For longer touring and casual sport cycling I want to finally get my hands on a bike computer. Have used my phone so far, but I don’t like

  • battery life
  • water situation when it’s rainy
  • arguably not too good for the camera stabilizer

My requirements are not too high I would say, but I would like

  • connectivity to some peripherals (ANT+ I guess)
  • ability to add GPX files and also extract them
  • not buy myself into some cloud (or otherwise fenced) solution

What it boils down to: What would be the least restrictive brand out there?

I am aware of https://github.com/hishizuka/pizero_bikecomputer but currently I don’t see myself tinkering that much – since I do longer tours I need some kind of decent case, a way to take it off and be a little tough.

(Sorry if this is not he perfect place, I could not think of another community that would fit well)

  • Jentu@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    12 hours ago

    This is probably not exactly what you’re looking for, but I rode across the USA (4200 miles across 12 weeks) about a decade ago and this is what I did:

    I used an ancient kindle to display my pdf route/cue sheet from a clear pouch on a handlebar bag that I could easily read and “flip through” while riding. (You can also just use paper) The battery life lasted long enough to get through every week of campsites where power isn’t promised. We’d stop at a hotel about once a week just to have a nice shower and charge our things. Of course I also had a full set of maps as well, but they are more difficult to read while you’re riding- thus route/cue sheet.

    I had my phone and would use GPS if I feel like I got lost. I didn’t have great service in large patches of the route, but the gps works regardless, so as long as you have the GPX files, it should point you in the right direction.

    I also have a SON hub dynamo that lead to a Sinewave Cycles Revolution USB charger (there’s probably more modern USB chargers you can buy nowadays). But with that I charged a usb power bank and was able to charge my phone every night.

    I’d also be interested if there exists a singular device like that that is able to last a long time on a tour. Good luck and have fun on the road!!

    • luftruessel@feddit.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      32 minutes ago

      Thanks for your comment! Sounds like an awesome journey, I love that it makes you think about what you really need. Maybe I’ll give my current setup another thought to try avoid buying another device!

    • bad1080@piefed.socialEnglish
      1·
      2 hours ago

      I didn’t have great service in large patches of the route, but the gps works regardless, so as long as you have the GPX files, it should point you in the right direction.

      it’d save a lot of battery when airplane mode is turned on in those areas as the phone doesn’t look for reception constantly