Thread pruning to remove petty squabbling.

Agree

This should be the summary answer to every single "can I use my smartphone as a bike computer" question. I already have an old unused Android phone and if it breaks (unlikely), I don't care. My rides are usually short and for the rare cases I bring a battery. OsmAnd + GPS tracks from RWGPS/Strava = awesome. So it works for me but I understand the tradeoffs.

One question is "how are you planning on using it". Just logging data or following directions? How much hassle do you want to go through to create/load routes or offload recordings?

Everybody has a level of technology they choose to not want to deal with an I understand that, I refuse to learn how to save TV programs to an HD type system to watch later. OTOH, as I'm a map guy, I find the creation of routes on RWGPS (or Garmin Connect) to be fun. As well, the upload of a completed ride happens without any supplemental user input beyond initial setup. When you finish a ride on a Garmin it asks if you want to save. Doing so saves to device memory and if you've set up a BT connection to the Garmin Connect Mobile App, it goes there at the same time. Then it's on Strava and RWGPS as well. No hassles

With a modern Garmin, you can create a route on your phone or computer, send it over the air to your watch/Edge, and go.

Or just let it create a route for you to follow. Usually does a pretty good job.

FWIW, here's the GPS trace of my ride around the Kenosha velodrome, recorded with Strava on my iPhone. as you can see, the trace sucks. It couldn't even match up a single full lap of the track. Not every course I ride looks like this, but this track is especially bad. Other riders using Garmin's had no such issue (so it's not just a bad location for GPS reception).

For some reason, the iPhone GPS kept trying to 'snap' me to the nearby road(s).

[MENTION=423994]shelgame[/MENTION], I wonder if a different app would have snapped you onto the road. I use ridewithgps, and it shows me riding through buildings, so there seems to be no tendency to do the snapping as you call it.

It appears there might have been snapping going on but that's a secondary result of the inaccurate GPS positioning. That is, the GPS position drifted so that it appeared it was near the road and, then, the snapping occurred.

https://regex.info/blog/2015-12-03/2651

App developers can choose to record the uncorrected (no snapping) data.

But it seems that using other apps can enable it (it's a system-wide setting).

Dedicated bike computer all the way. iPhone battery just won't last on a longish ride.

If you're going to use a phone, the Samsung Galaxy line has ANT+ radios. S-Health can connect to a power meter and use it for calories.

Other apps do it too. I play Pokemon Go (and I'm not ashamed to admit it) and it does this too all the time.

Being a bike app, and knowing there are many MTB trails that are near (bit not necessarily on) roads; I would assume the Strava developers would find a way to stop this. But apparently not.

If Strava is snapping, it is still not changing the raw data, only the presentation of it. I have downloaded data that I had previously uploaded from old style Garmin watch and there is a 1:1 match to the location/time points.

I don't think they can.

They can only use what Apple lets them use.

I'm glad you did that on a bike. I'd hate to see you driving a duallie pickup truck like that!

Approximately 30% of the reviews on Amazon (I know I know I know) have compatibility and connection problems with sensors.
This appears to hold even in the setting of same brand sensors with dedicated computers

Is there a limit to the number of sensors that can be paired with BT as apparently there is some conflict implied by the frustration of a significant minority of users?

I have had Poor pairing with my iPhone5 and my Wahoo TCKR HRM. Requiring frequent rebooting and off and often cutting out. Not inspiring

Sensor app and device compatibility is frequently difficult to determine if without actually creating a system and testing it.
The app community also appears to have a pretty casual attitude towards security.

One single data point: I pair both a Wahoo TCKR and a JBL Charge (BT speaker) every day with either iPhone s 4s or 6 since 2016 and have never had a problem or disconnect. iOS is always current.

On my Trek, I have the bluetooth DuoTrap S in my frame with magnets on the spoke and crank. I pair it to my iPhone and use iCardio from Fitdigits. Does a good job tracking my mapped route and for display while riding you can have customized stats you want displayed. Been using it for years from the iPhone 5s and up. Also pairs with my old chest HRM via bluetooth (though now I mainly just use my write Fitbit Versa and track calories separate).

