rl249

Hey guys,

Lately I've been looking to buy my first bike computer. I'm having a hard time trying to find the one that isn't insanely expensive.
All I want my bike computer to do is work as a gps. If it records speeds and other things then that's fantastic. usually what I do when I'm on a ride is I plan my ride before on a website called National Journey Planner - I manually map out my ride and save the .gpx, after that I upload to the gpx file to my mobile phone, I do the cycle ( mostly from memory of mapping it out ) and I stop if i need to.

What bike computer would be best purely for gps?

Thanks for any help guys!

Athens80

Your mobile phone. There are cases and mounts to put your phone onto your handlebars.

A separate, GPS-enabled, mapping cycling computer costs $200 to $500; it sounds like you already consider that range insanely expensive.

There are portable GPS devices which are not bike computers specifically for under $200, such as Garmin eTrex.

rl249

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. As a matter of interest, what gps would I look for if I wanted the gps functionality.

Seattle Forrest

For your needs, your phone is probably just right. I'm assuming you have a smart phone, and that it has GPS in it.

If you have Android, Google's My Tracks app is free and does exactly what you want: record a GPS track, export a GPX file.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....maps.mytracks

njkayaker

You are already using your phone. Use the phone to record your ride.

The app you are using to view the gpx file might have the option to record your ride.

You might consider getting an external battery charger. They are cheap.

Fly2High

i grabbed 3 2200 mAh battery chargers from Costco for something like $15. They are only 3/4" x 3/4" x 4" give or take and can recharge a dead phone completely. I think the iPhone 6 is 1800mAh so you can still charge it a bit more a second time. For me, the two charges tend to be enough. Of course, the Costco package had 3 and they were all small and lightweight so I could put 2 or 3 of them in a jersey pocket, saddle bag or goodie bag and be able to ride all day without fear of the phone dieing.

I think one of these chargers weighs equal to or less than a Garmin so if you are going to have a phone as well as the Garmin, there is really no difference in total weight carried as well.

The 3 pack from Costco also had on/off switches for charging your phone and a built in flashlight(not great but OK in a pinch)

It has for me helped to stave off the need for a GPS unit.

njkayaker

Due to unavoidable inefficiencies, you get less mAh out of them than they are rated at (it might be around 20% less).

The Garmin is likely easier to mount and (by itself) it's better protected from weather. That is, there are some reasons a Garmin would work better for some people.

Fly2High

I agree but it could be several things going on with my tests. 1. I did get more than a full charge from one. It could be that the battery in mine was able to take more charge than listed. Flying model planes and using decent batteries this is often the norm and not the exception. The meter on the phone could be poor or it is easy to put a little energy back in when the phone is low and have the meter read than when almost full so the extra I got in on the second partial charge probably was really less than indicated.

In the end, I got to have a phone recharged fully one time and had a little left to spare to charge some more for an emergency. Not sure many need more than 2 charges when riding.

As for waterproof, etc., you are totally correct. The Garmin is made to be out in the elements and even if it does fail, you might still have a phone to use. I say might because most put their phones in their back pocket and many here say in an accident, things in the back pocket can be damaged or hurt you so I am not sure what is the best place to put a phone. Mine stays in a Timbuk2 Goodie bag and the charger beneath it sitting on the top tube. I don't think there is a good place for most stuff when riding.

CliffordK

RideWithGPS is a bicycle ap designed for planing a ride, then riding. However one must pay to get full functionality. The GPS for the free version leaves a bit to be desired, as you only get good maps when connected to cell service.

I"ve been using Strava a bit lately. At least it seems to learn the area one is riding (at least when riding around town), and keeps many of the maps. I'll have to try more unique rides later.

I haven't used MapMyRide yet, but it is worth exploring.

I haven't gotten of the fancy Garmin head units. Maybe later.

John_V 

Do a search on the Internet on how to optimize your particular phone to increase battery life. It's a simple matter of changing some settings to some of the apps that you have on your phone that really don't require certain phone functions and making sure that there are no apps running in the background other than your cycling app. I did it on my iPhone 5c and I have done centuries, without the need to recharge the phone, and had plenty of battery life left for emergency calls. As of now, my iPhone goes through roughly 10% battery life for each hour I ride with the GPS turned on. If you plan on a long ride and plan on very long stops, you only need to pause your cycling app when you stop so it doesn't use the GPS. You just need to remember to start the ride back up after your break. An advantage that you have with using a phone for your cycling computer is that it's much cheaper to try different cycling apps until you find the one you want than it is to try different GPS cycling computers. If you want to be able to see your speed, miles and other data without having to turn on your phone's screen, look at the Wahoo RFLKT and RFLKT+ devices. Not all cycling apps work with this device but the most popular ones do. Wahoo does have it's own cycling app called Wahoo Fitness that's free, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

hig4s

for those with a windows phone this works pretty well https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/stor...e/9wzdncrfhxwb

gracehowler

Another thought: There may be more efficient phones out there but I have followed John_v advice and my old samsung s3 still is less than two hours to kill it using the gps function. Now maybe I like to look at the map and the screen too much, and I know the display is the watt eater but my old Garmin 705 can easily run two days touring and I still have battery in m phone for emergencies.
R

