At Interbike this week, CatEye displayed their latest bike computer—the Strada Smart. Extremely small and lightweight (17 grams), this head unit mounts on your handlebar stem and operates in one of two modes—Mirror Mode or Sensor Direct Mode, giving you the option to bring your phone on your ride or leave it at home.
In Mirror mode, the Strada Smart connects to your phone via Bluetooth Smart and displays a copy of the ride data being recorded on the CatEye Cycling app. This includes time, distance, heart rate, speed, cadence, calories, and altitude, plus shows you a map of your route. Phone call and email alert icons are also displayed while your phone is kept in sleep mode, preserving the battery. The bike computer can connect to any Bluetooth Smart compatible Speed, Cadence, Heart Rate, and Power sensor in this mode.
When you don’t want to bring your phone on a ride, Sensor Direct Mode can be used as a back up. This mode syncs the Strada Smart directly with your sensors, and records the ride data on the device. The only info you miss is the GPS related data, as that normally comes from your phone. Post ride, the data is easily transferred to the CatEye Cycling app and then uploaded to CatEye Atlas, Strava or Training Peaks.
The mini bike computer runs on a replaceable coin cell battery that will last for around 5 months of riding. The CatEye Strada Smart retails for $80 ($120-$140 with sensors) and will start shipping in October.