Garmin or can I get away with the iPhone?

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  • #18274
    snappyandrew

    Hi there
    Just joined the forum so excuse any protocol muck ups.
    I have an Iphone but am thinking of getting a Garmin so that I can get a SatNav and GPX compatibility. I want this to go on long journeys and not be constantly stopping. There’s also the battery life thing.
    I’d be really interested to see if anyone has any views
    Cheers
    Andrew

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 22 total)
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  • #723451
    0
    Tour Le Tour

    KiwiMike wrote:
    Regarding GPS

    KiwiMike wrote:

    Regarding GPS accuracy, there’s no fundamental difference between a Garmin or iPhone. Garmin may ping the GPS chipset more often, that’s all. Antenna placement might be an issue – if the phone’s vertical against a 70L sack of water and the Garmin’s out front on your bike, as you ride through an area of trees / steep hills, it might make a difference.

    Hmm, that is disappointing, I am planning to get a Garmin and was hoping for a sudden huge improvement in accuracy. At the moment I use an android phone running sports tracker and/or strava, and without knowing details such as how many satellites of what type it tracks it seems to be pretty comparable with an iphone. I still want the garmin so I have something a bit more rugged that sits out the front where I can see it the whole time because I will be using it for navigation a lot. As I said, I was hoping for better accuracy too though!

    #723449
    0
    KiwiMike

    Strava support told me Apple
    Strava support told me Apple only allow the app GPS data every three seconds – possibly to preserve battery life. So on very short segments it’s luck of the draw where you are when the combo of GPs accuracy plus the Strava start/finish ‘bubble’ coincide.

    Regarding GPS accuracy, there’s no fundamental difference between a Garmin or iPhone. Garmin may ping the GPS chipset more often, that’s all. Antenna placement might be an issue – if the phone’s vertical against a 70L sack of water and the Garmin’s out front on your bike, as you ride through an area of trees / steep hills, it might make a difference.

    Personally, reviewing my tracks I’ve never seen a problem, using Strava, Viewranger or any other GPX-recording app.

    Andrew, just be sure to tweak the bty settings on both VR and the phone in general. With the right settings you can go all day and still get calls/SMS.

    #723447
    0
    Cycle_Jim

    I’m holding out for cateye
    I’m holding out for cateye gps stuff, they look nice and hopefully price is a bit cheaper than the Garmins. At the min I run my android with no wifi/date on using Strava and the battery life is pretty decent. Only had it running for around 3 hours so far but think it would be happy doing 6/7. Would be nice to have something visible on the bars though

    #723445
    0
    ade

    +1 to this. I just checked
    +1 to this. I just checked the Strava log of my lunchtime ride recorded with my iPhone 5, and it missed all bar one of the segments on it. I don’t care, I just noticed their absence.

    Looking at the fine detail of the trace you can see where it’s drifted a few metres sideways off the road. Top = iPhone, bottom = Garmin Edge 305.

    #723443
    0
    notfastenough

    Anyone interested in
    Anyone interested in this?

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-noh-edge-500/

    Edge 500 that was returned by the customer, refurbed, and now up for the price of an Edge 200.

    #723441
    0
    joemmo

    GPS bike computer on the bars
    GPS bike computer on the bars for stats, data and basic route finding, paper map for backup. Just printing out an A4 sheet covering your ride area from Google maps or better, a proper mapping app, and carrying it in a plastic sleeve sealed up is better than trying to work out a route on a little screen. .

    Don’t take my smartphone riding any more, just an old dumbphone for, y u know, making phone calls and stuff.
    Although admittedly the GPS mapping part is handy if you are actually lost

    #723439
    0
    stealfwayne

    Anyone got a MIO 305HC –
    I

    Anyone got a MIO 305HC –
    I too am in the market of gettign a GPS after getting lost, making a bad choice at junctions and ending up doing 53 miles. (Which i agree is no bad thing, but the wife got very worried when i wasn’t home)
    This unit looks like it does much the same thing as a Garmin for nearly half the costs. Any thoughts please gentlemen

    #723437
    0
    hotweathercyclist

    Just bump up to a Garmin.
    Just bump up to a Garmin. Once you have it you wont look back.

    #723435
    0
    Anonymous

    certainly would not recommend
    certainly would not recommend a smart phone if you are planning to time yourself on ride segments using Strava – not as accurate as a GPS enabled Garmin.

    #723433
    0
    stepho

    I can think of better ways to
    I can think of better ways to spend 300 quid.
    Strava app free. Stick iPhone in back pocket and forget about it.
    If you get lost? No big deal really.

    #723431
    0
    snappyandrew

    Thanks everyone for your
    Thanks everyone for your advice. I’m going to try the Viewranger option as someone has lent me a battery pack for the iPhone so we’ll see how it goes.
    Cheers
    Andrew

    #723429
    0
    _SiD_

    Scrapped all my computers a
    Scrapped all my computers a few years ago and enjoy cycling a lot more.
    It’s interesting seeing the stats after a ride – I’m not one for checking the speedo every 30 seconds so an iPhone in the back pocket would probably suit me fine.
    I’ve been looking at the Wahoo options as well – more for training with TrainerRoad.com than any mapping functions.

    A HR strap or cadence sensor with a Suunto ant+ stick is all you need.
    A friend uses it and it looks very very impressive.

    Would like to see a good review of this set up.

    #723427
    0
    KiwiMike

    Hi Andrew
    I use an iPhone5

    Hi Andrew

    I use an iPhone5 with 3G data and Wifi off, using Strava and Viewranger for maps/nav, some photos, and after 4hrs it’s down to ~70%. Meaning if you extrapolate it’s about 13hrs capacity. Like others, if I was going out all day I carry a tiny 1000MAh battery pack that gives a 2/3 charge, or I have a bigger 2000MAh iPhone case one that gives a full charge and then some – that’s over 24hrs riding!

    Viewranger is hands-down the best route-building and nav app – it’s genius, especially the route builder online with ‘bike’ mode. You can buy the entire South of UK 1:50,000 OS maps for about £17. Other chunks of UK and overseas maps are at similar prices – I’m buying half of Belgium next week for my L-B-L adventures. Great for rambling too.

    Once you’ve built a route in Viewranger it syncs with the phone, and when you click ‘follow’ you can get alerts coming up to turns, and alarms if you go off-track – use this feature all the time to keep on course when I have a rough idea but not 100% sure. If you have mobile data turned on your other half/friends can track you via the BuddyBeacon feature.

    The fact that just about every SAR team in the UK uses Viewranger is testament to its value.

    Certainly right now I can’t see the £350+ advantage of buying an 810 or even a 510. I’m sure they are lovely bits of kit, but if I had the cash I’d be buying better wheels/shoes etc before a Garmin.

    #723425
    0
    roly

    i’m interested in the wahoo
    i’m interested in the wahoo rflkt. its like a remote screen to your phone. keep you phone in your backpocket and it transmits via bluetooth. i got the wahoo case but it was very bulky and got stolen with my old bike.wouldn’t bother replacing it either. the screen works with wahoo app and cyclemeter but is apparently programmable too. soon other apps will work with it. only problem is always having to have iphone but i am sure soon it will work with android etc.

    #723423
    0
    Alan Tullett

    Try and win a Garmin on
    Try and win a Garmin on fantasy cycling! That’s how I got my Bryton 40 and it’s similar in functionality to the Garmin 200 described above. I find it’s useful when I’m going on a new route but don’t want to stop too often to look at a map or risk damaging my phone by having it mounted on the bike. If you go off course it still tracks the ride to create a new course you can save for next time. They have new models that might be worth checking out.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 22 total)
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