 2008-09-13
"Good computer, but hard to get on curved handebars"

Computer works great, but I have a Giant with curved and flared handlebars. having a hard time getting it mouned to that still. 4 stars

Review Date: 2007-05-08
"Works Great! Installation Instructions need some work though..."

I had to find clearer instructions from a competitors website, because the Blackburn instructions were just too vague.

Once installed though, the 3.0 gives me (a novice/casual rider) everything I need. (Speed, Miles, Time...) 4 stars