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Garmin Connect alt?

Old 07-25-20, 08:34 AM
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sdmc530
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Garmin Connect alt?

What are my options for Garmin Connect alternative? I don't mine an affordable pay program either. With Garmin down I feel like I need a back up or something for when this happens.

What is a good program you all are using?
thanks!
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Old 07-25-20, 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by sdmc530
What are my options for Garmin Connect alternative? I don't mine an affordable pay program either. With Garmin down I feel like I need a back up or something for when this happens.

What is a good program you all are using?
thanks!
I've been using RideWithGPS ever since I started using a Garmin. When Connect is operational, it's a direct sync of completed rides, so all my activities are backed up. As well and when using the iQ app for RWGPS, it's a direct route download to my Garmin, so routes I create on RWGPS are easy to get for navigation on my Edge. RWGPS has some free features, I like it enough to subscribe.

With Garmin down for the count, it's easy enough to connect my 1030 via data USB cable to my Win10 laptop, look at the Garmin as a drive, go to Activities and grab the .FIT files for upload to RWGPS (alternately you can just save the file on a PC drive as backup). My last 3 completed rides have been uploaded to RWGPS this way, you can do the same if you want to use Strava. I also used this method (USB cable) to download to the device, some created routed I intend to use this week in Maine.
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Old 07-25-20, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Steve B.
I've been using RideWithGPS ever since I started using a Garmin. When Connect is operational, it's a direct sync of completed rides, so all my activities are backed up. As well and when using the iQ app for RWGPS, it's a direct route download to my Garmin, so routes I create on RWGPS are easy to get for navigation on my Edge. RWGPS has some free features, I like it enough to subscribe.

With Garmin down for the count, it's easy enough to connect my 1030 via data USB cable to my Win10 laptop, look at the Garmin as a drive, go to Activities and grab the .FIT files for upload to RWGPS (alternately you can just save the file on a PC drive as backup). My last 3 completed rides have been uploaded to RWGPS this way, you can do the same if you want to use Strava. I also used this method (USB cable) to download to the device, some created routed I intend to use this week in Maine.
thanks!

I want something that I can load like this when Garmin won't sync with anything else. I dumped Strava but Ride with GPS sounds like a great option. going to check it our right now!
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Old 07-25-20, 11:31 AM
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Golden Cheetah has more bells and whistles than I know what to do with; it's on your computer, so you don't have to worry about a web site going down; and it's free.

Of course, since you've got all your ride data on your GPS, you could just wait until Garmin comes back up. Call it your recovery week.
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Old 07-25-20, 11:55 AM
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I use RideWithGPS.com free version to backup my rides and also Golden Cheetah on my desktop computer. My main program is SportTracks.mobi which I pay for. I use a Wahoo Bolt so Garmin Connect is not a place I upload to. In the past when I used Garmin I used Connect but that has been a number of years ago. Another is Relive.cc free version.
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Old 07-25-20, 12:52 PM
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thanks for the guidance!!
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Old 07-25-20, 01:04 PM
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I use Strava; there's a way to upload directly to Strava via a laptop pulling .fit files from the Garmin device, no Connect needed
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Old 07-25-20, 01:23 PM
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For the rides I wanted to save, I used to hook my garmin up with a usb cable and just copy them from the garmin/activities folder onto my computer. Should be able to do that with any computer, I know it works for Windows and linux.
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Old 07-25-20, 01:26 PM
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So I did two.....did a online version, Ride with GPS, was using that for some route planning already so that was easy. BUT I wanted on off line system too and downloaded Golden Cheetah. Boy GC is a really good program. I might just use that now instead of connect. I like its off line and man its really good with the data. My data junky brain is a lather right now!
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Old 07-25-20, 01:32 PM
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GC was a bit much for me, maybe I should try it again. I just have a folder where I save the rides. There are fit file viewers.
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Old 07-25-20, 02:32 PM
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On Bike Radar they announced that the Garmin site was really down and it wasn't some sort of glitch in your software. Wonder when it will be back?
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Old 07-25-20, 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by unterhausen
GC was a bit much for me, maybe I should try it again. I just have a folder where I save the rides. There are fit file viewers.
I am not sure who made it or why, or even how they are being compensated for it but its well done IMO. If your a data junkie its good. If you want a basic simple program maybe not the best but I really like it.

