Meaning & use
cycle computer
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A small device fixed to a bicycle that shows information such as speed, distance traveled and time.
Grammar: Countable: a cycle computer, several cycle computers.
Patterns
- a cycle computer on something
I mounted a cycle computer on my handlebars to track my speed.
The cycle computer showed we had ridden thirty miles.
Her cycle computer also records the route using GPS.
Word forms
| plural | cycle computers |
|---|
Common combinations
- GPS cycle computer
- A GPS cycle computer can show your route on a map.
- mount a cycle computer
- Mount the cycle computer on the stem or handlebars.
- wireless cycle computer
- A wireless cycle computer needs no cable to the wheel.
- cycle computer screen
- The cycle computer screen was hard to read in bright sun.
- check the cycle computer
- He checked the cycle computer to see how far was left.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bike computer
- Bike computer means the same thing and is the more common phrase in American English.
- cyclometer
- Cyclometer is an older or more technical word that originally meant a device measuring distance only.
- speedometer
- A speedometer shows only speed, whereas a cycle computer usually adds distance, time and other data.
Word family
Commonly confused: cycle computer or cycle time?
cycle computer vs cycle time
Cycle time is a term from manufacturing about the length of a process, not a device on a bicycle.
Practice
Which device would tell a rider how far they have cycled today?
Choose one answer.
A cycle computer records distance, speed and time on a bicycle. A pedometer counts steps of a walker, which makes it a tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cycle computer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.