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Old 07-15-21, 10:17 PM
  #16  
mschwett 
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Originally Posted by Sorg67
1. More accurate and instant speed monitoring vs GPS.
My phone reads the output from my bike's speed sensor, so I can choose if I'd like to look at GPS or wheel-derived speeds.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
2. More rugged and weather resistant.
IP68 is plenty for me. I don't plan to ride my bike underwater for more than 30 minutes. It is true that the controls are hard to use with sweat all over them.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
3. More purpose built for cycling.
Yes - but is this an advantage? What features that benefit from it "purpose built" are there? It's an electronic device with software, controls, etc. And while a bike computer is purpose-designed for cycling, someone probably spent $50 million in R+D on it vs $50 billion to date on a mobile phone.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
4. Save battery power on phone on long rides.
I think this becomes a problem if you want to use navigation nonstop for more than 4 hours or so. I've done 6 hour rides with tons of battery left, not sure I have more endurance than a fully charged phone. I do make sure it's charged before a long ride.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
5. Save wear and tear on phone.
Other than some anecdotal concerns about the image stabilizer, I think my phone in a quadlock case affixed to my dampened handlebar probably has less risk of damage than it does in my pocket, where I might sit on it or drop it.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
6. Remove watch from wrist. Although I could mount watch on handlebars.
Not sure how these relate. You can ride with your phone, no watch, your watch, no phone, both, add a bike computer or not.

Originally Posted by Sorg67
7. A new toy to play with.
I feel that. But there are always new apps, you can configure them endlessly. If you get bored with rwGPS, try strava or bleevo or whatever...

Originally Posted by Sorg67
For those of you who use the phone, what app do you use and why?
I use both rideWithGPS and mission control. The former for the really great route builder, being able to see the coming climbs when navigating a route, and generally looking at maps. The latter for data from the bike's sensors like speed, power, and cadence, to change bike settings, etc. Normally that's what's on my screen.

Other phone advantages: weight. No way I'm going for a long bike ride without my phone, for safety and other purposes. If there's a family or work emergency, I need to know, if I have a catastrophic bike failure, I need to get a lyft, etc. It has my emergency medical info, and so on. So the weight of the bike computer is solely additive. I wouldn't mind getting a 12 mini as a "bike phone," but I'm not that much of a weight weenie to pay for cell service on a second phone to save 92g.
flexibility and upgradability: new apps come out all the time, new features are added, new integrations, etc.
screen quality: i haven't seen a bike computer with a big, high res, bright, full color screen like a modern smartphone.
Data service: routes appear on the phone magically whenever planned on any computer on the internet. No need to manually download stuff or bring the computer near wifi.
Cost: I already have a phone. Simplicity: one less thing to remember to keep charged, have with you, synced with maps, etc.
Sensors: near field communications, wifi augmented GPS, accelerometer, compass, cameras, microphone, etc. I doubt there's a bike computer with as many sensors built in as a phone, and various apps take advantage of various bits and pieces of them. I've never seen a dedicated GPS only device which locked on to location as quickly and accurately as a modern phone.
multitasking: heaven forbid, if i have to, i can jump on a zoom while i'm on the bike. firing off a slack or two is no problem. it reduces the stress of being out of the office for so long when i can see the notifications of important messages and decide if want to do anything about it, or wait until the ride is over.

To me the ONE notable disadvantage is that the touch screen doesn't work well when i've dripped a bunch of sweat on it. My head sweats like a mofo. I'm considering some sort of little clear aero flip up sweat shield that i would reach under to interact with it. It would be less of a problem if I had it mounted farther forward, but I like it tucked back tight to the stem.

I do find myself riding with the screen off longer and longer, as I've gotten more in tune with my optimal power ranges, ride unfamiliar routes less often, etc.


Last edited by mschwett; 07-15-21 at 10:20 PM.
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