Originally Posted by
WheresWaldo
Battery life is always a real concern. Most of us with a dedicated cycling computer like the facte that just a glance allows us to see what or stats are. We do not want to have to touch something to make it visible. Even at very low brightness settings, forcing any smartphone to display continuously is a huge power drain and on any longer ride the danger is always of shutdown and loss of all the data we have acquired. You are powering both the phone and the Wahoo attachment.
I have always felt that a dedicated cycling computer is a better solution than a smartphone even though I do carry my phone on every ride. This is especially true on long rides.
A suggestion for your old phones, if you are in a financial situation to take advantage of it, donate your old smartphone to a battered women's shelter and take the tax deduction.
Yeah for sure. For those of us new and starting out; the prospect of getting a fully functional bike computer for under $30 (effectively) is a nice idea. Eventually I would like the Garmin 810 for the navigation and long battery life. But with an external battery pack and the cellular radio turned off; I'll probably have all the battery life this noob needs.
You'd be amazed at how much battery you save removing the SIM card. The GPS and screen are still a big drain of course. Also; in a situation like this; the auto-suspend/auto-lock can be disabled so no interaction is needed to keep the display going.
For a noob like me who isn't at the point of riding for hours on end; it's a great, cheap way to get into it. Alternatively I was just going to use my iPhone (6) stuffed in a Jersey pocket. For $30, why not add a speed/cadence sensor to the mix and have a screen on the handlebars.
Of course; there are definitely disadvantages. The 4 has poorer battery life than the newer phones; and it definitely won't replace a dedicated bike computer. But it's darn cheap. I think the regular price was around $160. But, obviously, it's so out-dated, it's dirt cheap.
The Wahoo battery pack ($46 on Amazon right now; MSRP is $60) reviews mention several folks riding for 5+ hours and still having plenty of battery life. That's not a 17 hour bike computer; but it's enough for most rides with most people. A couple of reviewers said they got 8+ hours and were even able to complete a century.
I hadn't thought about donating the phones. Ironically, that 4 is the only old phone I have left. I tend to put them in a drawer in their original box and hang on to them; because inevitably, some family member is going to break theirs and be in need of a phone. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to get some use out of it!