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Dedicated computer or phone app?

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Old 07-18-14 | 10:04 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
I like the dedicated, wired cyclocomputer. Never have to worry about charging the battery, or losing power on a long ride, or losing satellites in heavy tree cover. Replace a battery every 18-24 months. It just works.
+1.
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Old 07-18-14 | 10:05 AM
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From: Nanaimo, BC

Bikes: 1997 Kona Hahana Race Light, 2010 Surly LHT(deceased), 1999 Rocky Mountain Turbo

Great, thanks for letting us know.

I have not received mine yet I ordered from a Chinese supplier since amazon in Canada didn't have it and it was the cheaper option.

That is what I was expecting in terms of shady quality, but I was figuring I could sew some fixes.
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Old 07-18-14 | 10:17 AM
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From: Wilkes-Barre, PA

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I use both... I like my phone because it has the ability to record an elevation profile, route etc, and keeps a history of past rides... But, especially on long rides in remote areas, the battery can drain pretty quickly.

I use MapMyFitness that I keep in my trunk bag, and it displays the basics on my Pebble watch. I usually also have the Cateye computer on my bar whether I am using my phone or not. I initially did it for the redundancy, but now I am not really recording my totals, so it really just depends on my mood, and whether my phone is fully charged in deciding which to use. If I ever get my cadence sensor working right (magnet placement/crank to frame distance is making a reliable setup elusive), the bike computer will give me cadence, which I will check occasionally to keep me spinning...
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Old 07-18-14 | 11:47 AM
  #29  
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From: OAKlandish CA

Bikes: F8, Evil, Litespeed and a Canyon ULT CF too

+1 on this, as well
Originally Posted by RPK79
I tend to go on longer rides so I like to keep my battery fresh on my phone in case of emergency, so I use a Garmin.


I started out with strava's iphone app, then wahoo plus the HRM + speed/cadence .. all taking its toll on battery life as it uses bluetooth to talk to my iphone.

I ended up with my current Garmin 510 bundle, which seems to do the job well.
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Old 07-18-14 | 04:53 PM
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From: Vught, The Netherlands

Bikes: Van Nicholas (Titanium) Deveron, Pinion 18 speed, Gates belt, disc brakes; Brompton - 5 speed Sturmey-Archer

I have a subscription to the Dutch version of 'Consumer Reports'. They recently tested a handful of dedicated GPS models against a smart phone; the smart phone came in first. It appears Google Maps and the various apps for the smart phone do a better job than the dedicated GPS devices.

If you go that route you'll have to buy a holder for the phone and it would be wise to buy an external power pack as well.

My local bike store tried to interest me in a dedicated device (the Mio), but without doing any research whatsoever thought a smart phone would do the same job but for considerably less money.

I still haven't bought a holder or a power pack and I'm in no hurry to do so. I'm glad that the consumer magazine confirmed what I already thought.

Last edited by Dave Horne; 07-19-14 at 01:46 PM.
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Old 07-19-14 | 01:32 PM
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I use a computer for ease while riding, but keep the strava app running stop I can keep track of all my rides.
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