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GPS computer or smart phone

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  • February 25, 2014 at 10:21 am #20795
    road

    Hi,

    I’m about to venture into the GPS computer market. This will include cadence and heart-rate monitors. However, I’m also about to upgrade the old phone, so this could be an opportunity to get seomething suitable for the bike-related-stuff and save on having to buy a dedicated device.

    Any comments or suggestions? Is this a good idea? Are the proper bike computers/gps much better than using a smart phone? What sort of interfaces would be best with a phone and do you have any recommendations?

    Many thanks
    Coxy

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  • February 25, 2014 at 12:01 pm #776843
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    KiwiMike

    To be clear: an iPhone will
    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.

    Battery life simply is not an issue anymore, with the most basic of steps to manage it. Anyone flattening their battery after a few hours is not even remotely trying, and deserves to pay the Garmin tax.

    Plus if you are going Audaxing, removable phone btys or external packs are very cheap nowadays.

    For navigation in unfamiliar places, a phone is by far the most cost-effective solution. There’s a reason virtually every SAR/mountain rescue organisation in the UK uses smartphones and Viewranger. It works, in the wilds, for a long time. It’ll do a Sunday bimble on the North Downs 🙂

    February 25, 2014 at 10:53 am #776841
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    langfordxc

    Phones
    Relatively cheap and
    Phones
    Relatively cheap and great quality high res mapping at reasonable prices – it’s possible to download 1:25K and 1:50K mapping. Streaming maps is unreliable away from cities and drains batteries fast. Phones are vulnerable if bar mounted (I smashed an iPhone after it’s case flipped open). Ok for occasional use but limited for longer rides.

    GPS units
    More expensive up front but keep going for much longer – I use a Garmin GPS 62s which is a hand held unit that works fine cycling and has HRM & cadence integration. It is much larger than their cycling specific units but is water proof and can be used for walking, kayaking etc. Another benefit is the batteries last ages and can be changed in the middle of a ride. Mapping generally isn’t as high res as phones and scrolling around to browse map tiles can be sluggish compared to phones. I’d avoid touch screen systems which are a pain in the cold when wearing gloves. Overall, probably the best choice for a cyclist because the latest units with on-screen mapping are excellent and are great for live navigation.

    Watches
    Suunto and Garmin both have some great products with the most sophisticated HRM software. Look for higher end watches that support HRV (Heart Rate Variation) which gives a ‘Training Effect’ for rides. It essentially processes the HR data and lets you know how hard your training ride has been. The latest watches include full GPS without the need for a separate pod. Mapping is generally very basic on screen for navigating with, but the watches will download your routes in the same way as a bar mounted GPS, so are fine for recording rides.

    February 25, 2014 at 10:50 am #776839
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    davecochrane

    You’ve got tons of options.
    You’ve got tons of options. Bluetooth LE is indeed rising in popularity, but the vast majority of devices out there (Polar excepted) use ANT+ which Samsung have just announced they’re going to add to all their phones (past and present as far back as Galaxy S3) which gives you even more choice if you’re upgrading your phone. If you’re an Android bod the S5 is released April 11th and is waterproof too….rather handy on the bike to protect from sweat and so on. Take a look at the Edge 510 or 500 (the last version) too. Excellent value. If you want mapping, an Edge 800 or 810 (the later ones have wireless) then you can get free turn by turn mapping as mentioned above. It works perfectly. 😀

    February 25, 2014 at 10:47 am #776837
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    Bigchrismm

    I personally view my phone as
    I personally view my phone as an incase last resort sort of tool, so i tend to charge it up before i go then if i need it i have incase i majorly break down.

    I say this because of the smart phone tracker apps strava etc tend to be a drain on you battery life, i.e. Ive got friends who just use their phones and its run out mid ride because of the battery usage. Its missed out the last of their rides and a few strava segments if your that way inclined.

    What i did recently was purchase a garmin 800 performance pack so h/r and cadence from amazon for around the 270 mark, then its 30 for the maps from garmin, but you don’t need to purchase the maps as all garmin a come with a basemap so can track you where ever you go.

    Hope this helps

    Chris

    February 25, 2014 at 10:47 am #776835
    0
    Bigchrismm

    I personally view my phone as
    I personally view my phone as an incase last resort sort of tool, so i tend to charge it up before i go then if i need it i have incase i majorly break down.

    I say this because of the smart phone tracker apps strava etc tend to be a drain on you battery life, i.e. Ive got friends who just use their phones and its run out mid ride because of the battery usage. Its missed out the last of their rides and a few strava segments if your that way inclined.

    What i did recently was purchase a garmin 800 performance pack so h/r and cadence from amazon for around the 270 mark, then its 30 for the maps from garmin, but you don’t need to purchase the maps as all garmin a come with a basemap so can track you where ever you go.

    Hope this helps

    Chris

    February 25, 2014 at 10:47 am #776833
    0
    Bigchrismm

    I personally view my phone as
    I personally view my phone as an incase last resort sort of tool, so i tend to charge it up before i go then if i need it i have incase i majorly break down.

    I say this because of the smart phone tracker apps strava etc tend to be a drain on you battery life, i.e. Ive got friends who just use their phones and its run out mid ride because of the battery usage. Its missed out the last of their rides and a few strava segments if your that way inclined.

    What i did recently was purchase a garmin 800 performance pack so h/r and cadence from amazon for around the 270 mark, then its 30 for the maps from garmin, but you don’t need to purchase the maps as all garmin a come with a basemap so can track you where ever you go.

    Hope this helps

    Chris

    February 25, 2014 at 10:36 am #776831
    0
    KiwiMike

    http://road.cc/content/forum/
    http://road.cc/content/forum/108899-smartphones-and-long-rides-strategy

    There’s a lot of info and suggestions here.

    You could spend £500+ on a Garmin and the gubbins, or maybe £150 on HRM/Cadence sensor connected to a new iPhone or some Android phones – check they have either ANT+ or Bluetooth 4 / Bluetooth LE.

    That way you can then use online mapping tools like Viewranger et al to plot and navigate routes. Mapping for Garmins is in excess of £100 for UK OS, or free on Viewranger using OpenStreetmap/Cyclemap, for the whole world.

    No, there’s no clear answer. It depends on depth of pocket, basically. Technically and usability-wise I don’t see one being better than the other.

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