Review of SIGMA BC1606L DTS Wireless Bicycle Speedometer

SIGMA BC1606L DTS Wireless Bicycle Speedometer
By: Sigma Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 9
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difficult

On: 2008-05-05

almost impossible to attach the front fork sensor, I would not reccommend this otherwise excellent product for the new carbon road bikes.

Strange engineering - but effective

On: 2008-04-27

I have to admit to smiling at some of the comments about mounting the sensors on this computer. The O-ring mounting system is a bit odd. I think wire-ties would be more effective, but I mounted a Trek wireless for my gf and it had its problems too, so Im not sure Ive seen a really well done mounting system yet. I would like to see a system where the mount and the sensor are separate, like my ToPeak seat bag or my tail light. Then lots of sticky, gooey, rubber stuff and zip ties to squeeze the gooey rubber stuff into the EXACT shape of the fork & chain-stay. I like the cadence zip-tie mount better than the speed sensor O-ring mount, but if you mount the speed sensor on a road bike on the left side it works perfectly. (always mount a sensor on the down-side of the wheel spin so if your wheel ingests a stick it will not pull your sensor into the wheel, ruin it and send you flying over the handle bars)

I have a mountain bike and I think this could be mounted successfully on a shocked fork, just drive down the the auto parts store and shell out $2 for an assortment of O-rings. Destroying the device because you cant think outside the box enough to see the mounting gear wasnt intended for the gargantuan forks of a mountain bike is pretty sorry. You could also just take the 2 O-rings supplied, put one on each side of the sensor and zip-tie them together on the back side. If you cant think your way through a simple problem like this please stay away from carbon bikes who have torque specs all over the place that are at very close tolerances. (use Krytox pure Teflon grease to prevent spalling on things like seat-post clamps and seat adjustment screws - or your torque feel will be waaaaay off)

My only beef with this computer is I wish the buttons were marked as I tend to forget which buttons I need to push to reset everything from my last trip and end up trying to read the display in Polish or inadvertently turn off the cadence sensor. There are 4 buttons, M1, M2, S, R... wouldnt kill them to mark the face or offer an optional flange that is marked. Oh, the sensors are very attractive, and have very large (and long-lasting?) batteries, but especially the cadence sensor is HUGE!

I bought the computer and speed sensor for $60 and tax at REI, and spent $16 here and shipping to get the cadence sensor, so this is a great price.(REI sells the cadence capable 1606L, but doesnt sell the cadence sensor - stupid and annoying!) All in, it cost me about $85 and took a week to get the whole system together, but I needed the speed part bad enough I paid the price. Ouch!!! (When your riding partner is also a bike mechanic you have to go along with his RX once and awhile or find another riding partner! :D ) Relative to the Trek sensors, Sigmas magnets are waaaaaay better. All in all it is a very well made system, I just think the mounting could be done better.

Not for mountain bikes with front shocks

On: 2008-03-28

I bought this product in a real store which is entirely independent of Amazon. I decided to write this review just to save others the trouble I had.

This is obviously designed for road bikes without consideration for mountain bikes. Maybe I should have known, but the package didnt say I *couldnt* use it for my mountain bike.

The first problem I had was rotating part of the computer mount 90 degrees by unscrewing very small screws with no tool included for doing so. Luckily I had a screwdriver that was small enough (theyre about the size of glasses screws.)

The second problem, and the deciding factor by far, was installation of the sensor. The sensor is to be held on by a thick O-ring which the installer must first fit into one part of the sensor, then pull around the fork and hook into the other end of the sensor. The first problem with this was that I had to pull back a piece of padding on the sensor to even access the slot to put the ring into. When pulling it back, the padding tore off entirely because it was only hot-glued on and there was no real bond to the case. It fit back on and the pressure of the case against the fork was enough to hold it in place, so I proceeded. Next, the O-ring was entirely too thick for the slot provided. I had to stretch it so much that I thought it was going to snap, and even then I had to poke it into the slot with a screwdriver. Not easy to do when one hand is holding the case and part of the ring and the other is stretching the hell out of the ring. That went in finally, and I put the dislocated padding back on.

Upon trying to wrap the O-ring around the fork, I found that it took considerable force to stretch it. So much so that I couldnt mount the sensor facing the right direction because I couldnt get enough leverage if I did. At some point I was impressed at how strong the sensor was since it looked so cheap. That didnt last long. I heard a little bit of cracking, but I had to rotate the case about 180 degrees so that it was oriented correctly. I heard a lot more cracking as I rotated it. I finally took the sensor off and tried to mount it facing the right way so that I wouldnt have to rotate it. By now the ring was very stretched out, but just as I got it attached to the second slot (which required a finger to put the top part in and a hex wrench to pry the other end in) the entire case split in half. By "split in half" I mean that I was looking right at the *back* of the battery on one half and the bottom of the PC board on the other half. I thought about super gluing it back together for half a second, but then thought that doing so would prevent me from getting my money back.

