Vicelord

I see people post graphs of their rides that have a line showing the elevation changes compared to the distance traveled. I am assunimg this is done via some sort of GPS device, but which one and what do they cost. Im a gadget consumptionist and am interested in buying one.

tagaproject6

Garmin Edge 705

bikerjp

Or pretty much any Garmin for that matter. I've used my non-cycling Oregon and can get the same data. However, I find that with a smartphone running Google MyTracks and uploading to ridewithgps.com gives you the same thing for free (assuming you already have a phone). But a Garmin paired with cadence and heart rate would give you more info if that's what you are looking for.

Vicelord

Thats half the cost of my bicycle......

Velo Gator

You need a new bicycle.

tagaproject6

And this from a self proclaimed "gadget consumptionist"...consume away

jwible

No pretty graphs for you then.

Accordion

Garmin Edge 500 will do it. If you don't want cadence or heart rate then just order it online from Pro Bike Kit. It will run you under $200. If that's STILL half the cost of your bike then you need to go to the 33.

dnuzzomueller

Are you saying people in the 33 have less expensive bikes??

Vicelord

Some of the attitudes in this forum are phenonemally amusing. An $1,100 bicycle as your first bike is quite a substantial amount of money. And as a "self proclaimed gadget consumptionist" i don't consider a bicycle a gadget.

Velo Gator

You need a pro tip from the future.

tagaproject6

Let me clarify that for you...
You claimed yourself a "gadget consumptionist". A gadget was named, i.e., Garmin Edge 705. You write "that's half the cost" of your bicycle. Ergo, your claim and the consequent exasperation as to the cost of said gadget effectively nullifies your proclamation as "gadget consumptionist". No one ever wrote that you considered a bicycle as a gadget.

Comprehension fail!

You asked a question and it was answered directly with no other information from you as far as budget is concerned, no attitude in a direct answer.
Attitude? You haven't seen attitude yet, this is BF, your skin should HTFU!

Vicelord

You're being rude.

I never said I wouldn't buy it anyway. My reading comprehension may be bad but your ability to see into my brain when I post an incomplete sentence is amazing. I stated it was half the cost of my bike. I never mentioned if that was a good thing or a bad thing or really anything more than that.

bikerjp

I'm thinking of getting the Edge 500 since it would be nice to see the HR, speed, etc. while riding. However, not be repetitive, I think it's hard to beat MyTracks (or any other similar program) for free and basic data. Here is an elevation profile from my phone using ridewithgps.com

ericm979

GPS-based elevation is very inaccurate. Because it's not accurate to the foot, each data point will vary significantly from your actual elevation. I've seen files that show twice the real elevation gain. Some web sites/software provide post-processing to correct the elevation point, presumeably by looking the waypoints up on a map. But even that's not that great since the X and Y coordintates from GPS aren't so accurate either.

Barometric is much better, especially when temperature-compensated. Some GPS units actually use a barometric altitude sensor- the Garmin Edge 500 is one.

All you need is a computer that records samples (i.e. every 5 sec) and allows you to download the data, and software to read/display it.
There are non-GPS computers that do that, for example the Polar 720 and Ciclo HAC-4. Both of those are kind of old but there may be newer (and cheaper) ones now.

I don't know all the offerings but of the ones I know about the Garmin 500 is hard to beat. It's got a lot of features and it's altitude tracking is not too bad.

bikerjp

I'm not sure how much better the barometric ones are. I have an Oregon and took it on a few rides. Garmin connect turns off the elevation corrections for a GPS using a barometric sensor, but if you go ahead and let the software correct I still get a big difference. Not sure which is more accurate. At best, I guess, it's a rough estimate.

Fwiw, ridewithgps.com has this quote about elevation data. Note that in my case the elevations are the same because the file was already corrected.

"Looks like your trip was created from an uploaded log file. Your log has a calculated elevation profile of +1460 / -1456 feet. Our elevation data shows this route has +1460 / 1456 feet gain / loss. If you feel our data might be more accurate, we can update the trips elevations using our data. Something to note: for the US and territories, we have elevation points every 10 meters, and that elevation point isn't going to be off by more than 1 meter up and down. This is considered highly accurate, however, if you are on very steep terrain, an elevation point 10 meters from the road might drop off a steep hillside. This means there may be odd points, however this seems to come up rarely as an issue. It *may* account for some of the discrepancies in data, but probably only by 100 or so meters at most, depending on how long the ride is. "

garysol1 

If your going to hang around here you may want to consider re-adjusting your "rude" meter........

DScott

"ride more. buy less."

Seattle Forrest

Welcome to Bike Forums.

Any GPS will do. The Garmin 305 is like $250 if you don't need the heart monitor or cadence sensor. They're great things to have, but you can get them later if you decide you want either of them. Or, you can get a used hiking GPS, manage its track logs, and still have your maps and elevation plots when you get home, for more like $50.

DScott

None are absolutely accurate, and it's my impression that the GPS units are less inaccurate than google maps. Often, it's just best to use the same system for tracking our rides, so that you can at least make relative comparisons.

Grumpy McTrumpy

this thread is also pants

jwible

Do you have a GPS in your pants too?

StanSeven

I've got the 305 and it literally is 2/3rd the size of my blackberry. I need an aero helmet to compensate for the drag.

Accordion

Nah, he's just happy to see you.

Falcon757

I heard there was a pants party going on in here.