Bar mounted compass

[mattheus]

My fall-back is to have a small compass attached to the strap of my wristwatch.

I've used these. For the tiny cost and weight, I thought they were worthwhile - but the straps are very unreliable, cheap brittle plastic. Yes they're dirt cheap, but I hate disposable stuff

Have you found any good ones? I'd be happy to pay a few quid more for something durable. I could only find much larger good quality items; I realise that larger compasses work better, but that's not my requirement here. I don't really have the skill to use an accurate compass properly (I did once, but I'm rusty!)

[2_i]

I thought they were worthwhile - but the straps are very unreliable, cheap brittle plastic. Yes they're dirt cheap, but I hate disposable stuff

Have you found any good ones? I'd be happy to pay a few quid more for something durable.

The good small ones are Suunto and also Recta that seems to be now rebranded Suunto. I just checked the compass of my Motorola phone and it seems to be thrown off by steel in the surrounding about as much as a regular compass.

[Mike Sales]

A compass needs to be level or the pointer can’t rotate, so make sure the the compass is set level on your bike and that your bike is positioned level when the compass is being read.

Has anybody noticed any problems with steel components of the bike affecting the needle?
The frame or cables for instance. Or parts of the bell itself.

I think that that is a good question to ask but my logic is:
# These things are cheap so why not just see how it works out in practice.
# Yep steel things do have an attraction to magnets, but see the point above.
# The product’s been on the market for years, it might just be OK.
# Similar compasses used to be sold to go on the windscreen of cars, cars have a lot of steel in them but I have no recollection of anyone saying that those compasses didn’t work.

Having a simple compass is a good idea and they can be inexpensive, just check that it’s functional before you adopt it as part of your outdoor kit.

TLDR: risk a fiver and find out for sure, if it fails then try keeping a button compass in your saddle or bar bag and then use it with care.

I remember Mike saying something to me about not letting my prejudices influence my decisions and decided he was very right, thanks Mike. Likewise in this case, gather facts and don’t accept hearsay and past experience as your only guides.

I would think that the cheaper the compass, the less likely it is to be any good. More likely to be a toy or a gimmick and never of serious use.
I wonder if anybody has ever used a car or bike compass in a situation it really needs to work. A general indication of direction can be found with moss, or the sun etc.
A decent walking compass like a Silva or Suunto is more than a fiver.
On a steel boat there is an elaborate process to correct for the hull's magnetism affecting the compass.
Damping is another thing to look at. "Deadbeat" is the word.
I would certainly want to check one of these toys, preferably before buying it.

[Richard Fairhurst]

You can get a compass that fits in your top cap. This review wasn't very enthusiastic, though: https://www.cyclingabout.com/review-ste ... mpass-2-0/

[Mr Tom]

I have never felt the need for one. Is it for off-road use in forestry or something like that?

I guess it's just an additional useful thing when navigating. I've never managed to use my phone, always used an old school map and compass. Just that it's so easy to get lazy, stopping to look at the compass each time you want to change direction. I guess when you end up in streets you don't know you can just head in the general direction you know you're going.

[The utility cyclist]

This thread has been - predictably - like internet bingo. (I guessed at least 3 of the answers.)

The majority of this forum are the same few things rehashed.

I was more specifically referring to response style:
- You don't need this
- You should be using <X> instead
- etc ...<eventually someone might actually answer the question> ... etc...

Typically predictable bingo comment , making up stuff that no-one has actually said, who said you don't need this, who said you should be using x instead, no-one.
Offering options/alternates means more information that the OP can use and the forum users as a whole.

From the size of the bell mounted compass (I've got something similar size) it's going to be tough to actually see the direction accurately when on the move, but sure, if one wants to mount one there's nothing wrong with that, but in my personal experience of using a compass with a bike, hiking and very rarely driving, I personally wouldn't use a bell type one. Having a standard map type one around your neck or in your pocket would be fine.

And no, a steel frame does not affect a compass from the times I've used one.

[JakobW]

And no, a steel frame does not affect a compass from the times I've used one.

My recollection is that when I've used a hiking compass (a Silva of some kind) on the bike, the needle is affected, especially when close to the frame. OTOH, if I'm using it as well as a map, I'm usually lost enough that I've stopped and am trying to get my bearings, so it's no major hardship to get off the bike and take a few steps away.

It may be a case of suck it and see?

[RickH]

Back in the day, late 1980s when my mountainbike was still fairly new (& it was very rare to encounter anyone else riding one), I took it over to Snowdonia to go up a couple of the northernmost 3000 footers. It was probably not long after the Cranes had ridden (using the term in a very loose & all encompassing way) the full Welsh 3000s traverse. I wasn't quite that ambitious.

Up on the mountain top the path I wanted wasn't completely clear. So I got out my trusty Silva compass & OS map and got my bearings.

Finding it tricky to follow a bearing by eye when weaving round the rocks up there, I did attempt to ride holding my compass in one hand but decided that wasn't really practical.

So I walked a short distance following the bearing until I could find the path, all was well & I could ride again, only needing to stop occasionally to check the map.

[Mike Sales]

I have a vivid memory of blundering around the south end of the Cuillins of Skye in thick mist because the rocks deflect the compass.

