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Smartphones and long rides: The Strategy

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  • January 23, 2014 at 5:28 pm #20551
    KiwiMike

    There’s a lot of discussion around smartphones vs. Garmins for long rides. In one corner, Garminados waffle about 15hr battery life, waterproofness and size, while in the geek corner Mobilistas tout cheap smartphones with a few extra batteries as the way to go, not doubling up on tech as the Garmin crowd carry mobiles anyway.

    I present proof positive that a smartphone – even one 4 years old – can do the job. This screenshot is 5 1/2hrs into a ‘ride’, recording with Strava and using Viewranger for navigation, at 25% battery left. Critically the Viewranger Trip screen has been on all the time, with the nav arrow and other information displayed – meaning it can do a ride of over 7 hours with the display on permanently. Brightness was turned down, but it was still quite visible. Also the phone was connected to 3UK the whole time, mobile data and WiFi turned off.

    Noting that if you set the screen to auto-off after say 15 seconds, you can wake it to check direction at an intersection, then it will go back to sleep automatically. This will dramatically improve battery life to about 12hrs in this case, as you see below screen power accounts for nearly half battery usage.

    So you have Strava logging, always-on navigation, plus can receive calls/SMS. With the option to turn on mobile data to check email if really needed.

    The phone in this case is a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, but for £40-ish you could have a Motorola Defy from eBay, rated IP67 waterproof and pretty shockproof to boot. Stem-mount it on £27-worth of Quadlock and you have a quarter-turn easy on-off solution that is weatherproof and can have its always-on runtime doubled to around 12hrs using £10 worth of extra battery. Or out to 24hrs if you have screen sleep enabled.

    If/when you do need to stop and swap batteries, a Strava TCX/GPX file can be joined using one of a few methods to give that all-important one long ride.

    The 4.4-star rated Viewranger app is free for Android and iOS. You can purchase Viewranger maps for less than half of the Garmin cost and the online route planning tool is genius. £90 gets you all of the UK (£199 from Garmin), or smaller bits are priced applicably less. Or you can download Openstreetmap / Opencyclemap tiles for free *from the app, on the mobile* and use them anywhere in the world. This can be done whilst on the road, no laptop needed – for example, using free Wifi in a café. Did this in Belgium last year- worked flawlessly.

    Hopefully this goes some way to clearing the air and giving people hope that quality, robust on-bike long-ride nav, logging and comms is perfectly do-able for less than £100.

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  • May 6, 2014 at 7:28 am #770157
    0
    parksey

    Dave Atkinson wrote:So I’m

    Dave Atkinson wrote:
    So I’m sold, pretty much. Ideally someone would produce a skin-type case that turns the small clicky button on the side into a big fumbly button for gloves, and also has a quarter-turn mount on the back. Then it’s be more or less perfect

    Interested to hear your thoughts on this Dave, I’ve just got the Z2 handset myself and am also looking at options for mounting the phone on the stem.

    How do you get on with the Finn, particularly for a handset of this size? Whilst it’s only a tenner, I do have niggling doubts as to quite how robustly it will hold a £600 handset in place!

    I’ve otherwise been looking at the aforementioned Quad Lock, they don’t make (and aren’t planning to make – I did ask) a case specifically for the latest Sony handsets, so you’d need the universal kit which then just sticks to any old hard case. With the 10% code you get by simply signing up to their email list, the universal kit is a little over £20, plus another tenner for a reasonable quality case.

    As for your issue with using the side button to wake the phone, have you tried the feature to wake the phone by double-tapping the screen instead? I’ve admittedly yet to try this with gloves on myself, but I’m sure there’s also a glove mode buried somewhere in the settings too.

    May 6, 2014 at 1:59 am #770155
    0
    giobox

    Dave Atkinson wrote:Did the

    Dave Atkinson wrote:
    Did the first long ride with my new Sony Xperia Z1 compact today. It’s fully waterproof (IP58), so that means no case needed; i used a Finn bike mount on the stem.

    I ran it with Viewranger mapping and GPS recording in Strava. I didn’t turn any of the connections off, just stuck it straight on the bars. I ran the screen on a 1-minute timeout and clicked the clicky button every time i wanted to check the map: you can set it so there’s no screen lock, so one click gets you straight back to the map.

