spinnor

Thanks.

Lots of nice rural roads near Quakertown. I live about 15 miles to the south. On a good day I will loop up and around lake Nockamixon. All my rides start from home, I like to just go. But with a GPS unit and a little driving I can start to explore routes others have perfected. Time to expand my ride zone.

Question about saddles, do they come in widths in case your butt bones are a little wider then average?

Machka 

Yes, they do. Many manufacturers will publish dimensions.

BlazingPedals

That starts getting hard to do when you top 100 years old. Not that I know that from *personal* experience...

quicktrigger

IF I'm still riding at 100, I'll be more than happy to give it my best shot.

Sangetsu

Ditch the GPS, getting lost on a ride is one of the best reasons to ride a bike.

spinnor

So, I have put off owning a smart phone because I don't really need one for work, but if I had one I am sure I would find uses for it. Are their disadvantages to using a smart phone for bicycling GPS?

Thanks.

spinnor

I like to explore but I don't like to run out of "gas" far from home.

BlazingPedals

They use up a lot of battery compared to a dedicated GPS unit. Not that the batteries on my Garmin 500 last all that long...

Leebo

Lots of riders track their stuff with a smart phone, no separate unit needed. Great for finding stuff like places to eat, all kinds of cycling aps as well. I use map my ride for touring.

njkayaker

I suspect that people who make these sorts of statements have never used a GPS while riding.

njkayaker

Many people already have smartphones. So, it makes sense to try the device they own (rather than buying something else).

The Garmin Edges (make sure you get one uses map!) have better battery life, better weather resistance, can be easier to see in sunlight, and easier to mount.

Smartphones are faster computers and have bigger screens with more resolution. And, people often already have one.

indyfabz

I have never used GPS but would never make a statement like that. Nothing like getting lost in the middle of nowhere while touring with a full load as you are trying to reach camp and night is closing in.

njkayaker

I have no issues with what people do or prefer. It's the implication of some people (not you) that other preferences are wrong that is awful.

People ask questions about using GPS's and it's almost certain that other people will show up to unhelpfully piss on that interest (fietsbob does this regularly). I doubt that people who do this have any real understanding of how the devices are used.

I really like riding with a GPS (it's fine by me if some people don't!). There is a learning curve (something people might not expect) but once you are beyond that, it's not "burdensome" to use it.

I know (and trust) people who don't use them and are fine. I've also seen people, more-experienced that I, not use them and mess-up navigation.

indyfabz

Heh. That sums up many posts on BF.


I actually use PGS. If you look closely at the area by handlebars in this photo from my September tour you can see my Paper Guidance System.

njkayaker

It almost seems worse for GPS threads.

Whatever works! I find using the GPS easier than cuesheets and not really different from using paper maps (except the GPS is more convenient). I also carry "paper" maps on my smartphone.

I even get that people might prefer using methods that are harder.

wphamilton

Advantage of dedicated GPS over phone: one more thing not yet mentioned is the GPS units appear to have faster sampling rates, better acquisition of satellites and better accuracy. It's not important for directions, but better for Strava and other recordings. Not so much better that I personally have one; I just use my phone.

You can still get lost on a ride and then use GPS to get home! I know I do. Not on purpose - getting lost is not literally one of the best reasons to ride - but it is nice to take some random route and have confidence that your phone can find your way back.

RiPHRaPH

Be careful what you wish for. Pushing yourself for a number is fun and frustrating at the same time. Over time it can lead to mental burnout i.e.: I've got to go around the block to get to 50 miles.... or I have to go out today even though I'm feeling under the weather because I have a chance to break 200 for the week.... or I gotta blow this light so my avg speed doesn't dip.

GrandaddyBiker

What you said is one of the four reasons I use a GPS. I want to push myself and the GPS helps me do that.


I use a Garmin GPS that was made to use in a car. I also have a GPS that is for bikes. The car GPS has some advantages over the bike GPS and the bike GPS does have some advantages over the car GPS. However, for me personally, the car GPS is the winner. If you use a car GPS you have to have an external power supply. I accomplish that, by connecting the GPS to a phone/tablet charger that is in a phone bag on the stem. (There is a pic of that set up on page 1 of this thread)


My bike GPS has been missing for several months but I have just found it. The bike GPS is small enough for me to carry both GPS's if I want to and have the best of both. For now, I am going to continue to use just the car GPS.

unterhausen

have you ever gone out on a ride and just gone exploring? It is kinda fun.

Machka 

My favourite rides used to be 'accidental centuries' ... where I'd just go riding, and would turn left up some road I hadn't ridden before, and then maybe right at the next one ... oops, 5 km up that one ends, turn around and try the next ... stop for lunch in some teensy town I happened to come across ... now try to make my way back home from wherever I happen to be. Whoops, a bit lost here ... oh, there's a road I recognise, I think ... and look at that, I've just ridden 172 km. Now let's look at a map and see where it was that I went!

Rowan

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...don-t-you.html

Hmmm...

OldTryGuy

Pushing myself is my fix, my high, my proof of existence.

Not a Chris Columbus or Lewis & Clark

Went to Wally World yesterday for some Coors non-alcoholic beer to drink after a good ride and had my helmet on along with shorts, sneakers and high top white socks.

spinnor

Christmas came early this year, I think. My wife has an old Samsung Galaxy Note smart phone that is just sitting around. I stuck my dumb phone chip into the phone and it works. Don't know if any biking apps will work but will give it a try, it at least has GPS. As noted, a smart phone has its advantages and disadvantages but this thing is FREE! Will give it a try, load the bike on the car and explore some new roads.

Increase your odds, be bright! (as in visible to drivers)

Have a great weekend.

unterhausen

I would be careful using internet on that phone, it might cost more than you want to pay. Google maps lets you load ahead of time, so you could load using wifi and then use the phone as a gps. Not sure how you turn data use off on the phone though. My wife uses her old phone to play suduko, no phone service at all, just wifi.

Smartphones are addictive. Getting a cellphone in the first place probably made my life worse; people thought they could call me whenever they wanted. Smartphone made it better because I always had whatever info I wanted. I have never navigated with it on the bike. Before I got a smartphone, other people have pulled up google maps and gotten us un-lost, which is one of the big reasons I got the phone. Pretty helpless feeling when you just want to to your overnight stop at 1 in the morning and you can't find the road you need to take. OTOH, I have also adopted a Garmin GPS, so I don't get lost as often. On a 300k this past spring, 4 of us fell prey to the problem Garmins have with long rides and did some bonus miles.

rm -rf

Try Osmand. You can download some state maps for free, and a one-time subscription for more maps is cheap (I think it's $6) I paid $2 more to get the elevation / contour overlay maps.

The state maps are downloaded via wifi and stored on the phone, so you don't need a cell signal at all. And osmand can record your ride, too.

I tend to use google maps more often. Google maps is great for locating a destination by name, or showing services nearby. But osmand is great when I'm down in a rural valley with no signal! And it's fast to launch when I just want to check my surroundings or get oriented.

I was on a ride with another rider that was getting turn-by-turn voice prompts from osmand. I thought it was giving too many advance notices of upcoming turns, but perhaps that's configurable.

See some screen shots in this post. I've not used it for bike navigation, other than uploading a route file and seeing that it shows on the maps correctly. (It was kind of confusing where to put the routes so that osmand could find them.)