Jezrant wrote: ↑25 Aug 2024, 5:09pm
I suppose you need to decide what info you want to see on a screen on your bars while riding and what info you want to look at later on some app.
Yep, very much this.
If the OP wants to create and navigate a route, view the climbing etc then a laptop and access to an online route planning tool like Strava, RideWithGPS, Cycle.Travel etc which can send the route to a Garmin or Wahoo is way better than anything a phone can manage.
If the OP wants a central point to gather info like HR, cadence, speed, distance and so on, then again a dedicated cycle computer is the answer cos it saves running lots of different apps and the battery life is way better.
On the other hand if you're simply going to ride around and not care too much about any of the above, a phone will generally do the job of just showing you where you are on a Google Maps display.
Jezrant wrote: ↑25 Aug 2024, 5:09pm
I suppose you need to decide what info you want to see on a screen on your bars while riding and what info you want to look at later on some app.
Yep, very much this.
If the OP wants to create and navigate a route, view the climbing etc then a laptop and access to an online route planning tool like Strava, RideWithGPS, Cycle.Travel etc which can send the route to a Garmin or Wahoo is way better than anything a phone can manage.
If the OP wants a central point to gather info like HR, cadence, speed, distance and so on, then again a dedicated cycle computer is the answer cos it saves running lots of different apps and the battery life is way better.
On the other hand if you're simply going to ride around and not care too much about any of the above, a phone will generally do the job of just showing you where you are on a Google Maps display.
That's a nice and clear summary, but are you sure about the battery draining so much faster in the second scenario if using a phone with screen off? I thought that was only the case if the screen was left on. If the phone screen is off while the sensors are doing their HR and cadence thing, isn't the battery life much longer? That's been my experience. I only switch the screen on when needed.
Most important question is do you want to look at any data whilst riding?
Mobile phones are notoriously flaky in the rain.
An old Samsung Galaxy was waterproof, but as soon as there was a drop of rain on the screen it was off assuming finger presses and making all sorts of random decisions about what App you wanted and what data you wanted to input.
If you want a phone on the bars and expect even a spot of rain on a ride then you really need a phone case.
This (in my case) makes it difficult to read the phone and is also very bulky.
If you just want to analyse the data post ride then connect all your sensors to the phone and put it in a pocket (or bag).
I ride with a Garmin Edge Explore which has an under performing battery but it records route information and speed and distance information if I am pootling, and also provides navigation when I am on a group ride.
The routes are many and varied so I do need navigation on these rides.
I haven't yet integrated sensors, or Garmin with Komoot, or other stuff.
One day, perhaps.
As above, your device will be totally useless if it's not designed to function in wet weather. Amazing how many people assume it never rains in the UK.
Plus phones these days have too much important stuff on to risk being sat on a handlebar in the rain.
I’m going to chip-in here, and do a bit of naysaying of the naysaying.
A phone works fine for navigation, and at least some stats gathering or monitoring, and it has the advantage of not being another expense.
I’ve been using an iPhone in a quadlock case, on a quadlock mount for eight years, without problems, a high percentage of the time off-road, including it being unscathed in a few sudden unplanned dismount incidents. The only thing I’ve got a minor gripe about (which I’ve fed-back to messrs quadlock), is that the rain cover went milky-translucent after a bit, making it difficult to read through, so now I put a ziplock sandwich bag over it in the rain instead!
The usual top concern is battery life. If I leave it on full screen in bright weather, it lasts about half a day, so I don’t. I leave whatever apps I’m using (OS, CycleTeavel, Cycle Streets, Polar HRM, etc) running in the background, but only turn the screen on when I need it, which tends to be at complicated bits of route. That way it will last all day, and for multi-days and for security, I carry a “battery brick”, which will do about three full charges of the phone. As an instance, I recently did eight days cycling with one recharge of the brick mid-way, despite a fair bit of net-surfing in the evenings when camping. If I’d not net-surfed, the phone and brick would have lasted me out. My current phone has a pretty big screen, so it’s no lightweight when it comes to battery consumption.
