what is the best bike computer ?

CUBEical

slindborg wrote:

CUBEical wrote:

i could always use my phone as a gps and log it that way too but i bet signal would be really bad out on the trails

GPS, clue is in the name, Global Positioning System... So long as you dont have much building or metal overhead then the GPS receiver will get the signal(s) and track you. Oh and of course, are on the planet

there is no need to be sarcastic you need mobile internet to use gps and if you have not got phone signal your screwed and im on orange and Thetford forest is a no signal zone for me

Chunkers1980

That's not true.

chrisw333

Chunkers1980 wrote:

That's not true.

Chunkers and Slindborg are right, you don't need a phone signal for GPS to work.

With that said, there are disadvantages with using your phone - battery life, it's in your pack so you can't see current milage etc. But don't dismiss it as an additional option as the aps are very good indeed.

Go ahead and buy the basic computer, I used to have a cateye and liked having the ability to see mileage, time etc on my handlebar.

Anonymous

GPS on my blackberry is SHIT!!! my friends gps on iphone 5 is equally as useless

the gps locator drains the battery stupidly quick only works in area's with signal when it finds a signal it takes ages to load and often loose's signal often.

to some it up GPS tracking on phones is more a fun gimmick to show people what coffee shop your in at town rather them show them or see yourself where about your are and were you've been. if you want gps tracking by a decent sat-nav unit

Anonymous

the one you download to your computer after would seems gr8 idea I personally don't care much about it when im cycling but would be intrested to see my route and average speed and mileage after so I could compare.

do these things work in the uk
do they work with windows 8
how does it work >

Chunkers1980

Thanks for those insights.

Dafuq you on about.

chrisw333

andrewgrundill wrote:

GPS on my blackberry is shoot!!! my friends gps on iphone 5 is equally as useless

the gps locator drains the battery stupidly quick only works in area's with signal when it finds a signal it takes ages to load and often loose's signal often.

to some it up GPS tracking on phones is more a fun gimmick to show people what coffee shop your in at town rather them show them or see yourself where about your are and were you've been. if you want gps tracking by a decent sat-nav unit

Sorry but this is b0llocks. Your blackberry may not be great, but me and my friends have all used gps tracking on various phones including iphone 4 & 5's and it has worked very well from remote Dartmoor to mid Wales & the Lakes. Yes you can get the occasional drop out, but generally works fine.

It does drain the battery, but if you close the screen down Endomondo or Strava etc will happily track you on 3-4hr rides with little problem on an iphone.

Use a map App like viewranger and you have accurate gps location and tracking & route finding on a pre downloaded OS map - so no internet connection required (extra external phone battery recommended for longer rides).

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean there isn't a valuable tool out there.

obviously you don't get the on bar display of a cycle computer though if you keep you phone in your backpack.

gkdk

There is the option of using a watch based Garmin GPS such as the forerunner 10 (£80ish). Good battery time, GPS fix and GPS recording. Obviously you aren't going to be able to read time, distance, speed, etc often unless you are easy pedalling sections of your route. Also good if you have more than one bike as you don't need to duplicate or transfer computer.

paulbox

I've been using a Garmin Edge 500 to track all my rides for the last year and a half, it's a great little bit of kit and for me the biggest benefit is being able to track progress (trying to lose weight and improve average speed etc.) and compare stat's to a previous time that I've done a particular ride.

As Garmin have recently brought out an upgraded range it's worth checking out eBay for places selling off their old stock, you can pick up a 200 for about £80 and 500's for about £120 for new versions, obviously used can be got for less.

I've used various phone app's in the past and they are very good, though I have had battery life issues. Some of my mates use external power supplies to get round that.

thelonegroover

chrisw333 wrote:

andrewgrundill wrote:

GPS on my blackberry is shoot!!! my friends gps on iphone 5 is equally as useless

the gps locator drains the battery stupidly quick only works in area's with signal when it finds a signal it takes ages to load and often loose's signal often.

to some it up GPS tracking on phones is more a fun gimmick to show people what coffee shop your in at town rather them show them or see yourself where about your are and were you've been. if you want gps tracking by a decent sat-nav unit

Sorry but this is b0llocks. Your blackberry may not be great, but me and my friends have all used gps tracking on various phones including iphone 4 & 5's and it has worked very well from remote Dartmoor to mid Wales & the Lakes. Yes you can get the occasional drop out, but generally works fine.

It does drain the battery, but if you close the screen down Endomondo or Strava etc will happily track you on 3-4hr rides with little problem on an iphone.

Use a map App like viewranger and you have accurate gps location and tracking & route finding on a pre downloaded OS map - so no internet connection required (extra external phone battery recommended for longer rides).

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean there isn't a valuable tool out there.

obviously you don't get the on bar display of a cycle computer though if you keep you phone in your backpack.

