Sigma Sport ROX 9.0

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
09 Orbea Onix, 09 Redline Conquest

Summary:
This is a great computer if you live in a warm climate. If you ride on days when it is around freezing...forget it. For me, the buttons became unresponsive on a ride in 33F weather. Support says this behavior is due to the battery and "is not unique." Essentially, it sounds like they spec'd a battery that was operating near its limits under the best of conditions. When the temps drop and the voltage sags, it fails. Funny how the manual says the computer is rated down to -14F. Trust me...it isn't.

Strengths:
Excellent feature set. Nice software - needs some development to compare multiple rides.

Weaknesses:
Expensive...almost the price of a Garmin 305.

Similar Products Used:
Cateye Micro Wireless...works in all temps so far.

Price Paid:  $200.00 at ModernBike.com

Favorite Ride:
St. Petersbourgh

Bike Setup:
Cervelo P2C 2009
Zipps 404 2008
Zipp 300 Crankset
Look Keo Carbon Pedals
Fizik Arione Tri2
SRAM Red groupo

Summary:
Wow, this computer is very nice. Once you have it setup correctly, it works great. The big problem is its software. In my opinion is a big disaster. Due to the fact that this is an european product, kms is a most, however, trying to get Sigma Data Center to understand miles is impossible.

Strengths:
Once is set up, gives you the correct information of your ride, heart rate, cadence, etc.

Weaknesses:
Awful customer service. I have spoken to Chad at Sigma Customer Service and honestly is just a nightmare. Unfortunately he knows as much as the manuals.

Price Paid:  $190.00 at Ebay

Bike Setup:
2009 Specialized Roubaix Expert, Full Dura Ace upgrade, Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR wheelset.

Summary:
Good product, though takes some getting used to. For example, the heart rate monitor doesn't show on the screen until you clip the unit onto the mounting bracket, and then you only have a minute or so to start riding or the system times out and you have to screw with it again. The device has some peculiarities, but once you understand them, it is a superior bike computer. The detailed information and readout/printout through a PC is terrific. For example, not only does it provide ride time, distance, average and maximum speed, average and maximum heartrate, average and maximum cadence, but also minimum and maximum ambient ride temperature, distance uphill and downhill with average speeds in both, average and maximum inclination on climbs and descents, etc. When this device works as designed, it's a terrific tool. The display is legible, and the screen functions are quite straightforward.

Strengths:
Functions - as many as you could possibly hope for. Extensive ride data provided through computer interface is outstanding.

Weaknesses:
Not easy to get used to, due to its design peculiarities. I'm a very tech savvy person and it took me a couple of weeks to get used to the differences between this unit and others I've used. Once you learn to give it what it wants, it is a good device.

Similar Products Used:
Cateye V3, Shimano Flight Deck

Price Paid:  $200.00 at Online

Favorite Ride:
Look 595

Bike Setup:
Look 595 Shimano Dura Ace, Zipp Vuma Quad crank, Reynolds Wheels.

Summary:
I've been using this unit now for almost 6 months. When it works, it works great, however those times are few and far between. The mounting bracket and the head pins need to line up in order for the unit to work properly, which is the weakness of this unit. Repeated removal in order to download data seems to misalign the pins on the mounting bracket with the unit. So, you can be riding along with the unit operating properly, hit a little bump in the road, and suddenly the unit thinks that it isn't mounted on the bike anymore. This "feature" seems to be a little over-engineered to me. Why should the unit "care" it it's mounted on the bike or not? Anyway, I've been very disappointed with it and would advise anyone considering it to think otherwise. After a few removals / insertions, once the plastic mount on the bike wears, and you'll understand why.

Strengths:
Has all of the major functions needed. Good PC software.

Weaknesses:
Cheap mounting bracket leads to wear, leads to product failure.

Price Paid:  $225.00 at Bike Nashbar

Favorite Ride:
In and around Duluth, GA

Bike Setup:
Trek Pilot 2.1

Summary:
Replaced Sigma BC 2600 with this. The ROX is awesome! Love the data, and rarely have I lost a connection between any of the components. Heart rate or speed would disappear on the 2600, but not the ROX. The ability to download and setup from the computer is great.

Strengths:
Everything works well together, and very fiew drop-outs of data so far.

Weaknesses:
Recommended tire size setup is wrong. Go to Sheldon Brown's site for the right wheel size - it is spot-on.

Similar Products Used:
Sigma 2600
Cateye Mity 8