    We did 5h15m on the bike including stops (where it was still on the bike recording) and come the finish I still had 50% battery life left.

    So I’m sold, pretty much. Ideally someone would produce a skin-type case that turns the small clicky button on the side into a big fumbly button for gloves, and also has a quarter-turn mount on the back. Then it’s be more or less perfect

    You have a chance to use it in the rain yet? One of the reasons Garmin cite for avoiding smartphone style capacitive displays on their bike computers is in addition to capacitive displays not working with gloves, rain water can trigger the touch sensing on capacitive displays, triggering false inputs. Curious to hear how well the Z1 works in this scenario.

    I’ve read complaints from some Mio 505 bike computer users that rain water does indeed cause touch screen button presses on its capacitive display, similarly in reviews of the Z1 I’ve seen it pointed out the display can’t work underwater (although you’d hope on the bike total submersion isn’t going to happen!)

    May 5, 2014 at 8:54 pm #770153
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    Alan Tullett

    I have to admit to a very
    I have to admit to a very low-tech solution to this problem. Take along a plug and lead and plug phone in half-way through a long day in a pub/cafe. Not suitable for all types of rides but works fine for me. Battery on my iPhone 3GS lasts about 5/6 hours in any case but I was sometimes out for longer in the winter and needed a pub stop to warm up a bit in any case. Thought about buying an extra battery but no need so far!

    May 5, 2014 at 8:49 pm #770151
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    KiwiMike

    joemmo wrote:Easy Mike,

    joemmo wrote:
    Easy Mike, steady and relax.

    http://www.ianker.com/support-c1-g95.html

    .. google maps … all you need is GPS running, no data or mobile signal. It can’t give you any navigation instructions but you can at least see where you are.

    Heh. Firmly 😛

    Nice external bty. I have been eyeing the bike-perfected Topeak one for ages, but it’s about £50.

    If you have offline maps in Viewranger (either OS or free OpenStreetMap), you can do proper nav in airplane mode. No data required.

    May 5, 2014 at 8:33 pm #770149
    0
    joemmo

    Easy Mike, steady and
    Easy Mike, steady and relax.

    BUT just in case you do still suffer from premature drainage then you could consider carrying something like this:

    http://www.ianker.com/support-c1-g95.html

    I just got one as an on-the-road / emergency backup / recharger. It will either recharge or act as a drip feed if you keep it plugged in will the phone is on and claims to charge a ‘regular’ phone battery from flat at least once.

    ..and if you just want to use google maps when you’re out and about you can save a chunk of map to use offline (STW for instructions) and then all you need is GPS running, no data or mobile signal. It can’t give you any navigation instructions but you can at least see where you are.

    May 5, 2014 at 7:50 pm #770147
    0
    KiwiMike

    Dave, how VERY DARE YOU do a
    Dave, how VERY DARE YOU do a ride of more than 35 minutes without flattening your battery, despite it not being used for ANYTHING ELSE AT ALL.

    You clearly are in error – only individually-laminated 1-point font Post-It notes or £10,000 Garmins are capable of doing any sort of on-bike navigation to the standards required. A member of the Non-Smartphominati will be around Road.CC Towers to commence your Education, just as soon as they work out the route, print it in nano-particle-friendly font and convert it to a file format known only to the Oracle of Alexandria for upload.

    May 5, 2014 at 7:06 pm #770145
    0
    dave atkinson

    Did the first long ride with
    Did the first long ride with my new Sony Xperia Z1 compact today. It’s fully waterproof (IP58), so that means no case needed; i used a Finn bike mount on the stem.

    I ran it with Viewranger mapping and GPS recording in Strava. I didn’t turn any of the connections off, just stuck it straight on the bars. I ran the screen on a 1-minute timeout and clicked the clicky button every time i wanted to check the map: you can set it so there’s no screen lock, so one click gets you straight back to the map.

    We did 5h15m on the bike including stops (where it was still on the bike recording) and come the finish I still had 50% battery life left.

