Hammerhead System Offers a Better Way To Navigate While Cycling 249
Mark Gibbs writes "If you've ever tried to navigate using a smartphone while cycling you'll know full well that you took your life in your hands. By the time you've focused on the map and your brain has decoded what you're looking at you've traveled far enough to be sliding on gravel or go careening into the side of a car. What's needed is a way that you can get directions from your smartphone without having to lose your focus and possibly your life and Hammerhead Navigation have one of the most interesting answers I've seen."
Yay another infomercial (Score:3, Insightful)
All its missing is a buy now button
Silly hype. (Score:4, Informative)
If you've ever tried to navigate using a smartphone while cycling you'll know full well that you took your life in your hands. By the time you've focussed on the map and your brain has decoded what you're looking at you've travelled far enough to be sliding on gravel or go careening into the side of a car.
Actually, after making a proper bike mount for my N900, I had no trouble using satnav while cycling.
Unlike TFA author Mark Gibbs, I'm aware that my experience is not universal, as people in some other cities have to deal with worse traffic than I do.
Hammerhead? (Score:5, Funny)
non-issue (Score:5, Interesting)
As a many-years bicyclist, for transportation, recreation, exercise, etc...I offer the following advice:
Any time you see some new device being marketed, consider that the bicycle in its first forms dates to the early 1800's, nearly a century before cars were commonplace. In that time, cyclists have figured out the solutions to most problems, and those solutions have been refined as material sciences, engineering, and whatnot have evolved. So, for example, my front light uses a sophisticated mirror and LED to light 50 feet of bike path in front of me, while my back light uses LEDs and light pipes to provide a 2-inch wide big glowing red bar...all powered off a smooth, unnoticeable generator in my front wheel's hub.
The solution to this "oh my pretty little cyclist head just doesn't know where it's going" problem is one of the following:
The device strikes me as rather ignorant of how most cyclists travel, anyway. Most everyone I know, including if not especially beginners, consult Google Maps and think carefully about their route because of safety concerns. By the time we're on our bike, we probably know where we're going and how to get there.
Damn near everything bike-related that has come out of Kickstarter either solves a problem that was already solved, and was solved better...or solved a problem that didn't exist. Both are usually due to ignorance on the part of the designers, or designers preying upon ignorance among the general public.
Sadly, an increasing number of these products are designed to prey upon people's fears about danger, or continue a culture of placing the onus on cyclists to protrect themselves from other people doing stupid, dangerous, or illegal things with large, fast-moving vehicles who then strike them.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
Sadly, an increasing number of cyclists continue a culture of placing the onus on vehicle drivers to avoid cyclists doing stupid, dangerous, or illegal things with small, fast-moving vehicles who then get struck.
FTFY
There are similar number of bad cyclists as there are bad drivers. I was making a right turn on a green. A cyclist on the two way crossing street in the far lane passed several cars on the right barely slowing down, did not stop at the stop light, turned left in front of the stopped vehicles into the crosswalk and passed in front of my vehicle. Had I not noticed him and stopped he would have been a hood ornament and his fault. Legally he broke the following laws; passing on right without enough room, fa
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While there are too many crazy cyclists, in a bicycle-car collision the fault is in most cases with the driver, not the cyclist. Most of these were ignoring the cyclist's right of way when they were turning right or coming out of an alleyway.
Here is a typical example (not my video, but I know the guy and I had my share of similar situations):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpIZmbqp9Gk [youtube.com]
Oh, and If you want my anecdotal evidence to beat yours: about a month ago I was cycling on a bicycle lane which was a part of
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In my town, this year, there have been 3 bicycle accidents resulting in fatalities. In all 3 incidents, the biker was cited as the cause.
There have been a handful of non-fatal accidents ... and in most of them, the driver of the car was not charged.
In my area, cyclists are trendy hipsters who think they own the road and are too stupid to realize that my 2500 pound little car wins the argument EVERY SINGLE TIME ... They are the problem, not the innocent. That may not be the case in your town, but its the
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Well, according to the German insurer statistics [www.gdv.de], drivers were at fault in 90% of all car-bicycle accidents. This is actually way more than I thought, my gut feeling was at 75%.
