When was the last time I did a hardware review; my review on the Harmonic Converger (which by the way, is one of the most visited pages in my blog)? So to mix my blog contents up a bit, here’s another one.

Actually, I was prompted to make this review because when I was deciding whether or not to upgrade my old cyclocomputer (a Topeak Panoram v16), there was so little information on the one I was planning to get (a Mavic Wintech Ultimate). The pictures in the net are almost all the same, they give the user no idea whatsoever on how big the components are, how they “fit” into the bikes they’re installed in. ¹ There was ONE picture, but only showing the computer itself; which was helpful, but not nearly enough.

So now, I ended up upgrading regardless. Thankfully, it was the right decision. And I’ve taken the liberty of putting up more useful pictures up so that people considering getting the computer would have more to work with during their “research.”

This will be more of a picture post than a review to give a better sense of the unit both when installed, and compared with the physical characteristics of another computer. There’s already another review out there which delves on the actual usage, so I won’t reinvent the wheel.

Features

So basically, the Panoram v16 by Topeak is already high-end (it’s the highest model as of this posting). It’s got your usual speed information, as well as other useful stuff like cadence data and temperature. It’s dual wireless, which means a much neater (and reliable) logging of information. And it’s widescreen – which can be appealing the first time around – until you realize what with cyclocomputers, it’s actually better to have compact ones – which I’ll explain in a bit.

The Wintech Ultimate by Mavic on the other hand, feature-wise, kicks all basic ² By “basic” I mean as-is computers – not the ones that you can upload your data to a computer, etc. cyclocomputers’ asses hands down. It’s got speed, cadence and temperature as well, then it’s got heart rate and even altitude/elevation! It’s also wireless – but takes the concept to a higher level; 2.4Ghz for the uninitiated, that’s the same frequency WiFi uses. Simply put, it’s using a digital wireless signal.

The downside is the price. It costs more than twice than the highest Panoram model (v16) and that’s still without the cadence sensor (the computer supports cadence data, but you’ll have to purchase the cadence kit separately). All in all, it’ll set you back roughly $200 (including the optional cadence kit), whereas the Panoram v16 is only $78 all-in.

Some people would claim the heart-rate monitor is enough justification for the extra price, which makes sense. But the real question I guess for most bikers is if the package has enough “technology and design” to justify the premium. Hopefully this can help in their decision making:

Mount/Profile

As I mentioned earlier, widescreen, etc. seems nice since you can see your relevant data at a glance in big bold numbers.… and see more data in one screen.

The drawback is that the unit becomes “clunky” which can make it stick out like a sore thumb no matter how you try to “tuck” it into your bike. The Panoram v16 is no exception; its receiver is its mount, which is bulky… then you put on the actual computer, which is twice its the size.

The Wintech on the other hand is slimmed down, and surprisingly has a lot of data displayed at a glance as well – in fact it can show you 4 data items… similar to the v16 – while being slim enough to nestle in the bike-stem.

Here’s a comparison between the Mavic and the Topeak when mounted:

I guess it’s up to you to decide if you prefer easy “visibility” or “inconspicuous.” I found out I prefer the latter not only because it looks cleaner, but just imagine if you hit something or if your bike goes flying and slamming into the ground… the v16 has a better chance of getting dislodged and damaged during a mishap.

Speed sensor

Apparently, going wireless wasn’t enough for neat-freaks like me. I immediately fell in love with Mavic’s E-Skewer system; where the speed sensor is integrated with the wheel skewer. Unlike traditional wired/wireless sensors which were tied to the fork in some way shape or form:

Not only does this make everything extremely neat, but it saves on weight as well. The skewer itself is 65 grams. I guess it’s still heavy since I was able to get an ultra-light titanium skewer for my rear wheel at 29g – which ridiculously light considering rear skewers are longer than the front. I still have the even lighter front skewer, but I obviously can’t use it… unless I can find a way to DIY the sensor into the Ti skewer without destroying both – a chance I wouldn’t want to take just yet.

Still, it’s still a weight savings; the stock front skewer of my wheelset is 72g. So if I discard the fact of using Ti skewers, at 65g, I actually got lighter – sensor included. Normally it would be 72g plus the sensor’s weight

Cadence

The cadence kit of the Mavic system is better, Period. Just look at the pictures:

It’s slimmer and cleaner because you can’t see the pedal magnet – because it’s magnetized to the pedal’s bolt at the back. And the magnet is really strong (makes me think it’s a rare-earth magnet, because while it does come with adhesive… you really don’t need it. The magnetic force is strong enough to keep it in place even if you abuse the pedal.

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I took it out for a spin when Cris and I went on our usual weekend bike ride, and I particularly enjoyed how it can calculate the grade of an incline. Which is cool for a blogger like me because non-bikers simply equate distances to cycling effort, when its entirely possible to kill yourself (figuratively) in an extremely short but steep slope

at least I can attach actual “figures” as future references in my posts. The grade of “incline” part in the UP oval is 1-2% according to the computer. I do want to revisit San Mateo/Maarat and find out the various grades of the roads that I remember “hating,” that way, I’ll know if I’m actually evolving as a cyclist whenever I tackle new inclines.