Does anyone recommend a cheap GPS unit for strava ? All i want is a decent GPS signal and recording data which can then be exported/uploaded to Strava.

I normally use my HTC or Iphone, but getting sick of Strava draining the battery when out for mega rides… The HTC copes better with battery life than the iphone, (Bluetooth, wifi etc all disabled) but the GPS on the HTC is patchy and misses out many segments.

Cheers.

external battery pack for your phone would be cheaper.

how mega anyway? i get 5-6 hours from my iphone.

Depends what you mean by cheap. Garmin Edge 200 under £90 and IME 100% reliable. Possibly not perfect for MTB though due to resolution issues.

Or as above, external battery for a few quid on eBay, or spend the money on phone upgrade. I did 4.5 hours with my iPhone 5 at the weekend and still had about 30% battery left.

What constitutes cheap? I might be selling an Edge 200 which is pretty ideal. £50 posted?

edit: I’ve done 15 hours on it and still had life left by the by.

Well.. on the HTC, I have a spare battery and take it some times, but the ride splits into 2 segments as i upload before swapping battery’s. … (2100ah)

Iphone 4, 5 hours running time results in 10% – 5% battery left or flat.

I have found myself taking both phones out in the event that one drains and I need to call someone!!

Cheers lemonysam – I will take a look online at them first.

The unit will be mainly used offroad and live in a bag if that makes any difference… plus plenty of valleys..

(I find the battery drain is also caused by the mobile phone searching for signal too, so sometimes disable that too!!)

Cheers

I don’t think you’ll beat that Edge 200 for £50 tbf! I tracked a 10 hour ride 2 weeks ago and my nexus 4 still had life left at the end.

Thanks for the input guys – will have a think.

Cheers

Had a cateye stealth 10 for 6 months and been ok.

Records at 1sec intervals but won’t do directions etc. Simply records with speed, distance, average, max etc.

You can get it for 65-75 pounds. Only negative is on the odd occasion it has taken about 2mins to get a signal. But never lost it one locked on

Also has direct strava upload in the software

Have you got the latest Strava iPhone app?
I’ve noticed that recently, I’m getting roughly double the battery on mine for GPS. Was limited to 3 hours before.
iOS 5 with latest Strava.

I originally used one of those “igotu’ loggers from maplin. They have a fancier version now for £39.99. When I used mine for all day rides, it lasted great, three full days around the alps and I do think it might be more accurate than my sony phone as uploaded rides tend to find more segments. Migh just be my phone though.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/gps-travel-tracker-227620

I’ve used that for years. Dead simple one button operation. Press and hold it for a few seconds to start recording. Press and hold it to stop recording. Plug it into a pc, export the gpx route, upload it to Strava. Battery life is amazing. Something like 70 hours out of a single charge.

Holux GPSport 260

Or put your phone in Airplane mode, to make the battery last much longer

@LemonySam – I’d be very interested in the Edge 200 if you are willing to sell – my email is in my profile.

Sorry for the hijack

Cheers

I got a s/h foreunner for 25 quid in the classifieds

perfect

At £40 for a device that can only do route recording getting a used Edge 200, or paying the extra to get a new one seems a no-brainer imho. Having it’s other bike computer features, convenience, weatherproofing, etc is well worth it.

I use a cheap forerunner (110), lasts ~8 hours on a full charge and can be used off the bike (running for example). FWIW I reckon that something on a wrist/bar mount would be a bit more accurate than stashed in a bag.

Did you miss this thread ?

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

£38 for a defy mini from tescos, job done

I use a HTC Hero with mmtracker app.
I have got a double-size battery in it.
I turn airplane mode on to disable network conenctions. I get about 6 hours with the display on max brightnessn and about 12 with the display off, just for tracking.

Or connect it to my dynamo hub for multi-day life.

I have been looking at GPS watched from dealextreme though. About £50 for very lightweight trackign device. They actually have a unit for about £25 which is just a tracker, not even a watch.

Been using a Bryton 20 for a year or so + rate it. It’s tiny, cost £80 and will talk to ANT+ heart rate/speed+cadence sensors if needs be (speed+cadence being useful in wooded areas/valleys, found distances wrong due to dropped signal otherwise). Had ~20 hours battery out of it before.

Seem to remember spec-wise being somewhere between a Garmin 200 and 500…

FWIW my Edge 200 was terrible and could barely cope with my ride to work in the morning. Got the first one replaced under warranty and the 2nd was just as bad. Side-side with a Forerunner 110, the Forerunner would track perfectly whilst the edge just used some straight lines and guesswork

Just get an Edge 200. It’s a great device and mine acquires GPS so much faster than my 500. For off-road it is all I use. On road, it’s relegated to Son1. But the user interface is excellent. At £50 used, it’s a bargain!!!

And I swopped cases as the 200 is a better colour and the button labelling is more consistent and legible.

Cheers for all the comments and suggestions guys.

I will have a read through the above and take a look online.

My only requirements is really recording the route without GPS dropping out, (which both my iphone and HTC do. (Iphone4)

Thanks

@LemonySam – I’d be very interested in the Edge 200 if you are willing to sell – my email is in my profile.

I’ll dig it out tonight (it’s been in a box for the last few months but works absolutely fine) and give it a once over then drop you an email later.