There are two pressing questions every bike commuter faces: How long until I get there? And how self-righteous should I feel? CatEye's new Commuter bike computer answers both.
Program in your trip distance, and the Commuter uses current speed to calculate your ETA. Slow down and watch the number and progress bar grow. Speed up and you'll know how much time you can waste in GameStop on the way to work.
As for quantifying self-righteousness, the Commuter tells you how much CO2 you're keeping out of the atmosphere by not driving. Using 2008 averages for gas-powered cars as a baseline, the unit calculates howmuch CO2 you would have produced for the distance you've pedaled. It gives you totals for the day, week, month, year and life of the computer.
Initial setup is straightforward, though it involves some ridiculously small, recessed buttons on the back of the unit. Mounting the computer head and speed sensor took us about five minutes. Once the computer is in its bracket, the entire face acts as the computer's control button, kind of like Apple's Magic Mouse.
While speed and distance readings are quite specific, route programming for the ETA function is only in whole miles. This is a silly oversight, since a mile can take a commuter anywhere from four to eight minutes. (You can choose to use kilometers, which are smaller, for better accuracy. But this is the United States, thank you very much, and we would like our quarter-miles back.) And the CO2 calculations are a rough estimate at best.
Still, these are two functions no other bike computer offers, and we found ourselves completely addicted to them. We're pretty sure you will be, too.