The difference is probably that while where you live only trendy hipsters cycle, but here in Germany there are lots of casual cyclists from all classes.
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Sorry but experience is very different than cliche.
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Actually, I don't even see the market. I've never seen someone go "I want to visually consult my smartphone's navigation app while riding my bike but there's just no safe way to do so!". Stopping to take a glance at the map is just that obvious a solution. I mean, sure, it's basically an expens
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Not negligible. First, if you stop, you'll have to accelerate again. No concern for a car, but cyclists have to use their own strength. Also when you stop, you'll have to put a feet on the ground otherwise you'll fall. Also, no concern for a car.
But this is just nitpicking, on your main message (When I need to look up something I stop, look it up and continue) I totally agree.
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So... your point is that in over 200 years all of the problems have been solved... and your example is a lighting device that didn't exist on bikes 20 years ago (probably less)?
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Apps are for poor people who can barely afford the phone they have, Your type of biking and your age means you can actually afford the correct device, Get a Garmin designed for what you are doing, far better in every way. Oregon 600t is absolutely fantastic for trail riding and get's rid of all the limitations that a smartphone has. Like being readable in broad daylight.
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The only think the 600t is missing, ANT+ or Bluetooth support for additional sensors HR, Power, Candace, etc. Otherwise it is a nice little device. I personally use the Garmin 810, and rarely do I have the map up on it, more for speed, tracking (does live tracking which keeps the wife happy when I go on long rides), distance, and a few other things. Sometimes on long group rides (various centuries), I will load the cue sheet into the Garmin.
author isn't qualified, nice (Score:5, Insightful)
"Makes me want to start cycling again."
Translation: the author, like most tech bloggers, doesn't actually use a bicycle, but considers themselves qualified to speak about bicycle products.
Re:author isn't qualified, nice (Score:5, Informative)
Correct observation, this product has already been discussed on bicycle forums and has been dismissed as not very useful. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/917472-new-procuct-take-a-look?highlight=hammerhead [bikeforums.net]
When out on a multiday ride in an unfamiliar area I want more than a blinking light. Frequently the GPS picks, plain stupid, route detours. A look at the map or the map screen shows these obvious errors quickly. Even when routing my way back home form an unfamiliar location at night I need more than the hammerhead provides. About the only use for the hammerhead is when riding a, tested and proven, preloaded track. A GPS enabled bicycle speedometer will do the same and more.
Because this thing still requires the smartphone to be present, just mount the smartphone and be done with it. At best it is an interesting gift for the cyclist who has everything. . . just don't let your feelings get hurt when that cyclist 're-gifts' it.
Learn from history (Score:2, Funny)
Before smartphones, cyclist still managed to get around fine. And back then they had *gasp* paper maps. ya, I know, how did they manage?
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GPS is not my first choice for reliability (often doesn't work well in cities
Smartphones work even better in cities, because they also use known Wifi locations. In fact, in a city you can often turn the GPS receiver off and your position data will degrade only slightly, using pure Wifi.
runs out of battery
Hub generator.
falls out of your pocket and goes smash, etc.
I put mine in a case on a handlebar mount. Visible, protected from the weather and plugged into power. The touch screen is even usable, though there are obvious issues with taking your attention off the road and looking at the screen. I normally stop, or at least slow way down, before tr
Overthinking it (Score:3)
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Why not a smartphone app that hooks into the mapping/GPS/nav services, shows a large flashing arrow and reads out navigationally with vocal commands via a bluetooth earphone?
Yeah, it could even have voice recognition capabilities so that you can speak to it and ask it how to get to location XYZ. .... aw dammit!!
I should go patent that before someone else
Bike HUD (Score:4, Interesting)
All this is nothing to me. I'm waiting for a viable, programmable (and private) bike HUD (with rearview, HR, wattage, and navigation data.
That's what I'm waiting for.
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Strava have just launched a doo-daa that works with Google Glass. I don't know whether it does any of what you want but may be worth a look.
For bike navigation, when I'm going somewhere in town I just pop my car's TomTom in my pocket. It has a 2 hour battery life, has cycle routes and speaks the direction. Pretty straightforward.
