GPS computer or smart phone

randonneur wrote:Ant+ is old

randonneur wrote:

Ant+ is old technology and no longer needed.

ANT+ is older technology but is also arguably better for sensor technology than BLE for a number of technical and practical reasons. There is also a large installed base of ANT+ devices, which are still widely available and developed (often with dual protocol support), so the argument that they are no longer needed is specious at best.

If you have a smartphone with both, e.g. Sony Xperia, Samsung S3/4 and up, then you’re sitting pretty.

KiwiMike wrote: as opposed to

KiwiMike wrote:

as opposed to Garmin who have you by the short & curlies regarding map purchases.

They do have you by the short and curlies if you want to buy the maps that Garmin make specifically. Fortunately, Garmin also let you use maps from a wide range of sources, many of them free, on the their devices – you’re not locked into their software in any way.

On mine I have an £8 16gb SD card plugged in, with the entirety or Europe installed on it, for free (donations to the website offering them are optional). It’s really very easy to do, and not in any way contravening your user agreement with Garmin.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/download-garmin-705800810.html

If you want to use a
If you want to use a smartphone with cadence & hr that’s another £100 for the wahoo kit.

S13SFC wrote:wellcoordinated

S13SFC wrote:

wellcoordinated wrote:

KiwiMike wrote:

To be clear: an iPhone will last over 12hrs on a ride, if you turn off WiFi and mobile data. Ditto mobile navigation like Viewranger, if you set the screen to be off and only wake it for turns.

Really?

I use ViewRanger on an iPhone with everything switched off and all apps closed and never got more than 5 hours out of it. My impression is this is par for the course for an iPhone. 12 Hours is just incredible. Then again everything has to be switched off so it would be hopeless for navigation on a century ride..

Rubbish. I do it virtually every weekend. Simply flick wifi, data/3G off and use Viewranger as & when and 12hrs is easy.

If you want your iphone to last as long as possible, and you don’t have the latest iphone with the longer lasting battery, use Viewranger to plan your route, save the resulting gpx file, email it to yourself, then open the email in Bikehub. When you’re on your ride, turn all data completely off, turn the Bikehub map off as well, and just follow the breadcrumb. Because the breadcrumb is stored in the phone, you don’t have to wait for the map to constantly render, so there is no delay to slow you down at junctions and you don’t have to keep turning the screen on and off. It always works, even if you’re in an area with no signal.

If you want to extend the life of your iphone battery further then just get a charging unit (the type that takes two AA or AAA batteries) off Ebay for a couple of quid. Carry half a dozen AAs and you’ve suddenly got a system that will last over 24 hours, or indefinitely if you buy AAs on route. I find that a set of fresh AAs will raise my 3 year old iphone’s battery life from 10% to 40%. I was out on a 24 hour ride last year and the set-up worked fine for me, without having to ever worry about running out of juice.

KiwiMike wrote:To be clear:

KiwiMike wrote:

To be clear: an iPhone will last over 12hrs on a ride, if you turn off WiFi and mobile data. Ditto mobile navigation like Viewranger, if you set the screen to be off and only wake it for turns.

Really?

I use ViewRanger on an iPhone with everything switched off and all apps closed and never got more than 5 hours out of it. My impression is this is par for the course for an iPhone. 12 Hours is just incredible. Then again everything has to be switched off so it would be hopeless for navigation on a century ride..

KiwiMike wrote:Shep73

KiwiMike wrote:

[quote=Shep73]Garmin 800’s are no where near £500 so not sure where the poster who put that comment got his pricing. If you want navigation then go for a Garmin. Also Garmins give a better fix than a phone. They are also cheaper to replace in a crash than a phone. Garmin can and do repair them which is getting harder with new phones. If you do mount the phone on your bike and manage to smash it, you’re buggered if you use it for navigating or need to call for help.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-edge-800-gps-performance-navigation-bundle/%5B/quote%5D

£300 + £100 for maps + £50 for HRM strap = close as buggery to £500

The idea Garmins give ‘a better fix’ than phones is just wrong I have been plotting and recording rides weekly for years, and have never seen a discrepancy of more than a few % either way between GPS and mega-accurate bike computer going off the wheel. A friend tracks using Garmin on all our rides, comparing Strava tracks again there’s nothing in it.

