Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
Reload this Page >

iPhone as bike computer?

Notices
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets HRM, GPS, MP3, HID. Whether it's got an acronym or not, here's where you'll find discussions on all sorts of tools, toys and gadgets.

iPhone as bike computer?

Old 09-09-19, 07:01 AM
  #26  
DrIsotope
Non omnino gravis
 
DrIsotope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SoCal, USA!
Posts: 8,553

Bikes: Nekobasu, Pandicorn, Lakitu

Mentioned: 119 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4905 Post(s)
Liked 1,731 Times in 958 Posts
Thread pruning to remove petty squabbling.
__________________
DrIsotope is offline  
Old 09-09-19, 08:10 AM
  #27  
Steve B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,825

Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3185 Post(s)
Liked 2,020 Times in 1,158 Posts
Originally Posted by BillyD
Its a new day, let's hope you two guys can move on and agree to disagree.
Agree
Steve B. is offline  
Old 09-09-19, 12:36 PM
  #28  
autonomy
Senior Member
 
autonomy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Boston Roads
Posts: 978

Bikes: 2012 Canondale Synapse 105, 2017 REI Co-Op ADV 3.1

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 507 Post(s)
Liked 237 Times in 133 Posts
Originally Posted by Drew Eckhardt
It depends.

Phone screens are less visible than LCD in bright sunlight, you only get four hours of screen time, the capacitive touch screens register rain drops as presses, and most phones won't interface to standard ANT+ sensors.

I wouldn't.
This should be the summary answer to every single "can I use my smartphone as a bike computer" question. I already have an old unused Android phone and if it breaks (unlikely), I don't care. My rides are usually short and for the rare cases I bring a battery. OsmAnd + GPS tracks from RWGPS/Strava = awesome. So it works for me but I understand the tradeoffs.

One question is "how are you planning on using it". Just logging data or following directions? How much hassle do you want to go through to create/load routes or offload recordings?
autonomy is offline  
Old 09-09-19, 04:54 PM
  #29  
Steve B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,825

Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3185 Post(s)
Liked 2,020 Times in 1,158 Posts
Originally Posted by autonomy

How much hassle do you want to go through to create/load routes or offload recordings?
Everybody has a level of technology they choose to not want to deal with an I understand that, I refuse to learn how to save TV programs to an HD type system to watch later. OTOH, as I'm a map guy, I find the creation of routes on RWGPS (or Garmin Connect) to be fun. As well, the upload of a completed ride happens without any supplemental user input beyond initial setup. When you finish a ride on a Garmin it asks if you want to save. Doing so saves to device memory and if you've set up a BT connection to the Garmin Connect Mobile App, it goes there at the same time. Then it's on Strava and RWGPS as well. No hassles
Steve B. is offline  
Old 09-09-19, 05:59 PM
  #30  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
With a modern Garmin, you can create a route on your phone or computer, send it over the air to your watch/Edge, and go.

Or just let it create a route for you to follow. Usually does a pretty good job.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 09-10-19, 02:07 PM
  #31  
shelgame
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 106
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 46 Posts
FWIW, here's the GPS trace of my ride around the Kenosha velodrome, recorded with Strava on my iPhone. as you can see, the trace sucks. It couldn't even match up a single full lap of the track. Not every course I ride looks like this, but this track is especially bad. Other riders using Garmin's had no such issue (so it's not just a bad location for GPS reception).

For some reason, the iPhone GPS kept trying to 'snap' me to the nearby road(s).
shelgame is offline  
Old 09-11-19, 07:01 AM
  #32  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
@shelgame, I wonder if a different app would have snapped you onto the road. I use ridewithgps, and it shows me riding through buildings, so there seems to be no tendency to do the snapping as you call it.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 09-11-19, 09:06 AM
  #33  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,240
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4221 Post(s)
Liked 1,321 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by shelgame
For some reason, the iPhone GPS kept trying to 'snap' me to the nearby road(s).
It appears there might have been snapping going on but that's a secondary result of the inaccurate GPS positioning. That is, the GPS position drifted so that it appeared it was near the road and, then, the snapping occurred.

https://regex.info/blog/2015-12-03/2651

App developers can choose to record the uncorrected (no snapping) data.

