I have a fitness app, Strava, to track my rides. I keep my phone in the pocket of my jersey, so that absorbs the bumps well enough. I ride the same route all the time, so don’t usually need help navigating.
Lately I’ve been branching out and trying new routes, and I’m planning a couple longer rides next summer. It’d be nice to put the phone on my handlebars so I can plan a route and have a map in case of detours.
I’m sure I’ll figure out something.
ETA: I’m not sure what size sim card is in my old phone. It’s a Galaxy S5, which tells you how old it is. It’s slow, but Google Maps still runs on it. I’m wondering if I can delete all the apps I don’t need anymore, and get better performance from the ones that are left.
Hmm, does Google Maps require a continuous cellular connection? I could plan a route while I’m at home (where the phone will have wifi), and then as long as it has a GPS signal the navigation should still work.
The main thing Maps needs from a live data connection is downloading map segments, but it caches those on the phone for a while. The other things it needs are more conditional. I think it needs access to do route planning, which it does dynamically based on current information (for stuff like current road closures).
Maybe I’ll try it and see what happens. Or I could set up my new phone as a mobile hotspot, carry it in my jersey, and the old phone on the handlebars; although that seems like overkill just for a bike ride.
Setting up a mobile hotspot on the phone is really easy, I wouldn’t worry about it. You could then try something fun like getting a ruggedized case for your old phone and a mount like one of these - designed to mount your phone to the bike. Much cheaper than any of the smartwatch options I mentioned, and all are one-time purchases with no monthly fees.
I’ve seen those. Even assuming they stay attached to the bike, every bump the front wheel hits will be transmitted straight to the phone. One pothole could do a lot of damage.
I’m not one of those riders who spends a fortune on titanium parts just to save a few grams, but I do like to travel light when I’m riding. A second phone won’t make much difference, but if I carried every nice-to-have accessory on my rides they would add up.
And now we know! Just trying to give options based on the information given to date.
At least for me, I’m trying to dial in what you want, and more info makes it easier. I’m guessing then that really, you just want to be able to figure out where you are while trying new routes and don’t want to be out a lot of $$$ if you drop the phone while doing so, rather than having any sort of live/easy-to-view interface.
Given that you’re already carrying a phone in a pocket, then yeah, go with a Bluetooth only smartwatch that can do a quick navigation if you need it, and perhaps even other health functions (mine does heart rate and quite a few others which may further inform your current app).
My old bike computer stopped working this year, so I bought a new one with GPS. That can do navigation, but the screen is small and the contrast isn’t great. And I don’t wear my glasses when I ride. I can read the speed and distance on it, but not much more. That might be a problem with a smartwatch, too; a small display like that might be too hard to read.
In a way, I’m not really looking for a way to navigate on my bicycle. I got by with just a speedometer for years. I think it’s more that I have the old phone and I’m looking for something to use it for. It’s still a decent piece of technology, and under the screen protector and the case, there’s barely a scratch on it. There’s got to be something I can use it for, otherwise it’s just an expensive paperweight.
Oh, that’s a very good point, the resell value on phones being practically nothing and all. So, this is what I do when I’m not cheesing various trade in deals.
Spare - this is obvious, but as you said, sometimes you don’t want to take your nice phone someplace where it could get damaged. So I have swapped SIMs and used when being taken to the beach, backpacking, and (in one case) internationally. Since it was unlocked, I just purchased a local pre-paid SIM and used it w/out having to pay international rates to my carrier.
Web-cam / Video-conference unit - During the early days of COVID lockdowns, getting webcams got painful. So I set up my old phone on wifi-only, and set it up as a Skype/Zoom box after kludging it to my desk with a clamp.
Wireless router for remote locations - this one only applies if you have a spare line (I got one free on a promo from T-Mobile). I set up an old phone at my FiL shop, and just left it plugged in as a mobile hotspot. 10G a month takes care of him just fine, and even allows him to use his low resolution security cameras (Arlo brand) remotely.
Dash Cam / Car GPS - you’ll need to have a mount (and don’t leave it in the car), but you can use an old phone as a dashcam or dedicated in car GPS.
Voice activated music station - this one was the most fun for me prior to echo dots being so darn cheap. Set up Amazon music or other app with voice controls, and plug in a decent set of speakers/bluetooth speakers. Now you have an echo dot equivalent to put wherever. Between ‘hey Google’ and music apps, it works reasonably well for quick info and music on demand. But only if you have a spare phone and speaker. Otherwise just get a last generation Echo.
There are also a ton of other suggestions out there on the web, but these are things I (or friends) have done with their old systems. You may find they’re all more trouble than they’re worth other than the first - but the fiddling involved in a SIM swap sometimes leaves people just trusting to luck with their main phone.
I’ve had the new phone for a couple weeks now. I’m quite happy with it, but I’m still getting it set up and trying new things.
I have a couple questions about notifications. I don’t get a lot of calls and messages, but when I do, I’d like the phone to let me know about them. But the best way to get my attention changes depending on where I am. At home, I usually leave the phone sitting next to my bed, so I want it to make a noise. When I go out, the phone will be in my pocket, so I want it to vibrate, but not make any noise. And when I’m in a movie and can’t use the phone, I want it to do neither one.
Is there any way to make this happen easily? My old Galaxy had a simple feature to toggle between noise, vibrate, and silent. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked well enough. This was so useful that I find it hard to believe my new phone doesn’t have something similar. If it does, I can’t find it. There’s a “do not disturb” setting, but that’s not what I want. And there’s a dizzying array of notification settings (none of which look useful to me), but they seem to be tied to each individual app. I don’t want to have to turn each app’s notifications on and off whenever I put the phone in my pocket.
So how does everyone else handle this? Do you keep the phone in your pocket, or close at hand, even when you’re at home? Is there an app that can easily switch between home mode, pocket mode, and theater mode?