John_V 

Just how old is your Samsung's battery? It may be that it is needing replacement. I've never owned a Samsung so I don't know how long their batteries last vs an iPhone.

Looigi

Display on or off? In my experience, it's the display that draws the most current, by far. If you have it on the bars constantly displaying the map or ride metrics, you'll likely only get a couple of hours or so.

curtiseddie

I have used "mapmyrun" on my phone for running for a very long time now. I just started using it for tracking my ride. I'm pretty happy with it. And since I'm always carrying my phone, I don't have to add another device to my pack. It has performed better than the Nike+ app.
If you log on to the desktop website, it shows you elevation throughout the track.

John_V 

My display is always off. I use a Wahoo RFLKT+ to display my data when I ride. It pairs to the phone via Bluetooth and connects to my cycling app, which sends it the data to display. This is a photo of an RFLKT showing data from a smartphone cycling app. The screens are totally user customizable.

Athens80

A "cycling computer" for me is a system includes both a recorder of cycling data and a display that's always visible while cycling. That can be a single unit mounted on the handlebars or a head unit on the handlebars with the computer and recorder, in say, your back pocket.

Having just a smart phone in the back pocket recording data is a fundamentally different use case than having a computer display on the handlebars. Looking at a map or course or power or speed or cadence or heart rate data after the ride is not the same as having it displayed live.

Comparing smartphones to cycling-specific computers has to include either a case and handlebar mount, plus any battery extenders that might be needed for long rides, or it has to include a separate display like the RFLKT.

Of course, if you want just a recorder for your home or online cycling log, then using just the smartphone in the back pocket becomes more attractive.

gracehowler

When I first tested it the battery was a year old, now it is 3 years old. I'm a map person, so I have to keep the display on or it's worthless to me as a GPS, that is how I use it. The OP may have a different idea of GPS.
R

Fly2High

DO any of the GPS or Phone apps re-orientate so that the map is always pointing in the direction of travel?

Also, so any of the GPS or Phone apps (iOS preferred) auto move the map keeping you in the center?

I think I was using Strava or MapMyRide and I hate when I travel South and need to think which way to turn when the pointer is moving down the screen. Also, I do not think either shifts the map keeping you in the center.

tclune

I use and really like the Garmin Edge Touring unit. One of the options at set-up is whether you want the map to always point North or in the direction that you are traveling. I forgot which is the default, but it is easy to choose which you want. I use it always pointing in the direction I'm traveling, and the map indicates my position at the lower portion of the screen. FWIW

Fly2High

OK, On MapMyRide, if you click the compass arrow it will toggle between travel direction and North.

Have not yet found out how to do this on Strava or if it is an option.

Update: Evidently, this is still a wish list feature on Strava. Another reason to use a Garmin instead or use Ride with GPS or Map My Ride. Map My ride does this and I think Ride with GPS does. Ride WIth GPS also offers turn by turn nav I think.

John_V 

The Cyclemeter app is written for iOS only and has the option to do exactly what you are wanting. On the Map page, you can toggle between a fixed position or have it oriented to your direction of travel. It actually uses maps on several screens so you can get a quick glance of where you are at any point during your ride or go to the Map page and track your route. It also has the option of toggling on or off the ability of shifting the screen. Screen pages are user defined and you can put them in any order you want. Presently, it does not have the turn-by-turn feature but they are working on it for a near future release. Unlike most of the other cycling apps, Cyclemeter allows you to select the mapping app you want it to use - Google Maps, Apple Maps or any other mapping app you have loaded on your phone.

The Chemist

I like my Garmin eTrex 30. It doesn't have a very high resolution display, but it is in colour and you can add additional maps (OpenStreetMaps has them for free!), plus the batteries last for a long, long time. And it uses both GPS and GLONASS，so it locks onto satellites quickly and stays locked on even in very sheltered locations (good for Shanghai because there's a lot of skyscrapers and elevated structures like highways that make it difficult to get a clear view of the sky).