Apple picker Summer is in full swing, I'm out on the bike and throwing my Sigma BC800 away. Fact. Once I've tasted the benefits of the Cyclemeter app, I see no reason to keep the classic tachometer on my handlebars.
So there would be one reason - I paid 600 CZK for it, after all, I'm not going to throw it away. But the mentioned application for iPhone will offer me much more functions, and for only $5 (of course, I do not count the purchase price of the device).
Cyclemeter is not only a bike tracker. It fits wherever you want to measure your speed, distance, performance. Namely, it has preset profiles for: Cycling, hiking, running, skating, skiing, swimming (it would probably need a waterproof case here) and walking.
Which features excited me:
- – recording the route on the map (even in offline mode)
- – reporting of the current status (you can choose which of the 20 items will be reported and how often)
- – elevation and speed graphs
- – cooperation with remote control on headphones
- – the possibility to compete against a virtual opponent (the application motivates you to achieve a better result)
- – calculation of calories burned
Of course, you are not deprived of classic tachometer functions, such as:
Total time, distance, instantaneous, average and maximum speed.
If you like a permanent overview and you are not afraid of having your pet on the handlebars, you can get him a bicycle holder. Available for example at Applemix.cz for the price of 249 CZK. Personally, however, voice information in headphones is fully sufficient for me.
But you don't have to worry about the signal strength, everything works correctly whether you have your iPhone in your backpack or in your pants pocket. In the event of an outage, the Cyclemeter then recalculates the unmeasured section.
What about the battery?
In 45 minutes of driving, the endurance dropped by exactly 5%. Of course, the GPS was running the whole time and I was listening to music from the iPod app, the iPhone was in my backpack with the screen off. It should last 7,5 hours on one charge in this mode, which is absolutely sufficient for occasional cyclists who ride for 2-3 hours.
Control
The control is in the spirit of simple iPhone logic and is not at all confusing as, for example, with an application MotionX GPS, which offers similar functions, just in a less attractive graphic jacket.
The application must be active, in the event of sleep (pressing the home button), the measured values are paused and can be continued after restarting. This glitch is unlikely to bother users with active multitasking.
If you lock the phone with the button in the upper right corner, the display will go off, but the Cyclemeter will continue to run happily, including voice instructions.
záver
As the classic would say: "And the manufacturers of tachometers will have nothing to eat!" You can't stop the development, and the programmers put extreme care into Cyclemeter, which is reflected in the user ratings. If you're a geek, a sports freak, or ideally both, you'll be just as excited as I am.
Source: crtec.blogspot.com
I recommend a similar program, Runkeeper pro. Similar functions + web support
I ride my bike quite often and I'm tired of looking at a paper map at every intersection. The first choice was, of course, the iPhone. I was just using the MotionX GPS, driving according to the planned route. I'm done with battery life. A fully charged phone did not last more than 3,5 hours. The display was off, I only turned it on occasionally when I needed to look at the route. In addition, I wanted to have it on the handlebars, but the ordinary holder did not suit me. After all, the weather is not always ideal, even the ford can get quite wet. But such a case for handlebars costs around 1.500. In addition, the iPhone is not the cheapest, and it may not last if you fall off your bike - as happened to me recently. I ended up buying an outdoor Garmin and the iPhone is in a backpack on my back.
Maybe this application has less energy consumption, but my experience is that as soon as GPS is turned on in the iPhone, the battery goes to hell very quickly.
I bought a cover for the handlebars with a holder - http://www.profizona.cz/hama-bike-hard-case-univerzalni-pouzdro-s-uchytem-na-kolo-pro-gps-navigace-cerne + you still have to buy a holder, even though they write it there. so I wouldn't pay about 500,- —- – 1500 for it even by chance.
I used to use MotionX GPS too, but it was a really disgusting battery hog, and the confusing gui got too much "ballast" around me after a while. I purchased RunKeeper Pro and now I am extremely satisfied. Simple and clear gui - it doesn't seem like it, but it's a very important thing. A person does not feel like stopping and rummaging through the application and looking for something while playing sports. Battery life is also quite a bit longer, and most importantly, all routes are saved to your web profile. This strikes me as a very essential feature. Why should I have all the data stored locally on my phone when I can then view and study it more conveniently on my computer. Unfortunately, Cyclemeter cannot do this.
I have the same battery experience when using Runkeeper. Endurance up to 5 hours of operation, which is not much for an all-day trip. I was considering an external battery-case from Mili, does anyone have any experience?
Motion x gps is an absolutely excellent app. I plan a route on google earth and import it into motion x via gpx format. There is really no need for a paper map. The only problem is really the battery-resim "2400 mAh battery", which can be obtained from DX for 20 bucks.. If this reviewed app really lasts 7,5 hours, it is worth considering. The question is whether it can import routes from GPX, because that is an incredibly powerful tool for route planning that I would hate to lose. Similar to loading the map into the cache..
I want to ask what Iph the author of the article has because I have 3G and I have tried several similar applications and almost every time after an hour of driving the battery drops from 100% to 70-80% which is not much.... I also want to ask if anyone knows if the nike+ application with a chest belt for measuring heart rate from polar can or will the data also be used on the Iph...
As for consumption, it is unfortunately so "drastic" for all models and applications. I somehow don't want to believe the endurance in the article. Only with the 3GS, it is possible that the consumption is a little lower due to multitasking, since the application in the background is most likely not running in its entirety, but only recording the route.
The author also has 3G (after jailbreak) - that's why I can see the percentages. The problem is that with iOS 4, battery life goes to hell with practically every app, so I'm considering downgrading to 3.1.2.
So I'm not surprised. I would probably go for it too, or wait for the 4.1 system, which I hope will be released soon. I'm not very happy with the 3GS either. With the minimized application, RunKeepr takes 3-30% of my 40% charged phone in about 100 hours of cycling. But the MotionX GPS was perhaps even a hair worse. I would go for an iPhone 4 just for this…
I can't believe the consumption, in 45 minutes my endurance drops by more than 5% even when using without GPS.
iOS 3.1.1, Jailbreak, (+ASbattery). iPod app running, screen off all the time. 100% charge, after return 95%. The moment you start using the phone, the endurance will easily drop by another 3%, but the Cyclemeter and iPod can be paused with the button on the headphones, so you can really get to really interesting values in terms of endurance.