Cycling UK Forum

I just wondered if anybody has any experience of using a compass mounted this way. I know you can get bells with a little compass built in. As I understand it, magnets don't like being bashed around, so does the vibration from the bars kill them pretty quickly? Is it better to just have one round your neck if it's something you need?

Someone on KLWNBUG rides has a compass bell on one of his bikes. I think it's the same one been there for at least 8 years. The magnet ball is suspended in liquid which I guess prevents it being rattled to bits.

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

Any decent GPS should have one on it, even my old Magellen Meridian had one that was easy to use, I found it brilliant for finding perfect angle to a TV transmitter to get best signal, the other option is using your mobile phones GPS.

Another option not requiring any gadget as such is just a plain (accurate) analogue watch which is foolproof, even if you don't have a watch with hands you can mock up a clock face by drawing a a clock face & time on a bit of paper or chalk on the floor, twigs on grass etc.
Point the hour hand to the sun (you should be able to roughly locate it even on a cloudy day), then locate the 12 o clock on the watch and half way between is pointing due South, working from that to find
So for instance if it were Midday, the hour hand would obviously be at the 12 position and thus South is toward the Sun.
Here's a short vid saying exactly that, I'm sure there are plenty of others explaining it in greater depth if required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krRueo3 ... e=emb_logo

The utility cyclist wrote:Any decent GPS should have one on it, even my old Magellen Meridian had one that was easy to use, I found it brilliant for finding perfect angle to a TV transmitter to get best signal, the other option is using your mobile phones GPS.

Yeah but at five quid the bell with a compass on is a little cheaper than a GPS.

Incidentally many smartphones no longer have compasses built in. (The popular Moto G range, for instance.) If you're standing still, the phone needs to have its own compass to tell which way it's pointing. Its GPS receiver can only tell your location, not your orientation. Once you start moving, it can work out your direction of travel by comparing successive location fixes.

Another option not requiring any gadget as such is just a plain (accurate) analogue watch which is foolproof, even if you don't have a watch with hands you can mock up a clock face by drawing a a clock face & time on a bit of paper or chalk on the floor, twigs on grass etc.
Point the hour hand to the sun (you should be able to roughly locate it even on a cloudy day), then locate the 12 o clock on the watch and half way between is pointing due South, working from that to find
So for instance if it were Midday, the hour hand would obviously be at the 12 position and thus South is toward the Sun.
Here's a short vid saying exactly that, I'm sure there are plenty of others explaining it in greater depth if required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krRueo3 ... e=emb_logo

I see. And can you do this without stopping while riding through the forest?

The utility cyclist wrote:
Another option not requiring any gadget as such is just a plain (accurate) analogue watch which is foolproof, even if you don't have a watch with hands you can mock up a clock face by drawing a a clock face & time on a bit of paper or chalk on the floor, twigs on grass etc.
Point the hour hand to the sun (you should be able to roughly locate it even on a cloudy day), then locate the 12 o clock on the watch and half way between is pointing due South, working from that to find
So for instance if it were Midday, the hour hand would obviously be at the 12 position and thus South is toward the Sun.
Here's a short vid saying exactly that, I'm sure there are plenty of others explaining it in greater depth if required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krRueo3 ... e=emb_logo

I've kidnapped Ray Mears and tow him along in a trailer. When I need to know which direction I'm travelling I remove his gag ask him and then give him a biscuit.

AndyK wrote:I see. And can you do this without stopping while riding through the forest?

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

AndyK wrote:

The utility cyclist wrote:Any decent GPS should have one on it, even my old Magellen Meridian had one that was easy to use, I found it brilliant for finding perfect angle to a TV transmitter to get best signal, the other option is using your mobile phones GPS.

Yeah but at five quid the bell with a compass on is a little cheaper than a GPS.

Incidentally many smartphones no longer have compasses built in. (The popular Moto G range, for instance.) If you're standing still, the phone needs to have its own compass to tell which way it's pointing. Its GPS receiver can only tell your location, not your orientation. Once you start moving, it can work out your direction of travel by comparing successive location fixes.

Another option not requiring any gadget as such is just a plain (accurate) analogue watch which is foolproof, even if you don't have a watch with hands you can mock up a clock face by drawing a a clock face & time on a bit of paper or chalk on the floor, twigs on grass etc.
Point the hour hand to the sun (you should be able to roughly locate it even on a cloudy day), then locate the 12 o clock on the watch and half way between is pointing due South, working from that to find
So for instance if it were Midday, the hour hand would obviously be at the 12 position and thus South is toward the Sun.
Here's a short vid saying exactly that, I'm sure there are plenty of others explaining it in greater depth if required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krRueo3 ... e=emb_logo

I see. And can you do this without stopping while riding through the forest?

You can if you know what you're doing but the OP never mentioned forest, they also said that having a compass around their neck as an option, thus you'd have to come to a stop to use that, so I replied going from what was said up front.

Yes £5 is more than a GPS, but a lot of people do have them but don't even realise they have a digital compass on them at least.
In any case most people have mobile phones already that can be enabled to find direction, I don't know why you say 'many' phones don't have a compass, if they have GPS which is pretty much all of them and a signal then you have a de facto compass, downloading a compass App is also no big deal either.

whoof wrote:I've kidnapped Ray Mears and tow him along in a trailer. When I need to know which direction I'm travelling I remove his gag ask him and then give him a biscuit.

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

Mr Tom wrote:I just wondered if anybody has any experience of using a compass mounted this way. I know you can get bells with a little compass built in. As I understand it, magnets don't like being bashed around, so does the vibration from the bars kill them pretty quickly? Is it better to just have one round your neck if it's something you need?

I don’t think that the magnets will give any reliability issue other than not being correctly aligned relative to printed north on their bezel. For how little they cost and that fact some of them are built into a bell it’s virtually a no brainier to just buy and try. When I had a dog I always had a button compass with me, just within or attached to a small bag containing the various trivia a dog walker needs; button compasses cost peanuts and take up next to no space. The button compass didn’t get much use but just occasionally it was a great help in pointing the way home and with helping with maps, etc. I have a compass in my cycle-bag, it weighs little and whilst rarely used it is, when called upon, exceedingly helpful.

TLDR: have a compass.

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.

Carlton green wrote:
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.

mattheus wrote:

whoof wrote:I've kidnapped Ray Mears and tow him along in a trailer. When I need to know which direction I'm travelling I remove his gag ask him and then give him a biscuit.

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

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

whoof wrote:

mattheus wrote:

whoof wrote:I've kidnapped Ray Mears and tow him along in a trailer. When I need to know which direction I'm travelling I remove his gag ask him and then give him a biscuit.

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...

I have a bit of an obsession with a compass, so maybe can contribute. The reason is that I got lost on a canoe in the maze of Florida marshes and, yes, I only got out by looking at subtle directional differences in how leaves grew. In any case, on handlebars a compass is thrown off enough by steel elements to become useless. I tried to make a special alu mount for my Suunto compass to push it 15cm or so from the handlebars but it was not enough. My fall-back is to have a small compass attached to the strap of my wristwatch.

Now, as a further comment, paradoxically steel elements throw a compass with a stronger needle more than with a weaker - think of the compass seeing a mirror reflection of itself in the steel. However a small needle is likely to wobble around too much and will show good direction only on the average. The magnetic probes in the phone may be tiny enough to get over the problem of steel around and the phone may carry out the needed averaging over the wobbling. I.e. a phone compass may work in spite of there being steel elements around. However that is theory - I have not tested this out. If the steel around is magnetized permanently at some level, nothing will help.

Mike Sales wrote:

Carlton green wrote:
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.