#HTE

The OMATA One Makes Cycling Computers Look Tacky

The OMATA One is a cycling computer without a screen, and with more OG style than the Schwinn Varsity in your parents’ basement. With a modern GPS interior and seriously simple mechanical dials, it does a lot more than reproduce the (awful) bike speedometers of yore. 

Because bikes are a blend of vintage and modern technologies, it’s always satisfying when the accessories we use share that simple (yet complicated) ethos. OMATA does its part to bring the best of both analog and digital with a fist-sized touch of class.

The intriguing heart of this design is its ability to visually represent your vital trip data without any of the visual clutter, poor day/night/low battery visibility, or cramped multi-screen clickthrough of a standard computer. The OMATA One provides a clearer and less distracting (hands-free!) display, using mechanical dials and the four most important data points in your ride: speed, distance, ascent, and time. With its large face and bold hands, it can give you your stats quickly and clearly, even while you’re cruising fast over crappy asphalt.

But in order to offer that at a modern capacity, we’d also want super accurate measurement, careful GPS tracking, and you know dang well it has to integrate with Strava.

So… good news. OMATA One takes all that on and then some. The GPS is fully moderne and self-powered, and the digital-to-analog dials are controlled by a custom sub-assembly, developed with Seiko Precision Inc. You can upload data and charge via USB, and the battery holds around a 24 life.

Serious care has been taken around weather resistance and material strength, nothing looks likely to be overtorqued or destroyered through user-error, and the mount looks both solid and inconspicuous. The face is quite large, but when mounted next to the stem it can be set inboard from where your hands and lights need to be.

The OMATA One unit twists to lock in or out with just a quarter turn, making it quick to pocket during rest stops and for recharge and sync post-ride. Without having touched it, the security of the interface is the single concern I’d have–how tight is that lock really? But if this has been tested by serious riders (and it appears to be true) I’m betting they thrashed it right.

Nerd points: Fabian Cancellara is willing to put his name near this thing as a brand ambassador. I know pro riders are basically very very lightweight NASCAR vehicles, but I’ll admit I’m a little impressed.

If this type of vintage reboot gets your pedals turning, check out their already well-funded campaign over on Kickstarter, running through May 4, 2016.

http://www.core77.com/posts/51699/The-OMATA-One-Makes-Cycling-Computers-Look-Tacky