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Bruno BQ

Maximum Pace
Mar 9, 2015
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The posts I found here were quite old, so I thought we should make a new a tech post to discuss this stuff.

I believe most people here just have a dedicated Garmin or whatever head that collects data from all their body or bike sensor, correct?

I would prefer to have sensor, and my phone collecting stuff. It seems a lot cheaper to me, although I am kind of worried about battery time. So questions and points:

1- Does anyone ride with their phones for GPS and sensor info? Does the battery become to much of a deal?

2- I am thinking on going with Wahoo (http://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/wahoo-blue-sc-speed-and-cadence-sensor.html) and use their phone app to get data and export to strava / trainning peaks, anyone did this or has some other setup worth?

3- I am looking for a HR strip, probably a bluetooth one also, not sure which, any recommendations?

4- I don't have a near future plan for power meters, as the price kind of crush my budget, still would be interesting to hear integration histories.

5- I feel the Strava app kind of sucks to check info, as everything is premium and even the premium package don't offer much customization, I have been trying the Wahoo and playing with some others, what you guys suggest for a robust yet customizable/or full of info app?

Cheers,
 
Using an iPhone and Strava app just to record where you've ridden is OK for a few hours. Using the phone to navigate runs the battery down very quickly IME. the majority of bike/body fitness sensors are ANT+; an adapter is needed for most phones to pick up that signal. (I have no experience with BT or BTE sensors.)
 
I use an old iPhone / ridewithgps / wahoo rflkt. The phone doesn't have a sim card but it works fine and there's no problem with battery life. If you download the route you can get turn by turn navigation on the rflkt. The longest I've been out is about 5 hours but the battery was still at 80%. It's certainly a good mingebag option.
 
I think I've mentioned it before but Osmand Offline maps on Android has turn by turn voice navi and offline GPS maps for most countries. Voice navi only drains about 30-40% battery for a 6 hr ride on my Lenovo K3 Note Android phone. The GPS navi is only as good as the GPS unit in your phone, it's led me astray a few times on narrow complicated roads but generally it's been quite reliable. You can export GPX files from RWGPS and plug them straight into OSmand.
 
@Bruno BQ

1. I use an Iphone with a HR strap.
The battery life only becomes a problem if you have the screen on constantly for navigation. You will definitely need some kind of power back up in that case. I use this ...
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Anker-PowerCore-Android各種他対応-トラベルポーチ付属【PowerIQ-VoltageBoost搭載】/dp/B0129QPZ6G?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
It is a little heavy, but in my case I need the high power storage capacity as I do a lot of night riding with a light that is very power hungry. Something around 10,000mAh would be suitable for you.
Strava sucks the power out hard, RWGPS uses hardly any power because it is well programmed.


2. I use RWGPS to record my ride. There is an option to automically upload to Strava, or you can upload the file manually by saving it from RWGPS as a .gpx file to your hard drive, then upping it to Strava.

3. You intend using RWGPS to record your ride, so only certain gear is compatible with the program. Check their website here https://ridewithgps.com/help/pairing-bluetooth . As it says Bluetooth 4/BTE/BTLE sensors will work. Wahoo sensors are a safe bet.

4. I have no idea, but someone will on here.

5. RWGPS costs around 5,000 yen for a one year subscription. That enables you to navigate and see all your stats live as you ride, amongst other things. It blows Stravr away from my experience.

I also use this to mount my Iphone http://www.amazon.co.jp/NITE-IZE-ナイトアイズ-HDB-01-R3-NITEIZE-ハンドルバンド/dp/B00FU4N4JU?ie=UTF8&keywords=nite ize&qid=1459565189&ref_=sr_1_4&s=sports&sr=1-4
...and if it rains I just put my phone in a small zip-tie freezer bag, and the touch screen still works perfectly.
 
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Good to know that @Winston Leg-Thigh and @Conrad have good experience with the setup, I am also using a spare non-sim phone, so I was hopping to get some decent battery time while using only GPS and BT

Thanks for the info @Heath, didn't expect that the app choice made such a difference in battery power. I will compare the Wahoo and the RWGPS and update them here so everyone knows.
 
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