[Brucey]

ISTR that even in overcast/murky conditions enough sunlight filters through the clouds that if you have a polarizing filter/sunglasses with you, you know the time of day and know what you are doing, you can get a reasonably accurate bearing to follow. It is thought that Vikings and other ancient seafarers used pieces of polarizing mineral (eg 'sunstone') to estimate the sun's position so that they had some idea of where they were going even when it was overcast.

Ordinary magnetic compasses are affected by anything magnetic (or simply made of ferromagnetic material) in close proximity, which includes steel bike frames and certain types of rock. The problems are greater in magnitude and complexity in ships but ships' compasses are a good case in point. You can read more about some of the issues here

http://www.compassadjustment.com/#5

getting the compass well away from the ship isn't a practical option; much easier on a bicycle!

cheers

[Mike Sales]

ISTR that even in overcast/murky conditions enough sunlight filters through the clouds that if you have a polarizing filter/sunglasses with you, you know the time of day and know what you are doing, you can get a reasonably accurate bearing to follow. It is thought that Vikings and other ancient seafarers used pieces of polarizing mineral (eg 'sunstone') to estimate the sun's position so that they had some idea of where they were going even when it was overcast.

In practice much of the time the helmsman keeps on course by steering a constant angle to the seas and wind.
The compass or sunstone, or stars, moon or sun serve as an intermittent check.

There is a fascinating book about the skills of the Pacific islanders in navigating the huge empty spaces of the ocean without any instruments.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/707571.The_Last_Navigator

[pwa]

I have never felt the need for one. Is it for off-road use in forestry or something like that?

I guess it's just an additional useful thing when navigating. I've never managed to use my phone, always used an old school map and compass. Just that it's so easy to get lazy, stopping to look at the compass each time you want to change direction. I guess when you end up in streets you don't know you can just head in the general direction you know you're going.

As I say, I've never used one on a bike but I warm to the idea of relying on basic, old fashioned tools to navigate. My own equivalent is a combination of map and deduction, which works well in most environments but could theoretically come unstuck in places with few landmarks, such as open moorland.

[pwa]

From the size of the bell mounted compass (I've got something similar size) it's going to be tough to actually see the direction accurately when on the move, but sure, if one wants to mount one there's nothing wrong with that, but in my personal experience of using a compass with a bike, hiking and very rarely driving, I personally wouldn't use a bell type one. Having a standard map type one around your neck or in your pocket would be fine.

And no, a steel frame does not affect a compass from the times I've used one.

If a standard flat plastic compass works reliably on a bike (I've no experience) it would be possible to glue one to a redundant handlebar light bracket.

[freiston]

Years ago I bought a small liquid filled button compass (the same sort that I suspect are used in bells and steeerer caps) to put in the corner of my map case when walking, with the idea of it being a quick and easy reference instead of getting my "proper" compass out. I can't remember the ins and outs of it but it was next to useless. If I recall correctly, either far too much or not enough movement in the needle (intermittently both) and not very good in reorientating itself when moved.

In a forest you just note which side of the tree trunks the moss is growing.

That will tell you which side of the tree is best suited for moss to grow (tending to dark and wet) but that isn't always north - especially in a forest where trees with good sun-catching foliage can block out a lot of light from reaching a tree to the north of it. A tree at the northern edge of a forest could easily get more light from the north than from the south.

[Carlton green]

Has anybody noticed any problems with steel components of the bike affecting the needle?
The frame or cables for instance. Or parts of the bell itself.

I think that that is a good question to ask but my logic is:
# These things are cheap so why not just see how it works out in practice.
# Yep steel things do have an attraction to magnets, but see the point above.
# The product’s been on the market for years, it might just be OK.
# Similar compasses used to be sold to go on the windscreen of cars, cars have a lot of steel in them but I have no recollection of anyone saying that those compasses didn’t work.

Having a simple compass is a good idea and they can be inexpensive, just check that it’s functional before you adopt it as part of your outdoor kit.

TLDR: risk a fiver and find out for sure, if it fails then try keeping a button compass in your saddle or bar bag and then use it with care.

I remember Mike saying something to me about not letting my prejudices influence my decisions and decided he was very right, thanks Mike. Likewise in this case, gather facts and don’t accept hearsay and past experience as your only guides.

I would think that the cheaper the compass, the less likely it is to be any good. More likely to be a toy or a gimmick and never of serious use.
I wonder if anybody has ever used a car or bike compass in a situation it really needs to work. A general indication of direction can be found with moss, or the sun etc.
A decent walking compass like a Silva or Suunto is more than a fiver.
On a steel boat there is an elaborate process to correct for the hull's magnetism affecting the compass.
Damping is another thing to look at. "Deadbeat" is the word.
I would certainly want to check one of these toys, preferably before buying it.

There is always a conflict between the price of something and its utility but IMHO it’s a mistake to judge something cheap as valueless. A smile costs nothing but has value, and an item that was once expensive to manufacture and buy but now is cheaper has no less utility than it previously had. As I see things automatically judging the value (utility) of something by its price is a form of prejudice.

When I bought my button compasses I noted that such things had been used by escaping POW to navigate across Europe, and that these days NATO approved versions - which, incidentally, aren’t expensive - are standard issue in Forces’ emergency packs. Those two factors seemed to me to be a pretty good recommendation and my experience of their use hasn’t been anything other than positive. Admittedly they are just a good rather than ‘spot on’ guide to direction and I did check each one before starting use them, but if you use them appropriately then they’ll certainly help you get to your destination which, unless I’m mistaken, is the purpose of a compass.