Free as in beer (Score:2)
no thanks. (Score:2)
I'll just put a BT headset in and listen to the audio cues that ALL gps apps deliver. Honestly, his "hammerhead" thing is a solution looking for a problem.
Looking down all the time for a visual cue is dumb.. ride along never looking until you hear " left turn 1000 feet ahead on main street" in your ear is the proper solution.
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Hammerhead System - solution for the stupid? (Score:2)
If you've ever tried to navigate using a smartphone while cycling you'll know full well that you took your life in your hands.
Which is one people with common sense stop and check the maps, whereas stupid people looking for a Darwin award do not.
What's needed is a way that you can get directions from your smartphone without having to lose your focus and possibly your life
No, what's needed is to stop and look at the map. Common sense >> gadgetry.
and Hammerhead Navigation have one of the most interesting answers I've seen.
Not as interesting as, I dunno, stop and look at the map. Fucking revolutionary, I know!
Handlebar mount. (Score:2)
This was solved long ago for motorcyclists who ride at a much faster pace than pedalists.
Align the mount so you can glance down at it. RAM make nice ones.
If your phone display is too small that a glance won't do, dedicated GPS are cheap enough.
Review your route before leaving. If your route is complicated and in an unfamiliar area, print a paper map and toss it in a ziploc bag. If I go anywhere I need a GPS I do this in case the GPS fails.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Define cycling pace? There's people who struggle to go faster than 10mph, and there's people who can hit 40 or 50mph on a good road bike. My personal record is about 35.
Also, even at 10mph, looking at a map while you're moving isn't a very bright move. When I was learning the bike route to get to work, I would stop to check maps. Not sure why people can't do that... seems a perfectly sane way to navigate on a bike.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, even at 10mph, looking at a map while you're moving isn't a very bright move. When I was learning the bike route to get to work, I would stop to check maps. Not sure why people can't do that... seems a perfectly sane way to navigate on a bike.
I couldn't agree more - just stop and check the map.
Too many people are trying to solve problems with technology when often a non-technical option is the better one.
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Shit. I bought stock in Hammerhead Navigation software product. Should I enact my exit plan?
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Which? The product discussed here is hardware.
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It's not about reality, practicality, or anything like that. It's about market, perception, and price points... Judging by the initial interest, there's investment potential even if there's no practical use for it.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Interesting)
but the thing about biking (at least for some) is cadence - stopping breaks cadence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadence_(cycling) [wikipedia.org]
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"Cadence", sheesh, I almost feel embarassed to have never had a road-going vehicle with more than 2 wheels in my 3 decades of adult life. And you wonder why Critical
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You're entire post validates his point. The problem is that you're head is stuck so far up your own ass, you're utterly missing the simplicity of the world around you.
When you move to a new city, a GPS is the WORST thing you can use to 'learn' the city. This has been proven by multiple studies. GPS is a shitty way to learn since you don't learn, you just follow directions and don't absorb them or the route you took.
Why are you riding your bike in such a shitty environment that you're afraid to stop. Tha
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You wanna learn this? https://www.google.co.uk/maps/preview#!q=london&data=!1m4!1m3!1d69887!2d-0.1009979!3d51.5125128!4m15!2m14!1m13!1s0x47d8a00baf21de75%3A0x52963a5addd52a99!3m8!1m3!1d279450!2d-0.1015987!3d51.5286416!3m2!1i2560!2i1351!4f13.1!4m2!3d51.5112139!4d-0.1198244 [google.co.uk]
Yup, simple...
Also, please mark on the map which areas are dangerous. Oh, what, you can't can you because you don't know that ahead-of-time?
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If you see the context of my post, then I'm mostly agreeing with you. Also, not talking about accident-safety but am-I-going-to-get-stabbed safety, which are very different things...
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Yes, but its not total. I have actually learned routes that I might not have found if not for GPS, unless I did some serious map study, and even then some wouldn't stand out because they are longer and only better due to traffic (I use waze on my phone, so it
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You are being a bit of an asshole here... and this just seems to show that you have a certain animosity towards cyclists in general, and odds are nothing I will say will change that.. I will counter all of your points reasonably without resorting to any more name calling.
