Iphone Vs. Cateye computer

Sunnyg

Hi,

I may have just opened a hug bag of worms here but i was looking at buying a new cat eye strada, or thinking of getting a wahoo iphone sensor and something like this for a mount?


http://www.quadlockcase.com/collections ... bike-mount

not sure what you guys opinons were on the speicific bike computer vs. iphone?

s

simon_masterson

Don't put your phone on the bars. Cycle computers are smaller, lighter, won't run out of battery, and are made for the job...

(I prefer Sigma Sport computers, though. )

Bozman

I used a Cateye strada on my bars and an iPhone with cyclemeter in my jersey pocket for a couple of years, the cateye gives you all the info you need will you're moving and then you can download your stats off your phone when you get home, personally I'd never attach a phone to my bars.
I use a Garmin 500 now and there's not a lot of difference in the data, Mr Pro might need more data but your average joe can get more than enough data from a phone app and a cateye.

Battery life was fine on an iPhone 4, from a full charge I'd be down to around 70% after nearly 6hrs, so if you're out for anything over 18 hrs there might be an issue. :roll:

lotus49

Smart phones can usually do pretty much anything the alternatives can but they have terrible battery life and are expensive if they get damaged.

It is also a breach of Rule #74 to have a large phone strapped to your bars.

gethinceri

Stop giving a fork about the Rules.

chrisaonabike

lotus49 wrote:

Smart phones can usually do pretty much anything the alternatives can but mine has terrible battery life

FTFY

My Galaxy S3 goes from 100% to about 55% battery in about 4 hours, with Strava recording and GPS tracker also recording and uploading my position in real time to t'interweb.

So an 8 hour sportive would be ok on one battery. Also, unlike some, you can just pull the back off it and insert a spare battery. Battery life really isn't an issue with all smart phones - if you have one already, you might just not need to spend more cash on a Garmin or similar.

However, I'm not at all advocating bar-mounted smartphones....

It is also a breach of Rule #74 to have a large phone strapped to your bars.

Gethinceri wrote:

Stop giving a fork about the Rules.

Actually, it's a very good rule, that one.

I have a bar-mounted waterproof tough case for my SGS3, and it suffers from several big disadvantages:

- with the phone on the bars, it looks really, really shite.
- even if it isn't actually going to, it looks like it'll come off at any moment.
- you can't operate the screen with gloves on.

wellbeloved747

I have an edge 200 on an out front mount then an custom carbon iPhone 5 slim cage which was moulded into the stem. i use it as a sat nav and you can facetime from it

andyeb

I've had both a Cateye Strada computer and now have an iPhone 5 mount on the stem.

With regard to strapping a phone to your bike, pros as I see them are:

- You can use the phone for navigation on unfamiliar rides. You are looking at a Garmin Edge 800 or better for that capability in a dedicated GPS/computer. That's pretty serious money.
- There are a number of cycling related apps which you can run on your phone. You don't get that with a Garmin.
- If you get a mount which lets sound out, you can listen to podcasts through the speaker without having to wear headphones. Can be useful on Long Steady Distance rides or on a long commute.
- You can get more data on the screen, which can be useful for turbo training, pacing yourself up hills and on time trials. However when you are actually riding, you'd be surprised how little data you can process simultaneously with staying on your bike.

Cons:

- as others have said, limited battery life. I have a veho pebble 5000mAh top-up battery, but I can't connect it to my iPhone 5 while it's in the mount, because the designers thought it was more use to be able to plug headphones in than plug power. So I only use this if I'm riding with my iPhone in my back pocket.
- always the worry that if you crash you will destroy your phone. The better cases do provide some useful protection.
- constant vibration from the road may eventually cause faults to develop in your phone - there are connections between modules in most phones which can be shaken loose (e.g. between camera and logic board)

The Cateye Strada was OK for the money, but I wish I had gone for the wireless version - the wired version added a lot of clutter to the frame which made proper cleaning tricky. Personally I'd say a standalone heart rate monitor like the Polar FT4 is a better pacing-aid than a basic bike computer.

Hope that helps!

pinkteapot

Sorry to break the rules but I have my iPhone on my handlebars. Mount £3.40, Cyclemeter app £2.99. Navigation on my handlebars for well under a tenner.

I plot new routes on the MapMyRide website then export to Cyclemeter. Followed a new 30 mile route on unfamiliar back roads today without having to check the map once.

Love Cyclemeter for the ghost riders. On routes you've ridden before you get markers moving along the map for previous best, worst and median times, in addition to the marker showing where you are. I race myself home from work.

Downside as above is battery life. Limited to about 4 hours as an extended battery case won't fit in my mount.

lotus49

Gethinceri wrote:

Stop giving a fork about the Rules.

Why?

The Rules are both funny and instructive.

lotus49

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

Smart phones can usually do pretty much anything the alternatives can but mine has terrible battery life

FTFY

My Galaxy S3 goes from 100% to about 55% battery in about 4 hours, with Strava recording and GPS tracker also recording and uploading my position in real time to t'interweb.

That is good going but I suppose it depends what you are doing with your phone.

For basic functions like those a Cateye computer would have, you can get 8 hours of battery life with some phones. You would struggle to get 8 hours out of any phone doing something like turn-by-turn directions though - my Galaxy S2 only lasts for 2.5 hours doing this.

You make an important point though. What matters is whether your phone has adequate battery life for the length of time you expect to be out.

goffski

I use a cheap wireless computer from decathlon. I also have my iphone 4s attached to the bars using this

http://www.topeak.com/products/bags/sma ... rybag_5_bk

The reason for this is I picked one of these batteries up from HMV for about a tenner when they shut down and the larger case fit's it in giving me more battery life.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Griffin-GC35021 ... m_sbs_ce_7