Road Cycling with a Smartphone

buffalo

Did a quick search, but couldn't find anything.

Thinking of upgrading my stone age phone to one of these smartphone thingamajigs. What's required for something like Strava to work - just GPS? It's not exclusive to Apple or to Android or anything, right? Be a handy backup to have during training if the Garmin decides not to work.

Any other handy functions that people use their smartphones for, that would push toward iPhone, or a particular Android handset?

Thanking you in advance!

ford2600

Just changed myself to my first smart phone, a Samsung s3, it was a quantum lesp in technology from 7 yr old nokia!
Strava very use full just bring it in sandwich zip lock bag.
Do night time mtb solo and use a gps trscking app for that in case I don't come home. Few people hace access in evenr of mis hap.

buffalo wrote: »

Did a quick search, but couldn't find anything.

Thinking of upgrading my stone age phone to one of these smartphone thingamajigs. What's required for something like Strava to work - just GPS? It's not exclusive to Apple or to Android or anything, right? Be a handy backup to have during training if the Garmin decides not to work.

Any other handy functions that people use their smartphones for, that would push toward iPhone, or a particular Android handset?

Thanking you in advance!

seamus

GPS is all you really need for Strava-like apps to work.

It's dependent on the apps available for the operating system on the phone. In general, if the app is available on iPhone, then it's probably been made available on Android, but there are a few exceptions. Also because the apps have to be rewritten specifically for each OS, then the iPhone version of an app may be "better" than the Android one, or vice-versa.

I would use the phone as a bluetooth music player, means no cables hanging down anywhere, but in that regards all phones are equal.

The only real difference between then is NFC (near-field communications). The main android phones have it. iPhone doesn't. But it's of little use for cycling.

You can use NFC to do some convenient/cool things. For example, you can get little NFC stickers which your phone will pick when it's near them. So you program the phone to do stuff when it's near them. One example I saw given was that the guy has an NFC sticker on his bedside locker. So when he puts the phone down, it automatically sets and alarm and puts itself on silent. When he picks up the phone then and leaves the room, it goes off silent.

So you could do the same with the bike - program it so that when you get to the bike it automatically launches strava and plays music. But that's geek talk and 99.999% of people don't care or even notice the lack of NFC on the iPhone.

Inquitus

There's only really 3 flagship phones worth getting that run Strava, and it is exclusive to Apple and Android only, no support for Windows Phone or Symbian:

Samsung Galaxy S3 (smaller screen)
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (huge screen)
iPhone 5 (smallest screen)

If you want to go for a lower end and less expensive phone:

Samsung Galaxy S2
HTC One S

Personally I think Android has now overtaken iOS (Apple) as the best OS for phones with its Jellybean revision.

My 2c

hardCopy

Just bear in mind that a smartphone won't replace a GPS cycle computer on longer spins, the battery won't last with GPS on all day on any phone I've tried.

listermint

Inquitus wrote: »

There's only really 3 flagship phones worth getting that run Strava, and it is exclusive to Apple and Android only, no support for Windows Phone or Symbian:

Samsung Galaxy S3 (smaller screen)
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (huge screen)
iPhone 5 (smallest screen)

If you want to go for a lower end and less expensive phone:

Samsung Galaxy S2
HTC One S

Personally I think Android has now overtaken iOS (Apple) as the best OS for phones with its Jellybean revision.

My 2c

You left out 2

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus (superb phone)

and the new nexus

the Nexus 4 (superb phone)

Lumen

I use a Motorola Defy+ because it is supposedly waterproof. I've got it drenched (but not submerged) a few times and it coped fine.

Buying new now, I would consider one of the Sony Experia models with Wet Finger Tracking, like this:

http://www.o2online.ie/shop/view/product/ql_catalog/catdevice/35289105?referer=search

Waterproof phones tend to have lower specs (screen resolution and CPU) and also tend to run older Android versions (2.3) but there are some with 4.0 or that can be upgraded to 4.0.

Idleater

listermint wrote: »

You left out 2

And the HTC one x.

To be honest, I don't use the tracking apps on the phone - I leave that to the garmin. I'd rather be able to make a phone call in an emergency than know exactly where I was when the battery ran out.

jinkypolly

You can use a Symbian phone no problem, just use the app Sportstracker and this allows you to export your ride for use in Strava.

