After a recent trip to Southampton, where my phone didn’t give me good directions I’ve bought a cycle computer. Will I use it though?
Camera Affiliate Links. NOW USE CODE ‘ASHLEY’
Motorcycle, Bicycle and Equestrian – Techalogic – https://techalogic.co.uk/ashleyt3ck410gic14925467/?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Embedded+URL&utm_campaign=Ashley+Neal
Car – Viofo – https://viofouk.co.uk/ashleyv10f01621897/?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Embedded+URL&utm_campaign=Ashley+Neal
Motorcycle – Innov – https://innovv.co.uk/ashley1nn0v1370307/?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Embedded+URL&utm_campaign=Ashley+Neal
XNITO Cycle Helmets – xnito.com/ASHLEY137 Use code ‘ASHLEY137’ to recieve 10% off your order
27 Comments
Give it Half an hour, you will have comments about mirrors, colour of your clothing and how your pedals should be banned
Oh dear.
Ash is being sucked into all these childish accessories for their children's toy.
A bike is transport, A to B. Nothing more.
It is not a tour-de-france, peleton, stravia racing machine to see how fast one can go, or to beat ones personal journey time.
This just encourages all the lawless behaviour we see from the vast majority of bike riders.
On hi-ho's latest video, see the hate I got for saying when in the park on my bike, I stop for toddlers and children coming towards me. To allow them safe space to pass.
It is a park for fs, yet the bikey boys even there, will not slow for toddlers or children.
Only 1 cycle computer what is the world coming to.
How much is the computer? Google maps in bike terrain is very useful. An there are other apps available. I use CYCLERS 79.99 lfetime (I use the free version)
You could have used the N62 to walton hall park then used the roads to town
In a pinch, using the auto route function on bike computers are fine. But local knowledge is best where possible and planning a route beforehand is better.
I used my Wahoo to take me home a couple of times and it took me some completely random paths which technically are suitable for cyclists but in practice are completely unsuitable.
Some were really bad condition cycle paths like the one Ash rode, one very busy A road near Heathrow airport which was extremely scary with HGV's going at speed and some rough gravel paths.
So I try to plan a route where possible, especially the start and end of the route to go places I know where the better roads are. Nothing beats local knowledge.
What has the world come to? A taxi driver started slowing before you signaled and allowed you to move in front at 17:52
Glad I am sitting down watching this 🤣
Use my garmin for navigating gravel rides in conjunction with komoot.
We have one of the largest on shores on my doorstep as well as gravelfoyle.
Its vital for getting me from a to b without getting lost via f g t z and q.
A couple of suggestions, first if your bike can use wider tyres, it might be worth changing to the max width the frame can accommodate. They can be run at lower pressures which will be more comfortable over the bumpy Liverpool streets/cycle paths, you just need to be wary of pinch punctures.
And secondly, a cycling cap can help keep the sun out of your eyes. Especially when the sun is low in the sky at the beginning and end of day. I wear one every ride. Helps with sun, rain, wind and sweat. In the rain it will help keep the most of the rain off your eyes, or glasses. When wearing glasses, it will block the wind coming over the top of the frames, the wind can have dust particles or pollen, so glasses can help keep your vision clear or sunglasses the sun as well. For sweat, it will act as a sweat band and stop it getting into your eyes and in heavy sweating, the sweat will drip off the end of the peak instead of your eyes.
Bad luck mate, the mapping, battery life and UI got way better after that one. Edge 540, 830, 840, 1030, 1040, Explore 2, all better, All the v2 Wahoos as well.
I am not interested in how quickly I do a route, nor comparing to previous times have done the route or comparing to others who have done that route
So…if it could be setup to ignore all of that and simply be a navigation device that can also connect to other riding aids (rear radar for example) so there is less faff and fluff on the handlebars then all good. If it always wants to records the ride then…for me…sorry Garmin, you can stay in the shop
I prefer to be well away from vehicles towing, buses, HGV’s and vans
Only make sure I’ve been seen or pass well away from them as a car can do a great deal of damage, a bigger vehicle or small van with not fantastic mirrors don’t give me too much confidence knowing if I’ve been seen
Just got my ebike today. I don't have much experience riding a bike. I just learned last summer and i haven't been riding consistently. Tomorrow if weather permits i will try to ride it for the first time. It's a bit big for me and i would have to learn to manage the weight but i will get used to it. Will stay around the neighbourhood for a couple of days to get used to the bike and then i will attempt to ride it to the city.
I can't do clipless pedals either. Flats all the way. Never had a problem with them.
As others pointed out the symbol flashing is indicating that it is detecting you’re in motion but that you have not hit the bottom right button to actually start recording the ride speed, distance, etc. or you have accidentally hit it twice and paused the recording after you started it. It’s showing the route even though not “started” to be able to route you on from where ever you choose to start the route by hitting the button. Ah, you discovered that around the 15:00 mark into the video I see.
It also routes you by a database “heat map” of everyone else recording rides in your area. Thus revealing to you all the little local knowledge routing trick that used to only be secret knowledge!
