Ugly Dwarf

Is anyone on here using a Samsung Galaxy S10 as their primary bike computer? According to "This is ANT", my phone has ANT+ capabilities. That site lists a lot of apps that are compatible, but most have poor to medium review in Google Play, or are no longer supported.

I'm looking for an inexpensive (free?) option to have HR, cadence, and dual pedal power meter data. The ability to run Navigation would be a plus too. My phone battery should be good for any rides I expect to be doing for now, so I'm looking to see what apps people are using.

If battery life on my phone ever became a concern for me, I could continue to use my old Garmin 500 for speed, cadence, and HR, and then just carry the phone in my jersey to record the detailed power data for later review.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Iride01 

You'll have to steal the sensors then. Or hope someone gives them to you. <grin>.

Ugly Dwarf

I may not have been clear. I already have the cadence and HR strap from my Garmin 500.

I'm looking for a way to add dual pedal power data and possibly Nav functions. Supposedly my 500 will give SOME power functions, but is not compatible with dual (and all the other data that goes with that).

I can't justify a new computer right now, especially if buying power meters, so I was thinking the phone would become the computer.

Iride01 

Some ant+ phones required an app to be installed to make it available to the other apps. Don't know if Samsung is one of them or whether that was just phones the could use the ant+ dongle.

Have you checked out RideWithGPS, Strava or MapMyRides phone apps and seen if they handle that directly? Not sure if the dual-sided stuff is available through anything but Garmin's devices and apps, but someone that actually has a dual-sided PM should be along soon. Certainly there are others bored at home like me!

Ugly Dwarf

I installed Wahoo Fitness on my phone and was able to detect (after a few tries) my HR monitor. I'm going to try syncing it up to my cadence sensor if I can get out for a ride this evening after work.

It will be interesting to see if I can pair my devices with both the phone and the Edge, to see how the data compares.

surak

If you're using ANT+, it's a broadcast protocol so there's no limit to the number of devices that can pick up readings other than signal range. I was going to recommend the Wahoo Fitness app as well. I haven't tried it with my dual-sided pm pedals, but had no issues using ANT+ devices including a smart trainer with a Samsung tablet.

Ugly Dwarf

I went out for a ride after work last night. Was able to connect my HR and Cadence to both Wahoo and Edge 500. I just bought some pedals so I should know more about that in another week.

Ugly Dwarf

I received the pedals last week and was able to pair them to Wahoo app and Garmin 500. I'm able to see basic data on the ride (distance, avg speed, time, etc) along with a little more detail on power, HR, and cadence. For the power metrics I can see things like TSS, NP, Avg Power, L/R balance, but I can't see more detailed metrics like pedal smoothness or torque effectiveness, which the pedals are able to measure. I may need to get a newer computer (520/530) to record that data, but I'm trying to stay with what I've got for now.

I set Wahoo up to push to Strava and have been recording my rides on Strava too. The Strava app recorded my route and how I did no segments, along with ride info from GPS. The Wahoo data pushed to Strava displays very basic ride / power info, but does not display route info. I also thought it interesting that Wahoo reported (in Strava) an average power different than what it said in the Wahoo app (though the number reported to Strava matches what my Garmin 500 was showing - presumably by measuring from the left pedal *2). This double reporting is a little annoying beyond needing to look in multiple places, as it is showing roughly twice the miles ridden in my Monthly Stats. I'll try to get out tomorrow and maybe I'll just let Wahoo record it to see if it starts pushing route / segment data when Strava isn't already recording it.

Still working out the bugs and starting to think I may not be able to get everything I want using my phone and free apps.

surak

Unless there's a reason to display Strava while you're biking, it's wholly redundant to use it to record a ride. You should only need one app to record, and the Wahoo Fitness app has more functional sensor support and in my (albeit dated) experience uses less battery.
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​​​​If you don't see the route you took from the Wahoo recording on Strava, you may have either set it to indoor mode or didn't give it location permission.

Seattle Forrest

Pedal smoothness and torque effectiveness don't mean anything useful.

gauvins

If the question is whether an S10 is ANT+ compatible, the answer is yes, no doubt. I've used S5, S7 and S10 with all types of sensors. Can't really recommend an app -- I use phones to navigate using Locus PRO, which doesn't support power meters. I've installed and tested Stages (lower end power meters) app, though -- it works. I vaguely remember trying a few apps, but they are probably in the apps graveyard that you are referring to. I've settled on a Garmin Fenix 5 watch to record data (and navigate no-brainers) and on Locus Pro to navigate tricky segments.