"When you move to a new city, a GPS is the WORST thing you can use to 'learn' the city. This has been proven by multiple studies. GPS is a shitty way to learn since you don't learn, you just follow directions and don't absorb them or the ro
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God what a stupid post.
Cadence is about maintaining a steady rapid pace pedaling. Not about not stopping, Let me point out that you need to do so at stop signs and red lights.which actually are perfect places to check a map. BTW most people don't check a mpa often enough to come anywhere close to interrupting cadence.
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If you're going to Cadence cycle, do it somewhere the navigation problem has been solved - either by you or lead vehicles knowing the route, decent signage, or otherwise.
If you're "exploring the unknown" get over the idea that you're going to get some extreme workout simultaneously. Tour De France riders are (almost always) not in it for a navigational challenge, even the leader.
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but the thing about biking (at least for some) is cadence - stopping breaks cadence.
So you actually admit being one of those assholes who ignore stop signs and red lights? You belong in an intensive care ward, that might cure your obsessive assholishness.
Stupid kid.
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I appreciate cycling and honestly wish I lived and worked such that I could ditch my car too. But so long as were forced by circumstance to co-exist, please mind the signs - I hate lawfully coming to an intersection and nearly flattening the cyclist who d
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I'm a cyclist. I follow the rules (unlike my neighbour who I suspect I will be peeling off the road one day as he blows through stop signs). Okay I mostly follow the rules, I will slow down at certain intersections and proceed if clear, otherwise I stop.
I wish I could cycle to work as well, doing so would have me cycling through 2 states and a District through some not so lovely areas, and it is only 30 miles form home to office (when I am not traveling).
As for the chip on the shoulders, some do, but most
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Stopping isn't always safe or convenient; where do you stop on a road with a small shoulder? "You shouldn't be there"? In much of the country, shoulders are a non-existent luxury.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Informative)
where do you stop on a road with a small shoulder?
You stop at the next intersection. I have been biking about 100 miles/week for 30 years. During that time, I have never, not once, needed to check a map while pedaling. If you are in such a hurry that you can't pull over for 30 seconds, then maybe you should have taken the car.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
where do you stop on a road with a small shoulder?
You stop at the next intersection. I have been biking about 100 miles/week for 30 years. During that time, I have never, not once, needed to check a map while pedaling. If you are in such a hurry that you can't pull over for 30 seconds, then maybe you should have taken the car.
It's nice that you always bike in familiar areas, but I like to explore new places on my bike, and often map out my course in advance so I can stay on bike-friendly streets. While I could print out a paper map and keep it in my back pocket, or stop every few turns to consult my phone to see if I'm on course, I can appreciate why someone might want a GPS to help them. Why should I pull over for 30 seconds to consult a map when I could have an unobtrusive GPS aid on my handlbars to tell me which way I should be turning at the next corner?
Why do you think that a GPS is any less useful for a cyclist than for a car driver?
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I like to explore new places on my bike, and often map out my course in advance so I can stay on bike-friendly streets.
That isn't exploring. That's following a pre-determined route on bike-friendly streets. That is probably the furthest thing from exploring. In the urban jungle one of the best ways to explore is to get lost. You can't do that with GPS and a preplanned route.
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True, but at some point, you will want to get home, and if you are lost exploring, that means you might not know the way home.... GPS's do help in those situations.
Me personally, if I am not part of a structured ride, I will randomly go left and right depending on the direction of the wind, or my mood, or whatever, not following any predetermined route until I hit the 30 or 40 mile mark, then use my GPS (Garmin 810) to get me home again.
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Those of us who started doing this before electronic navigation aid was available managed to survive long enough to spawn the next generation....
Re:Really? (Score:5, Informative)
You're not a cyclist are you?
Its illegal not to stop on the road at those red orthogonal signs that have the word stop written on them. Idiots like you deserve to get creamed, but its unfair that someone will have to live with the fact that they ran over your stupid ass because you refuse to follow the rules of the road due to your arrogance and self entitlement bullshit.
You deserve to get ran over for making such an ignorant response to his.
You're pulling off the road not to 'avoid using an electronic navigation aid' ... you're pulling off the road so you don't get turned into road smear because your dumb ass was staring at the GPS rather than the world around you, you ran into traffic and a garbage truck turned you into a very thin smear of blood and guts on the road.
