Can a smartphone replace a cyclocomputer?
 

So I'm getting back on the bike after a few years off, and now have a Galaxy S6 in my pocket. So the question is, can it properly replace a cyclocomputer?

The must-haves: cadence, HR, time on the road, speed, all at a glance at the stem. Metrics off of these like time above and below threshold would be useful.

And my main concern is durability. My old Delphi unit took a serious beating in lots of weather, and when it died I didn't lose hundreds of dollars. I have a hard time seeing a phone surviving under those conditions, but if you know of a case and mount combination that does the trick I'd love to hear about it.

So what do you think, can a phone do it yet, or are they not quite there?

Many thanks!

Sure.

I ran a 5K with my phone in my pocket, not secured. This is what happened, and what would happen if yours came off your stem somehow. Make sure you have a very secure way of attaching it!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7390/...1c2ae9_o_d.jpg

Constantly keeping the display on in order to view speed, distance, etc. is going to kill the battery pretty quickly. I use my phone to track rides, but keep it in my jersey pocket and don't look at it for real time info.

Also, you might be limited in equipment available to measure cadence and HR that syncs/works properly with your phone.

I'd lean toward a dedicated cycling computer if you need real time info and sensor-dependent measurements.

Wahoo RFLKT is an interesting compromise. It connects to your phone via BlueTooth and displays whatever metrics your favorite app is tracking. The only downside I have found is that if you walk away from your bike with your phone in your pocket it can disconnect and can be a PITA to get restarted to continue the same ride. I've only used it with Ride with GPS and if you don't do the tapdance to reconnect, RWGPS may stop tracking your location. The easy solution is to unclip the RFLKT and stick it in your pocket when off the bike.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M...=0&w=300&h=300

You can get cadence and heart rate to your phone, but the BTLE sensors are relatively pricey compared to using a wired computer and generic HR monitor. Since the display and battery on the phone don't perform as well as dedicated units, it's hard to find much benefit to using the phone. The phone is still cheaper, which is what draws me to the idea.

If I were gadget inclined (which is odd that I'm not, being an engineer), I'd get something cheap (not a galaxy s6), easy to replace, and wired that syncs with your phone and/or other devices.

Bryton 310 costs about the same as a Wahoo RFLKT, and doesn't need to pair to a phone. Battery life is close to 20 hours.

So yes, you could use a smartphone as your computer. But I don't see why you would, when you can have a dedicated option.