Ugly Dwarf

I agree that the Wahoo app looks to have a TON of data available. I just seem to have issues accessing it. For example, while recording activity I can see multiple pages of information. Once I stop and save the activity, I'm able to see about half of what I had before and can't get back to the previous screens.

I checked my settings in the Wahoo app and confirmed that GPS is turned on. It is recording (somewhere) my travels, since it can tell me how far I rode, how long I was moving, and it will pause if I slow below 2mph. It's just that when I look at the "Map" of my ride, it just shows a little movement at my start / stop point, but none of my route.

I did take a ride over the weekend, where I only ran Wahoo and not Strava. It pushed the basic info to my Strava account, but again did not show a route.

My Google Fu has failed me thus far on figuring this out, but I'll keep digging. By all accounts that I've read, it SHOULD be able to track my ride and push that to Strava. For now, I guess I'll run both apps (battery life hasn't been an issue yet on my 1-3 hour rides). I like some of the social aspects of Strava and bragging rights with friends when we're hitting certain segments - yes, I can be that shallow.

Ugly Dwarf

Yes, I got the Ant+ working on my S10 and it can see my HR, Cadence, and PM.

Funny, I also had an S5, S7 and now an S10 (I also had the first Galaxy for a bit and an S3 - I don't consider myself a "fanboy" but Samsung usually scratches my itch). That said, while my S3 and S5 supposedly supported Ant+ apps, I could never get it to work or recognize any of my sensors. I was quite pleased with how easy it was to pair up with my S10.

Ugly Dwarf

But it's data... and I wants it. It's my precious.

Seriously though, I agree and understand it's not something I'll make much use of, but I would like to know if it really pays off when I really try to "pedal in a circle" or if my body does just as well (or better) when I drop back into my old habits of mashing each pedal individually.

On a side note, I wanted dual meters because I always thought / assumed I pedaled harder on my right than the left. Turns out the sensors say I'm usually pretty well balanced (51/49), but when I do go heavy on one side it's often the left. As above, I'm not sure what I'll do with that, but I found it interesting.

Seattle Forrest

@Ugly Dwarf

You should be able to record your ride with map and other data from the app of your choice, and have that recording sent to Strava.

Try Samsung Health. I don't know if it'll work or not, but in the S4 days it could see an ANT+ power meter.

I think it makes sense to measure your complete power (so L+R in your case) for a lot of reasons. Sounds like your split gets more pronounced when you're working harder. If you were only measuring left, your total power would be off by double the difference in balance (because it would double the left reading). Also, it's useful for some kinds of injuries. I got a horrible case of tendonitis last summer, worse in one foot, I'm finally getting close to healed, the L/R split is changing in real time as I heal.

It's better to be able to test ideas out and see for yourself than to take some random person on the internet's opinion. As far as pedal in a circle, if it was me I'd use total power to tell if it's working or not. It's your power output that's important for speed, fitness, and even calories burned. If you're able to change something and produce more power, especially at a lower heart rate, you're doing well.

Ugly Dwarf

It seems like Wahoo should do what I want. I may have set up the app wrong or maybe it doesn't do maps well on my phone or ??? I haven't given up yet. It would be nice if I could just run one app and not need to remember to start / stop multiples.

I'll try to check it out. I use S Health to track steps on my phone, but I'm not a huge fan of the app once I try to dig in and look at the pages. Still, it doesn't hurt to try riding with a new tool and see how it does. The phone is going for a ride and the app doesn't weigh much. ;-) I took a quick look in the app and I saw my HR and cadence devices listed as supported devices (I did not try to connect them). I didn't see PM listed, but there was a detect function and it might come up.

Seattle Forrest

S Health was able to see my Garmin Vector power meter. It didn't do much with it, by this was a very long time ago. (I was using it for steps too, last job gave us a bonus for getting a lot of them.)

Your phone shouldn't need to have maps or even a data connection. It should just record your position (48, -122) regularly and then Strava knows how to plot those on a map.

I use a Garmin watch not an app, so that's as specific as I can be.

I've heard good things about Ride With GPS as a recording app, but I've never tried it.