But it seems that using other apps can enable it (it's a system-wide setting).

Last edited by njkayaker; 09-11-19 at 11:04 AM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-11-19, 08:35 PM
  #34  
zacster
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Brooklyn NY
Posts: 7,702

Bikes: Kuota Kredo/Chorus, Trek 7000 commuter, Trek 8000 MTB and a few others

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 456 Times in 358 Posts
Dedicated bike computer all the way. iPhone battery just won't last on a longish ride.
zacster is offline  
Old 09-11-19, 11:24 PM
  #35  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
If you're going to use a phone, the Samsung Galaxy line has ANT+ radios. S-Health can connect to a power meter and use it for calories.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 07:45 AM
  #36  
shelgame
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 106
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 46 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
@shelgame, I wonder if a different app would have snapped you onto the road. I use ridewithgps, and it shows me riding through buildings, so there seems to be no tendency to do the snapping as you call it.
Other apps do it too. I play Pokemon Go (and I'm not ashamed to admit it) and it does this too all the time.
shelgame is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 07:46 AM
  #37  
shelgame
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 106
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 46 Posts
Originally Posted by njkayaker
It appears there might have been snapping going on but that's a secondary result of the inaccurate GPS positioning. That is, the GPS position drifted so that it appeared it was near the road and, then, the snapping occurred.

Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » The Scourge (or Beauty) of ?Snap To Road? with iPhone Location-Tracking Apps

App developers can choose to record the uncorrected (no snapping) data.

But it seems that using other apps can enable it (it's a system-wide setting).
Being a bike app, and knowing there are many MTB trails that are near (bit not necessarily on) roads; I would assume the Strava developers would find a way to stop this. But apparently not.
shelgame is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 09:05 AM
  #38  
noisebeam
Arizona Dessert
 
noisebeam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: AZ
Posts: 15,030

Bikes: Cannondale SuperSix, Lemond Poprad. Retired: Jamis Sputnik, Centurion LeMans Fixed, Diamond Back ascent ex

Mentioned: 76 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5345 Post(s)
Liked 2,169 Times in 1,288 Posts
If Strava is snapping, it is still not changing the raw data, only the presentation of it. I have downloaded data that I had previously uploaded from old style Garmin watch and there is a 1:1 match to the location/time points.
noisebeam is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 10:24 AM
  #39  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,240
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4221 Post(s)
Liked 1,321 Times in 916 Posts
Originally Posted by shelgame
Being a bike app, and knowing there are many MTB trails that are near (bit not necessarily on) roads; I would assume the Strava developers would find a way to stop this. But apparently not.
I don't think they can.

They can only use what Apple lets them use.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 11:40 AM
  #40  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,844

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2575 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
Originally Posted by shelgame
FWIW, here's the GPS trace of my ride around the Kenosha velodrome, recorded with Strava on my iPhone. as you can see, the trace sucks. It couldn't even match up a single full lap of the track. Not every course I ride looks like this, but this track is especially bad. Other riders using Garmin's had no such issue (so it's not just a bad location for GPS reception).

For some reason, the iPhone GPS kept trying to 'snap' me to the nearby road(s).
I'm glad you did that on a bike. I'd hate to see you driving a duallie pickup truck like that!
pdlamb is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 02:13 PM
  #41  
bikebikebike
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TX
Posts: 518

Bikes: Downtube IX NS&FS, Dahon Speed8Pro/Matrix/Curve, Brom S2L,Montague Para, ICE-XL w/Rollie/Schlumpf, Trident Spike, ebikes, BFSatRDay

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 172 Post(s)
Liked 94 Times in 80 Posts
Approximately 30% of the reviews on Amazon (I know I know I know) have compatibility and connection problems with sensors.
This appears to hold even in the setting of same brand sensors with dedicated computers

Is there a limit to the number of sensors that can be paired with BT as apparently there is some conflict implied by the frustration of a significant minority of users?

