Show Us Your Cockpits

[cyclingfool]

Inspired by a thread here earlier today and other similar ones I’ve seen on other cycling-related internet forums, I thought it would be fun to get a first person POV perspective on what people see from their bikes as they ride. It’s interesting to see what kind of handlebars people use, color of tape or grips, bells and of course all the lighting and GPS/bike computer gadgetry mounted on handlebars. Let us see what you see.

Here’s my view on my old Trek 830 drop bar converted MTB with a few generally superfluous labels added.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4840[/ATTACH]

[Phatboing]

@cyclingfool 78160 wrote:

Inspired by a thread here earlier today and other similar ones I’ve seen on other cycling-related internet forums, I thought it would be fun to get a first person POV perspective on what people see from their bikes as they ride. It’s interesting to see what kind of handlebars people use, color of tape or grips, bells and of course all the lighting and GPS/bike computer gadgetry mounted on handlebars. Let us see what you see.

Here’s my view on my old Trek 830 drop bar converted MTB with a few generally superfluous labels added.

How does the eTrex work as a bike computer? I keep waffling between getting an Edge or eTrex (the latter being the cheaper and more attractive option, natch).

[cyclingfool]

@Phatboing 78173 wrote:

How does the eTrex work as a bike computer? I keep waffling between getting an Edge or eTrex (the latter being the cheaper and more attractive option, natch).

I’ve been very pleased. I’ve never had or used an Edge so can’t make that comparison, but I do love my eTrex. I’d been computerless on my current bike since building it up in May, but prior to that, I had a Planet Bike Protege 9. which included a temperature sensor, which I do miss in the eTrex. Also missing are multiple odometers; there’s only one trip odometer and a lifetime odometer, generic to the unit Another minor con is that it doesn’t work like the Edge units with Strava in that you have to manually select gpx files to upload (it won’t sync automatically), but that’s minor as well in my book. It takes ten seconds to identify the gpx file(s) to upload. Backlight allows it be easily visible in the dark, which I had issues with on my Cateye and PB computers in the past. I’d be happy to answer other specific questions, if you have ’em. For me, the price was right, it was a pain using my phone to record rides between battery and accuracy issues, Freezing Saddles was coming up, and I had an REI gift card burning a hole in my pocket from the holidays and no other more compelling items to spend it on that REI had in stock or carried, so I plunked down the gift card to cover a good chunk of the cost of the eTrex and haven’t really looked back… just down at the GPS screen.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Little cramped on my FG due to lights, but that’s the burden of winter commuting:

[Dirt]

I tend to run my light UNDER the handlebars in order to reduce the clutter.

Kinda hard to see, but the bars are not too cluttered. 2 lights and a gps.

[Phatboing]

@cyclingfool 78182 wrote:

I’d be happy to answer other specific questions, if you have ’em.

Have you ever used it for navigation? What about planning rides with RideWithGPS and plunking them onto the etrex?

And in keeping with the thread, here’s my ode to clutter:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4846[/ATTACH]

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@Phatboing 78173 wrote:

How does the eTrex work as a bike computer? I keep waffling between getting an Edge or eTrex (the latter being the cheaper and more attractive option, natch).

I have both eTrex VISTA (which I used for mountaineering before I got the Oregon 650) and I have the Edge 810 for cycling and navigating on two wheels. I tried using the etrex for cycling–bought two kinds of handlebar mounts, and I can tell you there’s no question that the Edge is the way to go for cycling. I plan routes using ridewithgps, download to the Edge 810, then use the maps and displayed routes to help guide me (one example is on Strava art rides). I’m buying Garmin Euro maps for my Edge 810–for a week of bicycle touring in Spain with Karen B this summer–wouldn’t do it any other way!
Dave

[americancyclo]

@Fast Friendly Guy 78228 wrote:

I’m buying Garmin Euro maps for my Edge 810–for a week of bicycle touring in Spain with Karen B this summer–wouldn’t do it any other way!
Dave

Did you know you can get just as good (or better) maps for nearly any garmin for free?

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download

I used these maps to navigate around bermuda when we went a few years ago. handy to have nav without needing to pay for data roaming on the phone!
also use them here in the states to navigate for local rides.

happy to talk about it in another thread…more info here:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?3672-Using-a-GPS-to-guide-a-ride

[TwoWheelsDC]

@americancyclo 78232 wrote:

Did you know you can get just as good (or better) maps for nearly any garmin for free?

