Newbie oldster riding a lot and learning a lot. I've gone from Garmin dislike (unnecessarily high tech, distracting, and too much money) to considering purchasing one ($350 isn't much more than decent HRM plus cadence computer).

Then I realize that I should at least ask if there are any smart phone apps that would make one a practical alternative. And would you need to consume lots of data transmission charges?

I currently don't have a smart phone but may be upgrading to an Android phone soon.

Thanks

iphone has Map My Ride.....although the battery will probably only last for the first 15 miles.

I just bought the Garmin 705 and like it for the most part, though its routing seems oblivious to bike paths and trails.

I wonder whether I wouldn't be just as well off with a Garmin 305 (no maps) and an Android phone that does the Google bike routing.

and I think there is an Android app called Tracks that will log your distance/route etc, although I hear it doesn't do auto-stop (but they'll probably add that feature).

key issue i would guess is battery life but you could always carry one of those external USB battery packs.

hmm, I am starting to think I should return the 705 and pick up the Droid Incredible...

No kidding! I took mine on a a ride and it was dead from a full charge less than than half way. Definitely needs an external power source...

when you're riding a cell phone is a nice thing to have in case of mergency. if your iPhone is dead in 1.5 hours because you used it to track your ride with 3g and gps, played music, and the screen never shut off, then you have a problem. I speak from personal experience. Buy a dedicated cycle computer and keep the iphone for calls, music and the occasional glance at google maps.

https://www.duracell.com/en-US/catego...-reserves.jspx

btw Google Mobile Maps 4.2 has biking directions, so it's not just an Android thing. works on my blackberry as well

Try this out.

Or get a charging setup to run off a dynohub (which is the ONLY way I'd bother using a tracking app on my iPhone).

My Tracks or Every Tracks on Android work as a tracking programs, not as a route guides, AFAIK. I use My Tracks and it does autostop, and is excellent at tracking the ride to upload to Google MyMaps, which is how I use it.

I have as yet not gone the route of using a GPS route guiding program, mostly as on ANY smartphone, the display can be hard to read on a handlebar in sunlight, even though there are mounts for assorted phones should you want one. I did recently do a new route on Shelter Island, NY and had pre-traced the route on MyMaps, with the route map being accessible via a 3g cell internet connection and navigation on MyMaps, but in truth, it was a backup to a regular map in my back pocket.

Even with the stock battery in my HTC Incredible, I could track a 2 hr. ride using GPS and have plenty of battery left to last a 16 hr. day.

So it really comes down to what you want to do with the device, track routes, which Android app's do just fine, or route guidance, at which Garmin might be better if only due to better battery life over a long ride.

SB

An iPhone, Android, S60, or $smartphonePlatformOfChoice doesn't hold a candle to a dedicated device like the Edge or Forerunner series when it comes to serving as a bike computer. I personally use a Forerunner 305, and compared to carrying my 200+g phone strapped to my arm or in my rear pockets it's leaps and bounds better. Get the 705, you won't be dissapointed

I love my Incredible and did the Tracks thing once while running, but my 305 is better. Just more bike specific tons of battery easy to read screen etc.

The big difference is that smartphone apps are designed to be used with the display turned off. If you leave the display on, your battery won't last more than a couple of hours. With the display turned off, the battery should last long enough for a century ride (at least in the newer Android phones). On the other hand, if you know where you are going, you don't need the display on all the time.

The Garmin is designed to be used with the display on all the time, so this may be a better choice if you really need to look at the map all the time.

With a full charge, I can listen to MP3s at half volume and iMapMyRide will last a 40km ride easily with 3/4 of a charge left.

My iPhone is 19 months old.

Pull phone from charger and ride.

this can't be said enough. I'm an iphone user (coming from a long, long, long line of winmo phones) and haven't found anything that holds a candle to my relatively pedestrian edge 305. os4 may let you idle a mapping application, but updates to support this are slow and not very common just yet. the ease of use, ease of datalogging, etc, just makes the garmin an easy choice. I love my convergent devices, but this is definitely a job for a dedicated device/unitasker

iMapMyRide is GPS based and is accurate over 40kms to 100m compared to my VDO computer which I measured the tire precisely. I use my bike computer to see my speed at a glance. If I want to see where I went I use iMapMyRide.

Smartphone GPS works just fine.

Forerunner==GPS. It's an Edge device in watch form (or, more accurately, the Edge series are improved bike specific versions of the original Forerunner units)

ha you guys are funny. never even used it and talk ish about battery life. i say this because i got ~6 hours out of mine last week.

i have been using map my ride on android, i like it but i am still contemplating a garmin 500, i saw your post in the garmin thread hob, and i feel the same. the layout on the garmin connect site is very nice. with my phone i have to keep it in the jersey pocket, i dont trust it on the bars, so the garmin would have an advantage in me being able to see the data live rather that after my ride. plus, even though my battery did last a while, it is still something to think about. 20-40 mile rides is no concern, but more then that may be pushing the battery.

here are my files.

https://spreadsheets1.google.com/ccc?...CQ&hl=en#gid=0

and you can click the map link to view the rout.

Mapping on Android is much better than on iphone. You can even get bicycle-specific routes and free turn-by-turn navigation on Android.

You still have a battery life problem is you try to leave the display turned on all the time, however. Battery life is the strong point of the Garmin units. Garmin also gives your heart rate, cadence, and a much more accurate altimeter (on some units).

Cardiotrainer for Android works great. Keeps track of your distance, speed etc. The battery seems hold up well, even with the screen on, after a 50 mile ride the battery is at about 60 percent. I have a mount for my handlebars that holds my phone so it is easy to see while riding.

Thanks, the Incredible was the alternative I was considering

The garmin provides other info that's useful for me that the phones can't provide. graphs for elevation, heart rate and heart rate zone info. Cadence, ride time, average speed, and the list goes on. The garmin is the only way to go for me.

I don't see what's so funny, I've used it, didn't work well.
Many of my week day rides go over 40 miles, all of my weekend rides go over 40 miles. With the brightness up high enough to see the display easily in the day light, auto screen lock disabled, imapmyride, and music going my phone lasted less than 2 hours. If you're just riding 20 miles I guess you might be fine, but for many cyclists, that just doesn't cut it b

Also the garmin doesn't freeze like android phones or randomly exit out of apps like the iPhone does.

I've used my Samsung Moment and RunKeeper for several rides and it has worked great. On a 2.5 hour ride the battery had only dropped a small amount. I plan to eventually pick up a Garmin but for now the Android phone will serve the purpose until I replenish the toy fund.

i kinda just realized that those people complaining about battery life are using them with the screen on, while i was using it in my jersey pocket. maaaah bad. i want a garmin 500.