Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - GPS settings question

Greetings all. I recently got a new phone (Nokia) with built in GPS and a great exercise tracking program, and I have some questions on general best practices of GPS settings.

My biking consists of a daily commute of about 11mi each way, and weekend rides of anywhere from 1-5 hours. I want to set up the GPS so that I can get as much of an apples to apples comparison between my commute and weekend rides- the hitch is that my commute has about 8 places where I come to a complete (or near complete) stop, including about 4-5 lights that stop me for a minute or more. Weekend rides generally have a much lower ratio of stops to miles.

That said, I have two GPS setting I can play with, and am seeking your input on which you think are best, from your own experience or observation/conjecture.

1. Auto-pause: Options are OFF or Speed Less Than 0.6mph, 1.2mph, or 3.1mph.
2. Speed averaging: Options are OFF, or Average of last 5sec, 10sec, 20sec, 30sec, 60 sec.

Thanks for all opinions.

1. I would use the 1.2 or 3.1. A pure GPS based device will not see you as stopped very often. This would cause your average speed to drop because the device thinks you are moving more than you really are. Thus the need to us something greater than 0.

2. Are you using this on your bars or in a pocket/bag. If on your bars you can play with off or 5sec. See which one you like best. If it will not be visible it is a mute point as this is only the display of your current speed. It has no impact on the totals for the ride.

1. I would use the 1.2 or 3.1. A pure GPS based device will not see you as stopped very often. This would cause your average speed to drop because the device thinks you are moving more than you really are. Thus the need to us something greater than 0.

2. Are you using this on your bars or in a pocket/bag. If on your bars you can play with off or 5sec. See which one you like best. If it will not be visible it is a mute point as this is only the display of your current speed. It has no impact on the totals for the ride.


Thanks for the input, especially point 2. I didn't know the speed averaging was just a "during ride" thing. The phone stays in a little holster on the shoulder strap, so I don't look at it other than to start and stop the thing.

I have my auto-pause set for around 3 mph so I can walk around as needed without affecting the mileage and average for the trip.