GPS/Smartphone on a bike

[Tiberius]

I'm looking at getting one of the new smartphones with GPS built in. Has anyone tried one on a bike?

The difficulties for bike use with the GPS I have at the moment are:
No simple mounting solution
Short battery life
Maps not suitable (not detailed enough, no topo info).

Out of those, the mounting problem may turn out to be the most difficult for a smartphone GPS. Anyone done it yet?

Nick

 

[keithhazel]

I'm looking at getting one of the new smartphones with GPS built in. Has anyone tried one on a bike?

The difficulties for bike use with the GPS I have at the moment are:
No simple mounting solution
Short battery life
Maps not suitable (not detailed enough, no topo info).

Out of those, the mounting problem may turn out to be the most difficult for a smartphone GPS. Anyone done it yet?

Nick

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i have a new palm treo pro palm phone with GPS on it, but would never rely on it for short cuts, for example, this week we are going to london,if i put in kings cross and then our hotel it gives 2.3 miles,if i just look at the map that comes up and am on foot its about 750 yards,im guessing its one way out of kings cross and it will be expecting you to be in a car and not on foot or on a bike....for the sort of short cutting down snickets ect you can do on a bike i would never rely on a GPS....use for extra info but NEVER rely on it.

 

[Erik]

I have a Garmin 6110 Navigator with Garmin MobileXT installed.

There are all kinds of free topographic maps in Garmin format available on the net.

I bought a Garmin Etrex Legend instead, since it's more rugged, waterproof, came with a handlebar mount and has full support for Bluechart sea charts, since I also have a boat.

The display is much better on the Nokia, though. The newer Nokias that don't slide open must be better suited to the shakes and bumps of a bike.

 

[Mussels]

I can't get past the mounting problem, I've not seen anything that can hold my phone well enough. I would have made a mount myself but the free maps available of cycle routes in London meant it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[Hooligooner]

For Topo information try Viewranger.

Nokia's new N85 also looks interesting for this, it has an organic LED screen which drains far less battery power if you wish to leave the backlight on.

I have seen phone mountings for bikes but would be worried about breaking it if I had an off.

 

[Footie]

I don't have a GPS phone but I have a Medion Pocket PC that has GPS and can be used in the car, on the bike or walking.
It came with bar fittings for clamping it to the handlebars.
To date I have not used it on my bicycle but I have used it in the car, walking and on the motorcycle.
My unit has a power saving routine and goes into sleep mode after 5 minutes. All one has to do is press the screen, wait a minute for the thing to start up and re-align its self with the satellites and it's ok. I have since wired in a cigarette lighter power point on the bike so it now stays on all the time.
I get a lot of glare on the screen making it difficult to see the display. Not a problem when walking but it can be a real issue on the bike - potentially dangerous if one forgets about the road
.

 

[frank9755]

I use Memory Map software on a Mitac Mio pda.
There is a mount specially designed for this model which grips it very firmly and it never falls out. It's the same cradle as the car mount with a handlebar clamp instead of the flexi-arm and suction cup.
It actually works pretty well. I bought the entire UK 1:50,000 OS map (which cost only £120 about 4 years ago) and I use it for all my rides. For a long ride when my pda battery will struggle, I might print out the map too, and keep the pda for a 'Where exactly am I?' moment. By coincidence the same mount is also exactly the right size for my Blackberry. However this is not much use as I can't think of an occasion when I've wanted to send an email while cycling!

 

[Fecn]

I use my Nokia N95 as my speedometer. Nokia do an application called SportTrack which will keep tabs on where you've been and lets you upload your routes to a website where they can be plotted on Google Maps. I mount the phone onto my handlebars with a bit of sponge and a couple of cable ties, but I've seen others strap those clear crystal cases to the bars and then clip the phone on/off as needed.

The Nokia software is really good and i recommend it highly. It displays current speed, average speed, altitude, lat/long, distance travelled, Time taken etc

I've just upgraded my phone to an N96 and decided that I'd even pay for the route-planning capacity that the phone can provide.

 

[Erik]

Have you tried Garmin MobileXT on your Nokias?

It's really good, and the owners of expensive Nüvi's are envious of features such as the ability to permanently block sections of roads or complete areas.

It's quite affordable too, if you know what I mean.

 

[Tiberius]

The Nokia N95/96 is one of the options I'm looking at, and possibly using Memory Map or Garmin XT on it.

Nick

 

[Stephen-Gately]

Here's a novel idea.......buy a map. And shouldn't you look at the road whilst cycling? Satnavs are evil. Satan himself invented them.

 

[flecc]

Here's a novel idea.......buy a map. And shouldn't you look at the road whilst cycling? Satnavs are evil. Satan himself invented them.

I leave mine on speech only in the car which I think safest of all, better than peering at road signs, but that would be difficult at times on a bike when the traffic noise is high.
.

 

[wibble]

I'm considering getting myself a 3G iphone partly for the GPS. Obviously I'm not gonna stick it on my handlebars, but I thought it might be handy for pulling out of my pocket now and then and getting my bearings. I could also have a quick game of Super monkey balls while I'm at it.

Anybody else use a iphone for the GPS?

 

[Erik]

Having my gps with me has more than once spared me going back the way I came into the forrest and instead finding the nearest civilized road leading home. It's also great fun seeing your trail on the map on the computer afterwards.

A paper map has the major drawback that it doesn't know where you are.

Of course common sense is always required.

 

[Stephen-Gately]

Very true, but I'm amazed at the number of youngsters who cant read a map because they just use sat nav and take it for granted. I know someone that drove to london using one, the lead broke, and she had no idea atall how to get back. NOt even the rough idea of what way to go up the country. I think thats disgraceful. The more we rely on gps, the less we use maps. Before you know it hardly anyone will be able to read a map. Basically I think the human race is getting thicker.

 

[flecc]

I know someone that drove to london using one, the lead broke, and she had no idea atall how to get back. Not even the rough idea of what way to go up the country.

Silly, but at least she was physically safe on land. The worst danger of these things is with those who go to sea with them, having no charts or any knowledge of marine navigation, sometimes even without a compass. That's about as foolhardy as anyone could be with their life, except perhaps for the occasional person who goes to sea with a road map of the coastal region.
.

 

[Danny-K]

Silly, but at least she was physically safe on land...

It was reported this week that a Polish mini-van driver, (driving at night), and following his Sat Nav slavishly,
on land - drove straight into a lake - The van was almost completely submerged by the time the police arrived, with the driver and passenger sat clinging to the roof awaiting rescue.

P.S. Apparently the road was well signposted of what lay ahead.

Polish driver follows GPS directions into lake - Yahoo! News UK