Now that you have a cycling computer, the next step is to start using Strava. It is only then that you will understand what cycling is all about such as why a cyclist wont patiently wait behind a slow driver.
Hi Ashley, I’m not sure what settings you’ve used, but on the bike computer you can change the tracking settings for each activity profile.
On the main screen tap the settings icon (3 lines)
Select Activity profile (Road, e-bike, Off Road etc)
Select Timer.
There are 2 major settings here.
Auto Pause. (Off, When stopped, Custom).
By default the Timer Stops when the computer detects you are no longer moving, and starts again when you are moving at more than 6mph. This is why you see the pause and play icon appear in your display. In this mode the computer only shows the time in motion rather than the total journey time.
Pair this with the Garmin connect app on your mobile and use a pair of earbuds with pass through sounds and you can get audio directions rather than just beeps.
You can also change the Timer settings to automatically start when the computer detects you are above a certain speed or you can set it to start when you press the button on the unit
I use the voice navigation Without voice navigation i find the maps difficult to use. I use the open ear bone condition headphones called shokz…
They are bone conduction so you still hear all the outside sounds. I don't listen to music so the only prompts are the direction warnings from time to time. The voice prompts are so useful when paired with a decent route.
P.s. would recomend the route planning app ride with GPS.
Could be the auto pause?
I always have that function switched off
The cycle lanes continuing through a narrowing (e.g. pedestrian islands or similar) should tell drivers, if you follow the logic, to not pass if the remaining car space is not wide enough. This is a double edged sword. For some drivers it's definetely taken the correct way, but often enough it's more like "if I never cross the line entering the cycle lane, everything is good", which is not always the case.
I can’t see myself getting a bicycle tbh.
I don’t think my legs would take it now.
And a 9 mile ride to and from work up & down hills on the main roads…in the cold & rain. Not for me.
Would have to be an e-bike, and the only place within a few miles that sell any bicycles is Halfords….not ideal. My work colleague when his went wrong had to take a 60 mile train journey back to the specialist shop (non-driver)-I have since been recommended 1 that is somewhat closer via car.
How much is that kit worth….eg if it gets damaged. Water proof (rain)?
Everything linked in…
But it seems keeping a car and affording to run it is getting more & more expensive while the choice of new is reducing because manufacturers cutting out their smaller cars, and the electric mandate. Next car may well have to be 2nd hand-a downgrade!
For route planning I use strava, combined with using a proper map(s) if it's somewhere 'new' and google maps to assess a route, particular way-points etc. especially when a junction or path might be a bit difficult to pick out from how the Edge Explore displays it just to give a bit of fair warning that it is coming up. I have the brightness at 80% – you'll get a warning that a lower setting will extend the battery time. I also have it set for 'daytime' even during hours of darkness, a lot better for me though it can seem to be a bit too 'bright' at times.
I know what you mean about where your attention needs to be when using a bike computer, can be very easy to focus too much on what it's showing you and not what is around you. I've also cancelled all alerts from my mobile for calls and texts – just not worth it trying to concentrate on a call/text while cycling. Same as if my phone rings, just leave it until I stop several miles later.
20 minutes of 'didn't read the manual' 🙄!
Surely there's a 'how to use a Garmin' youtube video that you could take a look at?!! You will get a lot more out of it if you understand how to use it properly. For example, you should be getting sound alerts for approaching vehicles detected by the radar and when a turn is coming up. You should be pressing the |> button on the bottom right of the unit to start recording your ride (especially if it's linked to the Varia light, as that action turns the light on).
Having said that, I don't find the navigation that useful in a city centre. It helps, but it's often quite difficult to follow – especially if cycling infrastructure is involved. I certainly don't find the routing on the Garmin itself to be particularly good. I tend to use a mobile phone app called 'pocket earth' to do short city based ad-hoc routing. For longer planned rides, I use RideWithGPS on the desktop computer. It tends to pick very good routes, is very easy to tweak by adding control points and has built-in access to street view. I then export the route to the Garmin.
I also always turn off the re-routing feature on the Garmin – I don't have much faith in it and it's not really necessary. If you make a wrong turn, it will flag up 'off course' and on a bicycle, 99.999% of the time, the quickest way to get back on the route is to just turn around and go back to it!
You sharp went down the rabbit hole.
Pedals. Get some flat toe clip pedals and take the straps off. Still efficient, but none of the faff of clipless.
Clipless Pedals – once you adjust to them, you will never go back to ordinary pedals! For general use I recommend Time Atac XC or Speciale types pedals (NOT MX).
Hi Wibbly. Sorry I'm thin skinned because I do have a Garmin Explore🤣 and cycle commute and for leisure. On visiting London recently, yep, you are very correct. The speedy door knobs on cycles are quite apparent. I have no problem with people that road race, but like anyone in whatever mode of transport the twonks seem to be many! Apology for my thin skin!!!🤣👍👍 Oh and two fingers up to Garmin for not allowing the temperature sensor to be used in the Explore after an update, which is really helpful for Winter riding, and not fixing the issue when charging the device. Digressed at the end there somewhat!!!🤣👍👍
Lovely blue sky there fella. That's what being out on the bike is about.