The creator was a great person who cared about cycling for sure!
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Old 07-25-20, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by RiceAWay
On Bike Radar they announced that the Garmin site was really down and it wasn't some sort of glitch in your software. Wonder when it will be back?

no they have all but come out and said it was ransomware. hopefully soon though...….
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Old 07-25-20, 04:37 PM
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Manual upload to Strava.
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Old 07-25-20, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by sdmc530
What are my options for Garmin Connect alternative? I don't mine an affordable pay program either. With Garmin down I feel like I need a back up or something for when this happens.

What is a good program you all are using?
thanks!
It comes down to what you want the most of:
Simple ride tracking and routing? RWGPS or Komoot
Facebook for bikes? Strava
Fitness/training tracking with lots of metrics? TrainingPeaks
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Old 07-25-20, 06:03 PM
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I love Golden Cheetah, even though I use (and know how to use) maybe 1% of its capabilities.

I started a 60 days free trial of Strava premium just to see what I was missing and boy was I underwhelmed by what they consider their fitness features.

RideWithGPS has been solid for collecting rides but I never used it as such when I also had my rides synced to Strava and Garmin Connect.
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Old 07-26-20, 01:54 AM
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It is also affecting the Garmin Express app for updating maps and systems used on the Auto, Marine, and handheld GPS units.
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Old 07-26-20, 04:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill in VA
It is also affecting the Garmin Express app for updating maps and systems used on the Auto, Marine, and handheld GPS units.
I bet the aviation folks are the most left in the dark. that would be a bit of a critical product for them.
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Old 07-26-20, 10:34 AM
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I did a manual upload to Strava and it was very easy.

I don't give 2 ****s about Garmin, I just use them to link to Strava. I do wish that I could connect my Garmin it without their website and through Bluetooth. I'm not home every day and I certainly don't bring my computer camping or on trips, so I do find this annoying.

My Strava is set to private, I don't engage in the competitive side of it, I just like the way it orders my stats from rides.

Big G is usually several thousand feet off in calculating elevation gain. Once downloaded to Strava it's correct. I don't know if Golden Cheetah or something that just displays GPS data and doesn't necessarily run it through a database of similar known rides would do that.
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Old 07-26-20, 12:50 PM
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I just discovered that you can upload to Strava from a phone if you have a USB adapter for the charger. Like what you'd get if you have a newer Apple.

You just have to use the Strava website and not the app, works perfectly. This is a decent workaround since I probably have my charging cable anyway and the adapter is really small.
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Old 07-26-20, 01:15 PM
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The only reason I use Garmin Connect is to allow my HRM data to upload to Strava.

I belong to a club that has as one of it's perks free mebership to RWGPS. The club rides are on that platform. I have been fooling around with making my own routes then exporting to my Garmin. At least in my experience, making rides to upload to the GPS is easier on Strava than it is in RWGPS. For me at least, in RWGPS making routes is a little bit finicky. But that might be my computers.
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Old 07-26-20, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by rosefarts
I don't know if Golden Cheetah or something that just displays GPS data and doesn't necessarily run it through a database of similar known rides would do that.
Golden Cheetah supports elevation correction. It's not automatic, but I rarely need it since my (and any decent) bike computer uses a barometric altimeter to calculate elevation changes.
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Old 07-26-20, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by fourfa
I use Strava; there's a way to upload directly to Strava via a laptop pulling .fit files from the Garmin device, no Connect needed
I'm doing this from my desk top. Works like a charm.
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Old 07-26-20, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by surak
Golden Cheetah supports elevation correction. It's not automatic, but I rarely need it since my (and any decent) bike computer uses a barometric altimeter to calculate elevation changes.
Its a well known and documented problem with Garmin, I think across the product line but certainly on their watches.

I don't know how they calculate it, probably just GPS data. It seems accurate on the fly, but too frequently I'll finish a big ride of maybe 5000' and my watch is telling me it's 8500'.

Just the other day I did a mountain bike ride of 1200' climbing, it was mostly a descent. Garmin had me at 5500'.

Strava corrects this instantly.

My last ride was with a friend of my wife. She wasn't what I'd call a speed demon. I spent about half of the ride sitting and waiting. During that time, I noticed the elevation change (while not moving) as much as 75'. So it seems like it's counting all of it's adjustments.

I honestly don't mind the inaccuracies of GPS but it does show how important it is to have a program that can automatically correct data.
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