Cadence Sensor for Android Phones

[il padrone]

On the point of case protection, checkout the otterbox defender series. They cost a fair bit but if peace of mind is important they'd be entirely worth it. Complete water and shock solution

Hmm....

For my Samsung Galaxy S2, only the commuter model available - $34.95. No bicycle mount in sight.

Case provides added protection against bump and shock. This case is NOT protective against water

It's not always so easy to find that protection solution, and it costs.

[irrelevant_apple]

Hmm....

For my Samsung Galaxy S2, only the commuter model available - $34.95. No bicycle mount in sight.

something like a quad lock comes recommended for security.

there may be similar case for the s2. But that's lacking bt4 and ant+ so you'll need dongle and a kernel mod to support it.

the solutions are here and there and coming. Mix and matching required it seems. The devices weren't even possible not long ago so they just need more time to develop into more attractive solutions. The xperia active is ant+ waterproof with altimeter. Only issue is it's 2011 and related specs. There's the s4 active variant that's lcd, waterproof and has altimeter, ant+ unsure about though but BLE with 4.3 update viable.

[RonK]

But there's the solution for me - I'll just throw out the computer and GPS that I already have and buy a new battery extender, and buy some sort of bodge-job weather protection, for the phone that was never designed to be a durable cycle computer

Ah, but the discussion is not about you. It's about the original post.

Since you don't know how the OP wants to use his electronics, you can hardly insist that only your way will work.

For example, on tour I want a single device that can log my cycling stats, navigate, play music or read a book to me, and provide comms and internet access. I can only maintain one battery which I'll keep charged with a dynamohub. Waterproof and shockproof cases and mounts for my smartphone are commonplace, as are wireless sensors. This solution works perfectly for me, and it may work for the OP, depend on how he wants to use his gear.

[il padrone]

Ah, but the discussion is not about you. It's about the original post.

Granted, I'll agree with you on this.

But it's you that told me that I'm a masochist

[foo on patrol]

Ah, but the discussion is not about you. It's about the original post.

Granted, I'll agree with you on this.

But it's you that told me that I'm a masochist

Nothing wrong with pain enjoyment.

Foo

[irrelevant_apple]

here's some screenshots no one requested. Details and descriptions in this album, please read for related information https://plus.google.com/photos/10273041 ... I_m8pazyQE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note the distance and climb rate colour match incline but should be purple to differentiate, just didn't realise I set it wrong. The plot can't be fully understood because of that. I should probably remove either Kcal or kJ... I haven't tested recording video while riding yet and i'm waiting on an external charger before I can take shots of the hardware setup. I can share when possible if anyone's interested?

[jimh]

For Android It's bit of a mess atm, you can get:
ANT HRM straps
bluetooth HRM's
dongles for ANT+ if you really must use your phone all of them will really chew through your phone battery.

If you can wait and want to get an android phone with bluetooth 4 / smart / ble in the spec and somebody like strava or wahoo to get their android apps updated to support the new bluetooth protocol you would have the equivalent of what's already available for the newer iphones. (check out wahoo fitness website)

on a side note - I read somewhere of an app that utilises the sensors of the phone and by strapping the phone to your thigh or shoving it up your knicks it can measure cadence as you pedal it goes from horizontal to vertical .. it would be kind've difficult to read it though.

Personally, I'd just get a bike computer.

[djw47]

There are battery power solutions... as well as water and shockproof solutions. In terms of being half arsed, I believe it is a rather complete all in one instead. It serves as my music player, computer, voice navigation and emergency light and video recording if needed.

The functions of ipbike do exactly what I need. A bonus is being able to voice nav Google cycling directions overlayed with computer data still visible with PA Halo mod. Likewise the app Osmand allows offline Open Street Map data with .gpx voice nav or basic offline route calculation too. The internal space is 32gb so music storage and light video recording is possible. The video is 1080p 30fps 12mbit, with actual quality among the top phones so definitely good enough for basic usage.

In my case in fact the phone isn't any longer a phone. I have an S3 I didn't want to mount as to not degrade the amoled with continous running in sunlight. The gnex was imported from eBay USA with CDMA spec so no cell use here even if I wanted. They go for well under $100 if you can find reasonable shipping. Not that I'd recommend it to just anyone, you need some reading on how to setup the software and it does take some time to get everything how you want it. That said I like tweaking and customising so in fact that's a draw for me.

