Basically, can I use my Samsung galaxy to record my rides and give me the ‘tale of the tape’ in terms of things like distance, average speed, top speed and ascent? And also map them onto something that shows the ride on an OS background?

Apologies if this is totally inept of me. I went a good couple of months before being able to even use this phone properly to make and answer calls, so be gentle………….

Yes you definitely can, vist google play and take a look at:

Strava
Endmondo
Map my ride
Sportstracker

And I’m sure there will be a fair few other suggestions…

Viewranger does all of the above as well

battery life can be an issue if not fully charged and out for more than half a day
(I’ve used sports-tracker for a few years as it originally came free on Nokia phones and have stuck with it, I like the bit that shows where you took pictures)

its not so great to have no mobile when you may really need it and no stats to back up your claim that you didn’t get lost

I bought a bigger battery for mine cheap on ebay but lasts same time as the standard battery that comes with the phone – well what did I expect?

also somewhere got one of those small stick type chargers to charge on the go now that works but only if I can find where i’ve put it, has gone awol

I use Strava on my Galaxy. Battery life isn’t much of an issue in my experience; if you drag your finger straight down from the top of the screen, you get the options to switch off things like your wifi and bluetooth. This can drastically extend your battery life. The longest activity i’ve recorded on mine is 6:25, and the battery wasn’t an issue.

Strava is free and does all the things you mention. As above, there are other options such as Endomondo and Runkeeper.

I’m trying to install the Samsung app version of mapmyride and the damn thing has nearly gone against the wall three times. Luckily my mrs has the patience for this kind of thing.

I tried using Strava on my Galaxy S3 Mini. Totally rubbish. It only picked up my location at random intervals, so my route appeared as a few dots joined together by straight lines 🙄

It appears I now have the ‘app’ on my phone, I’ve just got to work out how to use the damned thing now.

I don’t know what has happened to me. Ten years ago I used to have quite good ‘feel’ when it came to PCs and problems etc. Despite not having any IT experience whatsoever, it didn’t seem to take too long to be familiar enough with things to kind of know where the problem lay. Now, with touch screen and android devices I just don’t know where to start! Where’s the drop down menu? Where’s the help function?

All of a sudden I feel like a pensioner, maybe I need one of those ‘internet eagles’!

Thanks for the suggestions on here. Hopefully I’ll figure it out before I do my usual trick of declaring it simply too onerous and a waste of time………

P.S. Managed to cut my fork steerer perfectly the is morning, cutting guide, hacksaw and a nice easy action. Didn’t even need filing off on the edges. It is so much easier when you can see and touch the thing you are trying to work with!

dannyh – Member

I’m trying to install the Samsung app version of mapmyride

had an email yesterday (‘ish) that I think that said mapmyride had been bought out by underarmour along with myrun etc etc not sure what that means in terms of user support – I’ve used mapmyride for a few years as very good on ascent and total distance and sometimes I can find other peoples rides that make sense – never got the the mobile versions to work though 🙁

I tried using Strava on my Galaxy S3 Mini. Totally rubbish. It only picked up my location at random intervals, so my route appeared as a few dots joined together by straight lines

Did you have the GPS switched on? Strava on my Galaxy phones (had S3, then S4, now Note3) has been very accurate.

here is the email ref mapmyride changing ownership

my relationship is pretty relaxed – if things get very complicated I met get even more relaxed

Introducing Under Armour Connected Fitness
A few months ago we revealed MapMyFitness was joining the Under Armour team. Today we are proud to announce our transition into Under Armour Connected Fitness, bringing together all of your favorite MapMyFitness and Under Armour products and services. Here’s what this transition means for you:
• Soon your MapMyFitness account will be converted to an Under Armour Account, allowing you to enjoy the full suite of Under Armour Connected Fitness products and services (including MapMyFitness, MapMyRun, MapMyWalk, MapMyRide, MapMyHike, UA.com and iwillwhatiwant.com) through a single method of sign-on.
• With the launch of the UA Account, you’ll need to review and accept the new Under Armour Connected Fitness Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Statement in order to use the suite of Under Armour Connected Fitness products or services, including the current MapMyFitness websites and apps.
• In the near future, upon your first login you will be required to review and accept the new Under Armour Connected Fitness Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Statement. Once accepted, any user information or content you have shared with MapMyFitness will also be shared and available to Under Armour.
We love that you’re with us for these exciting times and can’t wait to deliver an even better experience to you and all our members. Your privacy and data protection is incredibly important to us. For more information about Under Armour Connected Fitness and your new UA Account, click here.

Sam – Member
I tried using Strava on my Galaxy S3 Mini. Totally rubbish. It only picked up my location at random intervals, so my route appeared as a few dots joined together by straight lines
Did you have the GPS switched on? Strava on my Galaxy phones (had S3, then S4, now Note3) has been very accurate.

Yeah, defo switched on. Other people seem to complain about the GPS on the S3 Mini too (but then people always complain 😆 )

Just got an xpedia z2 after using sports tracker and strava together on my galaxy s2 for a bit over two years…

Looking forwards to trying a more ‘current’ phone with strava, and pairing a hrm.

I find most android devices pretty intuative now, I am not keen on my missus iPhone, and despite her insistence, I know she can’t drive the bloody thing, because she keeps asking me to sort it out for her…

Some people simply aren’t patient enough to fanny about with a phone all day, nor should they have to be really, if you’re not able to navigate an apps functions within ten minutes of installation, then they’ve failed, strava sort of wins on the “noddy factor” IMO, its about the simplest one to use.

I still use sports tracker too as it has all my activities from the old symbian Nokia I was using ~five years ago and as an on the bars cycle computer its perfect…

For the OS overlay bit, I use Strava to map the ride, the on laptop, I use veloviewer map overlay to switch the background to OS mapping. This used to work for Endomondo as well I’m sure, but no longer..