I just received the Blackburn Delphi 6.0 earlier this week, and I've already put it through a few rides. I'm upgrading from a Cateye Astrale 8 that I've had for a long time. I've started training with a heart rate monitor more seriously lately, and I thought having a single integrated unit to handle both features would be great. I almost bought the Delphi 5.0 a while ago, but decided to hold out for the 6.0 to get the nifty altimeter features.

Here are my impressions about my new computer, good and bad...

Pros:

- The mounting bracket system is very clever, and seems better that the Cateye bracket I was used to. Changeble soft platic shims line the bracket clamp, changing the fit for different handlebar diameters. 3 different thicknesses are included, which chould accomodate everything from skinny aerobar computer mounts to oversized road handlebars.

- The altimeter function is great. The altitude measurement is solid and seems very accurate. The percent grade reading acts sensibly, even though it lags a little (this is explained in the manual). The distance climbed at the end of a ride agrees very well with topographic software, and works far better than the GPS-based solution I had been using.

- The Lap feature is great for capturing statistical snapshots of particular segments of your ride. Had a big hill on your route, and want to know how much you climbed and how fast you averaged up the grade? The Delphi makes it really easy to see those sections taken out of the whole. Up to 20 laps can be recorded. I think of them less as "laps" and more as "intervals".

- The backlight feature is very cool. I've always just done without computer info at night before...but this way, I don't have to. I'm sure it kills batteries, but it's nice to have.

Cons:

- The average speed algorithm seems a little flaky. It seems to read ay least 0.1 mph slower than one would get by simply dividing distance by ride time. My Cateye always agreed well with the calculated value, but the way the Delphi is figuring the average must be different. This is liveable, and seems to be less of a problem on routes without a lot of stopping.

- The max heart rate reading can get ruined by frequent "spikes", so that the real Max HR is unknown. Finishing a ride, it's possible that the max HR will show something unrealistic like 235, probably due to a signal glitch or some interference. Then, you have no way of knowing what the true value is. These spikes don't affect the average, however. I should mention that I've seen this behavior on both of the standalone HRMs I've had before...so it's not unique to the Delphi.

- The cadendce sensor was hard to mount so that the magnet was close enough to the sensor. I had to put the magnet very close to the end of the crank, because the crank arm is close enough to the chainstay at that point. But mounted there, the magnet covers the back side of the pedal spindle. If you have pedals which require a hexkey from the back side to remove, that could be a problem. They could have remedied that by making the cadence magnet a little thicker. For comparison, my Cateye crank magnet was mounted in the middle of the arm with no problem.

- The wire from the cadence-enabled bracket to the cadence sensor is very long. This may be good for putting it out on aerobars or something, and I admit that too long is better than too short. But I have a foot or more of extra cable to try to hide around my shifter cable housings, and it's hard to tuck that slack away. And I have a large bike frame with plenty of tube real estate to spare.

- Unlike my standalone HRMs, the Delphi doesn't calculate calories used. Not that those numbers are ever accurate anyway, but it would be nice for ride-to-ride comparison.

General Thoughts

Overall, I think it's a great computer. The negatives above all are really minor issues, and I haven't found a computer yet that offers as much for such a reasonable price. There's a lot more to tell than I can include in a review like this. I'm just trying to hit the big highlights (and lowlights). But definitely, no regrets on this end for buying it.
4 stars

I have had my Blackburn Delphi 6.0 for six months and have put on thousands of miles and tens of thousands of feet in vertical gain. I upgraded from an older Vetta model. Since I do a lot of climbing the vertical gain and percent grade features were a major attraction for me. The operations of all Delphi computers are simulated in detail by an excellent interactive program on Blackburn's website. This was a major selling point. I could "use" the computer before I bought it. It eliminated unexpected surprises--I knew exactly what I was getting. The ability to utilize customer service, if needed, was also important to me. VDO, for example, is a German company with no U.S. offices. They have a Germany customer service telephone number you can call, but they only speak German. This might change in the future, but this was the case at the time I made the purchase.

I am 45 years old. I raced when I was in college but now ride for fitness and enjoyment. I don't ride fast but regularly climb 3,000 to 4,000 feet in a single ride each weekend. I was not looking for a "performance" computer, rather just something to keep track of the basics that are important to me: speed, vertical gain, distance, % grade. To that end, I do not use some of the advanced features such as laps and heart rate.

- I found the computer relatively easy to set up and learn. It is fairly easy to navigate while riding. I won't spend too much time on navigation because every one has their own like and dislikes. Go to the Blackburn website and navigate the interactive program for yourself. Suffice to say that, in general, I am satisfied with the operation of the unit.

- The wireless transmitter and the cadence sensor attach with zip-ties. I found this unsightly. The clamps that I have used on Vetta and Cateye products are much nicer. However, I suppose it is difficult to provide a clamp to accomodate such a large variety of tube diameters. But this could be accomplished with shims as it is for the handlebar mounting bracket. However, this is not a reason to not buy this product. I did not have a problem mounting the cadence magnet. Although it is toward the end of the crankarm it is not near the pedal spindle. Every bike will be different. The cadence wire is indeed long (better than too short) but I just bundled up the extra and zip-tied it to the little chainstay brace located between the tire and the bottom bracket.

- Speaking of the wireless transmitter...Coming from a wired system I wasn't sure I'd like the wireless transmitter, but I do. Reception at the computer has been excellent even though I have it on the right side of the handlebars and the transmitter on the left fork.