Inquitus

listermint wrote: »

You left out 2

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus (superb phone)

and the new nexus

the Nexus 4 (superb phone)

I had a Galaxy Nexus, great phone should be on the list of cheaper alternatives.

The Nexus 4 is very hard to get hold of, it's sold out on the play store and only available when its in stock if you use a UK VPN and if you have a UK mailing address.

Inquitus

Idleater wrote: »

And the HTC one x.

To be honest, I don't use the tracking apps on the phone - I leave that to the garmin. I'd rather be able to make a phone call in an emergency than know exactly where I was when the battery ran out.

I wouldn't bother with the HOX myself, the SGS3 is the same price and a better phone.

route66

hardCopy wrote: »

Just bear in mind that a smartphone won't replace a GPS cycle computer on longer spins, the battery won't last with GPS on all day on any phone I've tried.

I have a Samsung S2 with an upgraded 2000mAh battery* Using Strava with GPS enabled, this gets depleted at the rate of about 10% per hour, making it practical for use when on long trips.

Some other comments about using Smartphones on the bike:

• Keep them safe. I broke a Smartphone some years ago (when they were really expensive) after a fall. I now keep it in the saddle bag
• Saddlebags get wet - wrap it in a ziplock/sandwich bag
• You can get mounts for the handlebars. This keeps them safe, but I don't use them because I don't think the vibration would do it any good.
• I have a bluetooth headset plugged into my left ear when cycling. The one I have has an inbuilt FM radio and I listen to that, music and podcasts as I want. I can also take a call if really necessary
• I use Strava on the phone to monitor my cycles - this works well.
• Unlike old phones - you know, the ones with actual buttons - you won't be able to operate it with gloved hands. You can either take off the gloves to use it or get some of those new gloves that work with capacitive screens

* This is made by Samsung (link); there are lots of extra capacity batteries available cheaply, but many of them are very poor quality, don't have the stated capacity and can sometimes go on fire

ednwireland

samsung x cover is supposedly waterproof an dust resistant (looks like a galaxy s in a tough cover)

route66

Oh, and some of these new Smartphones have very big screens - might upset the Aerodynamics if you mount them on the bars.

Here's a picture of the Galaxy S3:

buffalo

Thanks all, some good tips to start evaluating already.

seamus wrote: »

So you could do the same with the bike - program it so that when you get to the bike it automatically launches strava and plays music. But that's geek talk and 99.999% of people don't care or even notice the lack of NFC on the iPhone.

I am actually a bit of a geek, it's just that I'm a Luddite as well - I don't have the gadget-lust that seems to engulf many of our kind.

hardCopy wrote: »

Just bear in mind that a smartphone won't replace a GPS cycle computer on longer spins, the battery won't last with GPS on all day on any phone I've tried.

Idleater wrote: »

To be honest, I don't use the tracking apps on the phone - I leave that to the garmin. I'd rather be able to make a phone call in an emergency than know exactly where I was when the battery ran out.

This is a good point, and a colleague said the same to me. Something to bear in mind if heading out for a long spin.

GlennaMaddy

If you think you might someday use a bluetooth HRM, then get a phone with Ant+ support like the Xperia (thisisant.com lists known Ant+ smartphones).
My galaxy sII doesn't have the Ant+ chip but strava supports another bluetooth HRM using Zephyr

t'bear

And the new Garmin's are touch screen too :-). I use the iPhone ICE and to take the odd photo and send to SWMBO so she can guess where the hell I am :-)

cdaly_

hardCopy wrote: »

Just bear in mind that a smartphone won't replace a GPS cycle computer on longer spins, the battery won't last with GPS on all day on any phone I've tried.

route66 wrote: »

I have a Samsung S2 with an upgraded 2000mAh battery* Using Strava with GPS enabled, this gets depleted at the rate of about 10% per hour, making it practical for use when on long trips.

I've found this also. You can improve matters by having your GPS work in 'unassisted' or 'satellite' mode. This uses only satellite info for tracking and the phone is only listening and not transmitting. In 'assisted GPS' mode, the phone network is also used so the phone is transmitting as well as listening and thus using more power.

You can also improve matters by pre-downloading maps so you're not fetching these as you ride.

I've managed 8-9 hours (200k) tracking in this fashion. For the longer rides, I bring a 4xAA cell usb charger and charge on the go.

DaveyDave

I use a Samsung Galaxy S2 with Strava. I'm only on a hardtail so don't do anything serious duration wise but battery life has served be well for 3+ hour spins, I'd say it'd easily manage 6 hours with more than enough battery to check it the odd time for texts/calls.

