Whats the best bike computer for mountain biking or in general?

Just use your iPhone and map my ride?

Or Garmin? Wahoo?

Etc

for speedometer cadence gps mapping etc

Thanks!!!

you can't do cadence with just your phone.
I have a few Garmins and many of my riding buddies have Wahoos.
Neither IMO are better. What's your price point?

Around 200 ish

you're then looking for either a 520 or Bolt.
At the price point its a bit of a wash, $500 or more would have more features to compare.
Read this comprehensive comparison to see which features matter to you.
I see both on sale now for under 200
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/07/...min-wahoo.html

A lot of people get a mount for a smartphone, then use the TrailForks app. It's maybe the best database of GPS tracks of trails currently. You can view the trails on a topo map as well as use pre-existing routes, or generate your own route and follow that (that's hit and miss).

That's the inexpensive route. Issues with using a phone are 1) Damage to an expensive cell phone, 2) Battery life is not typically as good as a dedicated GPS unit and you may not want the phone battery draining in case you need it. 3) All GPS receivers can suffer from signal loss if riding in dense woods. Many mt. bikers add a speed sensor to get real distance measured on a ride, but you need to determine if a sensor you want will work with your phone, they pretty much all work with dedicated GPS units.

Or get a dedicated GPS unit. Wahoo's are very reliable, maps are Meh !., Garmin is the 800 lbs gorilla, makes great units, have good maps and screens to display, but can be buggy at times. I love my Garmin 1030, it's not cheap, but has a decent screen and works very well. I think a basic Wahoo Bolt is currently on sale for about $230. Some Garmins are on sale, The 1030 top unit is reduced to $400, the 520 Plus is $190.

I recommend Wahoo - super intuitive, great support and lots of add ons. The only item in your list that you probably will have to spend some more money to get is cadence. Let me know if you have specific questions, I have used the original Elemnt for three years.

This is all good information. Thank you for sharing. I have the similar decision making. Initially, I experimented with my phone (Samsung Note 8) and apps (Wahoo and Map My Fit). While I enjoy the combination and features they offer, the GPS signal strength is the major issue. Cloud cover, dense woods results in poor feedback. I only need basic, reliable telemetry. I purchased the Wahoo Mini with speed and will combine it with my phone for the additional GPS mapping features, when available. Will see where that leads me. I have mixed feeling experiences with Garmin products in my geocaching hobby. Learning as I go. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

Im in the Miami area so the GPS isnt really that important since everywhere I ride its open...everything is non GPS other than to really track my rides in map format...

I like the idea of using my phone especially for casual rides with friends or family.

Plus the handlebar mount I can take calls and stuff too as Im riding a lot easier.The screen is HUGE too

Do the cadence sensors work with the apps???

I don't think a speed sensor is necessary???

I'm happy with my Bryton Rider One. It does it's job. Downloads to Strava. I don't need cadence. It's mountain biking.

Yes, wide open skies in Florida. I am riding on back roads (dirt) and trails in dense trees. Sat contact is hit or miss at times. I understand the cadence sensors work with some apps, BUT best to ask your LBS. Yes, phone screen size is nice, colorful and I use it on bike paths and it works with sensors. Once off path, I loose confidence that my "computer" phone will not fly off. The Wahoo Mini, provides for notifications (ie. calls, messages) from my phone and i can easily use my phone for music, safely in my backpack. Enjoy your rides. Be safe.

You should know that every consumer GPS device, phone or dedicated, is going to have signal dropout in dense tree coverage. It's the nature of a weak signal coming off the satellite. The usual fix for cycling is to use a speed sensor paired to the phone or device that reads the earths magnetic field and provides an accurate wheel rotation to the device. The GPS device will then use the sensor as the information and will generate an accurate distance for a route.

What is your goal here? If you want to look at maps and do orienteering, a phone is probably better, and I hope you are bringing it with you anyhow in case you need to call for help. You can turn it off or put it in airplane. If you want an odometer or to make GPS tracks, you probably want the GPS

I'm really happy with my Lezyne Super GPS - it's not too large, has a highly visible screen and the battery life is fantastic (interior lithium battery USB rechargable). I actually the GPS mounted on the handlebar for speed, distance, time and heart rate display and use my iPhone with RWGPS and GaiaGPS carried in my jersey or a food bag for navigation and mapping and backup tracking.

If I was shopping for another I'd definitely get the Lezyne Mega XL GPS for even greater battery life, good mapping, and a larger display.

Howard

I downloaded the free version of Strava this weekend. The route tracker is very erratic. Also, Strava calculated my ride distance at 11.14 miles, however my CatEye computer indicated 8.6 miles. I’m inclined to believe the CatEye.

All I want is route tracking, total distance & average speed, is there another app I should try.

RideWithGPS is very good.

New to Mountain Biking, I have been using my Apple Watch to track basic data using the included cycling app, it maps the ride, mileage, elevation, time, calories, heart rate, basics that are pretty good considering it's included with the watch. It would be nice to be able to plan a route and be notified if I'm off route, directions etc, can that be done on an Apple Watch or iPhone? I'm a little hesitant to put an iPhone on my bike (do people actual put phones on mountain bikes?).

Thanks

Yes, lots of folks use a phone. There are a lot of mounts on Amazon that do a very good job of keeping the phone on the bar. Free apps like TrailForks, RideWithGPS, etc... can track a ride and give some navigation. Issue with Nav. is how well is the mapping on the trail systems you frequent. TrailForks gets its trail network from folks who rode the trails then upload the completed rides and in some areas not every trail has been uploaded. That can in turn, cause errors in Turn-By-Turn directions, especially when at a junction with a trail that the TF map is not aware of. In that case the GPS will at
East show you your location.

A couple of posts up lists some of the issues using a phone.

Thanks for the info!

IMHO, a smartphone is not a good tool for this job. The screen is not transflective (bad with sunlight, and eats battery), it gets hot (which means it will shorten its life as heat dosen't get well with electronics and batteries), has a GPS precission that is crap compared to a Garmin, usually is not rugged (you have to carry it in a bag in case it rains), and it's battery life is crap.

If your budget is around 200$, I'd buy an Etrex Touch 35. That's what I did, not only for budget reasons, but for battery reasons. With a couple of rechargeable AA batteries I can ride for 15h in summer or 12 in winter. And can carry spares if needed. When the batteries start to fail, it's just 6 or 7€ to buy a couple of new ones.