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I have a cateye velo 7 wireless computer on a Hybrid bike and I use it mostly to check the speed and track my miles like an odometer. I love it, its simple and cheap and works.

I recently got a road bike that I am going to use on the weekends and but I want the same computer to track my miles. It is possible to have two sensors on two different bikes and use the same computer?

the wheel size on both 700C

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  • I use strava on a cell phone - it works well enough, but I don't have any bike sensors at all.
    – Criggie
    Dec 9, 2015 at 21:39
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    @Criggie I don't have sensors either but if you do the app I use can work out which bike you're on from the sensors, demonstrating that it's good at handling multiple bikes.
    – Chris H
    Dec 10, 2015 at 6:54
  • I have a Garmin 800, which will support up to five bikes. You can put relevant speed/cadence/power sensors on any of the bikes and the computer will pair with them and remember that pairing. So when you go for a ride, you just pick which bike you're on, and you're away
    – PeteH
    Dec 10, 2015 at 11:17
  • And a Garmin 800 costs more than any bike I've ever bought =). There are much cheaper options.
    – Batman
    Dec 16, 2015 at 19:36
  • Not all bike computers have 2 bike support as stated by others. For two bike support, it would be crucial to have automatic recognition of two bikes. It would be nice to log distance (e.g. total odo) for both bikes separately too. I am not sure if all two bike computers have these features. I decided to answer as these were the questions going through my mind when I started looking at if I need a second bike computer. I am currently looking to buy my 2nd bike and will be using the old one for commute and the second one for exercise. And because of this I have also been looking at do I need 2nd
    – user232548
    May 12, 2016 at 22:27

5 Answers 5

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It depends on the bike computer.

Some computers have this feature, others don't. A brief look at the manual of this computer says yours only supports one bike and you'll need to get another computer for the other bike (or recalibrate it each time you swap them). If the tire sizes are the same, you might be able to get by by just swapping the computer between two sensors of the same type, but there may be enough sensor variation that the results may be off by a measurable amount, so I wouldn't recommend that. If the tire sizes are different, you'll obviously need to either recalibrate or have the computer have settings for 2 bikes since the circumferences are different.

In any case, you need 2 sensors, and if you're using a cheap bike computer, the cost of the other sensor will be close to getting it with another of the same bike computer.

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I have been using Cateye Mity 8 for my 2 bikes. It has a dual bike function, where you can select Bike A or Bike B. Upon setting up, you can specify the tire sizes for respective bikes. Odometer count is for the total mileage done on both bikes. However, there is a trip meter which tells you the distance for the current trip, independently for Bikes A and B. Not wireless, no backlight. Odometer can be programmed i.e. you can set the odometer count (say for transferring the odometer count from previous cyclomemeter).

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I have a GPS/watch/activity tracker/HR computer that I wear on my wrist. It will connect to the two cadence sensors I have on two different bikes, but measure speed/distance/HR on ANY bike I ride. The newer wrist enabled GPS/HR stuff is spendy, but much more flexible than older style setups using a computer designed for X number of bikes. It also connects to the manufacturer's website which allows me to track the totals from any activity and/or the mileage on individual pieces of equipment.

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If the tyre sizes are the same there is no reason you can't just get a second wiring kit and swap the computer between bikes. The computer won't distinguish which bike you rode but you'll be able to keep track of total mileage. A wiring kit like this would do the job:

enter image description here

(for example, from fawkes cycles)

If you have different sizes of tyre on each bike then the mileage captured would be inaccurate.

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  • its the same size tires
    – nolawi
    Dec 16, 2015 at 15:08
  • @nolawipetros You have the same size tire on hybrid and road?
    – paparazzo
    Dec 16, 2015 at 19:54
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There are several bike computers that support different settings for two bikes. Cat Eye Velo 7 is not one of them.

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  • aha lol - any recommendations?
    – nolawi
    Dec 9, 2015 at 21:19
  • We don't do product rec here, but if you look at the spec sheet of a few models, you'll find one. It will cost probably more than another Cateye Velo 7 though.
    – Batman
    Dec 9, 2015 at 22:36

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