Endomondo gone mad...?

miss notax

Anyone else use Endomondo (the free one - not the one you have to pay for)?

I've been happily using it to track rides fr a few years, then recently the display has annoyingly changed so it's more tricky to read the data, and now it's coming up with ridiculous readings. After a blast around Cannock last week it came up with a top speed of 58mph... Now whilst I like to think I have got faster lately, i'm pretty certain that at no point did I reach almost 60mph All the rest of the data was ok so it's not that I left it tracking on the drive back etc.

Usual ride in the New Forest last night, all believable data, apart from (again) a top speed of 47mph :evil: In the current mud-fest of the forest 4.7mph would probably be optimistic!

Most of the data looks about right but this is really starting to annoy me - what am I doing wrong or has Endomondo just gone mad? Or is it finally time for me to get my head around this new-fangled Strava thing?

bartimaeus

Have you looked at the detailed plot (e.g. a GPX export)? I use Endomondo, but I've had spurious max speeds where my GPS has 'lost the plot' for a few seconds - showing a detour a hundred metres into a wood and then back... so the 'speed' logged in the GPS shows a transient spike.

miss notax

Hmm, i'll have a look at that thanks

Weird that it's just started happening though.... Or I guess the software might have changed when they fiddled about with the display.

cat_with_no_tail

Stopped using Endomondo a few months back because I got sick of it being dump. Using Strava now and I'm so happy with it, I've even paid for the subscription!

DodgeT

Used to use endomondo to record the ride, then import into strava, only way to do it with a blackberry. Seen a few excessive speeds myself on there.
Got a good comparison for it a couple of weeks back at a timed racers guild session, the end/strav times were a good 12 seconds out over a roughly 1 1/2 minute run. Pretty pants.
Now using strava direct on android/sammy phone. Not had chance to do the direct comparison yet, but seems more realistic, certainly no way off speeds etc.

shigllgetcha

I use an app called cardiotrainer and havent had anyproblems.

You might be able to get your hands on the APK file of the old version you used to use and downgrade - if you are on android that is

miss notax

Ok, so might be time for me to be dragged into Stava then....

I have an iPhone but am pretty much a technical numpty - can I download an App? And can I stop everyone in the world seeing where I live and when i've gone for a bike ride?

bails87

You need to set your privacy settings so only you/your friends can see your rides.

On strava you can also create a 'home zone' of various sizes around a certain location so that no-one, not even your 'friends', can see where your rides are starting and finishing.

I use both, for the record. I really don't like the new endomondo, but I also can't stand the Strava website, it seems to be all over the place with loads of sub-panes within windows and very convoluted routes to finding what should be basic data.

edit: http://veloviewer.com/ is good though, it analyses your strava data for you.

Edit, and produces sig images like this:

Blue&White Rider

I use endomondo (paid for the pro version just the other day) and haven't had any problems really, also in the New Forest. It has been very accurate with the route, only once or twice it went out by 10-20 metres. What annoys me though is that you can't put it in landscape view! I have a mount on the bars which would be ideal for landscape. Mind you, I'm keeping my phone in my pocket mostly at the moment.

What's the plus points to Strava?

milko9000

Blue&White Rider wrote:

What's the plus points to Strava?

It's all about the leaderboards.

Well, that and you can use it to find trails around the place, but mainly the leaderboards. Really encourages you to go for it properly! (and sadly, for some people to ride like fools/ride beyond their limits/take shortcuts/etc)

handful

miss notax wrote:

Ok, so might be time for me to be dragged into Stava then....

I have an iPhone but am pretty much a technical numpty - can I download an App? And can I stop everyone in the world seeing where I live and when i've gone for a bike ride?

Hi miss notax, Happy New Year to you!

If you want to keep the same functionality as Endemondo you could do a lot worse than try Sportypal. I used it for a long time before I got my Garmin 800 and found it pretty reliable, particularly on speeds.

bartimaeus

milko9000 wrote:

It's all about the leaderboards.

It doesn't have to be *the* leaderboard, though... for any segment you can view all your times, so you can race yourself. Or you can limit times to a 'club' giving you a leaderboard for your mates.