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You're not a cyclist are you?
Its illegal not to stop on the road at those red orthogonal signs that have the word stop written on them. Idiots like you deserve to get creamed, but its unfair that someone will have to live with the fact that they ran over your stupid ass because you refuse to follow the rules of the road due to your arrogance and self entitlement bullshit.
You deserve to get ran over for making such an ignorant response to his.
You're pulling off the road not to 'avoid using an electronic navigation aid' ... you're pulling off the road so you don't get turned into road smear because your dumb ass was staring at the GPS rather than the world around you, you ran into traffic and a garbage truck turned you into a very thin smear of blood and guts on the road.
For anyone who thinks that bikes are the problem, and not the attitudes of drivers, this should pretty much end that arguments.
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You're not a cyclist are you?
Its illegal not to stop on the road at those red orthogonal signs that have the word stop written on them. Idiots like you deserve to get creamed, but its unfair that someone will have to live with the fact that they ran over your stupid ass because you refuse to follow the rules of the road due to your arrogance and self entitlement bullshit.
You deserve to get ran over for making such an ignorant response to his.
You're pulling off the road not to 'avoid using an electronic navigation aid' ... you're pulling off the road so you don't get turned into road smear because your dumb ass was staring at the GPS rather than the world around you, you ran into traffic and a garbage truck turned you into a very thin smear of blood and guts on the road.
I don't know if you'd bothered to read the article about this topic (the link is at the top of this page, go ahead and click on it, it won't hurt you), but the entire point of the Hammerhead GPS is that you don't need to stare at it to use it -- the flashing lights are visible in your peripheral vision, or at worse with a quick glance. No need to stare at the blinky lights to know that when all of the lights on the right side are flashing then you should be making a right turn. Even better, when you see the
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I have. There's a dedicated bike path along the river in this city, and it's got speed limits (25km/h) and stop signs, and I've seen people get traffic tickets for not obeying those rules....
Stop means stop (Score:3)
Well, as a bicyclist I have the right to treat stop signs as yield sign
Not in most places you do not. Stop signs are stop signs and the rules are the same for bicycles as for automobiles. You stop at a stop sign the same as everyone else. If you do not then in most places you are breaking the law and being the sort of asshat who gives cyclists a bad name. I am aware local laws permit what you describe in some places but it is not widely true nor is it clear that it is a good idea in general.
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If I'm going someplace unfamiliar, though, having a navigation aid is pretty useful. I find that the voice directions from my phone mostly work.
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You may wish to try a different phone.. as there is something wrong with you... I have never had an issue of being past my turn, except in extremely dense urban areas where people already know GPS is worthless (like downtown DC, NY, etc).
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If it isn't safe to be stopped on that shoulder, it isn't safe to be riding on it, either. Like, duh.
And if you have that little clearance, you shouldn't be navigating at all, you should have your attention affixed firmly to the road.
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Incorrect...
MD for example. There are some roads between DC and Annapolis, that are single lane in each direction, with no shoulder at all. Some have barriers as well so you could not even jump off the bike and move over into the grass/gravel/whatever is next to the road. Guess what.. giant signs on those roads every mile or 2 that states.. "Share the Road with Cyclists"... MD also has a 3 foot law, meaning you cannot move your vehicle within 3 feet of the cyclist, which means if there is no passing, you
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You know you can only turn at intersections right? The perfect place to check a map.
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Please, explain why people need all this navigation. I simply don't understand it. I can start any place in the continental United States, refer to Rand McNally, and maybe write a few notes on a scrap of paper. I can drive ANYWHERE in ConUS or mainland Canada, without any further guidance.
Now, I may be pretty smart (like most people I like to think that I really am smart) but it doesn't tax my mind to remember a series of route numbers and directions. I don't need a cell phone, or a GPS to hold my hand,
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Please, explain why people need all this navigation. I simply don't understand it. I can start any place in the continental United States, refer to Rand McNally, and maybe write a few notes on a scrap of paper. I can drive ANYWHERE in ConUS or mainland Canada, without any further guidance.
