MEPIS Community Forum

I have a simple computer for my bicycle, but was looking at several GPS devices to get the ability to upload information to (http://www.mapmyride.com) and I like the review on the Forerunner 305.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2007/11/revi ... r-305.html

The device is several years old, and seems to be priced a lot lower than newer or other CPS devices. But the best is no monthly fees for its basic functions, that should be uploadable via USB 2.0 connectors...

Has anyone else used this device, and do we have software that works in our repositories?

JR

On your second question, I see garmin-forerunner-tools in a Google search (!) on "garmin forerunner squeeze," which is in the repos.

Googling that package name leads to this recent discussion that might help:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1450829

I still have not made a purchasing decision, and but have found some software for Linux.

MyTourbook seems to run on Linux: http://mytourbook.sourceforge.net/mytourbook/

Golden Cheetah also: http://goldencheetah.org/

JR

Those both interesting. Who is going to input all that info? Do the bikes have a computer to gather all the peddle pumping info? All in all interesting. mytourbook may get installed.

Smilliken,

That is the point, with a smart phone using GPS or dedicated Bicycle Computer you do not manually do these inputs. But I do not use a cell phone, correction I have an very low cost emergency cellular phone I carry with me when leaving home or office, but I seldom use (20 minutes monthly, maybe!!). Then there is the Linux software issue, Garmin does not have a cloud only use, but that support might be much better than diabetic test devices without any Linux support.

I want the normal bicycle computer functions:
Time,
Current Speed,
Distance,
Auto stop & start <--This is necessary as I fail to restart or pause the computer when I pause my ride or get caught on 3 or 4 extremely long stop light waits or manage to catch a green light.
Alert scheduling -
Cumulative Distance,
Average Speed
Calories burned

Currently I have 4 routes I ride each month in addition to the group rides i do once a week, and I manually keep track of the workout time on mapmyride.com. Tis not difficult to sit down and draw the route I ride (only 4) then when I ride I must set my cheap bicycle computer timer as i start riding, pause it if i stop, and press a button when I resume riding. After completing the ride, then I must write down the information, and post it into mapmyride.com for the route I have ridden. But lately I have been deviating from the set courses, adding distance and I want to take the next step in being able to map and see the elevations I am riding as my routs evolve. I do not need the heart monitor or the cadence function at the moment, but believe I will want one or more this time next year.

I am leaning towards purchasing a Garmin Edge 200, without the heart monitor or the cadence function for $150 and then selling the device for $90 if I want to step up and add cadence and/or a heart monitor ($5 per month cost of ownership).

Sigma Rox 9.0 no GPS but a lot of downloadable information from this unit with heart monitor and cadence module - Linux?
http://www.sigmasport.com/us/produkte/b ... t=features

Garmin has an edge series. I was looking at the Edge 200, but not expandable with a heart monitor, nor cadence module.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID ... ERIES_EDGE

Polar CS500 must add a Cadence and GPS unit for these functions - Linux?

CycleOps Joule GPS <--Not enough known about this unit.

smilliken, that is where I am in this research to purchase and start using a better bicycle computer. My current wireless bicycle computer will not show me speeds above 20 miles per hour, and I find it impossible to provide me with correct ride times. Distance has been spot on with others in the group I ride with on the weekends. I am currently doing about 200-250 miles a week with the daily temperatures in 100+ F. I will increase this weekly mileage when cooler weather arrives early October, and I will not need to start riding at sunrise to avoid the excessive warmth of the Southwest.

JR

I'm using a Garmin Vista Etrex H hiking GPS receiver on my bicycle to display kinematics data. It has everything on your list except
Alert scheduling and Calories burned.
This functionality (set of functions) is grouped together on the screen called "Trip Meter".

However there are two other issues with this machine:

First, the Trip Meter screen has two clocks. One is the moving clock, which starts automatically when you start moving and stops automatically when you stop moving. This has the automatic starting/stopping/restarting you wanted. Plus you can look at the end to see how much time you spent moving and how much time you spent stopped during your trip.

Second, the Trip Meter has two displays modes--a large screen and a small screen. The large screen displays only four lines of data:

• Total miles pedaled
• Speed (instantaneous)
• Total moving time [h:m]
• Total stopped time [h:m]

The small screen displays six lines of data:

• Trip odometer [feet/miles] - Maximum speed [mi/hr]
• Moving time - Moving Avg. Speed
• Stopped time - Overall Avg. Speed
• Elevation
• Odometer (miles)
• Time of Day

I can read the large screen display while pedaling. However, I can't read the small screen display while pedaling. Nor can I switch between the two modes while pedaling (haven't tried) because it involves navigating through a menu using more than one input device.

I haven't yet tried uploading the receiver's data to the computer. If I can find the USB cable, I'll give it a try.

I don't know how important the cadence, calories and heart rate are to you, but leaving those out you might also look at a standard Garmin eTrex. If you get one with the 'x' suffix it has a microSD card (mainly intended for loading maps) which can be set to automatically record a .GPX file for each day. You don't need to set or reset anything when you ride, and you can load the .GPX file into any software for analysis. I have a 64MB card which is less than half full after about 4000 miles and 100 days.

These units also have a configurable 'trip computer' display, and I have mine set to show: trip odometer, current speed, moving time, moving average speed, stopped time, overall average speed and elevation. I just zero the trip at the start of the ride and let it do it's thing.

This is a general purpose handheld GPS which I also use for walking. It clips into a Garmin clip on the handlebars. It's not the same as a cycle computer, but it does the job for me.

Phil

[edit] eemaestro types faster than I do! His eTrex doesn't have the SD card, but has the higher sensitivity receiver. For uploading data to the computer, I haven't tried any linux applications. One of the main reasons I have a virtual WinXP is to use GPSUtility to handle both direct up/downloads and the .GPX files from the card. I haven't found anything else which gives me the editing functions I need to process the recorded tracks.

eemaestro & Gaer Boy,

How are you managing a proper bike mount for the stem of the bicycle - I see that there is one at an additional cost?
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-eTrex-Hand ... B00004VX15

Do you need to do anything in mepis 11 or the Garmin device to have it show as a external hard drive device?

JR

That's the right bike mount - it fits up to 1" bars and needs to be mounted on the bar and not the stem. The GPS clips in backwards. The version illustrated includes a replacement back for the GPS (with the clip above the metal lock), but this is not quite as good as the original back. My unit came with a screw-on clip which is attached to the original back, but either will work.

The microSD card shows up as a removable device when I plug it in. It shows on the Garmin as 'USB Mass Storage' and I can copy the GPX files between the GPS and the computer using Dolphin with no problem. Since I've been using linux, I haven't needed to upload or download waypoints or tracks to/from the Garmin, which needs an application. I used to do this with GPSUtility in WinXP, but I haven't tried it using VirtualBox.

Phil

Here's a close-up of the clip on my eTrex.