Cycling computer confusion

mikedobson
mikedobson Posts: 186
edited June 2015 in Road general
I have an iphone 5

Great

What I really want is to mount the phone on my bars, wear a heart rate monitor and have a display on the phone that shows real time ride data and heart rate/calorie use etc all on the same screen. Does such a thing exist?

ta muchly :D
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Comments

  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,382
    most sensors for bikes use ant+, unless you can find bluetooth sensors you'd need to get an ant+ adaptor

    tbh i'd use a proper bike computer, not a phone, aside from the sheer bulk, an iphone is poorly weather sealed and will have dire battery life vs. a dedicated device

    calculated calorie readings will be nonsense, don't waste time on them, only a power meter can get close and even that has a wide margin of error due to individual differences in metabolic efficiency
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • juanerasmoe
    juanerasmoe Posts: 91
    It is possible. You can use this to mount the phone http://goo.gl/hFSbo7 and this http://goo.gl/K0vrXq as a heart rate sensor.
    However, I do agree with @sungod. The battery life will be a huge issue. And frankly, for a bit more money you can buy a dedicated gps unit with better battery life and hr sensor.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Take a look at the Wahoo range of products and app, designed for exactly what you want.
  • bsharp77
    bsharp77 Posts: 533
    Mike ive been through all this myself. Initially you have to fork out for bluetooth HR and cadence sensors (or else buy an ANT+ dongle for the phone). Also, having the phone mounted is not great, so you have the option of something like the wahoo RFLKT which displays all the data and allows you to keep the phone tucked away.

    Thats all fine, problem is, by the time you've forked out for all this stuff....you could have got a dedicated Garmin for the job, which is what I ended up doing and can whole heartedly recommend. There are a few models depending on the features and budget you have in mind.

    Its hard to beat getting the right tool for the right job, rather than trying to make something make do - just makes life a lot easier! Just my opinion of course, but hopefully this helps a bit.
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    bsharp77 wrote:
    Mike ive been through all this myself. Initially you have to fork out for bluetooth HR and cadence sensors (or else buy an ANT+ dongle for the phone). Also, having the phone mounted is not great, so you have the option of something like the wahoo RFLKT which displays all the data and allows you to keep the phone tucked away.

    Thats all fine, problem is, by the time you've forked out for all this stuff....you could have got a dedicated Garmin for the job, which is what I ended up doing and can whole heartedly recommend. There are a few models depending on the features and budget you have in mind.

    Its hard to beat getting the right tool for the right job, rather than trying to make something make do - just makes life a lot easier! Just my opinion of course, but hopefully this helps a bit.

    Not to mention the risk of having your expensive iPhone fall off its mount onto the road and being damaged beyond repair.
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • ViperS15
    ViperS15 Posts: 61
    Wait for the Cateye Strada smart and use that. Reading some leaflets about it, it connects to the phone and displays all the information the phone records. Sensors etc connect to the phone, so it's basically a mirror head unit.

    Saves having the iPhone on the bars!

    http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/cateye-un ... puter.html
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    ViperS15 wrote:
    Wait for the Cateye Strada smart and use that. Reading some leaflets about it, it connects to the phone and displays all the information the phone records. Sensors etc connect to the phone, so it's basically a mirror head unit.

    Saves having the iPhone on the bars!

    This does the same thing http://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/rflkt.html
  • ViperS15
    ViperS15 Posts: 61
    Almost. The main difference is that the Cateye would still work as a normal computer with sensors without the smart phone, whereas the Wahoo is purely a mirror device.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    ViperS15 wrote:
    Wait for the Cateye Strada smart and use that. Reading some leaflets about it, it connects to the phone and displays all the information the phone records. Sensors etc connect to the phone, so it's basically a mirror head unit.

    Saves having the iPhone on the bars!

    http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/cateye-un ... puter.html

    Just got one of those and on paper it seems like a good idea. And on initial testing it works, but every single time within 5 minutes of setting out the app on the phone will lose connection with the HRM and that's that for the rest of the ride.

    I use the same HRM and same phone with the Strava app and it never drops connection, so why the cateye app drops I have no idea.

    Shame I'm going to have to return an otherwise good unit because the app is defective :(

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