What is best iPhone GPS app for Road Bike Use ??

Paulroth

For Road Bike use, am thinking of adding an iPhone holder to the bars to display both a Map and Computer functions (Speed, Distance, Altitude, % Slope etc).

I currently use a VDO MC1+ for all of the above functions - except the Mapping.....

As there seem to be many iPhone Apps doing some or all of the above functions, which is the best app to select and use for on-bar mapping as well as bike computer functions.

Thanks,
Paul

redddraggon

I hope you don't ride very far, because the battery won't last long.

amaferanga

Hope it doesn't rain too often where you are either.

jonmack

Wow great advice there guys.

When I was using my iPhone on rides I used runkeeper, http://runkeeper.com/ I found it did everything I wanted, it also uploads your ride onto the RK server so you can view all the details, speed, pace, duration, distance, ascent, and it takes a shot at working out how many calories you burnt too.

I only ever used it twice as I then bought an Edge 705, but here's a screenshot of one of the rides I did, gives you an idea of the interface.

http://drp.ly/12kZ9X

I found my battery tended to lose 10-15% per hour (and I was listening to music at the time - I know music while riding, go ahead, shoot me), so you might wanna bear that in mind if you're considering all day 100m+ rides. I'd say for 50-60m it would be more than adequate.

Hope I have been of some use.

Paul E

I use cyclemeter, found it to be quite good, as for the other comments, you can buy a waterproof mount and if you turn the brightness down etc you can get away with quite a long run time.

stokepa31

i use mapmyride app which is free and have found the battery life to be good. as for rain, i have found the signal still gets through with the phone in my tribag on the top tube even with the rain cover over the top!

the only down side is that it hasno autopause facility and your averages get screwed up if you stop and forget to pause it.

Paulroth

Thanks for the constructive feedback.

Having an iPhone anway, this is to see whether I can avoid buying another separate GPS unit to display an inter-active Map and Speed/Distance/Altitude functions on the bars in front of me during a ride.

As there seem to be many different iPhone Apps with cycling and bike navigation in mind, I am trying to get feedback on the best one to use.

On bike mounts, this one was referenced on Bike Radar and seems weather proof.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/d ... ount-23264

For battery life, rides of up to 3-4 hours max are my norm.

Regards,
Paul

stokepa31

you will be fine battery wise on 3-4 hours. the only thng to watch for is that if you drop the 3g signal in the countryside, the map may struggle to keep up in terms of it refreshing you're position

Paul E

Ahh if you know your route I have another app called motion x which allows you to preload maps at a selection of zoom levels for your route so you dont need to use the mobile network for map updates. This is best done over wifi though obviously.

leejdavies

GPS motion X is more comprehensive Cyclemeter.Provides more individaul details. GPS motion X is cheaper but cyclemeter is easier to use.

I have a RAM mount as well £15 from amazon. Not too quiet but it is effective.

Battery life on long rides with Motion X is not great maybe 3 hours MAX with everything turned off and screen brightness on low.

Can't comment on battery life with Cyclemeter I have not done a longer ride with it yet.

Cyclemeter is easier to use and gives you calendar indicating whether your ride was faster or slower than others you have done on the same route. It stores routes and you can then select which one you're doing.

With motion X you can take photos and incorporate them in some way. If you feel so inclined.

Brocade

Hi,

I use an iPhone all the time.

Here is the set-up:
- I use wither mapmyrun or Trails for the app
- for battery issues, I bought a separate spare battery from eBay for £15ish... it adds an additional 4-5 hours to the iPhone so you can pretty much go anywhere you like as long as you keep it under 8 hours or so including the iPhones own charge. This thing is quite small, sort of like a matchbox.
- I keep the battery in a small top tube bag, Topeak or Ironman, and have a very short cord running from that bag to the iPhone
- I keep the iPhone mounted on this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/BICYCLE-HANDLEB ... B001SZZK1A

The advantage of that mount is that you can plug in the battery while in the mount.

This works a treat. Much much lighter than any other GPS device, battery life over 8 hours, the mount is rock solid, you can listen to music and take calls, etc. etc. , keep it on full brightness, 3G no problem. Heck, if you want to ride 12 hours, just buy another cheap battery and pop it in the bag.

Tolga

leejdavies

With cyclemeter it stops if you take a call.

Just thought I'd add that. Unless they have updated it since I last used it which may well of happened. Not too sure though.

Brocade,

Do you know the make of the spare battery. £15 is a good deal for 4-5 hours of battery. I have the same mount so it makes sense for longer rides.

Sean1504

Come next month when iPhone OS 4.0 is out you shouldn't have to worry about apps closing as long as they update them for multitasking which i'm sure they will.

I was thinking of using my iphone but I kept having visions that i'd crash and end up smashing it to bits. Ordered a 705 instead.