After the umpteenth time of finishing a ride to see that my phone had shut down part way through, I’ve decided that enough is enough.

So now I’m on the look out for a simple and most importantly, reliable GPS tracking device to record my rides. It needs to have the facility to upload to a PC and the data needs to be compatible with Endomondo and Strava.

So what’s good out there? What are people using?

A garmin edge 200 would do everything you want.

Ride log.

i-GotU from maplin for £40’ish does it for me. You get a whole lot of GPS data to play with on your PC, plus the on-line map sharing. The unit fits into a pocket or top of my Camelbak.

I just bought a Garmin Edge 500 for the same reason (plus wanted something more robust). Issue is however that it seems VERY convoluted to get routes onto the device or Garmin Connect website. As most outdoor people I create my routes using OS Map software (memory map). These can be saved as GPX files. However you CANNOT import GPX onto device or the garmin site. I find this totally ridiculous! You have to go through a series of file manipulation to make this work.

Why the **** can’t life be simple for once!!!

If you were running Endomondo then switching of lower power mode and auto stop will help stop your phone cutting out, or it did for me.

If you were running Endomondo then switching of lower power mode and auto stop will help stop your phone cutting out, or it did for me.

Thanks, will try turning off auto stop in the interim period (been running in the higher power mode anyway), but I think it’s the phone to be honest. The cutting out was even worse when using strava instead of Endomondo.

Even deleted every non essential app last night in case any of them were causing issues and still had the problem this morning!

I’ve got a Garmin Edge 305, and to get routes on to it I plug it into Tacklogs and click ‘send to device’.

Couldn’t be easier. I thought Memory Maps did the same thing. Garmin software not required (apart from the USB device drivers), I never use it.

“
I just bought a Garmin Edge 500 for the same reason (plus wanted something more robust). Issue is however that it seems VERY convoluted to get routes onto the device or Garmin Connect website. As most outdoor people I create my routes using OS Map software (memory map). These can be saved as GPX files. However you CANNOT import GPX onto device or the garmin site. I find this totally ridiculous! You have to go through a series of file manipulation to make this work.

“

Garmin softwear is crap

go to ridewithgps and export TCX direct to garmin/newfiles- for road rides this will set up turn by turn navigation such as “RNDabout 2nd exit” “Left onto smith st” popping on screen a couple hundred yards before you get there.

Its such a nifty little device the 500 (coming from my 205 for the last 8 years)

and use bikehike to export as GPX – and manually place it into new file , file on the garmin and the garmin will change it into a .FIT

I think it’s the phone to be honest.

Why is your phone “cutting out”?

Do you mean running out of battery, or just randomly crashing?

I use Endomondo all the time (on iPhone 4) – out of the 230 odd Cycling workouts I’ve tracked I’ve only had maybe 3 crashes and one of them was the entire phone so prob not Endos fault.

oh and your GPX from memory map IS directly compatible with the garmin you just need to put it in the correct part of the Edges file hierachy – the edge will then turn it into a .FIT

but you loose the turn by turn nav that the TCX file gives – im aware that memory map doesnt give this option – it also wont work for Off road rides as it requires road names.

In Tracklogs, you have the option to put in waypoints as well as course points. If you have waypoints at significant junctions it’ll give you the upcoming notification and a little route glyph thingy, it’s cool.

Any old Garmin with an microSD card slot.
Plug in USB and it drag the GPX track files off like a USB stick, and upload to online trackery website of your choice.

Mines an eTrex, and the AA batteries last for pretty much a week or riding. Mapping and uploading routes/tracks/waypoints is a bit more faff though.

Why is your phone “cutting out”?

Do you mean running out of battery, or just randomly crashing?

I use Endomondo all the time (on iPhone 4) – out of the 230 odd Cycling workouts I’ve tracked I’ve only had maybe 3 crashes and one of them was the entire phone so prob not Endos fault.

It’s not the battery, it just randomly crashes. Only time this ever happens to it is when I’m tracking a ride. And this is true of either Strava or Endomondo. Therefore I believe the phone is unreliable when GPS is active.

does tracklogs to TCX export ?

I believe the phone is unreliable when GPS is active.

Could be. What phone is it? Might be worth checking for known issues.

it might also just not like getting shaken about on a ride (loose wire?)

This for your phone 🙂

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0089J2LJW/ref=pe_186441_35841391_email_1p_1_ti

My Garmin 910XT works just fine at logging routes and is simplicity itself to upload to Garmin Connect (and then on to Strava) – simply plug the ANT+ dongle into the computer and leave the Garmin sitting nearby. That’s it – as if by magic my rides appear on Connect. If I was bothered I could even get a smaller ANT+ stick which I could leave permanently plugged in, which would probably result in my rides having automatically uploaded by the time I’d got myself a drink.

Admittedly a 910XT is rather expensive for what the OP wants, but then it’s one of the best (if not the best) wrist mounted GPSs for running, skiing etc. you can get.

does tracklogs to TCX export ?

Yes, but I never needed to mess about with it.

I just tell it I’m using a Garmin plugged in via USB, then it magically knows what to do. I just click ‘send to device’.

I’ve just bought an Edge 500. Waiting for it to arrive today. Going to try this for getting routes onto it:

http://ridewithgps.com/edge_500

Seems to export to tcx ok – I’ve just tried it. Will see how easy it is to get the tcx onto the Garmin this affy.

tbh ive made do with my phone since i smashed my garmin…. its crap a crap work around if you can avoid it imo.