How does GPS on a phone work, if the phone is in your pack. (So it can't see the sky)?

Chunkers1980

You're joking right? You couldn't be that scopey could you.

CUBEical

GPS is basically a satellite based positioning system that is designed to calculate geographic coordinates based on timing information received from multiple satellites in the GPS constellation. GPS has a relatively slow time to first fix (TTFF), and from a cold start (meaning without a last known position), it can take up to 15 minutes to download the data it needs from the satellites to calculate a position. A-GPS used by cellular networks shortens this time by using the cellular network to deliver the satellite data to the phone.

But regardless of whether it is an A-GPS or GPS location, all that is derived is Geographic Coordinates (latitude/longitude). It is impossible to obtain more from GPS only.

To be able to return anything other than coordinates (such as an address), you need some mechanism to do the Reverse Geocoding. Typically this is done by querying a server or a web service (like using Google Maps or Bing, but there are others). Some of the services will allow you to cache data locally, but it would still require an internet connection for periods of time to download the map information in the surrounding area.

While it requires a significant amount of effort, you can write your own tool to do the reverse geocoding, but you still need to be able to house the data somewhere as the amount of data required to do this is far more you can store on a phone, which means you still need an internet connection to do it. If you think of tools like Garmin GPS Navigation units, they do store the data locally, so it is possible, but you will need to optimize it for maximum storage and would probably need more than is generally available in a phone.

So I guess the short answer to my question is, no you do not need an active internet connection to get Coordinates, but unless you are building a specialized device or have unlimited storage, you will need an internet connection to turn those coordinates into anything else. so on Google maps i would not be able to see where i am going as my signal would need to be there to display the maps so yes i do need signal now instead of being an ass and going against the facts why do not you just suggest there is map apps out there that do not require internet connection, but as some one said gps is a gimmick on mobile phones

CUBEical

oh and also GPS on contract phones will cost loads

bails87

oh and also GPS on contract phones will cost loads

In terms of data use? Well that depends if you're on an unlimited data contract, doesn't it?

so on Google maps i would not be able to see where i am going as my signal would need to be there to display the maps so yes i do need signal now instead of being an ass and going against the facts why do not you just suggest there is map apps out there that do not require internet connection, but as some one said gps is a gimmick on mobile phones

Errr, Google maps caches map panels so you can see the map without having a data connection.

Same goes for the gvSig Mini Maps app, you can choose the area and zoom level you want to download over WiFi at home, and then view those maps when you're in the back of beyond with no phone signal.

While it requires a significant amount of effort, you can write your own tool to do the reverse geocoding, but you still need to be able to house the data somewhere as the amount of data required to do this is far more you can store on a phone, which means you still need an internet connection to do it. If you think of tools like Garmin GPS Navigation units, they do store the data locally, so it is possible, but you will need to optimize it for maximum storage and would probably need more than is generally available in a phone.

My Garmin 800 has full UK maps and a load of rides stored on a 2GB memory card.

My phone has 16GB of memory.

CUBEical

bails87 wrote:

oh and also GPS on contract phones will cost loads

In terms of data use? Well that depends if you're on an unlimited data contract, doesn't it?

im not

Chunkers1980

Well just use the phone to track you GPS path and then upload when you get home? Or use preloaded maps which can easily fit on most phones.

chrisw333

CUBEical wrote:

so yes i do need signal now instead of being an ass and going against the facts why do not you just suggest there is map apps out there that do not require internet connection, but as some one said gps is a gimmick on mobile phones

No you don't and no it isn't. As has been said you can track your route and upload it on your computer when you get back. I take it that if you’re looking at a £20 bike computer, you weren't planning to be looking at maps on it in any event, just looking at distance, speed etc? For this the phone works, albeit as previously said, not on your bars (unless you want a pretty clumsy mount). Thousands of people do this successfully, so I'm not sure how it is just a gimmick? Alternatively, if you do want to look at maps (which is clearly out of the scope of a £20 bike computer), if you actually read the posts of people you readily call an ass you will find...

chrisw333 wrote:

Use a map App like viewranger and you have accurate gps location and tracking & route finding on a pre downloaded OS map - so no internet connection required (extra external phone battery recommended for longer rides).

So I don’t see how I am being an ass? A mobile phone does what a £20.00 bike computer does and lots more besides. It does has some drawbacks, which have been made clear and therefore isn't for everyone. But if you don't want to use your phone, rather than have a forum strop

chrisw333 wrote:

Go ahead and buy the basic computer, I used to have a cateye and liked having the ability to see mileage, time etc on my handlebar.

bails87

CUBEical wrote:

bails87 wrote:

oh and also GPS on contract phones will cost loads

In terms of data use? Well that depends if you're on an unlimited data contract, doesn't it?

im not

Right, so as has already been said, don't download the data. You can even turn data off completely and still use GPS.
If you're just tracking a ride then you won't use any data anyway, or certainly not any significant amount.

