So, my local road club are setting up a ‘Strava league’. There are some set routes with points for certain times and pbs around them and bonus points available for total miles.
Trouble is I don’t use starva. I have heard of it and have a vauge idea what it is but am a complete technophobe.
I guess I’m going to have to get.
I assume that I need to purchase a GPS system of some sort to join in (nothing like this on my telephone and don;t want to change that) Any recomendations for ones which are a) very easy to use and b) fairly cheap to buy, two figures is better than three obviously. Biggest battery life is a selling point, must be able to go 24hrs+ of continous use without recharging and one with an automatic stop/start would be good (ie, it knows when I’m moving and stops recording when I’m not)
Are there ones which know if I’m on a timed section (KOM I beleive?)and can tell me so to make me go faster or do I only find out when I get home and download it?
Other than buying the gadget what else do I need to know?

must be able to go 24hrs+ of continous use without recharging

not sure about that one – do you really need that long ?

If all you need is a GPS device capable of recording your rides – they will all do this I imagine – buy the cheapest one you can find.

I bought a Bryton (rip-off of a garmin effectively) that I quite like but I use it as bike computer too, which I guess you don’t need

See if you can find clubber’s thread about “making your own”

Edit: Not clubber after all

two figures is better than three obviously

[url=http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/garmin-etrex-10/rp-prod75726?_$ja=tsid:46412|cgn:Garmin+-+GPS|cn:Chain+Reaction-UK-PLA-PLA-All-DT-SE|kw:292245UK_Garmin+eTrex+10&gclid=CKqEsuDly7oCFY7HtAod-0EAYg]garmin, way more than you need[/url]
Bryton, likewise

Edge 200 is good for the bike.
Extra 10% if you order today so only 72.
Battery life won’t be 24 hours but you could connect an external battery.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=844087&categoryId=165741&langId=-1

@andrewh, on the basis you are not trolling ? Most people use Strava as an app on their smart phone, you say you are a technophobe what phone do you have ? I really wouldn’t buy a GPS just to do this. If you do buy the GPS you’ll have to connect to your computer to upload the data to Strava (a challenge for you ?). The phones do this bit automatically.

He clearly says he doesn’t have a smartphone and doesn’t want one. Considering they cost on par with the most expensive GPSs it’s an odd suggestion!

A GPS logger will be the cheapest way of doing it and will be fine for batteries, won’t give any sort of readout though. You’ll have to compromise on other bits to get that.

I’ve got a garmin edge 200 for that, it’s simple, stop starts on movement runs for days (not continual riding) and uploads to strava pretty easily all be it via a PC. It gives far better results than my iphone as far as accuracy goes. Sounds cock on for you and mine was about £70 so not too expensive.

Would say it’s not perfect though – the phone uploads much easier and it finds its signal straight from the front door. The edge 200 takes normally a k or so to sort itself out if I ride out of the door.

Another vote for an Edge 200. Less faff than an iphone.

@andrewh, on the basis you are not trolling ? Most people use Strava as an app on their smart phone, you say you are a technophobe what phone do you have ? I really wouldn’t buy a GPS just to do this. If you do buy the GPS you’ll have to connect to your computer to upload the data to Strava (a challenge for you ?). The phones do this bit automatically.

I’ve got a Sony something or other as my telephone. I’m sure it would be capable of doing it (fairly modern touch screen one) but I’m on a PAYG arrangement and spend about £30-40 a year and have no need to ‘upgrade’ to a contract one with a data connection and suchlike, and which would probably cost that a month. I’m happy to buy a GPS unit and use that.
I currently have a computer which does speed, distance, time etc via a little magnet on the front wheel. If I keep that then I could use the logger as njee suggests. Are these all compatible with Strava or does it prefer certain ones?
That Garmin Edge looks OK, I always thought they were more expensive than that. 24hrs battery on the Bryton which is good. Yes, I do need all of that, it’s not uncommon to visit people 140 miles away so it’s a long round trip, especially if I ride a bit while there and won’t have anywhere to charge it there (ie travlleing light and not wanting to be carrying the charger when I’m riding) I have mains power in the van so can recharge on holiday easily enough
Just off out now, I’ll read the clubber (or not clubber) thread when I get back.
Cheers for the info so far.

andrewh – if your phone has a GPS inside and can connect to the internet via wifi you don’t need anything else unless you feel the need to upload your rides earlier than when you’re next on wifi
Just download the strava cycling app and see how you go
You won’t get 24hrs out of it though, I think

Your phone GPS doesn’t need a data connection to function. You just record the ride then use your home Wi-Fi (assuming you have it) to upload the activity afterwards when you’re within range. Your phone may have the ability to turn off mobile data to be on the safe side if it’s something that concerns you.

I don’t believe there’s a way to let you know if you’re on a segment, some local knowledge is required for that but you’ll soon remember the ones you’re interested in. I think there is a new(ish) feature to check your time immediately after a known segment though you will almost certainly need a data connection for that.

The edge 200 takes normally a k or so to sort itself out if I ride out of the door.

This sounds unusual – Garmin does take longer than an iPhone but 30 seconds is normally enough; i.e. whilst putting on helmet, checking tyres etc. Do you live in a deep gorge?

An old smartphone’ll do the job nicely- no need to buy an expensive new one. I’m holding onto my old one as a spare but loads of people will have old models lying about I’m sure.

Yep, £30 second hand smart phone from eBay, no SIM card, just download strava, turn everything besides GPS off and away to go. Upload via Wi-Fi at home. Cheapest option, and really simple to use.

Bought the Garmin 200 as per Gravity Slave’s link, great advice.
Used it four times so far and it has been surprisingly simple, can’t see what I was worried about. Very impressed with both Garmin and Strava for ease of use.
Decided not to attempt to use my telephone as the battery on that really is terrible. My previous one would easily last a week, usually longer, on a single charge but unfortunately it suffered water damage while riding in a big storm and the new one is useless. If I don’t use it at all it will last about a day and a half and that’s with everything which can be switched off switched off.
I didn’t know external batteries existed but have seen a few on the google now with USB connections. Would these work for extending it’s range though, can you use it with one plugged in or are they just for recharging it when the device is off? I only ask as when it’s plugged into the mains charger it won’t do anything else, won’t even switch on.

what a plum, as numerous people said, your phone would do the job and you would not need to do anything except turn the GPS on then upload when you get home.

I have a sony and the battery on it lasts fine using it all day on gps/strava and taking photos, doing the usual

A bit harsh…

Anyway, you’ve got the Garmin now and I’m sure that’ll be fine. You can’t plug a battery in while using it though but battery life should mean you don’t need to.

Btw “my” thread is here :

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

@andrewh thanks for update, always interesting to hear about the final decision