The speedometer cable alternative
Quit buying speedo cables.
Snapped another one? Your phone already knows how far you rode. LookOver counts every mile and hour on the bike, so your service reminders keep counting even when the cable doesn’t.
Free for one machine. Try ride tracking free for 14 days, no credit card.
I bought this cable twice. My buddies quit after one.
My last bike ate two speedometer cables, at $60 to $80 a pop. Most of the guys I ride with snapped one, looked at the price of another, and just stopped replacing them. I get it.
But the cable was never the expensive part. A dead speedo means a dead odometer, and a dead odometer means you’re guessing on every service from then on. I already track every ride, so the miles never stopped counting for me.
DerekFounder and hard enduro rider, Belgrade, Montana
The cable’s cheap. The guessing isn’t.
Your miles stop counting.
The odometer freezes the day the cable snaps. Every ride after that just vanishes.
Service turns into a guess.
Was the last oil change 300 miles ago or 600? Air filter, chain, tires, all of it runs on gut feel now.
A buyer asks what it's got on it.
“Speedo's been dead a while” isn't the answer that gets you your price.
Your miles, counted without a cable
- 1
Start the ride
One tap on the machine. Or let your Bluetooth headset kick it off when it connects, or start it on an Apple Watch and leave the phone in the truck.
- 2
Ride like normal
Mount the phone and it's your speedo, with your next service counting down as you go. Or leave it in your pack. GPS runs off satellites, not cell towers.
- 3
Save it to the bike
Check the miles and hours, fix anything that looks off, and save. They land on the machine and every reminder updates.
New cable, digital computer, or LookOver?
Credit where it’s due. A working cable is dead simple, and a good computer is a solid upgrade. Neither one tells you when the oil’s due.
| Feature | New cable | Digital computer | LookOver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shows your speed while you ride | Yes | Yes | Phone on the bars or Apple Watch |
| Works with no cell signal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Counts your miles | Until it snaps | Yes | Yes |
| Counts your hours | No | Yes | Yes |
| No cable to snag | No | A short sensor wire | Yes |
| Tells you when service is due | No | No | Yes |
| Every machine in one place | No | One per bike | Yes |
| Cost | About $15 to $80 every time it breaks | About $170 and up per bike | Free for one machine. Ride tracking is Pro. |
“I got the lifetime paid version because I wanted the GPS tracking to track my miles to help keep the maintenance consistent.”
Questions riders ask
- What's the best alternative to a speedometer cable?
- Depends what you want on the bars. A digital computer like a Trail Tech Vapor gives you a permanent odometer and hour meter on the dash for around $170 and up per bike. GPS tracking in LookOver uses the phone you already carry, and it turns those miles and hours into reminders. You can run both, too: log the computer's hours in LookOver and it tells you what's due.
- How can I track hours on my machine without buying a speedometer kit?
- Two cheap ways. A stick-on hour meter runs about $40 and counts engine hours from a single pickup wire, no wiring into power. Or skip the hardware: LookOver's ride tracking logs hours and miles on every ride from your phone and turns them into service reminders. An hour meter counts engine run time, idling included, so it's the closer match to factory hour intervals. Ride tracking counts your ride time, and you can adjust the hours before you save.
- Can my phone replace a broken speedometer?
- For keeping track of miles and hours, yes. LookOver records each ride with GPS and adds the distance and hours to your machine. Mount the phone if you want to see your speed while you ride. If your bike is plated, check your state's rules, since some require a working speedometer on the road.
- Is GPS as accurate as my odometer?
- Close. In our own testing it landed within about 2% of a mechanical odometer. On tight, twisty singletrack GPS can read a little short, and you can edit any ride before you save it. For oil changes and air filters, that's plenty close.
- Does it need cell service?
- No. GPS works off satellites, not cell towers. Your ride records 20 miles from the trailhead, and LookOver syncs when you're back in range.
- Is ride tracking free?
- Ride tracking is part of Pro. Every new rider gets 14 days of Pro free with no credit card, and LookOver stays free for one machine after that.
Let the cable stay broken. Your miles still count.
Free for one machine. Try ride tracking free for 14 days, no credit card.