My buddy was using MapMyRide. I think does pretty much the same, but I can't recall why I didn't like it as much as iCardio. Maybe way back it drained my battery more or I couldn't pair it.

I'm using Wahoo on an I phone 10 which I have mounted with a Rokform Mount Works great : I also have the Duotrap Sensor with a Ride time Computer : One gives me a Visual The other I record the Trip with . Maybe because I have a New Phone I don't notice much battery drain. I get the thing Started and then minimize the window : I could get by fine with just the Bontrager Sensor and Wahoo on Phone.

I read complaints the Duotrap doesn't work consistently . Yes it does : You have to turn it on before you start peddling : Just spin the back wheel and it sets the sensor. Sometimes it works without doing that . Rarely though . Unfortunately the Instructions don't tell you that > I figured it out accidentally : Since then it works perfectly

I ride pretty much in a 100 mile area : Often I just leave from My House : There's a Bike Trail that's at least 50 miles only 5 miles from where I live : Country Roads making life easier : Just watch the Inner-sections Soooooo GPS isn't a feature I've even used so far.

I'm not crazy! (well, not about this anyway) -- Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » The Scourge (or Beauty) of ?Snap To Road? with iPhone Location-Tracking Apps

Apple does it. Seems like a bug from the above article...

Well I've used an Edge 305 and a Wahoo RFLKT in the past. I just started back riding and it's time to upgrade. Yesterday I was one click away with my finger on go from buying a Garmin Edge 530 with sensors bundle, but I decided instead to order the Garmin Speed, Cadence, and HR sensors, a phone bike mount, and a phone tether (will tether to bike in case it falls out of the mount) instead. This saved me about $250. I always carry my phone with me anyway.

I've researched and decided on using the paid version of Cyclemeter. I use an iPhone XS Max with Commuter case. It will all be here tomorrow and I can't wait to try it out this weekend. If it doesn't work out then I can just order the Edge 530 by itself. But after looking at Cyclemeter I think it will work out great! I'm not worried about iPhone battery since I have several sizes of the USB batteries.

I'll update here after a few rides and let you know how it all works out.

Yes to all of this. Four or five hours just GPS tracking no issues w/o a battery. If I want to use the screen, I either use a small battery (a small, cheap 10000mah anker battery) or connect to my dynamo hub. I've bought and returned four or five purpose-built GPS trackers. There's just no comparison between them and the iPhone apps (ridewithgps or cyclometer) in functionality, flexibility, or to that big, beautiful screen (I have an iPhone X). It is true that it can be hard to read, but this is a minority of the time.

With these approaches I've done multiple month-log bike tours. I've also had a couple crashes, but my quadlock not only protected the phone but didn't even disengage.

I want another gadget, because that's just who I am, but it's too painful to use any of them.

So far, I'm so glad I didn't buy an Edge 530. I saved right at $300 by using my phone, not to mention weight since I would have my phone with me anyway, and not having to deal with buggy Garmin software.

I really like Cyclemeter and the Elite version is very cheap and gives me way more than the features I need. It even auto uploads to Strava. In 1.5 hrs I only used ~25% of my battery on an XS Max. To save battery I used a black background on Cyclemeter. If I start back taking long rides I'll used one of my USB batteries and it will last all day.

I still will swear by my Wahoo Bolt over a phone. A phone will overheat in the sun, the touchscreen won't work, you won't be able to see it in the sun, and will still eat up batteries. Everything I need to know about my ride is on my Bolt. Yes it costs $250 without sensors but it is worth it to me. You need the sensors no matter which way you go, computer or phone.

I agree that having a dedicated computer is the most ideal. I'll keep an eye on the overheating and my touch screen. So far no issues but I've only ridden in 90 degree weather so far. I've also ridden with the sun directly overhead and no issues seeing the screen.

The cool thing is if I decide I want to go the dedicated computer route, I already have the sensors installed and ready to go.