Super Pro Ii Enduro Timer
Super Pro II Enduro Timer
CYCLE WORLD EVALUATION
Riding enduros is always fun. There's the clean country air, the challenge of competition, the chance of winning a prize or hauling your bike out of mud and rocks.
Enduros are a great fun, even if the science of actually keeping the specified times isn't as well known as we like to pretend it is.
Timekeeping is frequently a mystery.Learning all the techniques isn’t worth the effort for those who ride two or three enduros a year, so we settle for listening to the pros talk about zeroing secret checks, or for watching them figure all the data for the roll charts.
Proper timekeeping, though, can add another dimension to riding enduros.
And there’s a new clock/timer/calculator that will help you do it.
The Super Pro II is compact (4.5 x 2.5 x 1 in.), mounts on the handlebars and is powered by a 9-volt alkaline battery. The readable large numbers are protected by a clear Lexan window and the internals battery, memory chips, etc.—are cushioned from vibration and shock.
What the Super Pro does is one of the easy parts. In the normal mode, it calculates how far you should have gone at the average speed you told it to use. So all you do is match the number in the window with the number on the odometer. The clock portion keeps time and the calculator does the figures for you.
No matter how clever they are, the enduro organizers can only slip in a secret check when everything comes up on a nice, even number. The Super Pro keeps track of when such a number is coming up and sets off a warning light, so you know what might be
around the corner.
There’s a second mode, in which the calculator becomes simply a clock, telling you the elapsed time. And you can punch in a count-down, with the clock reporting when it will be your time to begin.
The second easy part of the Super Pro is programming in the times and averages and so forth.
The hard part is learning how to do the programming.
That sounds confusing, but it’s true. Unless you’re already an expert timekeeper, the instructions might as well be in Greek. The speed and distance of the enduro’s different sections are punched into the machine merely by working two buttons, one red, the other gray. Sounds sim-
ple. It is simple, but not until you’ve done it several times and been able to check your own work. Don’t even try to learn how if you’ve had a rough day or if you’re in a loud place. Sneak off in a quiet corner and get it right well before you need to know how. And read the instructions at least twice before touching a button.
The other warning, if not a hard part, concerns the battery. The Super Pro’s maker recommends using a Duracell battery. They say that brand has proven more durable. We used a brand X once and it shook to pieces. The Duracell proved good for 50 hours, which should mean four or five normal enduros.
As another hard-won tip,
when you’re first programming the Super Pro, take the cover off the case, install the battery and begin playing with the buttons. Don’t replace the cover, not yet.
When you make a mistake programming, you can erase the error most easily by removing the battery leads.
We’ve used our Super Pro in several events. It’s been reliable and waterproof. We aren’t alone in liking the thing. The makers say seven of the top 10 national enduros riders last year used the Super Pro.
It’s expensive, $225, but if you’d like to keep time right, it’s worth it. From Performance Products, P.O. Box 1294, LaCombe, La. 70445, (504) 882-3107. B
