Bike Forums - View Single Post - Best apps for a dedicated phone used as a bike computer

04-05-21, 09:18 AM

#10

adamrice

mosquito rancher

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: Austin TX USA

Posts: 931

Bikes: Bob Jackson 853 Arrowhead; Felt VR30; Kinesis UK RTD; Hujsak tandem

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RwGPS has two tiers of paid subscription. I knew I'd be using it, and paid for the lower tier right off the bat. If you expect you'll be editing routes much, get the more expensive tier. RwGPS' key feature is reading route cues aloud. It is not like Google Maps, which will reroute you on the fly. It just lets you know that you're off-route. It lets you know quickly, too—sometimes it is a bit too sensitive. Compared to Strava, which is clearly oriented toward racers (or people who want to imagine themselves to be racers), this is a bit more oriented toward tourists and randonneurs.
Another app to check out is Cyclemeter. I've used the iOS version, but they also have an Android version. The free version is pretty good; the subscription version is fancier, and not very expensive. This acts more like a straight bike computer. It's a bit dated (the app has been around for a very long time) and lacks integration with other services like Training Peaks and Dropbox.
With both RwGPS and Cyclemeter, I think the smart thing to do is leave the screen off and have your phone read your stats aloud at regular intervals. They both offer a fair amount of customizability in this regard. Unless you've got a specific need to be monitoring your stats right now: I've tried setting up spoken zone alerts in Cyclemeter (to let me know if my heart rate is going out of range) and it was so annoying that I stopped using it after one ride. It is possible to set up spoken zone alerts for intervals in Cyclemeter, but setup is a bit tedious. There might be a better case for using these with intervals in particular so that you're not watching your screen instead of the road, and the annoyance might be worth tolerating.
I've gone for rides of more than 8 hours with 50% left in the tank on my phone, with the screen mostly off, using some trivial power-saving techniques. YMMV, obviously, but I think concerns over battery life are exaggerated. Especially considering how easy it is to carry a small power bank.
It is feasible with spoken updates to keep your phone in your pocket if you've got some kind of headset (you will not be able to depend on hearing your phone tucked into a jersey pocket). After some experimenting, I've settled on using a Quadlock mount to keep the phone handy, and an Aftershokz bone-conduction headset.

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Adam Rice

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