[HN Gopher] I have a GPS bike computer
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I have a GPS bike computer
Author : speckx
Score : 27 points
Date : 2025-10-08 18:48 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (utcc.utoronto.ca)
(TXT) w3m dump (utcc.utoronto.ca)
| WastedCucumber wrote:
| I'm planning to go cross country sometime soon and still
| considering whether to get a bike computer or not. Knowing
| myself, I'll probably just stick to using physical maps. In my
| experience using them bakcpacking, I feel more immersed in my
| surroundings because I check them and the map at the same time,
| wondering when the next mountain will appear, if the river
| already took the bend I see on the map, etc. It just feels right,
| and I'm never in a hurry when hiking or riding anyway.
|
| Plus I think I'm scared to crashing while looking down at GPS,
| and I think usijg maps would always force me to stop.
| thebruce87m wrote:
| Bone conduction headphones would allow for audio directions.
|
| I do like my bike computer, if only to show me my speed. It
| also beeps when the radar detects a car behind me.
| doug_durham wrote:
| I understand your concerns. I had similar concerns. The UIs on
| bike computers are very glanceable by design. I wouldn't go
| back. I would be more concerned with physical maps. I know
| myself and I would be tempted to "cheat" by trying to look at
| the physical map while moving if I was under time pressure to
| get to a destination.
|
| Another huge benefit of a bike computer is that you can pair it
| with a rear facing radar. This has transformed my biking on
| roads. It absolutely doesn't replace looking over your
| shoulder, but it increases your awareness. You now know that
| there are three cars approaching from behind so you know what
| to expect. There is no way I'd go on a long cross-country ride
| without a radar.
| lostlogin wrote:
| I find the garmin 840 terrible for navigation as the
| interface is small, and the map always too zoomed in, or not
| enough. It's just so clunky, and reminds me of computers in
| the early '90s.
|
| However, with the Varia radar riding is amazing. I look down
| before looking back. I only look back of the radar is clear.
|
| When it squawks - check behind.
| loeg wrote:
| If you're going to be looking at maps often, the 1040 is
| just the 840 in a larger form factor.
|
| (I can't recommend the newer x50 series -- they made the
| screens a lot brighter, at the cost of significant battery
| life.)
| wiether wrote:
| The basic setup is the GPS highlighting the path you're
| supposed to follow.
|
| You don't have to keep looking at it: a quick glance when
| you're coming to an intersection, to know if you have to slow
| down and get ready to turn or just keep going.
|
| As other said, it can also provide additional features like
| warning you about cars coming from behind or reminders to
| eat/drink.
|
| And contrary to some other comments, it's not another screen
| asking for your attention. Setup correctly, it's just a map
| that refresh itself and follows you. Allowing you to focus only
| on your sensations, instead of having to think about where you
| are, where you're going...
|
| Finally, cue sheets are nice, but even if you don't care about
| being "lost" or having to find your way by yourself, you'll
| probably end up on bad roads with lots of traffic. Meanwhile,
| if you're just following precisely a nice route going only on
| quiet roads/paths, you won't end up in bad situations and
| you'll find your ride more enjoyable.
| peterldowns wrote:
| Would be nice to see an example of one of these cue sheets, I'm
| curious about the layout.
| silversmith wrote:
| Here's an article - even Tour de France riders regularly use
| those: https://7seizh.info/tour-de-france-tales-quand-une-
| affiche-v...
| lostlogin wrote:
| I've made a mental note that carbon bars allow a flatter
| surface for sticking cue sheets.
| wiether wrote:
| I've seen them take many forms, but here's one following the
| official layout of the Audax Club Parisien, for one of their
| BRM: https://www.audax-club-parisien.com/wp-
| content/uploads/2025/...
| siebenmann wrote:
| I've made a PDF of one of my bike club cue sheets from 2014 and
| put it at https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~cks/tbn/tbn-gatineau-
| gallop-2014... ; the GPS route that is more or less equivalent
| to it is https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28370340 (there may be
| minor differences because the route is more modern than the cue
| sheet, but it will give you orientation). The cue sheet is
| written for a group ride (where the group will stay together)
| and for people familiar with Toronto, so it might be
| challenging to follow solo unless you were already somewhat
| familiar with the ride (as the ride leader is expected to be).
|
| The cue sheet is structured the way it is because it's expected
| it will be folded in half horizontally to fit in a map/cue
| sheet holder, and perhaps vertically as well (if people have a
| small holder; you fold vertically first, initially hiding the
| entire right column since you only need it after lunch, then
| horizontally). Cue sheet holders typically let you flip them up
| to see the back, so the exact division of a horizontal fold
| doesn't have to be perfect. Each numbered section covers a
| (relatively) distinct section of the ride to make it easier to
| keep track of where you are in the cue sheet overall.
|
| Cue sheets for different circumstances need different sorts of
| structure. For example, for some cue sheets it would be quite
| important to include the distance (cumulative and/or from the
| previous cue). In others, such as this one, individually
| numbered cues and distances to them are mostly distractions.
|
| (I'm the author of the linked-to blog entry, and as you can
| tell I have Opinions on cue sheet design.)
| AriedK wrote:
| Here in the Netherlands we've got 'fietsknooppunten'. Numbered
| junctions with proper bike paths linking them up, and clear
| signage pointing you to your next number.
| https://www.fietsknoop.nl/planner Just remembering, or writing
| down a couple of numbers gets you a long way. As a backup I have
| OsmAndMaps for pre-loading gpx files to my phone.
| zygentoma wrote:
| Oh, nice!