Now, I may be pretty smart (like most people I like to think that I really am smart) but it doesn't tax my mind to remember a series of route numbers and directions. I don't need a cell phone, or a GPS to hold my hand, and tell me whether to turn left or right, or how many yards to travel before turning.
Cycling is somewhat different than driving on the highway - but FFS, everything comes at you slower, there are fewer things to remember, and landmarks should be more "intimate".
I just counted, and my commute to work takes me on 18 different streets - it winds through several neighborhoods and on some bike-only paths. When I drive my car, I drive on 5 different streets, most of it on a freeway. Why do you think there are fewer things to remember on a bike? When I drive my car I stick to larger streets that have clear signs for major destinations, when I ride my bike I stick to smaller streets and I check a map first to help me stick to bike friendly streets... my community doesn't
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Granted, Miami is mostly grid-based, but I used to explore on my bike starting from Coral Gables, pre-GPS, and find routes from Homestead up through Miami Beach - I think I spent about 1% of my exploration time finding dead-ends and the remainder of it pedaling through stuff that was either obvious without a map, or I already knew somehow or another. Trying to "beat that" efficiency with the "aid" of a GPS distraction doesn't seem like good odds.
Places I have rented bicycles (LA, Switzerland, Hamburg/Denma
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I bought my first automotive GPS when I was doing a driving tour through cities I had not visited for over 30 years. It proved its worth on that trip. It not only led me through the spaghetti maze of Boston streets-- just as bad as it was back in the day but now with lots of changes-- it also routed me around road construction and a traffic jam. No amount of studying a paper map will do that.
I use a GPS on my android phone on the bike. It is not only aware of current traffic conditions, but it also tells m
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Because, to pick a random bit of North Carolina: http://opencyclemap.org/?zoom=16&lat=35.80116&lon=-78.64709&layers=B000 [opencyclemap.org] the route a cyclist follows is often more complicated than that for a car driver.
To drive (or take the bus) to work, I would make three turns. I could cycle the same route (it's not forbidden), but there is a more direct route which avoids the unpleasant, busy roads. That involves 13 turns. I have another route, which is a little further but nicer (along the river for half
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As you asked: The fact that I 'can' plan a route and follow it doesn't mean I'm any smarter if I choose to do that instead of allowing a device to do it. I don't see handing over simple tasks like route planning for a car to a device as dumbing down. It frees up the nominal amount of attention that it requires and lets me use it to be even more awa
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As you asked: The fact that I 'can' plan a route and follow it doesn't mean I'm any smarter if I choose to do that instead of allowing a device to do it.
There are studies that would beg to differ. Its been shown that people who plan out their route using some method before the trip, then don't rely on a GPS to give them directions end up knowing the route better and being far more aware of the route and whats on it. Most people can then repeat the route a second time without help or with very little help, where as the GPS user will need the GPS for 10, 20 or more times before they actually pick up on all the things the person who knew where he was going
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"It frees up the nominal amount of attention that it requires and lets me use it to be even more aware of the road and traffic around me"
Alright - you make a pretty good point. Except - as I witness people driving all around me, it seems evident that a large majority of those people whose attention are freed up, waste that attention on trivial nonsense. Over all, I don't see a good trade off for the attention.
" Any muppet can drive 500 miles along interstates."
But, of course! I hope that I didn't give t
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I find that the people who "really need" GPS are the same people who have the most trouble navigating with it.
We have a 3G connected tablet, it can do real-time mapping, in the 2 years we have had it, it has actually helped find someplace about twice, been used as a curiosity about 4 times, and mostly sits in the trunk unused.
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And you kids! Get off my lawn!
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You, Sir, have earned a salute. You've obviously done things the hard way long enough to know what you're doing. And, you'll most likely recognize when the gadget is wrong. (yep, it happens)
"(0) I have become a bit farsighted and it's harder to read than it used to be."
I empathize with that. Or, maybe commiserate is the proper term. The same thing is happening to me.
"(1) I don't always recognize turns. I can well remember rides where I missed a turn and overshot, and had to turn around and go back. Not
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Re:Really? (Score:4, Informative)
What you said! If you are bicycling and need turn by turn GPS to help you, you are doing it wrong.
