Thought that I'd start a thread about how people are using phones on their bikes - what phones you are using, what apps, what mounts, etc...

There are plenty of threads debating phones vs bike computers vs. Garmin. Let's not debate that here.

This is for folks who have chosen to use phones on their bikes.

I'll start...

I've been using my old (no data plan, wifi only) Galaxy S9+ in a Punk Case on my bicycle and motorcycle trips (I like having a single unit for both activities). I've been using Quad Lock mounts. Osmand for navigation. YouTube Music. Both with downloaded maps and songs On shorter rides, no problem with battery. On trips, a midday charge is usually sufficient. Or just attach it to a battery bank while touring.



My girlfriend needs a unit so I just got this Fossibot 101 rugged phone on sale for $120 with a massive 10,600Mah battery and an oversized speaker on the back. With the massive battery and smaller screen, it should last all day. But boy is it heavy - over 330 grams. So heavy that Quad Lock says it's too heavy for their mounting system. Still setting up and ordered a different mount. It's a slower MediaTek processor but it should be fast enough for navigation. Let's see how it goes...




What about you? What's your setup.

If you have no data plan, are you still able to call 911 in an emergency?

If so, that sounds like an ideal option.

To address the question, I drag my cutting-edge iPhone SE v. 1 along with me, but usually only use the camera and rarely the text messaging apps.

Maybe too good to be true? Does that phone work on any network in the US?

You don't need a data plan to call 911. And I usually have my regular phone in my pocket. I usually don't mount it on the bike because the vibrations can kill the camera and it's good to have it on you in case you fall and are separated from the bike. That said, I did just use my regular phone on my last trip to safe space and reduce the number of devices that needed a charge every night.

It's 4G only and not all 4G networks, i e., not CDMA. Only GSM I think.

Thanks. My daughter destroys her phone every 6 months, so I thought that this could be the solution. Maybe it is...

It sounds ideal for your use case.

Screen brightness so you can see the screen in the bright sun. How is it.

this is a good question, my last phone didn't have enough screen brightness to be seen outside, even with my hand shading the screen. Could be really infuriating when I was expecting a text. My pixel is okay in the sun.
I have tried to use my phone with rwgps to navigate. It worked, but I could never get it loud enough to be useful, I had to be able to see the screen. Worked pretty well in the dark.

​​​​​​Still waiting for the phone mount to test. But it's cloudy and dark here until April so I won't really know until next Spring. It is noticably dimmer than my daily phone (Pixel 8) but I looked at while at the window when the sun briefly appeared and it seemed ok.

One of the keys for me has been angling the screen to avoid glare. This phone has a huge speaker on back so turn by turn directions should be easy LOL.

I have no problems at all with my
Galaxy S21 5G.

I use my Samsung A14 w/5G mounted via Ram mount for everything. It was only 200 bucks retail, has a 5000 amp hour battery that gives me 10+ hours with a bright screen for running my cycle app plus Bt sensors, GPS, mp3 via Bt headphones and the phone/email/text notifications all going on as normal w/alerts through my ear buds. I don't do much picture taking so the Ram mount works great for me. It's in a rugged case plus Gorilla glass screen cover. Has worked flawlessly for almost a year now. On the rare occasions that I don't use it on the bike, the battery will go a week without needing a charge under normal use. My wife has to put her Iphone on the charger every night just with normal use. But I do like the size of her phone.

iPhone on Quadlock running MapMyRide for at least 10 years now.

