Bicycle Mechanics - GPS pooters.

Guys,

does anyone make a GPS pooter for bikes? I know you can get Garmin handlebar mounts but I'm wondering if there's a pooter out there that does other than GPS things, like some bike pooters do?

If you tell me what a pooter is, I may have an answer for you. I know of some GPS stuff.

Koffee

Pooter as in Jamaican-style Rasta - computer.

OK- I know of a good GPS unit out of Timex. It will actually measure your speed and stuff in real time and give you a real time read out every 2 seconds. You would need to buy a Timex digital watch to go with it. For a few extra dollars, you can get the Data Recorder, which will also monitor other parameters, such as average heart rate, instantaneous heart rate, total time, etc.

The newer GPS Timex unit is a little smaller than the older one, so it is a bit less scary to look at. It mounts to your arm and you hook up the wires to your bike, and you're good to go. The bodylink Data Recorder is easy to use- you just touch it to the Timex watch before you begin, then after you finish your training session, you touch it to your watch again. You can download all this data into your computer, and you'll get all kinds of printouts and readouts for your training session.

Koffee

OK- I know of a good GPS unit out of Timex. It will actually measure your speed and stuff in real time and give you a real time read out every 2 seconds. You would need to buy a Timex digital watch to go with it. For a few extra dollars, you can get the Data Recorder, which will also monitor other parameters, such as average heart rate, instantaneous heart rate, total time, etc.

The newer GPS Timex unit is a little smaller than the older one, so it is a bit less scary to look at. It mounts to your arm and you hook up the wires to your bike, and you're good to go. The bodylink Data Recorder is easy to use- you just touch it to the Timex watch before you begin, then after you finish your training session, you touch it to your watch again. You can download all this data into your computer, and you'll get all kinds of printouts and readouts for your training session.

Koffee

Thanks KoffeeBrown. I'll look for the Timex things. As I recall they are UK made so I should find something local to where I live. PS. Have you used the Timex yourself? It sounds a bit of schlep doing the hookup thing.

I have the Garmin eTrex. Its not specifically a bike computer or anything, its just a real cheap (100 bucks on amazon) gps receiver, that is infinitely helpful when going riding after work (when the sun sets before you get done if you are being lazy).

After a friend got lost in the woods and had to spend the night (as local rescue choppers flew above), i decided to get one so we could always find our way back to the parking lot again. I still use a normal cycle comptuer on my bike, but i leave the gps in my bag for emergencies (or for recording the coords of really nice dh lines or natural obstacles).

I have the Garmin eTrex. Its not specifically a bike computer or anything, its just a real cheap (100 bucks on amazon) gps receiver, that is infinitely helpful when going riding after work (when the sun sets before you get done if you are being lazy).

After a friend got lost in the woods and had to spend the night (as local rescue choppers flew above), i decided to get one so we could always find our way back to the parking lot again. I still use a normal cycle comptuer on my bike, but i leave the gps in my bag for emergencies (or for recording the coords of really nice dh lines or natural obstacles).

nikoljbaer - I have decided to go for the eTrek Vista.

I have an Etrex Vista and also the bike mount. I use the GPS alot for bike touring, the Vista has the memory and a basemap of North America so it's really handy for Touring. it has some county and state roads so it is fairly handy for the most part in navigation and also it'll give you a straight line distance to major citys which is handy.

Just be careful of the click-stick. I've broken mine off and mine is out of warentee. I think Garmin has a fixed price non-warentee repair policy that is $125. I do not feel it is worth $125 for me to fix that stinkin part. (The black rubber nub broke off, the stick still works it's just a PITA). I called Garmin, they told me that they can't send me the part because it's also a water seal, blah blah blah. So I guess I'll just make do until it gets soaked and stops working. Then I'll send it back to garmin. :(

Jay

Thanks Jay. I had read about problems with the stick you mentioned and one of the sales guys at an outdoor shop said it was a pain to get repaired. Guess I'll be very careful with it.

Try giving your GPS Beano.

The TIMEX unit is NOT a GPS unit in the traditional sense. It has no location readout. It merely uses the GPS satellite signals to compute speed and distance. It also functions as a HRM and has all the regular functions of an Ironman chronometer.

DEMON

How about this one?

Very Interesting ... (click me, come on - click me!) (http://www.motionresearch.com/products.htm)

Yes bac, I did click on it! :)


The display consists of speed, distance, location and other optional user-programmable indications - (gear position, shift indication, etc.)

Very interesting!!! Would be cool if it could tie into Shimano's Flight Deck and give you gear indications that thing. Now it does say it gives location, I wonder what? Lat/Lon, UTM coordinates?, a North/South American Basemap like the Etrex Vista???

Interesting concept, propably pretty costly though... Don't crash!

Jay

I've got a Magellan SproTrak. One of the options is a bike mount. It's about the size of an older cell phone.

Thanks Jay. I had read about problems with the stick you mentioned and one of the sales guys at an outdoor shop said it was a pain to get repaired. Guess I'll be very careful with it.

Well I just fixed mine, I'm happy to report.

Background: broke black rubber outer cover to click stick, lost the cover. Clickstick still worked fine but was now a bit shorter than before. Pain to use.

The Fix: I tried to simply glue a little extension to the misty white button underneath but it wasn't strong and wouldn't last long. Then I had an idea, I got one of those pins with a round head on it, something one would use to hang posters on the wall. I used a set of cutters to cut the round head off with about 1.5mm of metal shaft left. I then took the other metal shaft of the pin and used my gas stove to heat up the pin til it was redhot, using pliers to hold it of course. Then I put the hot pin to the plastic white nub underneat as sort of a drill. (I don't have that small a drill bit but theoretically if you've got a dremel tool, a steady hand, and a super small drill bit, it might work too).

Then I pulled the pin out (you may pull out the white nub which is OK, it'll go back in) and put the little pin with the round head into the hole that you made. There, now you've got an extension on the nub and you're back in business.

Granted the unit isn't as waterproof as it was before but hey, if it gets wet and stops working, then I'll send it back to Garmin and there horrible out-of-warentee repair policy. Heck, if I want to spend half the amount the GPS is worth, it better be broken!

Jay

Just for fun, I periodically strap my aviation gps (Garmin) to my bars. It's a good way to check the speed shown on my CatEye (amazingly close). Also, when I get home it will plot the route I just rode. It doesn't show roads the way an etrex will.