Thursday, December 18, 2008

Trek Incite ACH


I stopped at Walgreens on the way home to purchase a new battery for the wireless (speed) sensor on my new Trek Incite ACH cycle-computer. If you hadn't heard, the computer was not working in the speed and consequently odometer and grade modes. However, the clock, altitude and heart rate modes worked great. It was giving me flakey readings on one of our rides last month, and in the past couple weeks it decided not to work at all. Funny thing was, the battery consistently measured 12.5 volts in the wireless sensor. Trek customer service told me to replace the battery or if that didn't work, to return it under warranty. Well, 2 batteries at Walgreens cost me $6, so that was probably cheaper than driving to Scheels and back (and looking for the receipt).

I replaced the battery tonight and it looks like it might be working. I spun the wheel a few times, and it registered speed, so the next warm (above 20 degrees) day that we have, hopefully I can take out for a spin and see if it works consistently. The only thing that I can figure out is that one or more cells in the battery had reversed or died, and with very little current flowing, the voltage still read over 12V. With a load, the voltage likely dropped significantly.

All in all, this is a very good cyclecomputer for the price paid ($40 at Scheels on closeout). The only thing (besides the battery) that I dislike, is the plastic holder for the computer. The computer slides into it from the bottom, and as Brad has already seen, this may fail and allow the computer to fall out, especially when transporting it on the back of your car. I am removing it before transport, just to be safe.

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