Your choice seems like a good one, with a large battery and good speaker.
I take an iPhone X with me but it stays in my pocket. I tried to use it for navigation but it’s battery gets depleted quickly (doesn’t last for day long rides); screen brightness is inadequate on bright sunny days; speaker is adequate for quiet bike trails but not loud enough for busy city streets but since I avoid those as a plague, this only a theoretical limitation. 😉
I could have used an older phone that isn’t active any longer but the above-mentioned issues are even worse with them.
Perhaps I should look for an inexpensive phone in my area with two specific requirements, a bright screen and a fairly loud speaker. I could potentially power a thin and light phone (easy to mount on bike) with an external battery that could stay in a bag or strapped with a Velcro to frame somewhere conveniently.

fwiw - recently got turned around in the forest. I wasn't far off course. but actually, I had no course, was exploring & didn't mind getting a "little" lost. before I got too far afield, I used the google maps app to show me where I was & what my options were for retuning to my car

did a screen capture, so I could piece together where I rode

iPhone 12 mini with Quad Lock on the stem. Third iPhone gen using a Quad Lock over a ten-year span.
I put a thin squishy furniture pad on the case's attachment interface. Prevents it from rattling around.
I attached a rechargeable battery extension off the handlebar. Very lightweight. Holds a headlight, too.
It keeps my phone 100% charged with screen on Strava for three hours.
Leaves the phone with ample charge, even with the screen on well over another hour.

One of the features of OSMand that I started using this year is the altitude profile of a route. It's been really handy balancing distance and climbing when planning a route.

My riding is very utilitarian - I could not care less about the miles, power, or amount of calories I burn. The phone naturally integrates with the rest of my life and I get directions for my next destination straight from the agenda for my day.

I got a used A14 for $100 as my secondary phone, a 5G hotspot for a laptop, and possible bike navigation. At first, I was dismayed by its limited storage, but that storage forced me to remove redundant apps and thus sped up the phone, and dramatically reduced battery use. My dynamo feeds a USB charger, and for longer travel, I typically connect the phone to the charger, which stalls the battery drain to the level I cease to care about.

I maintain several navigation apps, and one that often beats OsmAnd is Mapy.cz. Of all places, I first started using it in the Czech Republic, but it shines elsewhere in the world. It typically gives you 3 routes to choose from, with altitude profiles, for your destination. The non-Google Maps apps often struggle with points of interest (POI). Sometimes, I get the coordinates of a POI under the Maps and then transfer them to the other app I want to use. In many areas of the world, Google Maps provides no bike routes. In other areas, those routes might not be optimal.

I am running a Note 9, with Android 10. This phone is both ANT+ and BLE capable.

For the mount, I am using this:

https://www.amazon.com/GUB-Motorcycl...2&sr=8-44&th=1
Note the curved tangs to prevent the phone from popping out. I would only recommend this for use with a phone in a case, tighten that thunbscrew too much, and you might crack something, not enough, and your phone goes bye-bye, then again, who would ride with their phone NOT in a case.

I have tried quite a few cycling apps, Cadence, Cyclemeter Elite, Sports
Tracker, Strava (I seriously do not get the popularity of this on this forum), Super Cycle, Urban Biker, Wahoo, and Jepster. My go-to is Cyclemeter Elite for several reasons, it will continue to track my HR after a ride, so I can see my recovery rate after a ride, and it can email ride data. which can be viewed on a web page. What is displayed on the phone is HIGHLY configurable, although sometimes difficult to do so. It can also be programmed to make various announcements, speed, cadence, HR, average pace vs average on a training route, and more.

I already own the phone, Cyclemeter Elite is $9.99/yr, not sure else what a Garmin 1040 ($700) could do for me

Yes, at least in the USA.

I found Super Cycle to do everything I needed with sensors. Just curious what you found lacking in it if you don't mind me asking. Thanks

Super Cycle is a good app, probably my second favorite. The reasons I prefer Cyclemeter Elite (I'll refer to it as CE), are as follows, CE can remember a route, and tell you plus or minus compared to previous runs in calendar view. Announcements, pertaining to that route can be inspiring, like when it says "below average"!

The main reason I prefer CE, is that it will continue to record after a ride. What I'm interested in here is HRR. When I hit finish, I get emailed a link which charts HR, cadence, speed, and elevation, by total time, ridetime, or distance. I like to see how quickly, or slowly my HRR is.

