robd54

Hi everyone, I just picked up my Felt Z85 and have been using my iPhone with maymyride as a gps/bike computer. While I like that, I plan on adding a HRM and a cadence/speed sensor to better track my progress. I know you're all thinking there's ton of things that do that but here's what I'm really looking for. I don't want to always see my mileage or time, that makes me focus too much on the wrong things. I'd like to be able to customize a view to see HR, Cadence, Speed and maybe power with the option to see time/distance.
I would also like a feature that gives you automatic routes based on criteria (miles, altitude, difficulty) like the Magellan Cyclo 505 supposedly has. That looks like quite the machine but not sure I can justify the $500 for it.
Appreciate any insight!

pdlamb

Garmin Edge 800/810 will let you choose what you want to display, with an easy flip to other screens. The Garmin Touring supposedly lets you generate a bikeable route; you'd have to check the features list to see if you can customize the display.

JohnJ80

Cyclemeter for the iPhone will let you customize displays to your heart's content. Go nuts. It will also talk to speed/cadence sensors, and HRM through BT LE. Check out Wahoo Fitness for all of them. I recently added a RFKT+ display and I can now ride for 6 hours on a fully charged iPhone battery. The RFLKT+ also lets you do you own displays through Cyclemeter. Great combination.

J.

mstraus

I will second the Wahoo RFLKT+ if you use cyclometer or the Wahoo app as it lets you create a bunch of custom screens to your liking. The Wahoo sensors have been very reliable for me too.

ChargerDawg

Cyclemeter for the win....

Anthony.L

Garmin Edge 510. It allows you to create and customize multiple "training screens" where you can display anywhere from 1-8 variables of your choosing. So one screen can have everything including time and distance, but another could just be cadence and heart rate, or whatever combo you can dream up!

I highly recommend you buy the Edge 510 alone, and then buy the sensors separately. It's more expensive but then you can buy the newer "magnetless" version of the speed/cadence which are way easier to install and will not come out of alignment.

robd54

Hmm, so now I'm torn. I was leaning towards starting with the app and the wahoo sensors and eventually getting the RFKT+; actually ordered the sensors last night on amazon getting delivered today (Wahoo HRM and speed/cadence) but I'm really liking the magnetless ones from Garmin. Now I'm torn whether to return the cadence (keep the HRM) and get the 510 with the garmin sensors.

saeyedoc

I agree, those magnetless sensors look like a much better solution. This alone may steer me towards the Edge 500 vs the Wahoo, Rox 5.0 or Strada systems.

9606

Just my 2 cents - the Edge 810 has been the worst cycling expense I have made in years. A book could be written on how buggy is the product, Garmin's response to issues, users who are not too embarrassed to admit it is a piece of junk and who really don't 'need' all the advertised bells and whistles, etc. etc. I don't think any feature of the 810 is worth the hassle of the device. A simple cyclometer, cue sheet/map, and ziploc bag seem so painless nowadays.

JohnJ80

They should work with Cyclemeter and the RFLKT+. The RFLKT+ also has an ANT+ bridge in it. So it would pick up the sensors and then relay them to Cyclemeter.

From the Wahoo Fitness website on the RFLKT+:

"You can use the built in ANT+ bridge to connect your ANT + power meter, speed/cadence sensor, or heart rate monitor straight to your iPhone."

I haven't done it, so I can't comment but it looks like it would work.

Here's a new magnet free sensor set coming soon that looks even better and is also bluetooth compatible.

https://velocomputer.com/views/index.jsp

I agree, the Garmin sensors like interesting but I'd rather have the app end be Cyclemeter than Garmin's software. I like Cyclemeter way better.

J.

Anthony.L

Last weekend I rode in a charity race with two buddies that have the 810 and they both talked a lot of hatred toward the product. I've had only a few minor issues with my Edge 510 in comparison, and nothing remotely enough to outweigh the good of this device. However I was thinking about it afterward and I think there is one big difference. I bought mine a month ago and immediately upgraded to v3.10 firmware. Both of my friends with the 810 bought it when they came out and running v1.0 firmware. I'm thinking I skipped a lot of the pain by coming later into the game after they fixed several things with newer firmware.