I did consider the purpose built alternative but preferred the phone technology. In some ways it's superior and unique but with the shortcomings of power consumption and fragility, which as I mentioned can be worked around. Once complete I believe it's easy to use with the shortcomings only a small hassle. Like it or not the smartphones have the tech now and it should improve as it matures.

Anybody using a smartphone as a mounted bike computer is mental - one rogue bump or splash and that expensive all-in-one device you mention is wrecked. If you don't have it mounted, it's no use as a bike computer.

[teK--]

Just buy a Garmin Edge 500 they are dirt cheap now on runout.

[rjk]

i was at the bike show in melb and at the thule stand they were showing wetherproof cases that mounted to your bars for your tablet device add a bluetooth HRM to it and the only thing missing would be your cadance sensor

[jandb]

I'd like to resurrect this post. Wahoo now have an Android app in beta which connects via bluetooth to an Android phone running android v 4.3 ('Jellybean') & above. I think the reason it's restricted to later versions of Android is due to the introduction of a the newer tech Bluetooth Smart/Bluetooth Low Energy available from Android 4.3 onwards. For those that don't want to carry 2 devices. Will be interesting to see what impact on phone battery life.

I was able to get the beta version of the App here: http://support.wahoofitness.com/categor ... droid-Beta" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Wahoo cadence sensor & heart rate monitors are available from Wahoo online or via the Apple store - $70 & $80 respectively. Have ordered the cadence sensor & hope to have it up & running in a few days.

[jandb]

Further to my note above, if your phone hasn't received the Android 4.3 update yet, a the telco's are supposedly in the process of releasing Android 4.3 updates to a number of existing phones. If you can't wait for this then you can try what I just did which is root your phone & install a custom os. I hadn't done this before but managed to work it out - so far no problems after 2 days.

[petie]

Thought I'd thread dig a little. Just switched over to an Xperia Z1 Compact which is both ant+ and Bluetooth 4 compatible. Does anyone have an data on which protocol is more energy efficient and/or more reliable? Tossing up between buying some sensors (hrm and cadence) or computer and realized I have a fair few options just with the sensors....!

[rjk]

the xperia m2 dual sim is also ant+

http://www.thisisant.com/directory/xperia-m2

[SheikYerbouti]

Thought I'd thread dig a little. Just switched over to an Xperia Z1 Compact which is both ant+ and Bluetooth 4 compatible. Does anyone have an data on which protocol is more energy efficient and/or more reliable? Tossing up between buying some sensors (hrm and cadence) or computer and realized I have a fair few options just with the sensors....!

Without any protocol data, maybe consider the ANT+ sensors as they can be used with a wider range of devices. If you want to change from phone to a Magellan/Garmin/etc bike computer later, the sensors will work fine. The BT sensors will only be good for smartphone solutions.

Update: so some bike computers have BT4.0 too, I didn't realise: http://www.bikeradar.com/au/gear/catego ... 5hc-48539/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[casual_cyclist]

Thought I'd thread dig a little. Just switched over to an Xperia Z1 Compact which is both ant+ and Bluetooth 4 compatible. Does anyone have an data on which protocol is more energy efficient and/or more reliable? Tossing up between buying some sensors (hrm and cadence) or computer and realized I have a fair few options just with the sensors....!

Without any protocol data, maybe consider the ANT+ sensors as they can be used with a wider range of devices. If you want to change from phone to a Magellan/Garmin/etc bike computer later, the sensors will work fine. The BT sensors will only be good for smartphone solutions.

Update: so some bike computers have BT4.0 too, I didn't realise: http://www.bikeradar.com/au/gear/catego ... 5hc-48539/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I investigated this too. The samsung galaxy note 3 supports ANT+ but I came to the conclusion as those above: too risky to mount a $700 phone, battery life, lack of call ability etc.

A garmin 500 edge premium bundle from 99 bikes is only $249. Pretty cheap really, so I just bought that.

http://99bikes.com.au/catalogsearch/res ... ium+bundle" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you already have the sensors it's even cheaper to just buy the head unit... $175

http://99bikes.com.au/computer-garmin-e ... -head-unit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[petie]

Yeah the more I investigate the crazier it sounds. Cheapest heart rate strap is around $60, with cadence and speed about the same. Might as well buy a cyclo 105 or edge 501 bundle for another $100ish. The only issue then it's whether mapping is useful enough to stump up for a cyclo 505 or edge 810...?