- The altimeter feature is great. It is why I bought this model. It works by measuring barometric pressure and has a resolution of 3 feet. However, the barometric pressure changes from day to day and so did the "home" altitude as measured on the computer. Calibrating the home altitude each time became annoying. But as I thought about it, I realized I really don't care about the altitude...I just wanted to know the CHANGE in altitude as expressed in total vertical gain. So now I just zero the vertical gain and go!

- The vertical gain and % grade feature are wonderful for knowing more about the road you are on. I am training for a century ride that has almost 10,000 feet of climbing and grades as much as 20%. These features help me to know if I am training properly. In my experience, the vertical gain measurement has an accuracy of +/- 5%. Occasionally I'll see measurements as much as +/- 10%.. This is definitely within the tolerance of most electronic instruments and I'm sure that slight variations in barometric pressure between the start and finish of your ride contibute to the difference. My point is that this device will give you a very close vertical gain measurement but it won't be exact. The current technology has limitations but it is FAR better than not having this measurement at all . Another important point is that this device measures ALL vertical gain. There are units on the market that will not measure gains less than 30 feet. I think that is a bad idea. For example, if you were riding a century that had a rolling topography and within each mile there were two 25 foot rises (a reasonable scenario), there would be 5,000 feet of unrecorded vertical gain! I appreciate that the Blackburn unit records all vertical gain.

- The computer calculates gradient by measuring distance traveled and altitude gained. By necessity, there is a lag in the display of the % grade (it is updated every 5 seconds using data measured over the prior 20 seconds). This is annoying (but necessary) because you want to know what the grade is right at that instant as you feel your legs strain. This feature is finicky. You will find that the reading fluctuates noticably as you climb (the more grade, the more fluctuation). I speculate that this is because of two reasons: First, roads never rise in a straight line--they are wavy. Second, the steeper the grade the more riders tend to not ride in a straight line. They wiggle off to the left and then to the right. This will affect distance traveled and hence affect the % grade measurement. The main point is that this device will give you a good ballpark measurement. Don't expect it to be exact. But again, it is far better than not having the measurement at all. On a small side note, the % grade pegs out at 20%. There are a small number of riders out there that ride roads with gradients exceeding 20% and it would be nice if it could be measured.

- The distance measurement, when programmed with the correct wheel size, seems to be accurate within a few hundreths of a mile (verified with a gps unit).

- I have not used the heart rate moniter, but my wife has. It's operation is straightforward and seems to work fine. She comfirmed the presence of the "spikes" mentioned in an earlier review.

- The computer seems to be durable. I have accidentally dropped it onto the garage floor a couple of times and it still works fine.

- During one ride I was caught in rainstorm for about two hours. Toward the end of the ride I noticed that the display would not respond to commands. Closer inspection at home revealed that water had gotten into the unit. This was not a surprise as the rain was heavy and water had once gotten into my old Vetta unit (which eventually dried out and recovered). Although I figured that the unit would eventually recover, it is still unnerving because you can't be so sure. The owner's manual says that if this happens to contact customer support. I emailed them my story and in three days (I wish it had been more quicky) I received a reply. The remedy was to remove the battery cover and let it dry out. Blackburn wouldn't say whether or not water would ruin the computer, but as it turns out the unit did recover only needing a new battery. If you ride in the rain on a regular basis you might want to consider protecting the computer from water. This story also reinforces the need to consider customer service when deciding on a product.

While waiting for my Delphi to dry out I had to consider that the unit was ruined and I might have to buy another one. I actually looked at other companies and their different models again to see if I might be more satisfied with something else. I came to the conclusion that I would buy another Delphi 6.0. This is the greatest compliment I can give this product. 4 stars

I really wanted to like this computer, but the manufacturer was never able to send me one that worked. The first one drained the battery in about two weeks (several times). The second had a weak transmitter/receiver that couldn't complete the signal between the fork mount and the handlebar of my 64 cm. frame. On all of units I tried, the chiclet keys were difficult to operate (at least for my big hands), and with the third one I often had to use my left hand to get the buttons to work at all. It was a bit like trying to program a cheap VCR while riding down the road.

Device does have nice display, HRM and altimeter were generally accurate. Mounting system worked well (except for cadence unit, which was not worth the bother). But....

When descending at over 40 MPH, speed readings were wildly inaccurate. If placed near laptop computer, speed readings went berserk. Max HR was never accurate. In rolling coastal hills of California, gradient was never accurate. Lap feature was the main reason I bought device, but it was frustrating to use because on a continuous ride, stop/start button had to be hit twice in between splits, once to stop old split, once to start new one. Given problems with buttons, I almost never got through a ride without some problem. Device mounts on left of stem, so right handers have to reach across stem, making it easy to hit mode button in addition to start/stop button.

In short, might be usable for small person with small frame and small hands who doesn't mind stopping occasionally to use device. But it am a big guy who rides hard, and this thing drove me crazy. 1 star

The Pros are this product has alot of functionality for the price. The odometer and heart rate functions were very accurate. The set-up and operations get easier with use (first few times you will need to refer to the manual). The manual is well written and thorough. The cons are the altimeter which is far from accurate. 4 stars

Everything you need, great manual, very good quality. Extremely cool backlight - the digits are bright and the background is dark.

Heart rate, altitude, cadence, speed and time on one screen! 5 stars