If none of these bells and whistles are significant to you, stick with Super Cycle, as I said it's a good app. If you want to give CE a spin, don't bother with the free version, pony up the $10. I think, not sure, if you don't like it, you can cancel after seven days.

Pretty sure that all cell phones made today are supposed to allow emergency calls to 911 or whatever the proper emergency number is for most every country that regulates cell phones. Data plan or not and even without a sim card.

Obviously you do have to be in cell service unless you have the iPhone models that can SOS through satellites.

Okay, you're 'Old Fashioned' Nothing wrong with that. Some of us just like using electronics for many reasons.

I'm new to cycling. I currently use my main phone for routing (Google Maps and sometimes Komoot). I stop and take the phone out of my pocket when needed. I have Garmin watch that I use to track my ride. But I don't actively use Garmin watch while riding, since it is on my wrist and a bit small. I do get the stats after the ride.

I have several older iPhones that I can use on bike. I'm interested in doing that. It will be offline mode (no cellular). If it works well, I can get cellular, which will cost me $10 per month.

But I'm not sure which apps are useful, before I spend money on mount and app. From this thread:

• SuperCycle (free) and Cyclemeter Elite (paid) for cycling computer app.
• Osmand for offline map. But it seems that I cannot make route planning on computer browser (like Komoot). In 10 minutes, I have not successfully made a route on phone yet. It will generate a route, but I cannot change the route take bike path detour thru parks. Am I using Osmand correctly? Is there pro/con of using Osmand, Komoot, or RideWithGPS?

I’m a dedicated “phone as bike computer” type, with 500+ rides logged using the cadence cycling app on an iPhone 12 mini. I picked the phone up used, and I did add it to my cellular plan. it weighs 135g, or about 20% less than the largest garmin. the oled screen is super efficient when using a white on black display scheme, and while visibility isn’t perfect in bright direct sun it is legible at all times.

i use the cadence cycling app and connect it to a dual sided 4iiii power meter for power and cadence, and a garmin varia rear tail light radar. the radar track displays as an overlay on the screen. I’ve used both quad lock and sp-connect - currently using sp-connect because it’s lighter and slimmer (the weight advantage compared to a large garmin is sadly eaten up by the case!).

it looks like this on a bike (I have the same mount setup on three bikes.) the app has infinitely customizable screens, you can grab the phone and take pictures, answer a text or call or slack if you want to, check google maps, etc etc.

I've been using my phone as my bike computer for years. I currently have an iPhone 16 Pro, but most of my riding has been done with an iPhone 11.

For apps, I've used both Cyclemeter and Ride with GPS. They each have their pros and cons. In both cases, I keep the screen dark mostly, and rely on periodic spoken updates through a bone-conduction headset. One con that they share is this: I've got them set up to report at 15-minute intervals my average speed and heart rate for the whole ride, and for the last interval. One of these two sets of data—probably the last 15 minutes—is usually but not always wrong. This is obvious when it is exactly the same as the data for the entire ride. I first reported this bug years ago. Anyhow, relying on spoken updates lets me get easily 12 hours of battery life out of my phone. I usually have it hooked up to my dyno hub via a USB adapter, so battery life isn't a concern anyhow. Rainy weather is the one exception: iPhones disable their port in the presence of water, so for an epic ride in the rain (which I've done!), it is possible to run down the battery. The solution to this is to carry a power bank with a built-in Qi charger (which I wasn't doing at the time).

I feel that no app really takes full advantage of the possibilities that a smartphone could offer for data visualization. My dashboard shouldn't look like a miniature spreadsheet.

I've written extensively about different mounts on my blog. TL;DR: Peak Design has the best mount/case that I've used, Quad Lock is very good; Quad Lock is better for people who want to customize their setups, because they've got a highly modular system and sell the parts a la carte. That's what I'm currently using. I've got a mounting deck that I designed and had fabricated by SendCutSend, which fits between my aerobars, and can accommodate multiple lights and other gadgets.