As bails says, though, you can access lots of great stuff through http://veloviewer.com/... RaceShape, Multiple Ride Mapper and of course the 'climbbybike' style profiles.

allthegearnoidea

ive had some awesome times out of endo, but not through the app, its down to the GPS coverage, occasionally get random satalite tracking and iffy times, the last iffy one was continually telling mei was a Climbing God knocking out 3 miles in under 5 mnutes, and the randomly sent me in zig zags all over the woods,
i upgraded to the pro version when it was in the £1 sale, in honesty, didnt notice a great deal of differnce, is manly down to the strength of the gps receiver on the phone and the cloud/sky cover,

have to agree with comments on the strava website, search for sections close to you or look on the map and comes up with none, yet ride with a few guys there and they start getting excited as they are upto second on one section!
i stopped tracking my local rides as i know the distances for most the routes by now, but hand for longer ones, i i remember to turn it on!!!

allthegearnoidea

ive had some awesome times out of endo, but not through the app, its down to the GPS coverage, occasionally get random satalite tracking and iffy times, the last iffy one was continually telling mei was a Climbing God knocking out 3 miles in under 5 mnutes, and the randomly sent me in zig zags all over the woods,
i upgraded to the pro version when it was in the £1 sale, in honesty, didnt notice a great deal of differnce, is manly down to the strength of the gps receiver on the phone and the cloud/sky cover,

have to agree with comments on the strava website, search for sections close to you or look on the map and comes up with none, yet ride with a few guys there and they start getting excited as they are upto second on one section!
i stopped tracking my local rides as i know the distances for most the routes by now, but hand for longer ones, i i remember to turn it on!!!

Newfish

I use runkeeper which I find really good, it also has some moments when it makes mistakes. It clocked me at 122.5mph the other day.

miss notax

handful wrote:

I used it for a long time before I got my Garmin 800 and found it pretty reliable, particularly on speeds.

Can I also get the same info out of the Garmin 800 then....? I'm only really interested in the basic data (hence using Endomondo), but have been thinking about getting one of these for a while as i'm a bit 'navigationally challenged' and would like to ride by myself on ocassions without the certainty of getting lost :roll:

Are they really as robust as they say? And can you REALLY navigate off road with them....?

querhoch

i have a watch.

EH_Rob

miss notax wrote:

handful wrote:

I used it for a long time before I got my Garmin 800 and found it pretty reliable, particularly on speeds.

Can I also get the same info out of the Garmin 800 then....? I'm only really interested in the basic data (hence using Endomondo), but have been thinking about getting one of these for a while as i'm a bit 'navigationally challenged' and would like to ride by myself on ocassions without the certainty of getting lost :roll:

Are they really as robust as they say? And can you REALLY navigate off road with them....?

I've never used one, so can't comment on their durability. They probably aren't bad - I use quite a lot of Garmin GPS gear offshore and rarely have an issue (though I use it for recording track, not navigating).

Using any form of GPS-driven device as your only (some would say primary) navigation aid is a rubbish idea. If it can't record your spatial position correctly enough for it to record your ride telemetry in a semi-reliable manner, how could you ever expect to routinely rely on it for navigation? Plus they run out of battery. You could get one, but they're pretty expensive compared to a map. I use OS maps with a smattering of Google Earth on an Android handset if that helps.

I'd get Strava if its compatible with your phone, see if it does what you want and without the crazy numbers Endo has given you. You can set the privacy settings as others have described. Bear in mind that GPS-driven stuff, regardless of what you're using it for, won't ever work especially well under trees, and sometimes just doesn't work particularly well (depending on satellite constellations and a bunch of other stuff).

milko9000

fwiw I find the Garmins much less likely to give crazy GPS results than a smartphone + app. And the battery life is good on them too. Still not something you should rely on for an epic journey without a backup paper map, but for a full day's bumbling around they're fine. Can only speak personally of experience with a 702 (800's predecessor I think) and a 500 (recording info only really).

miss notax

Umm, yes, I agree.... Just in case anyone is now thinking i'm riding off into the wilderness with JUST a Garmin, I can (and do) read a map but i'm still a bit of a liability, hence the thought that some electonic back-up might be a good idea

handful

miss notax wrote:

handful wrote:

I used it for a long time before I got my Garmin 800 and found it pretty reliable, particularly on speeds.

