Anyone else tried using a pedometer as an odometer on their uni?
Today I dropped an Oregon Scientific pedometer in the side pocket of my shorts and set off on a ride. According to its specs, the pedometer has a sensitive three dimensional accelerometer and claims to work anywhere on the body. This is of course meant for walking or running.
The count would appear to be consistent with registering on both pedal strokes.
A calculation from the count and the measured wheel roll comes to about 13 km. There were a few missed mounts which I doubt it would have missed, the short walk into the shop to buy a drink and a visit at a friend’s house along the way so that would be an over estimation of the distance ridden based on the count.
Using Google maps and a little guesstimation puts my ride at just over 15 km. I suspect the pedometer doesn’t always detect the stroke on the other side from the pocket if I am riding very smoothly.
I will experiment with placement of the pedometer to see if I can get it more accurate.
It also can be set up with a distance calibration. In this mode it can display distance traveled directly and also records maximum and average speed if the timer is operating.
you may have better luck if you put it in your sock or attach it to your shoe
Seems a bit complicated and not precise when you have free apps for smart-phones, or a bike computer for a dozen $, no? 
Perhaps, but also ingenious and so easily transferred between unicycles.
You can’t transfer a smartphone?! 
And Sigma Sports makes bike computers which can go on several bikes.
Hey, some of us are “smart” phone holdouts. I’m hoping they’re a passing phase, lest we live in a world full of people staring at their hands. Flip phones forever!
Well, just for you guys, there are GPS watch/cyclocomputers that don’t need a wheel magnet thingy, that do exactly what the smartphone apps do without all that unecessary junk like receiving calls/texts and staring at cat pictures on reddit 
I was a smartphone hold out, up until fairly recently. Actually I still kind of am. I have a smartphone but use my cheap pay-as-you-go crap phone for calling. I use Virgin Mobile and pay $20 for 3 months, and any unused money rolls over. I rarely use it because I hate talking and texting on the phone and am usually at a computer. So over the years I rolled over enough money to buy a smart phone through Virgin Mobile, which they let me do. I just didn’t activate it for cell service, and instead use it for GPS, photos, and videos. I ride muni and always wear my CamelBak and found a holster to put on a strap. I just recently removed my cycle computers from my unicycles and really like how Google MyTracks tells me my riding stats every mile.
I thought exactly the opposite. Well it would be if I can get it to count consistently. The pedometer couldn’t be simpler.
Bike computers usually need to be mounted and have a sensor with wires. There is nowhere on an ordinary uni to mount one that would be readable while riding so a speedo is pointless. I just want to know how far I have ridden when I get home.
I wouldn’t want to carry an expensive smart phone (if I had one) because it would risk breaking it in a splat UPD.
I considered the GPS watch but it was quite expensive and did more than I wanted anyway.
Placed in a sock it vastly overcounted presumably because it jiggled about in the sock. I didn’t like the feeling of it there either.
I suspect that the pedometer is confusing your correctional backward pressure on the pedals with forward pedal strokes, hence the erratic distance readings.