I have had Poor pairing with my iPhone5 and my Wahoo TCKR HRM. Requiring frequent rebooting and off and often cutting out. Not inspiring

Sensor app and device compatibility is frequently difficult to determine if without actually creating a system and testing it.
The app community also appears to have a pretty casual attitude towards security.
bikebikebike is offline  
Old 09-13-19, 02:23 PM
  #42  
noisebeam
Arizona Dessert
 
noisebeam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: AZ
Posts: 15,030

Bikes: Cannondale SuperSix, Lemond Poprad. Retired: Jamis Sputnik, Centurion LeMans Fixed, Diamond Back ascent ex

Mentioned: 76 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5345 Post(s)
Liked 2,169 Times in 1,288 Posts
One single data point: I pair both a Wahoo TCKR and a JBL Charge (BT speaker) every day with either iPhone s 4s or 6 since 2016 and have never had a problem or disconnect. iOS is always current.
noisebeam is offline  
Old 09-15-19, 08:00 AM
  #43  
stuman74
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 77
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
On my Trek, I have the bluetooth DuoTrap S in my frame with magnets on the spoke and crank. I pair it to my iPhone and use iCardio from Fitdigits. Does a good job tracking my mapped route and for display while riding you can have customized stats you want displayed. Been using it for years from the iPhone 5s and up. Also pairs with my old chest HRM via bluetooth (though now I mainly just use my write Fitbit Versa and track calories separate).

My buddy was using MapMyRide. I think does pretty much the same, but I can't recall why I didn't like it as much as iCardio. Maybe way back it drained my battery more or I couldn't pair it.
stuman74 is offline  
Old 09-15-19, 08:03 AM
  #44  
Rick53
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Michigan, United States of America
Posts: 182

Bikes: Verve, Dual Sport 2 and FX3

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 10 Posts
I'm using Wahoo on an I phone 10 which I have mounted with a Rokform Mount Works great : I also have the Duotrap Sensor with a Ride time Computer : One gives me a Visual The other I record the Trip with . Maybe because I have a New Phone I don't notice much battery drain. I get the thing Started and then minimize the window : I could get by fine with just the Bontrager Sensor and Wahoo on Phone.

I read complaints the Duotrap doesn't work consistently . Yes it does : You have to turn it on before you start peddling : Just spin the back wheel and it sets the sensor. Sometimes it works without doing that . Rarely though . Unfortunately the Instructions don't tell you that > I figured it out accidentally : Since then it works perfectly

I ride pretty much in a 100 mile area : Often I just leave from My House : There's a Bike Trail that's at least 50 miles only 5 miles from where I live : Country Roads making life easier : Just watch the Inner-sections Soooooo GPS isn't a feature I've even used so far.

Last edited by Rick53; 09-15-19 at 08:07 AM.
Rick53 is offline  
Old 09-16-19, 08:39 AM
  #45  
shelgame
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 106
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 46 Posts
I'm not crazy! (well, not about this anyway) -- Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » The Scourge (or Beauty) of ?Snap To Road? with iPhone Location-Tracking Apps

Apple does it. Seems like a bug from the above article...

Last edited by shelgame; 09-16-19 at 08:54 AM.
shelgame is offline  
Old 09-17-19, 11:32 AM
  #46  
willieb
Senior Member
 
willieb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: South GA
Posts: 420

Bikes: 2006 Trek Madone 5.2

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Well I've used an Edge 305 and a Wahoo RFLKT in the past. I just started back riding and it's time to upgrade. Yesterday I was one click away with my finger on go from buying a Garmin Edge 530 with sensors bundle, but I decided instead to order the Garmin Speed, Cadence, and HR sensors, a phone bike mount, and a phone tether (will tether to bike in case it falls out of the mount) instead. This saved me about $250. I always carry my phone with me anyway.

I've researched and decided on using the paid version of Cyclemeter. I use an iPhone XS Max with Commuter case. It will all be here tomorrow and I can't wait to try it out this weekend. If it doesn't work out then I can just order the Edge 530 by itself. But after looking at Cyclemeter I think it will work out great! I'm not worried about iPhone battery since I have several sizes of the USB batteries.