The edge 500 can be wrist mounted as well if you wish it for skiing and running – the only thing it doesnt do thats a little annoying is pace – min/km

for all the running i do its a non event and its not training its purely a mind emptier when im working away on projects.

“

Seems to export to tcx ok – I’ve just tried it. Will see how easy it is to get the tcx onto the Garmin this affy.

“

open garmin like a data stick – find the folder “newfiles” stick it in there … unplug garmin cycle to the menus screen adn select training/courses/your tcx file/follow course.

Cheers TR. I was hoping it’s going to be that easy. 🙂

Could be. What phone is it? Might be worth checking for known issues.

it might also just not like getting shaken about on a ride (loose wire?)

It’s a Sony Xperia Active – so supposedly quite rugged. I’ve looked on the web on a few occassions for any known issues, but not come up with much.

Hi guys, was going to post a gps question on here but this thread kinda answers a lot of what I was unsure about.
My riding friends have recently started using strava via iphone. Having a windows phone I have to use Endomondo and transfer the file to Strava. This seemed to work fine and was very simple. I was quite pleased. BUT I’m now not so sure about the results. For example
The distance when viewed on Endomondo is far less than I know it to be and when I import the gpx to Strava it shows as a more realistic distance (meaning that when I’m out on a ride, looking at endomondo for realtime info is pointless). Another issue is that the ride pauses and unpauses when I’m still moving and I think this is giving me better results than I actually deserve. Last night I scored my best time ever on a local climb but I’d be very surprised is this was actually the case.
Are there known issues with using endomondo and transferring to strava, windows phone endomondo etc?

Is a new phone out of the question? Are you determined to have a dedicated device? I’ve been using Motion X on an iPhone 4 for over 200 hours of riding and have not suffered any problems with the phone crashing…on and off road.

Another issue is that the ride pauses and unpauses when I’m still moving and I think this is giving me better results than I actually deserve.

Yeah this can happen if you are riding quite slowly (i.e. up a steep hill) – you can turn off Auto-Pause in the Settings.

Annoyingly mine never seems to auto-pause when I’m genuinely stopped at traffic lights. It only seems to kick in to taunt me as I’m crawling up a hill in granny ring. 😕

Difference in distance could be due to it filtering and straightening out the track a little. Is it a particularly wiggly route?

Graham, thanks. Yep, it’s steep hills where I’m going slow (the shame) but I’d like to keep the auto pause on. First time I went out with it off my times were ridiculous due to the talk (breather) stops. It just seems that “workout paused” “workout resumed” is constantly sounding off and I’m not THAT slow.
The distance thing is a little harder to fathom. The endomondo distances can be half of the Strava distance off of the same gpx file. We’ll have biked a trail I know to be a certain distance and endomondo will show much less. Like I say, it makes looking at the endomondo data just pointless.

I was looking at alternatives but they all seem so expensive. The attraction of the apps is they’re free but it looks like I’m getting what I pay for whilst my iphone pals are smuggly getting better results.

It just seems that “workout paused” “workout resumed” is constantly sounding off and I’m not THAT slow.

Yep – same problem here.

You might want to add your voice to the complaints here:
https://getsatisfaction.com/endomondo/topics/what_is_auto_pause_and_how_does_it_work

The endomondo distances can be half of the Strava distance off of the same gpx file.

Blimey. Different apps will interpret the GPX data slightly differently (as they all need to filter out the 10m wobble of GPS fix) but I’ve never seen THAT big a difference (though I am also on iPhone).

Have you tried sticking it into any other GPX viewers. e.g. http://utrack.crempa.net/

Edge 200 will happily take a GPX file (and a few other formats I think) in the /newfiles directory and do the conversion itself.

It’s great at just recording rides too – quick GPS acquisition and the tracks seem very accurate.

It’s a Sony Xperia Active – so supposedly quite rugged. I’ve looked on the web on a few occassions for any known issues, but not come up with much.

Billy my Experia nano does exactly the same..totally random..however i have found one programm that it is reliable with and thats open gps tracker its good and has never crashed tracking..

ive tried many including mapman, orux, my tracks and a few more..no idea why but the open gps works..

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.sogeti.android.gpstracker&hl=en

ironically i was thinking of getting the active to replace my nano but wont now….

i do have an garmin oregon too tend to use that for MTB and phone for trackin road rides and to get files on you just drag and drop to the GPX folder on the device when plugged in
EHM

[*]Update – have used Garmin 500 a few times now. Seems to work well. For road cycles I load my GPX (created coarsely in memorymap) into MapMyRide. It can then snap the route to the roads. Then I export as GPX (just save over the original file) and load into Garmin for verifying and sending to the GPS.

Post ride I only import to MapMyRide. Seems to work well.

Tried to log support with Garmin … Even their website doesn’t work!!! How good is that!

Anybody got any experience of the BRYTON gps devices.?

In comparison to garmin .

Just found this:

http://www.followmee.com

Looks great: basic interface, no friend finding nonsense, uploads your location to a server, allows sharing by url or a custom iframe and it lets you configure a geo-fence which sends an email on exit or entry i.e. The free version updates your location to the web every 30 mins or the paid for version (£1.99) allows you to update more frequently.

Not tried it in anger yet but for me it’s the most promising so far.