Computer Resets for the Dummy Cyclist

Bicycle tire size chart – no "codes"

One of our staffers once unearthed a t-shirt that had belonged to his father. The sentiment expressed on the shirt was something along the lines of "Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do." We like that... we like it because the freelancers who think they can copy, reword, and paste anything – and make sense – are, frankly, annoying as hell. Take, for instance, eHow.coms Rocco Pendola, who specialized in bicycles (perhaps because he has an "urban studies" degree?), in the process pumping out utter bull. Take, for instance, "How to Reset a Bicycle Speedometer & Tire Size,"¹ which Leaf Group has helpfully moved to Healthfully.com.

We'll be among the first to admit that the wording of the title makes no sense, but Pendola jumped on it anyway – and he managed to spit out the most important fact about resetting a bicycle computer in "tips":

"To reset your bicycle speedometer to zero on all variables except total distance travelled [sic], you will likely need to push two buttons simultaneously for a few seconds. Which two buttons varies from brand to brand and speedometer to speedometer"...

...which is no longer true, given that many modern cyclocomputers only have one button, if they have any at all! But Rocco's not all that concerned with the reset part: no, he wants you to know how to set the correct tire size. And to that end, he refers to the bible of bike computers, the site compiled by the late Sheldon Brown. We wonder what knowledgeable person pointed him there...
Anyhow... Pendola's unfamiliarity with bicycles becomes more clear as you work your way through his steps. The first, is, of course, to find your way into the setup menu which, as even Rocco can tell you, varies from model to model:

"Get into your bike speedometer's set-up menu. Details for doing this will vary from computer to computer. Once in the menu, find your way to tire size setting."

Duh. But, then, that's actually true. What comes next, however, isn't:

"Enter either your tire size, found on your tire's sidewall (e.g., "26 x 1.95" or "700 x 28"), or the code that represents your tire size... most specialized [sic] computers allow you to choose from one of 14 tire sizes that are pre-programmed. A CatEye computer is different in that it include codes in its owner's manual that coincide with most tire sizes.."

We call "bullshit" on that, Rocco: our staffers have set the tire size on dozens of bike computers over the decades, and none has ever had a pre-programmed tire size (not that any of them would buy a Specialized computer...) No, Rocco, you enter the tire circumference! not a "code" or the "tire size"... Now you know why Pendola's the Dumbass of the Day... again!

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_5898424_reset-bicycle-speedometer-tire-size.html

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