I throw it in the pocket though, not bothered with mounts or anything. Haven't felt the need to upgrade to anything else, would like a heart rate monitor to compliment it. Probably get something with cadence for the bars just to keep myself in check.

Darkglasses

On a smaller budget, the Sony Xperia tipo runs strava extremely well for me, with better battery life than iPhones or similar. Only short coming is the screen size is comparatively small...although I like having a smaller phone than those Samsung monsters. Have used the smaller Samsungs and was very disappointed.

shigllgetcha

Any android phone will run strava, certainly anything on sale right now

Lawr

I use a Sony Xperia S, though there is a less expensive phone from Sony called the Active, I think. Anyway, the chip in the phone reads Ant+, so I get a reading from my hrm, my speed sensor and my cadence sensor. I also have gps on the phone tracking me. Ideally, I should be able to link in with Google so that my wife can see where I am on her pc if she is worried because I am late.

Also, though I don't have it yet, Sony has a watch-type device that summarises what my phone is reading, so I can keep my phone in my back pocket in a sandwich bag and read the data on the watch. I suppose I have not bought that yet because I have a bontrager node 2 on the handle bars, and that is sufficient. I can also register discrepancies between the two computers. The data on the bontrager, though, can't be uploaded to a computer. I use sportypal on my Sony and save and upload the data to Strava.

Ryath

Lumen wrote: »

I use a Motorola Defy+ because it is supposedly waterproof. I've got it drenched (but not submerged) a few times and it coped fine.

Buying new now, I would consider one of the Sony Experia models with Wet Finger Tracking, like this:

http://www.o2online.ie/shop/view/product/ql_catalog/catdevice/35289105?referer=search

Waterproof phones tend to have lower specs (screen resolution and CPU) and also tend to run older Android versions (2.3) but there are some with 4.0 or that can be upgraded to 4.0.

Using a 1.5 year old sony arc in a ziplock in the saddle bag at the moment have used it on with strava when I've forgot my garmin or forgot to charge it. Never have any problem with battery life usually still well over half full after a 3-4 hours spin. Your usually going to have a smart phone charged from the night before. There not like an old nokia that will go 5 days between charges so you will charge it every night. Might last nearly 3 if you only use it as a phone but whats point of that.

Want to get a new water resistant android phone. Considered the Xperia GO but spec is not great no better than my old phone with a smaller screen. There is a newer sony xperia acro s but it's looking like it won't be picked up by the networks here. Available at €334 simfree online so pretty reasonable Not a galaxy s3 beater but still pretty well speced

http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-acro-s/specifications/

There is a new xperia z that will be out in a few months that looks awesome so I may hold out for that.

http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-z/

Due my upgrade shortly and I'll make my decision then.
May be temted to stay using a ziplock bag and get a Nexus 4 some great reviews for the price they probably are the best bang for buck out there. Wife got a Nexus 7 at Christmas and I'm very impressed with it.

Ole Rodrigo

The garmin is still hard to beat with 20 hours + of power and Ive never had it fail on me. The glass is cracked on my 705 but I wrap it in cling film on very wet days and it does the job perfectly.

GPS backup wouldn't be the principal reason for choosing a smartphone, IMO. Once you keep the garmins charged everyday there's rarely an issue.

buffalo

ror_74 wrote: »

The garmin is still hard to beat with 20 hours + of power and Ive never had it fail on me. The glass is cracked on my 705 but I wrap it in cling film on very wet days and it does the job perfectly.

GPS backup wouldn't be the principal reason for choosing a smartphone, IMO. Once you keep the garmins charged everyday there's rarely an issue.

I've had mine fail on me. Several times.

edit: that said, it's not the primary reason for choosing smartphone, but something I want to make sure I don't rule out. My primary reason is that the alarm on my current phone has become unreliable, and thus caused me to be late for work on one occasion, and nearly miss a flight on another.

Chips Lovell

I used to use an iPhone for Strava. I'd say around three hours was the most I'd get out of it, unless I used a bulky back-up battery. iPhone app was prone on occasion to lose GPS signal.

I'm now on a Garmin.

Ole Rodrigo

buffalo wrote: »

I've had mine fail on me. Several times.