If you don’t own or need a smartphone, then yes a Garmin might be best. If you already have one there are now multiple waterproof, shockproof options to use your existing hardware to record and navigate for free as opposed to Garmin who have you by the short & curlies regarding map purchases. Battery life and GPS accuracy are not arguments against using phones.

Maps are included at the £300 bracket, you can also download free maps that actually better than the Garmin ones. I have had it on good authority from people in the industry that a dedicated GPS gives a better fix. More so for off road in places such as the Forest of Dean, I have had gaps in rides using a phone and never had this problem with my 800. On open road areas I doubt there is any difference but it proves that dedicated GPS units are more reliable/accurate. Strava also recommend dedicated GPS units for making segments. I wouldn’t want to stick a £4/500 phone on my handle bars.

Shep73 wrote:Garmin 800’s are
[quote=Shep73]Garmin 800’s are no where near £500 so not sure where the poster who put that comment got his pricing. If you want navigation then go for a Garmin. Also Garmins give a better fix than a phone. They are also cheaper to replace in a crash than a phone. Garmin can and do repair them which is getting harder with new phones. If you do mount the phone on your bike and manage to smash it, you’re buggered if you use it for navigating or need to call for help.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-edge-800-gps-performance-navigation-bundle/%5B/quote%5D

£300 + £100 for maps + £50 for HRM strap = close as buggery to £500

The idea Garmins give ‘a better fix’ than phones is just wrong I have been plotting and recording rides weekly for years, and have never seen a discrepancy of more than a few % either way between GPS and mega-accurate bike computer going off the wheel. A friend tracks using Garmin on all our rides, comparing Strava tracks again there’s nothing in it.

If you don’t own or need a smartphone, then yes a Garmin might be best. If you already have one there are now multiple waterproof, shockproof options to use your existing hardware to record and navigate for free as opposed to Garmin who have you by the short & curlies regarding map purchases. Battery life and GPS accuracy are not arguments against using phones.

If you’re looking at going
If you’re looking at going down the phone route, it depends which operating system you would be using.

My friend has an iPhone 5, which he uses with the Wahoo Bluetooth HRM and Speed/Cadence sensor which he mounts on his handlebars. The downside of this is 1) he can’t keep his screen on the whole time due to battery restrictions, 2) the moment it starts raining, he puts it in his pocket.

I’ve recommended that he looks at the Wahoo RFLKT(+), but this is another spend which he’s not willing to do yet. At the minute he simply asks me how far we’ve been/time and looks at the stats when he gets home.

It also depends on the software that you want to upload to?
Strava for iOS supports the wahoo, and I believe other brand peripherals, whereas for Anrdoid, it only supports the Zephyr HxM at the minute.

If you’re looking at going down the Android route, make sure you purchase a phone which is running at least Android 4.3, as this has updates for the latest bluetooth stack, so should connect to some of the bluetooth heart rate monitors.

The android route is restricted by app support for heartrate and cadence sensors for the majority of mainstream upload sites (garmin, strava, training peaks etc).

Some of the newer android phones are starting to include ANT+ hardware (sony and Samsung to my knowledge), meaning that you can use the garmin accessories, but again the app support is limited.

I personally use a Garmin 500 with HRM and speed/cadence sensor and it works great!

I upload all of my rides to Garmin connect and Strava either via my PC, or by connecting the USB to my rooted Nexus 7.

If you don’t like the thought of being tethered to a PC for uploading all of your rides, look for the newer models, as the majority can upload to Garmin Connect via the bluetooth on your phone, although not to Strava (to my knowledge).

I don’t have much experience with other hardware, but it may be worth taking a look at http://www.dcrainmaker.com/, as he’s got a lot of thorough reviews on the site!