shimano flightdeck

I've used the Shimano Flight Deck computer for a few years now. I like it because it has a clean installation (no wires), the controls are integrated into the STI shifters and it gives me (an estimate of) cadence without a second sensor on the chainstay.

The head unit can be used on multiple bikes but--of course--they all have to be Shimano-equipped. The only non-Shimano bike I have is my Bianchi San Jose singlespeed so I'm OK with this limitation.

Programming the thing is a pain. First, to hit the reset you need something REALLY LONG... I used the end of my Take A Look mirror to reset it.

You'll need to know the wheel size, the number of chainrings, the number of sprockets and the number of teeth for each. Get this data and write it down BEFORE you start because figuring it out while you're programming the head unit is not fun...

For posterity, my new Jamis Eclipse has a FSA 50/34 compact crank and a Shimano FH-6600 freehub. The sprockets are: 12T, 13T, 14T, 15T, 16T, 17T, 19T, 21T, 23T, 25T.

The first thing to program is the wheel size. The instructions say to inflate the tire, mark and measure a single rotation of the front wheel and track the measurement within 5mm. Right. Well, I'm an engineer and I wanted to be exact so I did as instructed so I fanagled a really long tape measeure and found the circumference was about 82.75 inches. Converting to metric that's 210.5 cm. Now I was ready to enter the data!!

Little did I know that the sub-display shows standard wheel sizes as you scroll through the settings. So save yourself some time and just scroll through until you find the settings that match the size printed on your tire's sidewall. Sheesh.

Entering the sprockets was also a bit confusing because the head unitl supports triple or double chainrings and from 7 to 10 sprockets. The trick is to enter "--" whenever you don't have a corresponding value.

The magnet that comes with the sensor kit is bulky and I want to replace it with something more compatible with a bladed spoke. Also, the transmitter unit is held on with a strap-thingy that kinda sucks. I'll probably replace it once I win the Megamillions Lotto and have copious free time on my hands.