bonner1040

Can someone tell me what the differences are?

Strava seems to work really well on my phone and I don't understand the differences I guess. What do the dedicated units offer that my phone doesn't?

I am sure this has been covered and the answers may be obvious so thank in advance for taking the time to politely educate me!

Seattle Forrest

I have a Garmin Edge 800 and a Garmin Fenix 3, so I'll answer from that perspective.

In both, the battery lasts about 20 hours with GPS and the screen on. Most of the time what that means is I don't have to think about it, if I get home from work and it's sunny and nice, I don't even check the battery level, I just go, knowing it'll have enough juice for my ride. The screen is very easy to read in bright sun. The Edge is mounted securely on the stem; it didn't budge when I crashed not too long ago. Both units are waterproof, if I'm out riding and it starts to pour, I'm not damaging a $600 phone.

The Edge has mapping. On Sunday I drove 130 miles to a really scenic little town with these gorgeous roads leading out of it, and did a 45 mile loop. The week before then, I did about 40 miles in farm country, made a loop on roads I didn't know without cell coverage because it has maps. I went down some road I had a good feeling about and told it to route me back to my car.

The Fenix is exercise smart. I like the training effect and recovery advisor. Both of them are very accurate on calories burned, and they're close to each other. The watch is more accurate.

Now if Strava on your phone is working pretty well, it means you're not running into problems with battery life, rain, or convenience. So be happy with it!

bonner1040

So I have a Casio Commando Gz'One (2) which is waterproof and shock proof. While battery life was a concern for me, the Luxos U I will install this week I will provide dynamo powered USB charging on the cockpit.

I think your advice is spot on and I will just stick with the phone until I need/want cadence and heartbeat data.

cderalow

GPS = mapping, HR/Speed/Cadence/Power tracking - dedicated device conserves phone battery life, also pretty accurate elevation tracking as well as location tracking.

smartphone + strava = mapping, can do HR/Speed/Cadence/Power with the appropriate devices (BTLE) - non-dedicated device uses up phone battery, so in an emergency you may be left hanging.

I've found it's not as accurate for location tracking, but Strava is pretty good for elevation tracking.

bonner1040

Nate (Harold) convinced me to buy an Etrex 30. I didnt really require much coaxing lol.