I really don't get people today feeling like they can't move without having a GPS mapping system showing them their route and telling them where to turn and when. Look at a map ahead of the ride, plan the route, and ride. Like you said, bring a map if it's a new route and stop and look if you need to.
And yes, I ride. I'm only doing about 60-100 miles a week. No map, no GPS. I ride every day to and from work, and I don't carry anything but work gear. Road runs on weekends, I carry water, a bit of food stuffs, cell phone for emergencies, repair kit, and small first aide kit. If I get lost, I backtrack the way I came if all else fails.
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So basically you don't cycle much and you mostly use the same route. This does not work if you make bike tours into unknown places. I find my turn by turn GPS navigation very helpful when I do the 60 miles on a single day, exploring the surroundings, and mounted on the handlebar the voice output of the navigation is loud enough so I don't have to look at the screen. I do not know where you live, but here in Germany towns often are a mess of small alleys of, apparently, non-Euclidian geometry, very easy to g
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Hopefully one would not need turn by turn directions for a daily commute or another familiar route.
But navigating to an unfamiliar location while remaining on a reasonably bike-friendly route can be much harder. More than once I have ended up in a tunnel with no shoulder because the road signs were not easy to read from a bike, and more than once I have found myself in a location where I really didn't want to stop due to safety.
I cannot imagine mounting a GPS to my bike, but I imagine there are times where
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I use a Garmin e-Trex (battery powered GPS designed for hiking) mounted on my handlebar. That works pretty well.
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Also, even at 10mph, looking at a map while you're moving isn't a very bright move. When I was learning the bike route to get to work, I would stop to check maps. Not sure why people can't do that... seems a perfectly sane way to navigate on a bike.
Checking maps while cycling is inadvisable at best. You're right to consult a map while pulled over. Perfect.
But even checking a map is unnecessary and brings me to the point that this article is really pretty silly. I'm not normally one to complain about Slashvertisements (first time I've even used that word) but this is definitely a time to complain about it because SMARTPHONES
Both Android and iOS have Google Maps which delivers turn-by-turn directions for bicycles. I have a bluetooth speaker built expres
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People can 40 or 50mph on flat road? For what, 10 seconds? At any rate, this invention is pointless. I put my smartphone on a phone mount on the bike, crank up the audio and simply listen when it tells me to turn.
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Try it somewhere like Germany, in towns you've never been in before.
I did that, extensively, and the only way to get useful information from the map was to stop and read the map - and even then it was challenging.
This, from someone who can navigate pretty much the entire state of Florida, including minor county roads, by automobile at 60mph+ without need for a GPS or map.
I met a guy who was going "back-country" in Northern Norway - he used a map strapped to his handlebars in protective rain sleeving. Map i
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Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Cyclists around here love to pick the busiest, curviest, narrowest roads they can find and they JUST LOVE the morning and afternoon rush hours. That's when and where I see them the most. Did I mention they overwhelmingly pick roads with no real bike lanes or even decent shoulders?
Congratulations! You just found out that there are people who cycle to work. And they do that despite the bad infrastructure.
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Cyclists dont reach 80 KPH.
Maybe that's true in the Netherlands. On many of the roads in around Portland Oregon cyclists regularly reach 50 MPH (a tad faster than 80 KPH).
A 20 KPH crash on a push bike can be as bad as a 60 KPH crash in a car, easily fatal if you're not wearing a helmet.
Define "push bike"; I don't know what you are talking about. Adults around here ride various types of pedal bikes; the push bikes are the tiny things without pedals for toddlers.
A cyclist crashing at 14 MPH (faster than 20 KPH) is unlikely to sustain anything worse than a bit of road rash if he's using good equipment (gloves and helmet being part of good equipment)
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I live in Oregon, and I lived in Portland for a couple years including downtown... and you're totally full of it. Cyclists here ride the same speed as everywhere else, and if there are idiots that get up to 50, that's because they're going down a hill. If you aren't sure where you're going or if you need to turn before you get to the bottom, you don't want to go that fast anyways. Anywhere that you need navigational assistance, you're going much slower; even, a controlled speed. ;)
The reason cyclists downto
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Someone is full of it.
Nuff said.
