no bike computer? but a smart phone?

[FunSize]

So... I just have a crappy little heart rate monitor and haven't wanted to dish out all the money for a bike computer. But... I did dish it out for a smart phone. For anyone that has a phone with GPS built in, there is a cool application that will track your ride/run (and other distance covering activities) on a map, speed, average speed, per mile speed, distance, altitude schematic over speed and distance, and record it online. Its a free application called Endomondo. Its made by web designers and coders in europe. It lacks some things that a bike computer has. Like cadence, power meter, and the ability to be mounted on the bike. But it is nice to have something just track you rides and speed. Its not perfectly accurate but it gives a good idea. And hey... its free... well... beyond the price of the phone and data plan. So, it may not be the best for real training, since it can't really give that instant feedback. But it is nice for tracking progress, rides, and goals.

Another thing it has the capability of utilizing is a bluetooth heart rate monitor.... which... I have never seen or heard of.

Just thought i'd share the fun of smart phone applications as it applies to cycling!

[OakLeaf]

RAM Mounts (http://www.ram-mount.com/) probably has a handlebar mount for it. They're very well regarded among long-distance motorcyclists.

Do you mind my asking what kind of phone, and what kind of battery life you get? I barely get 24 hours from my HTC Incredible, with an accessory battery and the GPS off.

[FunSize]

OOO... they do have a lot of options. I'll have to look into that a little more. Thanks!


I just got a droid 2. The battery life is not so good. but you have to remember these are like mini computers, and not just a call and text phone. I turn the GPS off whenever I'm not using it.

Also, I have an application called "open advanced app killer" for android phones. It helps the battery longevity by "killing" apps that sometimes run in the background even while the screen is off. You just have to remember to uncheck itself, otherwise it'll commit suicide.

Then i set the battery mode to not sync information when I'm not using it. that helps too. I can leave it alone all day and it keeps its battery okay. but if I'm using it a lot, it dies quickly, of course.

So, thinking about it. To keep the screen on while on a really long bike ride with the smart phone probably wouldn't work/last. It did fine just to track me, but if i were to use it to look at I'm not sure how the battery life would last. The screen is what uses the most battery life. Hmmm.

[colby]

I'll have to check out that app, my husband likes My Tracks. We used it on our Tuscany cycling trip (for walking, cycling, whatever) and he had all kinds of nerdy stats.

I saw the way the iPhone gets the HRM data is via a receiver for standard ANT+ heart monitors - see http://www.mapmyfitness.com/shop/fitness-sensors.html. A quick google shows the bluetooth is actually built in to the transmitter, so you're limited to a few brands (though it looks like one of them is Polar, so maybe we can look forward to bluetooth transmitters for other Polar tools, like the cadence and stride sensors?) http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/11718_Sports_Tracker_shop_opens-buy_.php.

I have found the GPS on the phone to be less reliable than a computer (and actually less reliable than my Polar GPS unit) especially as the weather gets crappy, but it is a useful tool for goals and stats (that's what my husband uses it for, anyway). I think to check it as we go he just taps the screen, but that probably means he has to unlock it. Maybe you could use an app that speaks info to you when you hit certain milestones?

[JennK13]

I have a Droid incredible, and I use CardioTrainer. It has GPS, maps my average speed, slowest and fastest speeds, gives me a break down mile by mile on what my speed was for each mile, tells me my elevation gain, and I can upload to mapmyfitness to get a full elevation profile. I can change it for hiking, walking, jogging - pretty much any activity I want.
The coolest thing I find is that when hiking in the backcountry of the Rockies where cell service is sketchy at best, the GPS still records my route. While it may not show a map view when I'm in the mountains, as soon as I come back to civilization, it shows me where I was. I've even had my phone "force close" and restart in the middle of a route, and once it turns back on, it picks up my route again as though it never dropped.
As for battery life, if I have a full charge when I start, it usually lasts me about 4 hours to run this program (map and GPS).

[OakLeaf]

FWIW, mapmy (ride/run) has free apps for Android and iPhone. I've installed the Android app but haven't really used it since I'm flush with Garmins. ;)

[hebe]

My dh uses a smartphone application for geocaching which works great. I have a Garmin Dakota that I use for geocaching, and I recently realised that I could just put it in a pocket and take it on the bike too. It doesn't give me cadence etc but does record where I went, max/avge speed, altitude etc, I can upload it into mygarmin and get all proudly geeky at the combination of cycling and IT skills. I wish I'd had something similar in my fell-running days.

[badgercat]

My dh uses a smartphone application for geocaching which works great. I have a Garmin Dakota that I use for geocaching, and I recently realised that I could just put it in a pocket and take it on the bike too. It doesn't give me cadence etc but does record where I went, max/avge speed, altitude etc, I can upload it into mygarmin and get all proudly geeky at the combination of cycling and IT skills. I wish I'd had something similar in my fell-running days.

Sorry to go off-topic, but... My boyfriend has a Garmin eTrex, which is also not designed specifically for cycling, but he was able to buy a bike handlebar mount from Garmin's website. Just something to consider if you ever want to keep it out and not have to stow in a pocket while you're riding. :) I think it only cost him about $10 USD.

[hebe]

Thank you! I think I shall ask Santa for one, as I didn't lock the screen on it today and it consequently switched itself off without me knowing.

Sorry for the hijack.

[klesko]

I use Cardiotrainer on my Droid, but now would like cadence, so I have asked Santa for a Garmin.