Possibly a SW issue ? I had similar with the 705 while on the second last update. I got around it by backing up the history files from the computer, making a note of the folder names and structure, deleting all of them, recreating them and then installing the current update. Theres only been a handful of file corruption issues since. I also empty the courses directory when this happens as the default with created routes is to include a lot of waypoints, which can cause problems on training files for some reason.

cameramonkey

I use the Huawei Ascend g300. It is cheap and a very good phone for the price. I run strava on it. It cost 149 euro on Vodafone when I got it.


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056653168

Thomasofmel

I use both HTC One X and garmin , when it rains its the garmin and when dry the HTC & strava - quicker to upload spins to strava than messing with garmin and pc. Used the HTC yesterday for a 3.5h spin - battery drained from 90% to 60% - so not too bad. Results regarding speed, distance, elevation amazingly accurate when compared to garmin - good enough.

denbatt

I find using a bike works better that cycling a smartphone on the road, the screen always gets scratched i find.

buffalo

ror_74 wrote: »

Possibly a SW issue ? I had similar with the 705 while on the second last update. I got around it by backing up the history files from the computer, making a note of the folder names and structure, deleting all of them, recreating them and then installing the current update. Theres only been a handful of file corruption issues since. I also empty the courses directory when this happens as the default with created routes is to include a lot of waypoints, which can cause problems on training files for some reason.

I'm on the 205. I got Garmin to admit it was a dodgy unit, but unfortunately due to the length of the correspondence, it was outside the statutory two year warranty period. The 205 was since been discontinued, so no new firmware will be issued. They offered to replace it with a refurbished 205 for a hefty charge, which was too much for the respite it would give me.

Ole Rodrigo

I'm on the 205. I got Garmin to admit it was a dodgy unit, but unfortunately due to the length of the correspondence, it was outside the statutory two year warranty period. The 205 was since been discontinued, so no new firmware will be issued. They offered to replace it with a refurbished 205 for a hefty charge, which was too much for the respite it would give me.

Ah ok. Bad luck.

Invincible

route66 wrote: »

I have a Samsung S2 with an upgraded 2000mAh battery* Using Strava with GPS enabled, this gets depleted at the rate of about 10% per hour, making it practical for use when on long trips.

Some other comments about using Smartphones on the bike:

• Keep them safe. I broke a Smartphone some years ago (when they were really expensive) after a fall. I now keep it in the saddle bag
• Saddlebags get wet - wrap it in a ziplock/sandwich bag
• You can get mounts for the handlebars. This keeps them safe, but I don't use them because I don't think the vibration would do it any good.
• I have a bluetooth headset plugged into my left ear when cycling. The one I have has an inbuilt FM radio and I listen to that, music and podcasts as I want. I can also take a call if really necessary
• I use Strava on the phone to monitor my cycles - this works well.
• Unlike old phones - you know, the ones with actual buttons - you won't be able to operate it with gloved hands. You can either take off the gloves to use it or get some of those new gloves that work with capacitive screens

* This is made by Samsung (link); there are lots of extra capacity batteries available cheaply, but many of them are very poor quality, don't have the stated capacity and can sometimes go on fire

Hi route66,
Could you please provide link to Bluetooth headset mentioned or make/model ?

route66

Invincible wrote: »

Hi route66,
Could you please provide link to Bluetooth headset mentioned or make/model ?

This is the one I have: Sony MW600 bluetooth headset (Amazon link).

I don't have it, but Sony also do the Smart Wireless Stereo Headset Pro which has some extra features at extra cost, size and battery life: Amazon link

RyanAndrew

I got the Galaxy mini for about €60 - I don't use for it anything other than strava . Stick it in the pocket or bag under the saddle and off you go. Yes it does mean 2 phones but the one I use for talking - Motorola Razr is small and does just fine , but isn't a smart phone. The €60 was still cheaper than any garmin I saw.

Invincible

route66 wrote: »

This is the one I have: Sony MW600 bluetooth headset (Amazon link).

I don't have it, but Sony also do the Smart Wireless Stereo Headset Pro which has some extra features at extra cost, size and battery life: Amazon link

The MW-600 looks ideal, less weight and more positive reviews, will go for that.
Thank's

Tar.Aldarion

Samsung what equipment do you use for music when cycling?

hardCopy wrote: »

Just bear in mind that a smartphone won't replace a GPS cycle computer on longer spins, the battery won't last with GPS on all day on any phone I've tried.