Either way, I'm perfectly happy with the Edge 510 and new magnetless sensors, they are definitely slick. If I did it again I may have considered the new Magellan Cyclo 505.

robd54

i just ordered the RFLKT+ and the wireless sensor combo. I'm going to try that out this weekend and see if I like it; if not I'll send it back and get the 510. Already spending more $$ then I planned, lol

linnefaulk

I was thinking about the RFLKT but there are some iffy reviews. I used my Wahoo Tickr with Wahoo on my iPhone today. I had the display live (though dim) through my 40 minute ride. It only ate up 8% battery life. I am thinking a better iPhone mount and power backup might be the way to go.

saeyedoc

I'm interested to see how this works out for you. I've been using cyclemeter on my phone just to track distance and speed and to map out routes for certain times and/or distances. I'd rather not give that up. I don't want to mount my phone on the bike and I like the idea of extending battery life. I didn't realize the RLKT+ added the ANT+ bridge.

demoncyclist

My wife and I both have the RFLKT+- very nice unit. We are using the Wahoo App on our iPhones, which let you upload data to most of the other online places- MapMyRide, Strava, etc. They are working very well.

saeyedoc

Where do you keep your phone? The bad reviews I read had to do with dropouts if the phone is in your back pack or pocket, one guy mounted the phone on his bike somewhere to get around that. If it won't work with the phone in my pocket ( I usually wear baggy type bike shorts with front pockets), I'm out.

JohnJ80

I either keep my phone stem mounted using the thingie from quad lock case (https://www.quadlockcase.com) or in my side back jersey pocket. No problems either place. You hear of a lot of variances of people with BT (it is a radio after all) on cell phones but I've never had a problem with mine no matter where I put it. Then again, with my phone, I'm good with being 30' away from my phone on my BT headset too. I can tell you that when it's in the case from quad lock whether it's in my jersey or not, I don't have a problem. I would think some of the cases that might have metallized films or something could mess with that but if it's RF transparent, then no sweat.

I've been very happy with the overall performance of the BT sensors in general.

J.

mstraus

I have the Wahoo RFLKT+ and have had no issues with it except some minor hiccups on initial setup. I have never had it loose connection with my phone. I keep my phone either in a pocket on the front strap of my backpack or in my rear side jersey pocket.

I started out with the Wahoo RPM, which IS magnet-less, as it uses an accelerometer. It actually seems to work great.

My only complaint was with no speed sensor, I was relying only on GPS for speed. Usually this was OK, but sometimes poor signal would mean slow speed updates, and when you stop (such as at a light) it seemed to keep at the last measured speed for a bit (with the Wahoo app at least) which annoyed me.

For this reason I decided to get the Wahoo speed and cadence sensor, which requires magnets. I put this on one bike, and moved the RPM to a second bike.

I haven't tried the ANT+ bridge yet, however I do have one bike with ANT speed/cadence sensor so I will try it soon enough.


Re: magnetless sensors - is there a magnet less speed sensor? how would that work? Seems like mounting an accelerometer on the wheel would be a bit strange as they are larger than magnets. Also if they are ANT+ you can STILL use them with the RFLK+ or similar ANT+ bridge (I have also seen HR monitors with ANT+ bridges).

JohnJ80

They are larger on the wheel than the magnet, they typically wrap around the hub. The cadence sensor is only on the crank and is also larger than the magnet. In terms of rotating mass, I'd have to believe that both are detrimental - the rotating mass is much larger than that of the magnet.

I doubt they are accelerometers in most cases but just a simple BB that falls and completes a circuit to indicate when the rotation is complete and then is dumped the other way when it is in the other half of the rotation "re-arming" the sensor. There would be no reason to have an accelerometer - be nice for sure, but not necessary to count revolutions.

The upside the no-magnet type of sensors is that you don't need to worry about the realignment of the sensor to the magnet. Any of the sensors I have are perpetually getting knocked around and often they have to be re-aligned. It's been like that since they first came up with them back in the '80s. I think Trek has a set up where it can integrated into one of the chain stays, and that would have some serious advantages but I'm not sure how it works.

So, I'd be disinclined to use one of the non magnet version until I understood more about the weight. Having a big thing tied to my hub or crank is not ideal either.

J.

linnefaulk

My wired computer uses a magnet and I rarely need to readjust it.

mstraus

I have multiple computers that use magnets. They are a pain to set up, but if installed properly I have rarely had to adjust them once they are set. Even after I crashed hard two weeks ago, it was a very tiny tweek that took a second.

Jawbone

I used mapmyride for the first time the other day with my iPhone… mapped a one hour ride around town and was shocked at the data usage from this app. Does anyone else have this problem?

JohnJ80

Nope. I'm on an unlimited data plan.

J.

Whizzer283

I started using iPhone apps and then "graduated" to a Garmin Edge 500 with HRM, Cadence and RPM. One day out on a ride, the Garmin's battery dies. Turns out I enjoyed my ride without all the information (and the Edge 500 is customizable). So I sold it all on eBay and now I just rely on the iPhone. Can't speak to data issues, my employer covers that . I don't use any of the sensors since I found that info useless when I had the Garmin.

I wanted the Garmin badly only to realize that I really didn't. I don't think you're going to get the "right" answer because it will be a personal decision. Enjoy the journey.

linnefaulk

Me too. Another good reason not to give it up.