I'll update here after a few rides and let you know how it all works out.
__________________
~willieb
willieb is offline  
Old 09-17-19, 03:16 PM
  #47  
northerntier
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 320
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
I use an iphone 6s and ridewithgps. I use a Quad Lock case and a Quad Lock handlebar mount. For longish rides, I connect the phone to an external battery. With that battery, I can leave the screen on all day, and my phone's battery will still be at 100% by the end of the day. I tried lots of different mounts, and none of them satisfied me before I got the Quad Lock stuff. I like it so much, I got mounts for my wife's cars, and I got her a case so she can mount her phone on her dashboard.
Yes to all of this. Four or five hours just GPS tracking no issues w/o a battery. If I want to use the screen, I either use a small battery (a small, cheap 10000mah anker battery) or connect to my dynamo hub. I've bought and returned four or five purpose-built GPS trackers. There's just no comparison between them and the iPhone apps (ridewithgps or cyclometer) in functionality, flexibility, or to that big, beautiful screen (I have an iPhone X). It is true that it can be hard to read, but this is a minority of the time.

With these approaches I've done multiple month-log bike tours. I've also had a couple crashes, but my quadlock not only protected the phone but didn't even disengage.

I want another gadget, because that's just who I am, but it's too painful to use any of them.
northerntier is offline  
Old 10-07-19, 02:51 PM
  #48  
willieb
Senior Member
 
willieb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: South GA
Posts: 420

Bikes: 2006 Trek Madone 5.2

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by willieb
Well I've used an Edge 305 and a Wahoo RFLKT in the past. I just started back riding and it's time to upgrade. Yesterday I was one click away with my finger on go from buying a Garmin Edge 530 with sensors bundle, but I decided instead to order the Garmin Speed, Cadence, and HR sensors, a phone bike mount, and a phone tether (will tether to bike in case it falls out of the mount) instead. This saved me about $250. I always carry my phone with me anyway.

I've researched and decided on using the paid version of Cyclemeter. I use an iPhone XS Max with Commuter case. It will all be here tomorrow and I can't wait to try it out this weekend. If it doesn't work out then I can just order the Edge 530 by itself. But after looking at Cyclemeter I think it will work out great! I'm not worried about iPhone battery since I have several sizes of the USB batteries.

I'll update here after a few rides and let you know how it all works out.
So far, I'm so glad I didn't buy an Edge 530. I saved right at $300 by using my phone, not to mention weight since I would have my phone with me anyway, and not having to deal with buggy Garmin software.

I really like Cyclemeter and the Elite version is very cheap and gives me way more than the features I need. It even auto uploads to Strava. In 1.5 hrs I only used ~25% of my battery on an XS Max. To save battery I used a black background on Cyclemeter. If I start back taking long rides I'll used one of my USB batteries and it will last all day.
__________________
~willieb
willieb is offline  
Old 10-07-19, 07:39 PM
  #49  
zacster
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Brooklyn NY
Posts: 7,702

Bikes: Kuota Kredo/Chorus, Trek 7000 commuter, Trek 8000 MTB and a few others

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 456 Times in 358 Posts
I still will swear by my Wahoo Bolt over a phone. A phone will overheat in the sun, the touchscreen won't work, you won't be able to see it in the sun, and will still eat up batteries. Everything I need to know about my ride is on my Bolt. Yes it costs $250 without sensors but it is worth it to me. You need the sensors no matter which way you go, computer or phone.
zacster is offline  
Old 10-08-19, 06:05 AM
  #50  
willieb
Senior Member
 
willieb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: South GA
Posts: 420

Bikes: 2006 Trek Madone 5.2

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I agree that having a dedicated computer is the most ideal. I'll keep an eye on the overheating and my touch screen. So far no issues but I've only ridden in 90 degree weather so far. I've also ridden with the sun directly overhead and no issues seeing the screen.

The cool thing is if I decide I want to go the dedicated computer route, I already have the sensors installed and ready to go.
__________________
~willieb
willieb is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
heysmellthis
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
12
07-01-15 10:20 AM
Dryvlyne
General Cycling Discussion
30
07-19-14 01:32 PM
Skewer
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
3
03-09-14 11:15 PM
socalrider
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
6
08-22-13 03:42 PM
black.damon
Touring
29
08-28-12 08:42 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.