Only all day every day on my s3, so they are getting ok. Jellybean really improved my battery

RidleyRider

Try out the vodafone smartphone 2, great little phone for small change. Play store and everything you need on it.

Dubba

My s2 with the strava app is really bad at picking up elevation data - on one spin it logged 2,849m in 38kms :pac:

awec

Just be aware that these apps on your smartphone will totally kill your battery.

I get about 4/5 hours out of my iPhone before it dies.

shigllgetcha

RyanAndrew wrote: »

I got the Galaxy mini for about €60 - I don't use for it anything other than strava . Stick it in the pocket or bag under the saddle and off you go. Yes it does mean 2 phones but the one I use for talking - Motorola Razr is small and does just fine , but isn't a smart phone. The €60 was still cheaper than any garmin I saw.

used this exact phone for a good while, never had problems with the GPS

cdaly_

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Only all day every day on my s3, so they are getting ok. Jellybean really improved my battery

Did Jellybean come on the phone or was it a software upgrade? If so, is it supported or are you on your own? Easy to do with a Mini or an Ace?

route66

awec wrote: »

Just be aware that these apps on your smartphone will totally kill your battery.

I get about 4/5 hours out of my iPhone before it dies.

See my earlier post - 10 hours on my Android Samsung Galaxy S2 with Samsung extended battery.

route66

Invincible wrote: »

The MW-600 looks ideal, less weight and more positive reviews, will go for that.
Thank's

It's grand, but ...

There are occasional wrinkles:

• It doesn't have many proper buttons and mode selection and volume are selected by sliding your finger on a touch sensitive area. Doesn't always work.
• The screen on mine failed. The device still worked, but operations which were previous difficult became really difficult
• I think some of my problems may have been caused by the odd damp cycle - these things are not waterproof!
• Occasional bluetooth issues - standard with such devices in my experience.

I got a replacement under warranty - received it today - the replacement is going to live in aziplock bag.

Having said all the above, it's the smallest and best device out there if you want FM radio, A2DP bluetooth streaming (allows music to be played from the phone to the headset) and call answering. And all of this with a great battery life. It's also recharged with a standard microusb cable - probably the same as your phone - and that's very handy. Just don't expect it to be east to be use.

Darkglasses

awec wrote: »

Just be aware that these apps on your smartphone will totally kill your battery.

I get about 4/5 hours out of my iPhone before it dies.

Depends on the phone, a 2 hour spin on my Xperia takes away only about 15% of my battery.

blorg

Dubba wrote: »

My s2 with the strava app is really bad at picking up elevation data - on one spin it logged 2,849m in 38kms :pac:

The newer Samsungs (since the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus) actually include barometric altimeters which should make the elevation data more accurate. It also means they get a GPS fix much much faster. It typically takes under a second to get a GPS fix on my Note, while my S2 used take a minute or more.

Since I had my iPod mp3 player stolen in Bangkok by a ladyboy I've used the Note in my jersey pocket for music, although I use a Garmin on the bars for GPS tracking. No problems so far with moisture or whatever (I do keep it in a small case with screen cover.)

kenmc

blorg wrote: »

The newer Samsungs (since the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus) actually include barometric altimeters which should make the elevation data more accurate. It also means they get a GPS fix much much faster. It typically takes under a second to get a GPS fix on my Note, while my S2 used take a minute or more.

Since I had my iPod stolen in Bangkok by a ladyboy I've used the Note in my jersey pocket for music, although I use a Garmin on the bars for GPS tracking. No problems so far with moisture or whatever (I do keep it in a small case with screen cover.)

TMI Blorg. TMI.

blorg

kenmc wrote: »

TMI Blorg. TMI.

Sorry, I've edited it.

Seweryn

I recently got the Motorola Defy Mini. I have never had a Smurfphone before, so can't compare with anything else. I bought it because it is suitable for cycling, i.e.:
- Waterproof,
- Low-ish power consumption,
- Small and light,
- Does what I needed it to do - Has GPS built in and you can make calls as well. Handy .

Tar.Aldarion

cdaly_ wrote: »

Did Jellybean come on the phone or was it a software upgrade? If so, is it supported or are you on your own? Easy to do with a Mini or an Ace?

It was an upgrade rolled out by O2 a month or two ago and I searched for software update in settings and found it. Similar for other carriers. So search for that. If it is not there you can google how to root your phone and then you can put whatever you want on it. Custom ROMs are very good and there are tons of guides. http://www.cyanogenmod.org/