CUBEical

bails87 wrote:

CUBEical wrote:

bails87 wrote:

oh and also GPS on contract phones will cost loads

In terms of data use? Well that depends if you're on an unlimited data contract, doesn't it?

im not

Right, so as has already been said, don't download the data. You can even turn data off completely and still use GPS.
If you're just tracking a ride then you won't use any data anyway, or certainly not any significant amount.

if my internet is of and I go onto GPS it say DATA charges will apply. so if you do not need data ? (internet) for GPS why they charge you for it. I am not having a forum strop just do not like people being rude and ignorant and arrogant on here

Chunkers1980

In English?

CUBEical

Chunkers1980 wrote:

In English?

???????????? ignorant arrogant rude ? that is English

step83

You dont need data to track via GPS, before i had my Garmin i used my Samsung tablet of all things it logs via GPS and you can upload at home via WiFi. Alternatively you can knock your phone into flight mode so it cant load data and run the GPS tracking that way. Its logging you position not dragging data down from the network.

CUBEical

Step83 wrote:

You dont need data to track via GPS, before i had my Garmin i used my Samsung tablet of all things it logs via GPS and you can upload at home via WiFi. Alternatively you can knock your phone into flight mode so it cant load data and run the GPS tracking that way. Its logging you position not dragging data down from the network.

i will try this way thanks

bennett_346

CUBEical wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

In English?

???????????? ignorant arrogant rude ? that is English

That certainly wasn't.

CUBEical

bennett_346 wrote:

CUBEical wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

In English?

???????????? ignorant arrogant rude ? that is English

That certainly wasn't.

how is that not English ?

ar·ro·gant
/ˈarəgənt/
Adjective
Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.
Synonyms
haughty - proud - conceited - supercilious - lofty

ig·no·rant
/ˈignərənt/
Adjective
Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular: "ignorant of astronomy".
Synonyms
illiterate - nescient - unlettered - unlearned

rude
/ro͞od/
Adjective
Offensively impolite or ill-mannered: "she had been rude to her boss".
Referring to a taboo subject such as sex in a way considered improper and offensive: "he made a rude gesture".
Synonyms
rough - coarse - crude - impolite - uncivil - rugged

chrisw333

Cubical

We've tried to help answer a question you posted on a forum. Some of us believe you have got the wrong end of the stick re phones and GPS and have tried, several times, to explain this to you. We've also acknowledged it may not be the best solution for what you want and a £20 computer might be.

In return, you've thrown around words like arse, arrogant, ignorant and rude. It seems to me that there is only one person on this thread fulfilling those criteria. Indeed I could add some others, but I wont as all in all this is generally a friendly place.

I think an apology is called for. And if you don't want help in future, please don't ask.

The Rookie

CUBEical wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

CUBEical wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

In English?

???????????? ignorant arrogant rude ? that is English

That certainly wasn't.

how is that not English ?

Because it's three random words not a sentance, you didn't even manage commas to seperate the adjectives or supply an object or subject for the adjectives to apply to, so it wasn't English was it......

john2002

GPS doesn't cost you anything to use but AGPS can cost you. this isn't a problem if you have a data plan with your phone, because the data is very small. but if you don't have a data plan using AGPS on some phones/networks it can cost you some money.. before I had the Samsung b2700, which is a simple phone (so I didn't need data plan) but had AGPS, so I used it for GPS data logging my rides. but because I didn't have a data plan if I used even 1 bit of data for anything, I would be charged 1 euro to use the internet for the rest of the day. so to use the AGPS 10 day out of the month would cost me 10 Euros. it wouldn't take too long before I could just buy a dedicated GPS unit..

I now have a android mobile with a data plan so even if it does use data I don't notice it. I personally use endomondo and check my phone occasionally for the info. maybe check the maps if lost. I don't find the need to check my speed or distance etc every 2 min to have a bike computer.

see if you can switch off AGPS on your phone and just use GPS if that is possible on your phone. if you chose to use GPS on your mobile

CUBEical

chrisw333 wrote:

Cubical


I think an apology is called for. And if you don't want help in future, please don't ask.

I would like an apology, yes. I do want help just do not like people nit picking and being pretentious. Its a pretty sad life to just sit picking up on peoples faults on forums. Maybe it makes them feel better about themselves. I would like to say thanks to the people who do help and have helped I have just brought this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230960146159? ... 1439.l2649

CUBEical

Well i got STRAVA today, it crashed about 3 times before i even went out on a ride. I then went out on a 16 mile bike ride. when i stopped to save it it crashed. finally got it back on after a while it found it and managed to save it luckily. Now is it just mine or does every ones start actually recording about 1 to 2 miles after you press record. ie when i looked back on the map it said i started 2 miles down the road ish. Would this not effect the overall results? Thanks