Can I also get the same info out of the Garmin 800 then....? I'm only really interested in the basic data (hence using Endomondo), but have been thinking about getting one of these for a while as i'm a bit 'navigationally challenged' and would like to ride by myself on ocassions without the certainty of getting lost :roll:

Are they really as robust as they say? And can you REALLY navigate off road with them....?

Yes, information is quite comprehensive, all the usual, distance, time, elevation, a map of where you've been (and where you're going) also HR and cadence if you can be bothered with that. On top of that you get full GPS which to answer your question does work but takes quite a lot of fiddling to work right.If you aren't techy you would probably need to get some advice or help but that's usually fairly forthcoming on here.

The thing I like is to be able to plan routes before going out and then follow them, not always exactly but it's definitely saved me from getting lost a few times and enables me to maximise the time I have allocated for a ride. If you do get one my advice would be not to waste money on the OS maps, the open source maps on Talkytoaster are just as good imo and much easier to read for my old eyes anyway.

And yes, they are pretty robust, mine has survived a nasty off and quite a few dousings.

EH_Rob

Point taken, my Garmins last for weeks, but then they have a tiny black and white lcd screen and about 3 buttons. Either way, battery life on a map is better.

I guess the question you need to ask is what sort of benefit the Garmin would bring over a smartphone as a backup navigational aid, and are those benefits worth the cost. If you're using Strava (or whatever) at the same time, that's going to rinse your smartphone battery, if you're not then you'll probably have plenty of juice (GPS doesn't need to be turned on if you're not using it), so that's something to consider too.

If it were me I'd probably do without, but this is definitely a personal choice.

camerauk

I have the Garmin 800 it's a great piece of kit, easy to use once you set it up(which can take a bit of fiddling around)
I upload all my rides to Strava(free version) and to Garmin Connect
I use Basecamp which is also free to plan routes with the OS maps that I got with my Garmin 800(Trail version)
Strava can be set to have a privacy setting which does not show where you start your rides from your home
If you need any help with the Garmin(if you get one) or Strava drop me a PM

camerauk

Just a heads up Garmin have announced the Edge 810 so the price of the 800 should fall a bit so if you are planning on buying one they should be a bit cheaper unless you want the new 810

miss notax

Ah, good to know, thank you

rhysalun

Hey.. thought Id put my oar into the discussion for the first time on this forum.. here goes.

I've had mostly good experience with Endonmondo.. it does have a little spat at me sometimes.. specifically in Coed y Brenin where it thought I jumped home (about an hour drive away) before finishing a route giving the map track a massive stalactite in the map.

Apart from that my Iphone5 has fared well as a GPS tracker in other locations and tracks well when compared to a Garmin 800 after we compared tracks from a ride this weekend. I like to take the 'sailing' philosophy when it comes to GPS units.. they're handy and can be used as aids.. but no substitution for a good old fashioned Map and when using an Iphone you cant expect the batteries to last too long!

orbdemon

DodgeT wrote:

Used to use endomondo to record the ride, then import into strava, only way to do it with a blackberry.

I use GPSLogger II on the Blackberry - free from the App World Store. It exports gpx files which I upload directly to Strava.

I've found it superior to the iPhone Strava app (as iPhone GPS is notoriously poor) and much better than Edmundo (it records location each second, vs Edmundo once every 4 seconds by default, and the accuracy of the coordinates is to an additional decimal place).

A Garmin would be better, but until I have one, this is a satisfactory solution.

projectsome

On my old phone Endomondo was pretty crap, but the GPS on my current phone has this thing called GLONASS or whatever it's called and it's a lot better.

orbdemon

Didn't realise Glonass was fully up and running - it's the Russian version of GPS.