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download

I used these maps to navigate around bermuda when we went a few years ago. handy to have nav without needing to pay for data roaming on the phone!
also use them here in the states to navigate for local rides.

happy to talk about it in another thread…more info here:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?3672-Using-a-GPS-to-guide-a-ride

+1 OSM is all I’ve ever used with my 800, for rides in quite a few different states and the French Alps. Other than being free, the main benefit is that they are updated constantly (pretty much weekly, I think), so you can be much more confident that your GPS reflects the reality on the street.

[Phatboing]

@Fast Friendly Guy 78228 wrote:

I have both eTrex VISTA (which I used for mountaineering before I got the Oregon 650) and I have the Edge 810 for cycling and navigating on two wheels. I tried using the etrex for cycling–bought two kinds of handlebar mounts, and I can tell you there’s no question that the Edge is the way to go for cycling. I plan routes using ridewithgps, download to the Edge 810, then use the maps and displayed routes to help guide me (one example is on Strava art rides). I’m buying Garmin Euro maps for my Edge 810–for a week of bicycle touring in Spain with Karen B this summer–wouldn’t do it any other way!
Dave

Ah, thanks.

Spain! I’m very jealous now.

I’m leaning towards the Edge Touring, I think, if for no other reason than for the WSGFABR feature:

With round trip routing, you can tell Edge Touring how far you’d like to ride and then choose from up to 3 ride options that will bring you back to where you started.

[cyclingfool]

@Phatboing 78224 wrote:

Have you ever used it for navigation? What about planning rides with RideWithGPS and plunking them onto the etrex?

And in keeping with the thread, here’s my ode to clutter:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4846[/ATTACH]

Nice. 1x? setup I take it by the lack of a front shifter? Do you like those bars? Are they Salsa Woodchippers? They’ve always intrigued me.

As for the eTrex, I have not played around with navigation too much yet. It’s easy to drag and drop gpx files, say from RideWithGPS, and follow it as a track (which you can set up to give you audible warnings when you stray too far off the track [e.g., miss a turn, I presume], but that’s not exactly turn by turn direct from RWGPS. I’ve read about some workarounds that allow you to see distances to next waypoint, for instance, with waypoints at each turn, or even get some turn by turn instructions, but they usually involve BaseCamp or Training Center, so it’s not just a simple download situation either. IOW, pure simple turn by turn using tracks downloaded from RWGPS or similar are probably handled better by an Edge.

[rpiretti]

Pretty minimal as you can see. I try to avoid anything on the bars – my Busch and Mueller light is below the handlebar bag, this puts the light squarely on the road and gets away from blinding folks, the (loud) Crane bell is on the stem, my GPS system is on the top of the bag, cell phone and wallet holders are the two pockets on the bag that you see, rounded out by whiskey bottle bar plugs. (Americancyclo’s directions are still up because you know, it’s going to snow on into May).

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4847&d=1393339109[/IMG]

[Phatboing]

@cyclingfool 78244 wrote:

Nice. 1x? setup I take it by the lack of a front shifter? Do you like those bars? Are they Salsa Woodchippers? They’ve always intrigued me.

Technically, yeah – 5-speed IGH. The bars are indeed Woodchippers, and I love them, though less so on this bike. (They’re best when you use drops as the primary position, which I haven’t done here, and I’m not a fan of the way this setup feels when riding on the hoods)

@cyclingfool 78244 wrote:

As for the eTrex, I have not played around with navigation too much yet. It’s easy to drag and drop gpx files, say from RideWithGPS, and follow it as a track (which you can set up to give you audible warnings when you stray too far off the track [e.g., miss a turn, I presume], but that’s not exactly turn by turn direct from RWGPS. I’ve read about some workarounds that allow you to see distances to next waypoint, for instance, with waypoints at each turn, or even get some turn by turn instructions, but they usually involve BaseCamp or Training Center, so it’s not just a simple download situation either. IOW, pure simple turn by turn using tracks downloaded from RWGPS or similar are probably handled better by an Edge.

Thanks. The Edge Touring to smash together the best features of both the eTrex and the Edge, so I’m going to start convincing myself that throwing another $250 at bike things is just a standard everyday thing.

[cyclingfool]

@Phatboing 78246 wrote:

Thanks. The Edge Touring to smash together the best features of both the eTrex and the Edge, so I’m going to start convincing myself that throwing another $250 at bike things is just a standard everyday thing.

Yeah the Edge Touring looks REALLY nice and is probably more exactly what I need for cycling. Had I had a little more money to spend and done a little more research, I would maybe have gone that way. I’m happy with the eTrex so far, though, and have read enough positive reviews and experiences with it on cycling and even touring specific websites that I don’t second guess my purchase.

[cyclingfool]

@rpiretti (formerly Rando Guy) 78245 wrote:

my GPS system is on the top of the bag

That’s a sweet GPS. Great battery life, too, I bet.

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