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The OMATA One Makes Cycling Computers Look Tacky

A big, oldschool speedometer with sexy, contemporary guts

By Kat Bauman - April 11, 2016

in Cars | Tech | Crowdfunding | Bikes

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Comments

Terrence Martineau

8 years ago

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THE most important metric for serious cyclist today is power and this device doesn't support it... that means this is strictly for the poser crowd who spend more time waxing and standing beside their bikes than training to make their bikes go fast... there are a lot of those people so there is a market for this... but this is NOT for serious cyclists at all.

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Sean Horita

8 years ago

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Here's what road cyclists care about:
Omata One: 119 grams
Garmin Edge 25: 25 grams. Does the same stuff as Omata One but digitally. Costs $250 less. Significantly smaller which means less aerodynamic drag (some serious roadies do care about this stuff).
Comparing Omata One with something like a Garmin 520 isn't fair to the Omata One because the feature list doesn't compare.

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Giorgio Santero

8 years ago

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Cmon, skip the bike thing and use those awsome looks to do a proper watch, mechanical watch: this is worth 500 bucks.

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Björn Bengtsson

8 years ago

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I like the idea. I love the aesthetics.

I'm sure it will be a great sucess, but not a success in the likes of what f.x Garmin would consider. They will be funded, do their production and deliver, and get funding for the next iteration that will surpass. But the biggest point in my opinion would be if it lit a fire under the ass of garmin/polar to step up their productdesign game and stop making devices that look like nokias from 2004.

Disagree with Seans statement that this will be a device among several others on the handlebar. This will be a accessorie for people who spend time and money to compose a bike that is custom, and consider every detail of what they are riding. The people who hate to have to put that Edge 500 on their bars. (Poser or not)

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Gerard Thomas

8 years ago

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I saw this a few days back. I love the whole analogue idea but agree with Sean below. And yes, the $500 price tag puts it squarely in the realm of Fred riders with all the gear and no idea.

"Mobile device running Strava, in the jersey pocket, screen OFF, leave it alone until the ride is over and then find out how fast you are going." = yup.

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Sean Horita

8 years ago

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For some reason I think this thing is kind of stupid. Its clever and beautiful but like a broken pencil: pointless. The audience for this will be the Fred rider who maybe already has three or four other things hanging off their handlebars, but that means they will have a iPhone mount on their handlebars as well. And its $500. The only cyclists who need or want to know how fast they are going WHILE riding are the ones who crash out of STP on flat level ground. Maybe Spartacus crashed in Paris-Roubaix yesterday while he was looking at his speedometer.

Mobile device running Strava, in the jersey pocket, screen OFF, leave it alone until the ride is over and then find out how fast you are going. Oh maybe those bummed out mountain bikers in Marin will need this so they don't get speeding tickets on the fire roads.

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