Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Phone on the Bars?
  • cookeaa
    Full Member

    So I’ve acquired a new mobile (Nokia 5230) which I plan to be using with sports tracker and the like on my bikes and possibly for running also.

    My main concern at the minute is mounting it on the bars and weather proofing the thing (I fancy a bit of on the go statistical nonsense you see).

    There seem to be a few rather clunky generic bar mounts available for phones, and up to now my old mobile which has always lived in a storage bottle or pack has been cling-filmed to be twice as sure it keeps the wet out, but if I want to the new’un as a poor man’s Garmin are there any useful accessories that will make up for the obvious short coming of it being a phone and hence not exactly the most robust, “outdoorsy” device…
    Ideally I’d love some sort of water tight silicon or PU sleeve that somehow integrates a secure bar mount and doesn’t weight too much either (and the moon on a stick please)…

    Advice and/or experiences please….

    ajf
    Free Member
    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Hmmm, The Boxit was one of the “Clunky” products I’d already looked at, reviews for the case are good but the bar mount is apparently total ****…

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    funkynick
    Full Member

    Unless they have updated it lots, I'm not sure the Nokia Sportstracker software is really what you want. It was fine for keeping track of where you have been, but no good for trying to navigate with.

    The other option would be to run something like Viewranger, but you then need to buy OS maps for it.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Nah I just want to log my rides really, not navigate, maybe have a look at my pace/position as I go.
    I've downloaded Sports tracker and Endomondo, both seem to give current position and a few other bits of information, plus they both seem to be HR monitor/cadence sensor compatible now if I want to buy some extra toys at a later date, just wanted something that would cover the basic functions of a Garmin 305, without the Garmin price tag, obviously a compromise but not a Massive one really…

    If I get to the stage of wanting a full blown navigation toy then maybe I'll look at other software like Viewranger, and I think OS maping could well be handy, but for now sports tracker should just do the job I need for relativly little spend… Cheers

    ooOOoo
    Free Member

    There's a nice iphone case for the fitting on the bars, but nothing decent I've seen for the rest of us.
    The problem with bar mount on a MTB is shock & vibration I reckon. Can the PCB and components stand up to hours of being vibrated?

    Make the mount too flexy, and it will absorb shocks but be too spongy when you press the buttons/touchscreen. Very annoying. Too stiff and it will be nicer to use but may allow damage to the phone.

    I bought this nokia 5500 years ago. It was designed to be shock/water resistant, and on the bars it's survived no problem. Came with a clip that fitted perfectly. A great solution for MTB. The main downside is using Viewranger on a 2" screen!

    I have yet to see anyone who has fitted a big touchscreen to a MTB with no problems.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    I could wind up going back to the Clingfilm/neoprene pouch method at this rate, I don’t really want bad weather to dictate when I take the phone out for a ride as I’d like to log as much as possible to keep track of my exercise (or lack of) over winter….

    I guess reading information on screen, on the move isn’t the be all/end all, but it would be nice to do away with the old bar mounted computer and just have one device to carry, I always take a mobile anyway so now I have GPS integrated and some free MBs for maps etc it seems like a good idea to use my free phone and the available free Apps and see just how effective they really are, before spending out on a Garmin, Satmap device or the like…

    I might try a Boxit, I might see what else I can adapt and/or bodge for myself… Thanks for the pointers all…

    racing_ralph
    Free Member

    YGM re garmin 305

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

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