vbgagnon

Hey guys, I'm trying to find some information about a computer, or basically a cadence and speed monitor.

I've been riding a MTB for years, and just recently purchased a gravel bike. I've never really monitored anything other than heart rate while riding single track, but would like to do more. Is there even such an app or devices that can sync with an iPhone XS?

Thanks for your help in advance!

-Ben

Steve B.

JohnJ80

Garmin, Wahoo and Hammerhead all sync with an iphone (personal experience - I have all three). Pretty much any bike computer will sync with Strava which is the best way IMO because it's not vendor specific. The three I have all do it seamlessly. I don't think you could successfully sell a bike computer that has any real capability today if it didn't sync.

I also use an online syncing service that will sync pretty much anything to anything else call Tapiirik. It works without complaint, in the background and it has for me for about 3-4 years now. Check it out.

Each of the suppliers have their own proprietary syncing app too. But the more modern computers will go directly to Strava over wifi or over BT through your phone.

J.

Steve B.

Hammerhead ?. Really ?. I thought a common complaint was the Karoo (if that's what you are using) had no BlueTooth capability, just WiFi and 3G cell ?. Didn't know they had an app for a phone.

I could be out of touch with what that unit does these days.

JohnJ80

I guess it's not true app, it's a web app for the phone. The dashboard does a nice job on a mobile display. It's connectivity directly to the internet is best in class though.

Steve B.

OK, that I understand.

What I also *think* I understand is that the Karoo can do a sync either via WiFi OR a 3G cell connection (nothing goes directly to the phone), one or the other getting used to upload your activity to the Dashboard, which is Hammerheads on-line/cloud based activity tracker. There's no actual connection of any kind to a phone, only that the phone can access the on-line Dashboard, via WiFi or cell data.

Do you need to pay for a supplemental device cell service account to use the Karoo 3G ?, if WiFi is not available ?. That would certainly be a game changer if so, as I've no desire to pay any more on my cell bill than I already am.

Thing is I like the Karoo in general, I like the idea of Android as the OS, it offers a lot of possibility and potential features. I'm maybe not thrilled with the no link to the phone as I think that's a cheap and simple way to work with the device. Wahoo has this about perfect currently, Garmin not so much, though Connect Mobile does what it's supposed to do. I'm just wondering what's next after my Edge 1000 dies.

JohnJ80

.
Largely correct. You can do a connection to the phone as a Wifi hotspot and connect that way to the internet as well.

yes and no. Freedompop offers a free sim card for usage less than 200MB per month. That's probably free if used in the Karoo and I plan to investigate that. Like I said before, you can also connect the Karoo live to the internet through a cell phone set up as a hot spot. That's what I've been doing and it works well.

That said, their dashboard, as compared to an app, provides really nice functionality that rivals that of many apps.

A number of us have figured out how to side load Android apps into the Karoo and that works pretty well. Doing that, it's possible to have audio turn by turn directions and some stunning mapping capability heretofore not available on a bike computer (Osmand, Komoot). Also, I've got a color weather radar app that I use that is pretty handy when I'm trying to ride around precipitation. I'm also looking at trying the Zello walkie talkie app as well for communications between riders even when separated by long distances. Hammerhead also has an app store in their roadmap. The big advantages of the Karoo are the Android OS (as you point out), the high resolution quality display, and the cellular modem. Using those capabilities to their fullest gives them some interesting functionality. I also have an Edge 1000 and even though the Karoo has had some issues, the display is pretty seductive to the point where I don't want to go back to the Garmin unit or move to the Edge 1030.

Karoo is still a work in progress. The next 3-6 months will tell the story. They just got a sizable investment from a group of investment bankers and some industry key players last week. Investors include management from MapMyFitness and Zipp.

J.

Steve B.

JohnJ80

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Karoo is a work in progress but showing lots of potential.

J.

Rick

The smart version of the CatEye Padrone will bluetooth to your phone and use its gps. I believe the phone will also mirror the Padrone and you can also hook up with strava at the same time.