Which GPS aid?

[Carlbiker]

I’ve just bought a Cube Kathmandu 625 recently but I’m puzzled as to which GPS aid to use? My IPhone 7 seems to have various apps like Kommute which might work okay but obviously there’s no heart recording etc and I was surprised to see Strava doesn’t have a turn by turn function.

ill order some Aftershokz Aeropex headphones and I think I’ll use my phone for navigation then it’s a case of is a watch really necessary for heart monitoring and other things?

I was close to buying an Apple Watch but essentially it’s a small iphone with EPG etc, perhaps there’s a more practical approach.

cheers

 

[vfr400]

If you're interested in heart rate, a Fitbit watch is as good as anything. I found the best one was the Charge 2, which used the phone's GPS. The watches with GPS are fiddly to use and the batteries don't last long enough. The advantage of the Fitbit Charge is that everything is fairly automatic and it shows you all sorts of other health information.

The Charge 2 was replaced by the Charge 3. Now the Charge 4 has GPS. I would go for the Charge 3 because I had the Fitbit Ionic with GPS, but never used it because of the battery life and all the extra switching on and off and stuff like that.

 

[Carlbiker]

Excellent advice thanks, I love this community it’s so helpful towards noobs like myself!

So if I can connect this to an app like Kommute I’ll be golden pairing with my iPhone, ideally an all on one solution is ideal but so far I’ve read the battery life suffers unless it’s a garmin but then I’m replacing stuff I already have GPS wise :s

 

[gsm.terra]

I bought an honor band 5 cost £24.99 on Amazon as a special offer, does heart rate, blood oxygen level and uses the phones gps, works with iOS and Android and the app is really good for logging your ride, battery lasts 3 days, even relays my messages!

 

[Carlbiker]

I’ll check that out too cheers

 

[Carlbiker]

Die

I bought an honor band 5 cost £24.99 on Amazon as a special offer, does heart rate, blood oxygen level and uses the phones gps, works with iOS and Android and the app is really good for logging your ride, battery lasts 3 days, even relays my messages!

does it auto connect etc?

 

[Carlbiker]

If you're interested in heart rate, a Fitbit watch is as good as anything. I found the best one was the Charge 2, which used the phone's GPS. The watches with GPS are fiddly to use and the batteries don't last long enough. The advantage of the Fitbit Charge is that everything is fairly automatic and it shows you all sorts of other health information.

The Charge 2 was replaced by the Charge 3. Now the Charge 4 has GPS. I would go for the Charge 3 because I had the Fitbit Ionic with GPS, but never used it because of the battery life and all the extra switching on and off and stuff like that.

Do you find any disconnection issues when in use?

 

[vfr400]

Do you find any disconnection issues when in use?

No. It was very reliable, unlike my later Ionic. The GPS tracking is done by your phone, so it depends how good your phone is. I used a Samsung S5 then S7. The watch connects by Bluetooth. Here's a good in depth review. He also reviewed other devices including Charge 4 and a quick look at the Charge 3.

Fitbit Charge 2 Activity Tracker In-Depth Review

It’s been a bit over two months since Fitbit announced their latest wearables, the Fitbit Charge 2 and the Fitbit Flex 2 (they also announced some Blaze updates and Alta bands at that time). This review however is purely focused

www.dcrainmaker.com

You can buy a used charge 2 on Ebay for next to nothing if you want to try one.

 

[gsm.terra]

Die

does it auto connect etc?

Yes, you pull up the Huawei health app and start your workout, stays connected by Bluetooth for messages etc

 

[Carlbiker]

I’ve actually gone for the mi band 5, cheap as chips but seems to have the best battery and comparable performance to the others, should come today

 

[vfr400]

I’ve actually gone for the mi band 5, cheap as chips but seems to have the best battery and comparable performance to the others, should come today

Let us know how you get on with it.

 

[GSV3MiaC]

I've had multiple fitbits and garmins over the years, and currently run an antique charge 2. The GPS watches have (historically) generally lousy battery life, relatively poor antenna, compared to a proper GPS or phone, and anyway I really don't see why garmin or fitbit (now Google?) should have access to exactly where I was when.. Which happens if you use their infrastructure to synch your GPS watch.

My garmin GPS syncs locations with my own pcs, and the data stays there. Fitbit get my steps and hr etc, never the twain shall meet.

 

[vfr400]

I've got the Huawei GT 2e now £112. It has its own GPS with much better battery life than any of the others, so using the GPS for biking is a realistic proposition. Everything about it is better than a Fitbit. Normal battery life is 10 days.

 

[richtea99]

If you just want a GPS tracker + heart monitor the Huawei Band 4 Pro does the trick.
Just £47.99 at the moment.

We've used the previous model for a couple of years, and for the price it's excellent, although I'd say their claim of 7 hours battery with GPS may be generous. My Band 3 Pro gives ~3 hours on GPS, but maybe they've improved that.

It doesn't solve your turn-by-turn requirements though. A phone is the best bet there, as you say.