Im sure this is a great computer, but youre probably better off with a wired sensor that requires bolting on. I say this even if you have a road bike with thin forks because the case + installation system has a major flaw which causes the two poorly-bonded sides of the sensor case to be pulled directly apart. In fact, if I *wanted* to break the case open for some reason, I would choose the two points where the O-ring attaches and would pry it apart. The O-ring does essentially that, so its only a matter of time before the sensor splits on *any* bike.

Sigma Wireless w Cadence

On: 2008-03-19

I generally like this computer but have had a few issues with it:

1. I had issues with the original magnet and the Ksyrium SL spokes; a magnet replacement is fairly cheap and easy though.

2. The cadence reading maximum is 180rpm. On the trainer I do warm-up sprints above this, but for some time thought that my legs just werent moving fast.

3. I always forget which button to press and hold for resetting.

4. The batteries only lasted 11 months.

Poor unsatisfactory

On: 2007-09-22

Id never purchase anything from this website and reccommend that you do not either. The product I paid for had no return and the vender went awol. Amazon did nothing to make it right.

Poor unsatisfactory

On: 2007-09-21

Id never purchase anything from this website and reccommend that you do not either. The product I paid for had no return and the vender went awol. Amazon did nothing to make it right.

Got what I wanted out of it

On: 2007-08-23

Had good results using this. Easy to read, does a good job of minimizing screen clutter. The twist-on/off snap attachment works very well. So far, Id had no wireless problems with the speed and cadence transmitters, but the rubberband ties for the cadence sensor often slips. They do provide cable ties as well though, so this is a minor problem. The cadence sensor is also more finicky for me, it needs less clearance for it to work than the speed sensor.

If you toggle between the two kmph/mph modes, however, the existing distances saved in the memory will NOT convert.

The front bezel scratches easily, especially if you take it off and on your bike often. The buttons can be hard to press sometimes, as they dont feel as positive as I would have liked. The speed readings are divided by .5 kmh/mph intervals. The backlight feature is adequate enough, but dont expect crystal-clear backlighting with this.

Problems with device pairing to sensors

On: 2007-07-15

I have been using this device for about a month now. At first I was very happy. Installing it was a breeze and I couldnt find a problem. I have recently moved to a urban area with long traffic lights. I find that if Im stopped at a traffic light for a few minutes, or take a small break during my ride, the wireless connection is broken between the computer and the sensors. Once the connection is broken I havent found a way to reestablish the connection.

This is my first wireless computer. I do not know if this is a common problem.

Great so far

On: 2007-06-26

Ive only ridden once with this, but its as promised (though I bought it elsewhere), wireless speed & wireless cadence.

The only real negative Ive had is mounting the speed transmitter on my front fork. Its an aero design and I had a tricky time getting it close enough to the spokes without it having a tendency to either fall into or away from the spokes, depending on orientation. I did use a bit of duct tape rolled backwards to increase the friction on the fork, though that wasnt really necessary, as the maiden ride showed that it is sufficiently on the fork. Otherwise, mounting options are good. It fits stem or handlebar orientations. The speed transmitter claims a max range of 30 cm, but it is actually further than that.

It has only two display lines, unfortunately. One is always speed. The other can be stop watch, cadence, average cadence, average speed, etc. The computer supports two bikes (if they have separate transmitters, you need simply to move the comp to the second bike and it picks up automatically).

Although its speed reading is in .5 increments, which I thought would be a problem, its trip distance and average speed both go to 1/100th of a mile, which is fantastic (overall odometer over multiple trips is at the single mile increment). There is a down or up arrow if youre currently substantially below/above average speed. If within about 1 mph, there is a black square by your speed.

It appears that the cadence does not turn on unless the speed is going, so I dont think that this would work on a trainer for cadence unless you had its speed setup to run off the back wheel (which it lacks the range for). When you stop moving, the thing pauses. When you start moving, it starts again--no need to press a button or anything.

The night feature is cool if one rides at night (most dont!).

If you want double wireless, this appears to be the cheapest computer with that, and it has a solid set of functions.

One of the best computers out there

On: 2007-05-08

This computer has everything a cyclist needs. Wiresless speed and cadence!

You will love the large displays that says "Trip Time" or "MAX SPD" instead of the tiny little letters that the Cateye computers uses like "tr" or "mx".

The design is very intuitive and you will be an expert using this computer in no time. Its very accurate and there are no dropouts with interference due to its digital link. Ive compared with my handheld GPS over a 20 mile ride, and the results were within .01 miles of each other.

The speed display though, only shows speed in increments of .5 mph, so you will get 25.5mph instead of 25.7mph. Not a big deal to me, but some people might like more info.

I had a trouble with the computer coming off a little too easy, and I called customer support. Their customer service was responsive, nice and quick.

Lastly, the price of this bike computer is much cheaper than the competition taking into consideration it has wireless cadence/speed and a backlight. I also love the fact that is has Average Cadence, stop watch, and total riding time.

recommended