Solved, my Bontrager speedo mystery

Now I know why my Bontrager computer had gone doolalley - in my previous blog,  up there.

It appears some sort of magnetic field was interfering with the signal, resulting in no speedo!

Let me explain.

I had my local bike shop fit a new Bontrager computer to my bike.

I asked them to do it because quite frankly I felt I had put a jinx on the first one.

And while at it I had the bike serviced - the gears were slipping, there was a bit of vibration from the front brake. Probably a bit of play in the  headset.

Well, I picked up the bike with its new computer set up and I was happy to note it was working nicely. As were the gears. But there's still a little vibration from the front brake at speed.

And next day – this afternoon – I went for a spin.

I rolled away and guess what?

It was playing the same game...no speed reading. Blank.

I stopped.

I said to myself what's going on?

I switched my brain to lateral.

And I asked myself, what's different?

Aha!

When the  comp was fitted at the shop there was no front light on the handlebars and the speedo was working.

On this ride there was a front lamp on the handlebars. And the speedo wasn't working!

So I removed the lamp!

And set off.

Hey presto, speedo began to work!!!!

It seems that the lamp - or the battery more probably - which was sitting directly above the wireless transponder on the fork blade, was interfering with the signal to the computer which was sitting just a few inches away from the lamp on the handlebars.

If these devices could talk I imagine it went like this.

Transponder to lamp: “Oi, you up there!  Yes  you, the lamp! I’m trying to send a message to the computer next to you on the handlebars and you’re blocking it.”

Lamp reply to Transponder:  “Oh, it’s you is it, giving me a frigging migraine.”

So I repositioned the lamp on the other side of the handlebars.

And set off.

And still the computer didn’t work!

So I stopped and moved the lamp three inches further along the top of the handlebars, clear, I hoped, of the “electrical field”.

That did the trick.

Soon I was batting along and a quick glance showed me I was moving at over 10mph!

Uphill, a two-mile long drag, into low cloud.

Managed about 19mph along the flat top road. Not bad for me. Quite happy with that. Easily amused.

However, the lamp in its new position means I cannot rest my hands on the top of the bars as I like. So now I will need to figure that out. A bike rider’s day is never finished!