Nike+

Lemag

Hi there,

Anyone using the Nike+ and how do you find it? Pros/Cons sort of thing. I'm toying with the idea of getting an iPod touch or maybe even an iPhone but would be concerned by the bulkiness of either. Any recommendations for an armband for either?

Sorry if this has been dicussed before. I put in 'Nike+' to a search and it brought up pretty much every thead on here. I think that the search only recognised 'Nike' not 'Nike+'.

Krusty_Clown

Try searching for words like 'crap', inaccurate', and 'unreliable'. Only joking. If you have an iPod touch already, then it's a cheap investment, but I certainly wouldn't be buying one for the sole purpose of being able to use Nike+.

I bought the Nike+ gear some years ago as I had an iPod Nano (requirement at the time) and for 30 euro, it certainly added a bit of fun to doing longer runs, but accurate, it most certainly wasn't (I calibrated it correctly too). Soon afterwards I gave it away. On the other hand a friend of mine used his (and swore by it) for at least a good 6-8 months before getting tired of the inaccuracy. Would you consider a pedometer as an alternative?

Lemag

Thanks a million Krusty_Clown for instantly deflating my bubble of excitement Only messing. Good to have some honest qualified criticism. It might be a bit too soon to ask but have you had or heard of any expeiences with the adidas miCoach app?

olaola

I love my Nike +, I use it with my Nano, and I've just ordered the sportband to use when running with friends. Found it accurate enough. Best you're going to get for that price anyway. And I like the way you can record your progress and there are training options on the site etc.
TBH I don't think I would have stuck with starting to run if I didn't have it.

Krusty_Clown

Lemag wrote: »

Thanks a million Krusty_Clown for instantly deflating my bubble of excitement Only messing. Good to have some honest qualified criticism. It might be a bit too soon to ask but have you had or heard of any expeiences with the adidas miCoach app?

I have only read about the miCoach and was surprised at the cost (€132?!). Given that Nike+ is only €30, if you're going to make a dodgy investment, go with the cheaper one!

I genuinely believe (and others will back me up here) that when you are first starting out, a simple stop-watch and a short-cut to mapmyrun are the best tools in the runner's toolkit!

After you become committed to running (if you aren't already) then it is the right time to look at investing 100+ euro in watches and gadgets and new-fangled thingymebobs. See how I've managed to avoid using the G-word even once?!

Gringo78

An iPhone has GPS and so there are many free apps that turn it into a device as accurate as the forerunner. Micoach and NB fitness are 2 I've tried that seem to work good. I'm sure there are lots more....I think there are apps also that will call out your pace etc through earphones

Krusty_Clown

Gringo78 wrote: »

An iPhone has GPS and so there are many free apps that turn it into a device as accurate as the forerunner. Micoach and NB fitness are 2 I've tried that seem to work good. I'm sure there are lots more....I think there are apps also that will call out your pace etc through earphones

OP doesn't have an iPhone or iTouch (yet). But yeah, that's definitely an alternative approach and practically free, if you already have the hardware (most mobile phones have apps available (Apple, Android, Java based).

Lemag

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I have only read about the miCoach and was surprised at the cost (€132?!). Given that Nike+ is only €30, if you're going to make a dodgy investment, go with the cheaper one!

The miCoach app is free AFAIK. The iPhone aint though. Just found out that the Nike+ counts strides so it would have to be recalibrated as one's fitness improves or over shorter/longer distance runs (presuming one runs faster/slower for these) to give some sort of accurate reading.

opus

Before jumping on the HTC android phone bandwagon I was using the GPS on my Nokia N82 to keep track of my runs, Nokia have a free download called Sport Tracker that does it all for you and lets you export the runs to Google Earth or the mapmyrun website.

Could well be that picking up an old Nokia GPS phone via ebay could be a cheaper option & has the added benefit of a radio/mp3 player as well.

Gringo78

I wonder will garmin prices start to fall now with the proliferation of GPS phones and their ease of use combined with apps on both iPhone and android?

Krusty_Clown

Gringo78 wrote: »

I wonder will garmin prices start to fall now with the proliferation of GPS phones and their ease of use combined with apps on both iPhone and android?

You'd certainly hope so. They're far too expensive for what you get. Is a 405 worth €200? Well, it is to me, but the component parts would hardly be worth €25.

menoscemo

When I first started running I got a pair of Nike+ Pegasus and the sales assistant convinced me to get a Nike+ chip and sportsband. I liked it at first but soon realised that my 5k route was being measured ata anything between 4.7k (when I went fast) to 5.4k (when I went slow). I remember doing a 5 mile race and it told me it was 4.6 miles. All this despite recalibrating it every week of a threadmill.
Basically it was the worst €50 I ever spent and I quickly bought a garmin and have never loked back. As stated previously mapmyrun and a stopwatch is much more accurate. Nike+ is essentially a pedometer (and you can pick up a pedometer in Lidl I believe for under €20 with lap functions etc). With a pedometer you would have to have a constantly equal stride length for it to be anywhere near accurate. When you run faster, however your stride length increases so the distance recorded decreases.

