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Posts: 12 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Oct 2009
#21
It may be fun to make it work as a bike computer BUT

a much cheaper bike computer will run a year or two with one small battery, is waterproof and you don't have to spend forever to find it if you crash in rough terrain and falls off your bike.
 
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#22
I use my Nokia 5500 on my MTB like this!



Been waiting for a rugged touchscreen phone but I think it'll be a while. I doubt the N900 will be shock proof enough.
 

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#23
Originally Posted by TenSpeed View Post
There is actually software for the N900 that's designed for this - eCoach. According to the info on Maemo Select:

http://maemo.nokia.com/maemo-select/...ations/ecoach/

"Keep track of all your sports and outdoor activities with the GPS-based eCoach application. With eCoach you can get the most from your workouts by monitoring your speed and distance in real time. You can also use the built-in training diary feature to track your progress as you work towards your specific training goals.

eCoach supports Open Street Map, Google Earth, and Virtual Earth, enabling you to view your routes on the map and share them with friends at a later point."

No cadence, but is it that critical for you? As for battery life, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but you could always attach an external power source, such as a battery or generator hub (perfect for those epic audax rides).

EDIT: According to reports of the eCoach presentation at the Maemo Summit, the program's also compatible with Bluetooth heart rate monitors (straps). Not that they're easy to find, but still.
eCoach is really excellent on the N900. Location on map, distance, speed and heart rate (altitude too, but it's pretty flat around here). After training the data is available as a .gpx file for upload.

For HR, try searching for Zephyr HxM, that's the latest addition to the eCoach heart rate monitor list. It's small, simple and works. (Got mine from Athlosoft in Switzerland)

Cadence measurement over bluetooth would be cool, but I don't really miss that. (you see your speed and you know the gearing you are on -> you know your cadence, or then you just feel it).

Only thing I'm missing is a good mount to the stem. Maybe some generic mount would work though.
 

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#24
Originally Posted by jdiddly View Post
I use my Nokia 5500 on my MTB like this!



Been waiting for a rugged touchscreen phone but I think it'll be a while. I doubt the N900 will be shock proof enough.
What's that mount? Looks good. Is it held in place with a velcro strap or what?

I haven't taken the N900 to the forest yet, as I don't have a stem mount, but for easy trails I could try. (That is if the stem mount wouldn't be totally stiff, but gives some suspension to the device.)
 

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#25
Originally Posted by tekojo View Post
eCoach is really excellent on the N900.
Again, where are you getting eCoach from? As I said earlier, it doesn't seem to be on Maemo Select and on Maemo Garage looks pretty old. (How were they developing an N900 app in May 2008?)
 
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#26
The magnet moving around the inductive 'sensor' produces something like a one-sided sine wave( 1/2*( abs(sin x) - sin(x) ) with delays). It would be pretty easy to make a circuit that turns these into digital (square) signals. Then plug it through usb (which is harder, and assuming n900 has host-mode) and have a small program count impulses and do the math
In the end, you have one of those devices you can buy for a few $, but this one is much more expensive and fragile. Doesn't seem too good of a deal
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Posts: 337 | Thanked: 160 times | Joined on Aug 2009 @ München, DE
#27
Originally Posted by MNX1024 View Post
I was wondering, will there actually be a mounting mechanism that we could use to mount the N900 to our bikes?
The universal cockpit adapter by Busch & Müller might be what you are looking for:

http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html?docu/261e.htm

And get their E-Werk for loading the n900 while you're cycling
 

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Posts: 148 | Thanked: 484 times | Joined on Nov 2008
#28
Originally Posted by ralphb View Post
Again, where are you getting eCoach from? As I said earlier, it doesn't seem to be on Maemo Select and on Maemo Garage looks pretty old. (How were they developing an N900 app in May 2008?)
From the maemo.org extras repository. The garage code is fresh, but the package is in extras as it should be.

Maemo.org Downloads has the link and install file: http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/ecoach/
 

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#29
Originally Posted by tekojo View Post
From the maemo.org extras repository. The garage code is fresh, but the package is in extras as it should be.
"Fresh" for me is a positive word - meaning "latest" or "newest", but your use of "but" leads me to think you mean it as a negative" - meaning "rotten" perhaps?

The Maemo Garage version is 1.0-2 from May 28, 2008

Originally Posted by tekojo View Post
Maemo.org Downloads has the link and install file: http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/ecoach/
Thanks for that. The Maemo 5 downloads version is 1.56.

How come that Maemo has these various different versions hanging about? Why not just the latest version?
 
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#30
The clip came with the phone Tekojo, it is a truly great piece of design! Just velcroed it to the stem. Holds the phone solidly over rocky DH trails, yet you can pop the phone out easily and instantly.

I saw an iphone case for bikes that is apparently water & shockproof, I hope someone attempts a version for the N900. But I imagine I will be sticking with the 5500 off road for a while. Until they port viewranger...

 

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