Just ventured into the world of road biking.. I’ve put a Bluetooth speed/ cadence sensor on the bike to use with my phone on the turbo. Does anyone actually use their phone as a computer mounted on the stem or bars?

If so what case mount do you use.. Ideally it will extend the battery too.

I’ve been using a Quad Lock for the last year and really pleased with it.

I used a little bar mounted bag

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=221416135742&globalID=EBAY-GB

But found that the phone battery is a limiting factor on longer rides, so now have a real gps instead

I have bought a quadlock and love it, not cheap but the price of a new iPhone 6 is a lot more!!! Better buying the best to start with IMHO.

Can’t help you with the power issue as I have an Exposure Dynamo hub. A top tube bag with an Anker battery pack would probably be the most practical. For most shorter rides you wouldn’t need it anyway as long as your phone battery isn’t knackered.

I use a Topeak waterproof ride case for my iPhone 5s, works perfectly.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thomadaneau/bikestrap-fittest-bike-mount-for-any-mobile-phone?ref=discovery

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/home-made-gps-with-mapping-and-tracking/page/3

I’ve had one of these for ages, very good for various mountings and secure on the bike too..

EDIT – It holds my iPhone with life proof cover no bother..

+1 for Topeak case

This. https://twitter.com/beztweets/status/606216772795133952

This

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I thought about buying a garmin but figured my iPhone already had the hard wear that the garmin has and I just needed a way to access it. I bought a wahoo rflktr which is a Bluetooth screen on the bars. The iPhone battery is the weakest link though so spent twenty quid on a back up battery pack/case. Ninety quid all in and does almost all what a garmin does. Quite happy.

A hacksaw is a bit bloomin’ quicker than a file 🙂

add up the price of all that and compare it to
http://www.wiggle.com/garmin-edge-200-gps-cycle-computer/
or
http://www.wiggle.com.au/garmin-edge-500-red-with-premium-hrm-and-cadence/

I have bought a quadlock and love it, not cheap but the price of a new iPhone 6 is a lot more!!! Better buying the best to start with IMHO.

Or buying the right tool for the job.

Or buying the right tool for the job.

Whilst i generally agree, you always have your smartphone with you.

+1 for a quad lock, use the universal kit with your own case if you don’t have an iphone

Just get the Lifeproof Activ Mount if you have their case.
I have one on the road bike and the mtb and the ZZR1400 too 😀
Also have a modded Lifeproof armband mount for the 5 that I “adjusted” so it fits on a Hope light mount out front.
That way the 6 can stay in my bag and the 5 doesn’t matter if anything happens.

Whilst i generally agree, you always have your smartphone with you.

Sometimes, there are rides here where it’s pointless taking one. If I do take it I’d like the battery to be good for taking photo’s and making that call. For the amount being spent on cases etc. the 200 makes a really good alternative that is probably cheaper. Then the phone can stay in the bag. Been a few years in with the garmin thing and it just works…

I’ve used a phone on the bars for a while, I’ve got a nice big bar bag for the commuter with a transparrent map pocket (Which the phone’s touch screen works through) which works quite nicely but is quite bulky…

I’ve used one of those zip up bar mount phone holders in the past too but it wasn’t that robust for £20 and died after about 10 months use…

On my “Proper” road bike I’m now keen to de-clutter the bars and my current phone is even bigger than the my previous so it’s just been going in the back pocket (battery life is much improved by not using the sccreen), I think I’d like to see some basic information on the bars but I’m not arsed about anything fancy, just an indication of Current/Avg speeds would do me TBH so I’m thinking about buying a cheap computer to leave on there permanently.

If I want to log all the other stuff HR/cadence/etc I could just but Ant+/BT sensors and use those with the phone, but too much data on the bars is a bit of a distraction IMO, log it and pour over the data when you get home…

The other option is a GPS running/multisports watch whihc you can then use for other stuff, but then like you say, you already own a GPS device in the form of a phone, so paying for another does feel a little silly when you’re not quite a “serious athlete”… Hey ho…

The advantage of a smartphone (for me) is that i actually remember to charge it, 50/50 whether I’ve remember to plug the Garmin in or not, and the Garmin battery life isn’t substantially better anyway.

If didn’t have the 800 I’d probably get a 500/510 for local rides without a map and a smartphone mount for longer rides with navigation needed. I’d probably even have both (stem mount the Garmin, and the phone in landscape out front).

A smartphone is a more configurable platform, too. You can use different maps and different software; with a Garmin you’re stuck with a Garmin. And you can upload and download routes without having to connect it to anything.

They both have all sorts of pros and cons. It’s not a case of one always being the right choice. I use both at different times.