Whichwatch

[Danneaux]

Hey All,

With Christmas and holiday season upon us, I'm wondering what your favorite cycling wristwatch might be?  Typically, those of us who cycle also have some specific ideas about what makes a good cycling watch.  For some, it is simplicity.  Others use the clock in their cycle computer.  Still others wish for some stopwatch functions as a training aid.  I'll admit it is one of the first things I notice about other riders, since mine is such a useful tool when I'm out on the road.

My wristwatch of choice since 1989 has been a Casio TS-100 World Time Thermometer.  It is an easy-to-operate tool I use continuously throughout each day.  It reads in 12/24hr time and Fahrenheit or Celcius (digital display and bar graph), has a temperature data logger (every other minute/24 hrs), and an accurate real-time temp readout with switchable compensation for wrist temperature.  There's a 5-year monthly average database of temp highs and lows with time readout for 23 airports around the world (and a little world map with a dot that blinks to show the location of each), with locally-settable daylight-savings-time offset for each.  Add in 5 daily alarms, chimes on the hour and half-hour, a single/continuous 24-hour countdown timer and a stopwatch with lap times in .01 sec increments to 1 hour and water-resistant to 100m and I'm set for anything from a day ride to a full-on expeditionary tour.  It is my alarm clock on-tour and tells me when it got the coldest the night before.  All this for a durable, reasonably-priced black plastic watch with a 3-year battery and low theft potential. Only drawback is a dim light bulb for night use.  I wish Casio would do a reissue.  I have been pleased enough with mine to pick up a spare from an eBay seller, prompting this post.

So, what's on your wrist when riding, and why?

Interested!

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

I don't have special clothes or a special watch to cycle with. My daily watch is this old Citizen's pilot's world timer with the rotary slide rule bezel http://coolmainpress.com/andrejutewatches.html#Navihawk It's on a rubber strap so that perspiration doesn't ruin leather straps. I just jump on my bike and ride when the weather clears.

I don't know why I wear a watch on the bike anyway, as my bike computer and my hear rate monitor, both permanently attached to the bike, have clocks built in.

I used to have a special cycling watch, a Ciclosport HAC4, photographed down the page at http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGgazelletoulouse.html but it broke on the day after the guarantee ran out and i decided not to replace it. It's not half as nice as it looks in the photo, in real life looking rather cheap, but it is very light on the arm.

Possibly a good watch for a cyclist, though I don't have one, is the Tissot T-touch which has a dedicated rubber strap available, and a touch screen though the buttons still need to be used; rather pricey though.

[Relayer]

I don't wear a watch when cycling, computer/Garmin tells me the time.

History behind this is my main/only watch for a good many years was a Seiko Kinetic and I worried that the jarring impacts of cycling would damage the moving parts within.  My main watch nowadays is battery powered but is relatively heavy, in any case I am so used to cycling sans watch that it is uncomfortable for me when cycling.

[slim]

Interesting question. Haven't warn a watch for many years. It wasn't a conscious decision. I simply fell into the habit of checking my phone and the watch got left behind.

I'm obviously not alone. Last weekend I drove into town to buy some gear but arrived before opening hours. Forgot to pack the phone and so had to check the time with passers-by. Out of interest (and boredom) I asked 6 blokes and all of them dug into their pockets for a phone, and 2 out of 6 femmes flicked a wrist to reveal a watch.

Don't think there's anything  deep and meaningful here (unless you sell watches or own shares in Apple).

[Andybg]

Over the years I have been a bit of a watch cleptomaniac and swear by seiko as being as good as it gets without paying silly money for a name.

I have a kinetic seiko which my grandmother bought me for my 18th which is now 20 years old and still fine.

I lost it for six months and it turned up jammed down the back of my 1275gt mini engine stuck between the carb and the exhaust manifold.

It probably did about 3000 miles there!!!  It was still working perfectly and all that vibration had kept it well charged.

[brummie]

I carry a sundial.

[Danneaux]

Brummie...really?!?  How cool!

Is it one of those little foldable sunwatches that were popular in the early part of the last century when the cost of watches put them out of the reach of many?  A friend had one that folded into a package the size of a small matchbox, and had a layover gnomen and a compass for alignment.  Is yours something like that?  Love to see a pic...

When I wore an analog watch, I'd sometimes use it as a sundial compass, but of course it told time directly.  Sundial = way high on my coolness scale.

Best,

Dan.

[brummie]

Sorry Dan, Just joking ! 

[Danneaux]

'S'okay, Brummie; no worries!  I had a laugh myself afterwards!

Best as always,

Dan.

[stutho]

Plus 1 for Seiko.  Mine is a 20 year old dive watch it has had a HARD life and is now full of scratches but I wouldn't swap it for anything less than a Rolex!

[Danneaux]

So...it sounds as if rough roads don't kill analog/electro-mechanical watches?  I have to admit I was feeling kinda smug about my digital watches holding up to paint-shaker levels of vibration and was concerned about using my analog-quartz Victorinox Original Swiss Army Watch, but now...there's hope!

Thanks, guys; gives me an analog option when I wish.

Best,

Dan.