GPS, gadgets & music



JSWin

Active Member
Jul 13, 2015
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GPS, gadgets, & music
Mostly I like to just ride. I don’t really seem to want to GPS or MPH. I think it would distract me too much. Music I do like to have with me.
What gadgets do you really enjoy and why?
 
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Garmin Edge 500. I don't need directions so this unit does me well. I use it to log mileage etc. I like the fact I can get elevation graphs from rides I do while climbing. Let's me know why the ride was tough.

GoPro recorders. Cause I like music too so it allows me to document my rides with music videos.

Camera, cause I like to take pics on rides.

Other than that, just need a bike. :D
 
Whenever I ride I almost always take my smartphone with me because it can do everything I need and more. I normally listen to music on it but when I need to I can use the maps app on it to get a bearing on where I am and I also use an app that can track my average speed, although I have to say that I rarely use that one. Oh, and I like to take the occasional picture when I can.

I love my phone! :D
 
I carry a neutron X-Ray device to constantly monitor the '1 MM Air Gap'™ of my UltraTorque Hirth Joint in real time, a Panametrics Surface Finish Thickness Gage to monitor the plating erosion from the effects of Simple Green on my chain and a Garmin 510 because I'm waiting for the price of the 520 to drop $100.

Yeah, I could put OpenStreet map tiles on my 510, but the memory space is limited even more than the 520 and the 510's processor is so slooooow that it just isn't a workable option.

I explore new areas and maps enable me to stay on through roads, plot routes and stay off busy roads. An iPotato for emergencies.
 
Bob you are new wave buddy. I am so old school that I don't even carry a water bottle. If I can't find a steam to drink out of I use my front fork as a divining tool to find water. I have a sextant mounted in place of a GPS device. I find star navigation to be very accurate as long as you update your seasonal charts.
 
GPS, gadgets, & music
Mostly I like to just ride. I don’t really seem to want to GPS or MPH. I think it would distract me too much. Music I do like to have with me.
What gadgets do you really enjoy and why?


Please stop starting threads with uppercase titles.
 
Depending on where I'm going, I use either my smartphone or my Garmin Edge 20 to track my rides (Map My Ride app for my commute or short rides, Garmin for when I'm going to ride 40kms or more), mostly to save on battery. I really like the Edge 20, it's small and does all that I want, I do wish I had asked for the 25 instead because only way to upload is by connecting to USB and ain't nobody got time for that.

For music I use Spotify and sometimes a bluetooth speaker (when doing long rides with the SO).
 
I have bicycle computer keeping track of the miles I ride and in addition I keep a GPS with me in case I want to discover new routes.
 
Love my Garmin GPS when it works and doesn't freeze up or require a factory reset.
 
Here is my gear for music while cycling:
  • Schwinn Sportabout 10-speed bicycle (upgraded some over the years)
  • Fender Stratocaster solid-body electric guitar played as I ride "no hands"
  • Roland MicroCube battery-powered guitar amplifier strapped to rear rack of bicycle

and this is what it sounds like
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Most of my tens of thousands of miles doing this the past thirty years have been playing music "on the road" literally, but some of my best videos were filmed riding indoors in wintertime. None of my hundreds of original songs have yet been recorded professionally.
 
I rarely have anything other than my phone at hand. It has a stopwatch, can measure my speed, GPS is pretty solid and worst case scenario it has a compass so I'm pretty good with it. Although I don't usually go places I haven't been before.
 
I rarely have anything other than my phone at hand. It has a stopwatch, can measure my speed, GPS is pretty solid and worst case scenario it has a compass so I'm pretty good with it. Although I don't usually go places I haven't been before.

Doesn't having a compass sort of encourage you to go places you don't normally go and try to travel in one direction going off the compass? It's something I've tried doing a few times and I have to admit it's pretty fun. I almost see it as a sort of game now :D
 
Doesn't having a compass sort of encourage you to go places you don't normally go and try to travel in one direction going off the compass? It's something I've tried doing a few times and I have to admit it's pretty fun. I almost see it as a sort of game now :D
I usually cycle longer distances during weekend because of my work and the only distances I can cover in that time are nearby and I've been to all places near me, so there isn't that much choice.
 
Love my Garmin GPS when it works and doesn't freeze up or require a factory reset.

Go back to the 500...

...or read the 20+ pages of FAIL on the 510's and 520's on the Garmin Forum. I have both. They're better than my Cateye Stealth 50 GPS computer was, but Garmin's 'firmware' is craptastic. At least the OpenStreetMap tiles I replaced Garmin's OEM BaseMap with is useable on the 520. Still trying to figure out if new seven buttons format is mo' bettah than the two buttons + touch screen.
 
My cellphone and Strava app. Many have told me a heart rate monitor, cadence monitor and power meter are thing I should consider using. I've never really wanted to track cadence or heart rate, but it would be nice to have a power meter. 500 bucks is a lot though(power meter cost), I may try one of the others mentioned due to the minimal cost .
 
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Well, I've always got my phone with me. Sometimes I'll have my earphones with me and I'll listen to some music. But that's when I'm not riding on busy streets as I don't want to be distracted when I should be focusing on the traffic. I don't need a GPS as I know all the areas that I drive through like the back of my hand.
 
My phone, and a backup battery. Endomondo gives me all of the cycling data, Pandora gives me music, and if I need navigation, Google maps has bicycle directions...