    So I’m sold, pretty much. Ideally someone would produce a skin-type case that turns the small clicky button on the side into a big fumbly button for gloves, and also has a quarter-turn mount on the back. Then it’s be more or less perfect

    March 10, 2014 at 3:30 pm #770143
    0
    dave atkinson

    KiwiMike wrote:benezeir

    KiwiMike wrote:
    benezeir wrote:
    I the think the hammerhead navigation device is going to end this debate. All the benefits of using the phone (connectivity, free route planning, track recording and navigation apps) with none of the battery or sunlight visibility problems as the phone is in your back pocket with the screen off, and the hammerhead flashes brightly on your handlebar to tell you there’s a turn coming up, and even how close to the top of the hill/strava segment you are.

    I’m very keen to read the real-world reviews of this. Assume that you have to carry a phone, have it on, in your pocket using Bluetooth (no idea what flavour, should be 4 / Smart though). What this is doing is showing you distance to turn and direction. That’s something that an app like Viewranger can and does do, without really impacting battery life (checking for 15 seconds at each junction by waking the screen with a single home button press is easy). The handlebar real estate needed looks similar to a phone – good luck with using lights or a bar-mounted computer/HRM with this – you’ll need to put either the other kit or the Hammerhead out front on a Barfly. The Hammerhead is ‘a’ solution, and like people who find an Edge works for them, I’m sure there will be people who like the Hammerhead. Others might decide they need the maps side of thing on the bars, accessible instantly. I might be a Hammerhead convert, if the reviews are good and I can find a spare £100 or whatever.

    i backed it, so i should have one to play with in the indeterminate future 😉

    January 28, 2014 at 9:11 pm #770141
    0
    StevieDubb

    Good thread, wish had read
    Good thread, wish had read similar long time ago! I ditched my Garmin Edge 305 with power problems and rather than buy another I put my iPhone 4S on the bars of both my bikes using a Topeak iPhone Ride case for £30. Very stable/secure, ridden a few thousand miles on the road now without problem.

    If weather dodgy I use the silicone cover the ride case comes with, if full-on rain I use an extra Topeak dry bag on same mount.

    I bought an extra Topeak battery that straps with Velcro under the stem, about £50. Reasonably out of sight and not heavy, if not exactly sexy. I’m using Cyclemeter (more power hungry but loads of custom stats, graphs & maps) and linked by Bluetooth to HR & Speed/Cadence sensors. Get around 6 hours from the battery then 4 hours from the phone battery but also bought a 2nd battery for Coast-to-Coast-in-a-day and Derbyshire to Devon over 2 days. Strava definitely better for power usage (I just upload by email from Cyclemeter) and I’m keen to try the navigation app others mentioned as an alternative.

    Only problems have been with Topeak batteries, had to send 2 back with damaged micro-USB connectors and 2 with damaged cables, not damaged whilst riding though. Once sorted have been great and now happy have got a set up that will see me through longest of day-rides with all the live data even a data-head like me could ever want. The dry bag is sealed so can’t plug in the external battery but then 4 hours or so is plenty long enough for me if it’s that wet. Before the Topeak bike-specific batteries I also used an extra iPhone battery pack sat in a tri-bag on the top tube which did the job too but some iPhone cables were a pain stopping charging & bleeping.

    January 28, 2014 at 11:48 am #770139
    0
    DaveE128

    For shorter rides, “track
    For shorter rides, “track navigator” on android is a great free app, which loads routes directly from http://www.ridewithgps.com and reads out (text-to-speech) the prompts on the cue sheet (which you can edit on ridewithgps.)

    Unfortunately it uses google maps not openstreetmap tiles, so you have to have data on or the map disappears. You can still have the voice prompts and breadcrumbs with data off, but would be awesome if the developer added OSM support.

    My main concerns with putting a phone on the bars is that most are not designed to be shock proof, and it is hard to find a decent phone mount that is adequately secure and provides weather protection. I put mine in a top tube bag designed for the purpose (“the rules” are for posers 😉 ) which works fairly well and provides good shock protection, but it rubs my knees slightly when standing (i prefer to stay seated most of the time anyway) and you have to look down a long way to see the screen.