As I said I have a Nike+ band and thingy i won't be using again, so if anyone is thinking of buying one, save your money and if you are willing to come collect, I will give you one for free. PM for details.

nerraw1111

I'd echo what Krusty says. A cheap stopwatch and mapmyrun is all you need to start out with

_sheep

Was an advocate for nike+ for a few months, but once I got my gps watch i was shocked how inaccurate it really was. I calibrated it numerous times based on my gps and it would always tell me i was running way faster than I was. Last time i used it was for a 10k with my Garmin side by side with it and it was just after calibrating it the day before, I think it was over 10% off.

Was great fun starting out to keep me motivated but don't assume its accurate unless you have mapped the run first - gave it away a while ago.

tHE vAGGABOND

Tried and tried to get Nike+ setup and configured all kinds of different ways and was never able to..

Thankfully someone on the fitness forum directed me at MapMyRun and thats perfect for a complete novice like me. All I want to is to know if Im running 3k or 5k and how long its taking me [I dont care if its a tiny bit inaccurate]. I love the maps of where your doing, totally addicted

I recently got the paid version of the MapMyRun app for no other reason than I think who ever did it deserves a few quid, and its only 3 euro and Im using it 3 or 4 times a week

dinneenp

anyone know how sensitive the sensor is?
I'm thinking of putting in it my astro boot for football. But just wondering if it could break?
(I'd cut a hole in the tongue and put it in there and tie it with a safety pin).
cheers,
Pa.

2 Wheels Good

dinneenp wrote: »

anyone know how sensitive the sensor is?
I'm thinking of putting in it my astro boot for football. But just wondering if it could break?
(I'd cut a hole in the tongue and put it in there and tie it with a safety pin).
cheers,
Pa.

I've done it once or twice, works ok, put it on your weaker foot so you're not kicking constantly with it. Not sure how accurate it is with the randomness of your footwork in a 5-aside game.

Lemag

dinneenp wrote: »

anyone know how sensitive the sensor is?
I'm thinking of putting in it my astro boot for football. But just wondering if it could break?
(I'd cut a hole in the tongue and put it in there and tie it with a safety pin).
cheers,
Pa.

It counts your strides and then assumes that each of your strides is of equal length and still consistant with your average stride length from when you last calibrated it.Your distance is then calculated based on the number of strides. With 5aside soccer it's not going to be at all accurate. You'd be running in different directions with different strides, making tackles and kicking balls. It could be an indicator though of the effort you've put into a game when compared to other 5asides games which you've played and used the device for.

Krusty_Clown

Used to wear my Garmin for astro matches. Always found the results interesting (distance covered etc. But if you look at satellite view, you can also see where you spent most of your time on the field (In my case stuck in a rut in defence ).

robinph

Oh, for the simpler days when the runs were timed by my mum looking at the kitchen clock when I rang the doorbell to be let back in the house, and the distance required me to persuade my dad to drive the route in his car.

Krusty_Clown

Might be of interest to Nike+ users (and iPhone users). Nike have apparently abandoned their Nike+ system, in favour of an iPhone App that uses the iPhones accelerometer and GPS receiver. Might be worth a try (though there are already a large number of similar apps available).

paulocon

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Used to wear my Garmin for astro matches. Always found the results interesting (distance covered etc. But if you look at satellite view, you can also see where you spent most of your time on the field (In my case stuck in a rut in defence ).

That really made me laugh!! Looks like you made a couple of random runs right into the opposition goals! Must try the Garmin with 5-a-side sometime!

Krusty_Clown

paulocon wrote: »

That really made me laugh!! Looks like you made a couple of random runs right into the opposition goals! Must try the Garmin with 5-a-side sometime!

We were only playing half the pitch, and occasionally I had to run to the other half to collect the stray balls. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!

rainbow kirby

robinph wrote: »

Oh, for the simpler days when the runs were timed by my mum looking at the kitchen clock when I rang the doorbell to be let back in the house, and the distance required me to persuade my dad to drive the route in his car.

Old grey Robin, he ain't what he used to be, ain't what he used to be, ain't what he used to be...

dinneenp

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Might be of interest to Nike+ users (and iPhone users). Nike have apparently abandoned their Nike+ system, in favour of an iPhone App that uses the iPhones accelerometer and GPS receiver. Might be worth a try (though there are already a large number of similar apps available).

I wouldn't say abandoned; Adidas, Runkeeper etc all have similar apps.
I have an Iphone but bought the Nike+ Sportsband as I want to be able to look and see easily distance etc. I can glance at the wristband but an Iphone is bulky and not as easy to glance at I think.

I'd say they brought out their app cos the others have similar app...

Krusty_Clown

dinneenp wrote: »

I wouldn't say abandoned
I'd say they brought out their app cos the others have similar app...

A number of the press releases I read mentioned that Nike had abandoned the hardware side of Nike+.

One advantage of the new product is that I believe it'll use the GPS radio outdoors, but can still be used indoors (treadmill) using the accelerometer.