|
| I think we might have copied that from you here in North Rhine-
| Westphalia, and the nice thing is, that by law the have to
| replace the signs when they are broken/missing (they are
| legally similar to road signs for cars). However, it sometimes
| still isn't always possible to just follow numbers because
| might might have missed or misread a sign, and you might just
| find out a kilometer later...
|
| Anyway, it's ten thousand times better than in our neighbour
| state Rhineland-Palatinate
|
| Edit: the Knotenpunktnetz NRW, if anyone is interested:
| https://radservice.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/rrp/nrw/cgi?lang=D...
| (you have to zoom in a little too see routes ... if you zoom in
| more, every sign is shown!)
| hommelix wrote:
| These are available in the Netherlands and Belgium. And as the
| cyclists there like to travel a little bit further, the network
| is extended around north of France, the German border, some in
| Luxembourg. This is a very nice way to travel.
| hackingonempty wrote:
| Paper sheets are also lightweight and can be used all day without
| needing to be charged or putting any additional drain on your
| computer battery. So they are still used by some ultra endurance
| racers who need info as they ride like distance/elevation to next
| town, what stores or lodges will be open and their phone numbers.
|
| A guy showing off his sheets as he makes his way to third place
| in the 2023 Tour Divide:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJS106xeNA&t=1482s
| lostlogin wrote:
| I had a brief hunt and there are some automated tool for cue
| sheets - load in the gpx and it generates a document. I could
| work it from my phone just fine.
|
| I'd prefer turn by turn instructions rather than documentation
| of future suffering.
|
| I love that someone makes these things though.
|
| https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/i-made-a-printable-cue-s...
| loeg wrote:
| RidewithGPS premium will generate cue sheets based on turns
| (which can be edited manually).
| nradov wrote:
| Some modern bike computers have solar charging for extended
| battery life, and you can also carry an external battery pack
| which weighs no more than a large paper map.
| prmoustache wrote:
| I am in team no screen on my bike. I spend way enough time in
| front of a screen, I don't mind missing a turn and getting lost
| once in a while. It is not like I am living in extreme wilderness
| and I still have a smartphone as a backup with loaded maps in
| case I have any doubt.
| kccqzy wrote:
| I did that for many years before buying a bike computer. If the
| number of turns isn't large, I memorize all the turns in
| advance. I finally gave up when I took part in an organized
| ride with hundreds of turns with no markings on the road.
|
| I still like to memorize the route these days. When I do that,
| I mostly don't use the map feature of the bike computer: I look
| at my speed, cadence, and heart rate.
| Earw0rm wrote:
| Friend of mine who's a group ride leader has a minimal turn-by-
| turn in a wireless earpiece paired to his phone, which sits in
| his pocket and runs a navigation app.
|
| Means he can lead rides confidently and fluidly while also
| being completely present and aware.
| loeg wrote:
| Depends how much riding to new places you want to do without
| getting lost. If you only ride places you know, or don't mind
| spending time lost, you don't need live maps.
| unglaublich wrote:
| Sure, cue sheets are cool from a cartography perspective, but
| they were mainly something engineered to achieve exactly what a
| gps route computer is doing: - Show where you
| should go - Show when you missed, and how you get back on
| the route - Change the route mid-trip (how often roads are
| closed)
|
| All in all, sure they are a cool technology, but like a steam
| engine, it's mainly a thing to admire while moving on to more
| modern technology.
| Eric_WVGG wrote:
| This is sort of a pipe dream, but imagine taking an Android
| smartwatch, disassembling the chassis, adding a larger battery,
| and embedding it in a threadless headset cap.
|
| GPS tracking, maps in a 1.5" screen, bluetooth reports of
| speed/cadence from one of those little spoke dealies.
| hommelix wrote:
| I don't want to make advertisement, but what you describe is
| what Beeline is selling for bicycle and motor bike. I've not
| tried it. I don't know how good it works.
| mikestew wrote:
| I'll save y'all a search: https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-
| cycling
| Eric_WVGG wrote:
| oh wow, that's pretty sick. Too big, but on the right track.
| Thanks!
| darkwater wrote:
| That made me think: why dont they make a bike mount for my
| Suunto watch? (Thx to the HNer that suggested checking Suunto
| out btw), and well, looks like they do:
| https://us.suunto.com/products/suunto-bike-mount
| loeg wrote:
| Wahoo's GPS units are based on Android. You could pair them
| with a headset top cap holder, though IMO this is not a super
| ergonomic location for a bike GPS (in front of the handlebars
| is better).
| nradov wrote:
| You can do this with a regular Garmin smart watch and a bike
| mount. It doesn't run Android but that doesn't matter. The
| problem is that it's really tough to read a map on a small
| display while riding: a real bike computer with a larger
| display is far superior if you're going to use it for
| navigation.
|
| https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/#devices
| phoronixrly wrote:
| I like to focus on riding not navigation when I'm out on my bike.
| When you have to go through 150-200km in a day, having to get
| your bearings on each country road fork gets tedious quite
| quickly.
|
| It also helps you judge corners when you're descending on unknown
| roads.
|
| I shudder at the thought of having to stop and juggle around
| paper cue sheets/a map...
| elchief wrote:
| can anyone recommend a cheap but good bike computer with turn-by-
| turn nav? (for mountain biking)
| nradov wrote:
| How cheap do you want?
|
| https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/06/garmins-new-edge-mtb-cyc...
| nradov wrote:
| The main problem with cue sheets is they quickly become worse
| than useless if you accidentally miss a turn, or are forced to
| detour due to road construction or something (which seems to
| happen to me all the time). A modern bike computer will
| immediately alert you if you go off course and automatically re-
| route to get you back on track. Some of the newer ones also get
| dynamic updates about road hazards.
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(page generated 2025-10-12 23:01 UTC)