    I’ve also heard from others that use BTLE that they have had a lot of problems with sensors losing connection half way through the ride 🙁

    January 27, 2014 at 6:26 pm #770137
    0
    giobox

    benezeir wrote:I the think

    benezeir wrote:
    I the think the hammerhead navigation device is going to end this debate. All the benefits of using the phone (connectivity, free route planning, track recording and navigation apps) with none of the battery or sunlight visibility problems as the phone is in your back pocket with the screen off, and the hammerhead flashes brightly on your handlebar to tell you there’s a turn coming up, and even how close to the top of the hill/strava segment you are.

    This seems like a great idea in theory, however turn by turn based navigation doesn’t really work all that great on a bike. Most of the GPS routes you pull from websites don’t have turn data, and even those that do can be pretty sketchy. I’ve long given up on turn guidance on the Edge 800 and just follow the map now, no one I know with bike GPS has ever been able to get satisfactory turn by turn navigation.

    The turn data is also usually based on how cars drive, which is often quite different from how you might tackle a corner on a bike.

    January 27, 2014 at 3:27 pm #770135
    0
    KiwiMike

    pepita1 wrote:It would be

    pepita1 wrote:
    It would be nice if there was a way to set an alarm to go off when you cycle past a pre determined control point. Just thinking of a way for me to remember to stop at unmanned control points when riding an audax.

    The Viewranger app allows you to set alarms for approaching and over-running waypoints, as well as going off-course in general. Unfortunately the app decides what is a ‘waypoint’ so it’s next to useless as an alarm as it’s always going off. I do have the XTE or ‘cross-track’ alarm that goes off if I wander more than 50m off course. I’m hoping Viewranger will allow you to set waypoints, or alarms only for specific waypoints. Seems a glaring omission for what is otherwise great software.

    January 27, 2014 at 1:06 pm #770133
    0
    cqexbesd

    KiwiMike wrote:My aim is to

    KiwiMike wrote:
    My aim is to have low-cost stress-free nav where making a mistake or a detour is forgiveable/recoverable. £150 for a 500 with no maps. Or the 800 is £300 with the UK 1:50k maps, which is a great solution – if you have £300. Add another £150 for the 810.

    I’m using a Garmin Dakota 20 with OpenStreetMap and it works quite well. Not perfect but better than any phone setup I have managed. The touch screen is ok but not great – if I had to buy again I might go for the etrex something. I like the compass as it tells me which way to start off in after stopping for lunch!

    Long battery life, easily swapable batteries, water proof, screen always visible etc.

    I’m still trying to find a good way to utilise my dynamo to charge batteries though.

    January 27, 2014 at 12:36 pm #770131
    0
    KiwiMike

    benezeir wrote:I the think

    benezeir wrote:
    I the think the hammerhead navigation device is going to end this debate. All the benefits of using the phone (connectivity, free route planning, track recording and navigation apps) with none of the battery or sunlight visibility problems as the phone is in your back pocket with the screen off, and the hammerhead flashes brightly on your handlebar to tell you there’s a turn coming up, and even how close to the top of the hill/strava segment you are.

    I’m very keen to read the real-world reviews of this. Assume that you have to carry a phone, have it on, in your pocket using Bluetooth (no idea what flavour, should be 4 / Smart though). What this is doing is showing you distance to turn and direction. That’s something that an app like Viewranger can and does do, without really impacting battery life (checking for 15 seconds at each junction by waking the screen with a single home button press is easy). The handlebar real estate needed looks similar to a phone – good luck with using lights or a bar-mounted computer/HRM with this – you’ll need to put either the other kit or the Hammerhead out front on a Barfly. The Hammerhead is ‘a’ solution, and like people who find an Edge works for them, I’m sure there will be people who like the Hammerhead. Others might decide they need the maps side of thing on the bars, accessible instantly. I might be a Hammerhead convert, if the reviews are good and I can find a spare £100 or whatever.

    January 27, 2014 at 11:49 am #770129
    0
    Eg3ftp1

    I the think the hammerhead
    I the think the hammerhead navigation device is going to end this debate. All the benefits of using the phone (connectivity, free route planning, track recording and navigation apps) with none of the battery or sunlight visibility problems as the phone is in your back pocket with the screen off, and the hammerhead flashes brightly on your handlebar to tell you there’s a turn coming up, and even how close to the top of the hill/strava segment you are.

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