If I’d felt the need of cycling specific gizmos, I’d have bought one, but that need has never arisen because the phone suffices.
I guess if you want a fully instrumented set-up, with multiple sensors on you and the bike, a cycling-specific gizmo is necessary, but I only want the HRM, and even that not always. The Polar app tracks route and mileage very well without the HRM, and if I want to know how far I’ve climbed I just put the route in CycleTravel and that tells me (often I don’t, because looking at it makes me feel more tired!).
Another consideration is weight. My IPhone 11 weighs 281 grams, my Garmin Edge 520 Plus weighs 61 grams. The OP has bought a super duper lightweight bike, does he really want a heavy brick phone on the handlebars?
ForwardGhoul wrote: ↑24 Aug 2024, 5:45pm
It's new bike day, Ribble Endurance SLR Shimano 105 DI2 and I was looking for opinions.on the above. Is it really worth getting either a Garmin or Wahoo or is it simply more sense just to use phone and my current health band watch? Their not cheap and I could get some other stuff for the price I'll pay for even the basic model of each of these.
Are they a waste of money given the amount of stuff your phone/watch can do. Im only into stats, don't use GPS or maps part of the fun is to discover a new route just by exploring.
On the off chance that the OP is still reading this thread… as I understand it the Ribble is a £3k+ bike and we’re asked about the worth of a bicycle computer that might cost a couple of hundred quid.
You might not currently want all the bells and whistles that come with a dedicated GPS device - I don’t - but just in case (and to get a model with a decent battery life) I suggest you look no further than the feature-packed Garmin Edge 530. It’s the model before the 5xx range went touch screen and *probably* represents the best bang for your buck out there. (Because it is geared up to do a range of jobs it has a very impressive battery life - the main reason I got mine.)
I’ve calculated that I’ve switched my 530 between six different bikes that between them cost much less than the price of the Ribble. I keep my iPhone in my rear pocket or rack bag for phone stuff and use a dedicated GPS device for all the cycling related stuff.
ForwardGhoul wrote: ↑24 Aug 2024, 5:45pm
It's new bike day, Ribble Endurance SLR Shimano 105 DI2 and I was looking for opinions.on the above. Is it really worth getting either a Garmin or Wahoo or is it simply more sense just to use phone and my current health band watch? Their not cheap and I could get some other stuff for the price I'll pay for even the basic model of each of these.
Are they a waste of money given the amount of stuff your phone/watch can do. Im only into stats, don't use GPS or maps part of the fun is to discover a new route just by exploring.
On the off chance that the OP is still reading this thread… as I understand it the Ribble is a £3k+ bike and we’re asked about the worth of a bicycle computer that might cost a couple of hundred quid.
You might not currently want all the bells and whistles that come with a dedicated GPS device - I don’t - but just in case (and to get a model with a decent battery life) I suggest you look no further than the feature-packed Garmin Edge 530. It’s the model before the 5xx range went touch screen and *probably* represents the best bang for your buck out there. (Because it is geared up to do a range of jobs it has a very impressive battery life - the main reason I got mine.)
I’ve calculated that I’ve switched my 530 between six different bikes that between them cost much less than the price of the Ribble. I keep my iPhone in my rear pocket or rack bag for phone stuff and use a dedicated GPS device for all the cycling related stuff.
Thank you that's very useful advice as was everyone's. Ive bene looking at the 530 and will probably go for that one. Ribble do a nice front mount designed to attach to the level 5 carbon bars as well and it's relatively cheap
Good choice. I have a 530 and can't really fault it. The 540 doesn't offer anything more that I actually want, and it's significantly more expensive. The 530 is compatible with rear radars too. A radar is v useful out on the road, particularly country roads where cars are fewer - it stops you being surprised a vehicle from behind.
