indyfabz

If you’re out on tour it can help with navigation, especially if you have to change course on the fly due to something like road construction. Example; I was touring in rural Montana on a trail and needed to drop down to another trail or possibly end up in a different state, or at least add unneeded miles. Where the transition point was was not obvious. Fortunately, I was close enough to the I-90 corridor to get a strong enough signal to check Google Maps. Saved me a lot of headache. It’s also come in handy to check campground availability on the fly. And last year on the GAP I arrived at my campground to discover that you had to book and pay for a hiker/biker site by phone. (No iron ranger.) It was a stupid set up, but it’s what I was faced with. Glad I had my phone.

With that said, I usually keep mine in airplane mode or low battery mode. If I know I won’t have service for a long time and doubt I’ll use the camera, it’s turned off to conserve battery power.

indyfabz

Getting hit by a car doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to use a phone or need one.

fietsbob

It's usually off any & in my bag, how.. here Verizon covers more area Spectrum/Charter just sublets existing towers rather than pay to build redundant ones..

& i'm stopped using free Wi Fi in town anyhow..

Marylander

While I also survived the pre cell phone days I was in some near death situations back then that now, a few decades older, I just might not make it through. I carry a satellite communicator (garmin inreach se+) for when I'm in really remote places (miles from cell service and roads). Situations like this could be avoided with a satellite communicator: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...pic-peninsula/

Troul 

how else are you supposed to notify that strava app hook-up of your arrival?

"Hey, im here, look for the person waxin there chain, down over by the bushes.

Miele Man

I'm in my 60s and single. My niece worried a lot about me riding alone out in the country especially at night. So, she bought me a cell phone and put me on her family plan. It gives here peace of mind. I don't know if there are any dead spots where I ride and that's because the cell phone is there for emergencies or perhaps for the odd photo.

Cheers

Mulberry20

get a satellite phone

fietsbob

He nailed it ! you can even get one from Walmart !






...

Mulberry20

A satellite phone is must for anyone running tubeless tires 🤣🤣🤣

GlennR

You need this helmet.

Don't laugh, he was smart enough to be elected to Congress.

indyfabz

I love that skit.

Although I should say that smarts are not a congressional requirement.

tkamd73 

Who cares! No big deal, phone is in saddle bag, wouldn’t even know if had cell reception.
Tim

Wileyrat

​​​What did millions of cyclists do before cell phones were invented? I rode in the pre cell phone days, and we just rode.

indyfabz

You care enough to carry a phone.

Troul 

took a ride in the free candy van?

genejockey 

One time last year, I was about to head out on a ride and my phone was down to 10%. My first thought was, "Oh, my god! I can't ride now!"

My second thought was, "You used to ride all over hell with no phone. Get going."

genejockey 

I'm the only one in my family who rides. Sometimes on a ride, I see something I want to share, so I stop and take a picture. No, not a selfie! I mean, they KNOW what I look like. They don't need a picture of that.

There's a place on one of my routes where the owner let roses grow wild all over his fence and up into the trees. In April they're all blooming. I call it The Wall Of Roses, and if I didn't take a picture, my wife would never see it.

But apart from that, the phone spends most rides in my back jersey pocket untouched till I get home. The few times I have gotten calls while riding, I didn't hear or feel it ringing, so I only knew about it after. That's how it's supposed to be, right? If I'm riding, I'm unreachable.

DreamRider85

What do you do if you get injured and can’t ride? There’s no app?

79pmooney

Easy. To ride, I pedal. Never noticed reception made any difference at all. My cell phone lives in one of those cloth, folding wallets with velcro so it will never bounce out of my pocket and should survive crashes. Now if I do crash and don't have cell coverage, maybe I have to strap on a pair and do what has to be done. Maybe I am out of luck and this is it.

Doug64

My wife and I do a lot of self contained bike touring. We have toured before cell phones, before smart phones, and in many situations where our smart phones where not usable. There have been situations where we had cell service, but did not speak the language. This made being self reliant important. It is like being without cell service for weeks at a time. There is always 112, Europe's 911, for emergencies, but what do you do if you destroy a tire or have a serious mechanical issue? Hitch hiking is out, the cars are too small to haul bikes and extra people. I'm not going to split up with my wife, or leave our bikes and gear out in the boonies while we look for a bike shop. Even if I had a bike shop's number and knew where they are located, the phone still would have been pretty useless. The odds of being able to communicate with the people at the shop were not good.

Smart phones are very useful and we each carry one. On one trip we had only one cell phone, and got separated while riding through a pretty large city. My wife was riding in front of me and I stopped to take a picture. She did not see me stop, and made a turn. We were playing it by ear and did not have a planned route through town, so I did not have any idea which street she turn onto. The problem was that we only had one phone set up to use in that country. Luckily, we had a plan for that kind of situation; go back to the last place you actually saw the other person. It was a scary, and after that we both carried a working phone, and stayed closer together. At that time a cheap cell phone with the right sim card only costs about $30.

My point is not having usable cell service should not be deal breaker on a ride. Just being prepared for lack of cell service, or a malfunctioning or lost phone; and enjoy the ride. We use ours for navigation, weather information, reserving camping spots or hotels, and for communicating with each other if we get separated. However we could manage without it.

Trakhak

Yes. I have only one cell phone (not smart phone), and I carry it only on bike rides, in case of emergency. Last time I looked, I had about 7,950 minutes available for use.

HeyPapa

That is a concern for some bikepackers where there is no cell service. The solution is to send a text via satellite. Someone in an earlier post suggested the Garmin InReach, along with a monthly subscription you are set. The subscription allows for several text and I believe the unit has an SOS type feature. $350 for the unit and $15 a month for the subscription. Is that price worth your peace of mind?

Pop N Wood

There is no need to carry a phone when everyone else in the world has one.

The only time I carry a phone on a bike is long distance multi day tours. I do that to primarily to access the internet for things like finding food, places of interest, hotels and occasionally navigation. Keep in mind areas of poor cell coverage drain a phone battery when it constantly tries to connect so I typically keep the phone turned off when actually riding. I carry a separate camera for better quality pictures and a long zoom.

krecik

Phil_gretz

@DreamRider85, Congratulations!!! 49 responses so far. Way to go!