A bit of background for those who don't know about Oregon bicycle politics. Bicycling in Oregon is booming. It is bringing in a lot of tourist dollars because we've got some really great places to ride, and it has become a major, and fast growing, style of commuting in Portland and some other towns.
And that is pissing off a lot of automobile drivers because they think that striping shoulders as bike lanes and paving bike paths is somehow using up precious tax dollars that
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Define "push bike"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WmhMKWt8DI [youtube.com]
Name commonly used by people who don't live in Portland.
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Bicycles have changed a lot in the 40 years since that song was last sung. and I don't think that "push bike" ever got much use outside of Australia.
I don't know about Australia, but I think much of it has also changed.
Anyway, thanks for the link. That clarifies where the "push bike" comment might have come from (very far from North American, European, and Asian bicycle communities)
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Define "push bike"; I don't know what you are talking about.
We have this Internet thing, it cures ignorance: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=push+bike [lmgtfy.com]
Adults around here ride various types of pedal bikes; the push bikes are the tiny things without pedals for toddlers.
No, they're called balance bikes.
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To reach 80 kph with a bicycle you've got to cycle down a steep hill and have a frying pan for a crank (on a road bike you'd need a 60 teeth chainring and 120 rpm of cadence to reach that speed). I live in the mountains and when decending, I can reach 65 kph on a 26" with slicks at a 48-11 gear, but no more - not possible to spin any faster.
And when climbing that ki
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I regularly reach 35 MPH on downhills around Portland OR, such as Greeley Ave and Time Oil Rd, and have been passed by cyclists doing 15+ MPH faster. I ride a Specialized aluminum 700-C frame, 28 mm tires at 110 psi, standard road bike, no clip-in pedals or handlebar extensions. My big chainwheel is 52 T, my small cog is 14 T, I'll leave it to you to figure out the gear inches (hint: somewhere around 110, AIR). My highest cadence used to be 128 but that was years ago, and I could not keep that up for more t
Not really (Score:2)
Just about everyone that makes a start on orienteering has trouble navigating at a walking pace.
Re:How about... (Score:5, Informative)
I'm guessing you either don't cycle much or don't ever travel and cycle some place new?
Some of us happily ride 50, 60, 70 ... 100 miles when we go out on the bike. Typically it's on rural roads with lots of turns. Sometimes you might make a new route to suit the distance you want to cycle. So you combine lots of bike friendly roads you are used to riding on, but you use them in a different way. Remembering which turn you're planning to take typically involves printing out a map or cue sheet.
Other times, someone else will have plotted a ride using bike friendly roads you are unfamiliar with. Thirty turns wouldn't be unusual. That's a lot to remember, even if you have a pretty good idea of where you are.
Surely this is much better than a cyclist constantly checking their odometer so they don't miss the next turn.
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I'm guessing you either don't cycle much or don't ever travel and cycle some place new?
Looking at your UID you're not a spring chicken: your UID is older than mine.
What this means is that you were alive and mobile before satnavs existed as a consumer item. What on earth did you do back then?
I remember what I did. I looked up the route on a map, and would try to memorize a few key points for the next chunk of the journey, things like big road intersections etc. Worked well. Still worked well.
Oh yeah and tha
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"We managed before" has got to be one of the stupidest arguments for anything in existence.
You know, given the whinyness of some people I do honestly wonder how on earth they did survive without smartphones. It's not a question of surviving before, it's more that people seem to have become unable to survive without a technical solution for everything.
The thing is, an integral part of cycling is looking where you are going. This meshes extraordinarily well with navigating by looking where you are going. And
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I used to bicycle over 200 miles a week, and most of that was without even an odometer. One of the great joys was the feeling of "I am going to go that direction and see what happens" for x miles or y hours.
And if I needed to get somewhere specific, I'd look at a route in advance and head that direction. If I got mixed up, I'd just head in the right cardinal
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LOL, I remember the stone age. I posted a rant along those lines above. I just wish the kids would stay off my lawn while they are trying to figure out where they hell they are going! ;^)
Re:Um, voice directions? (Score:5, Interesting)
Then again, I don't live in the US. I live in the Netherlands and biking is far more common here.
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But even when I am not Questing I wear a fluorescent yellow jacket and my lights work. I like to be visible because I don't like to be a bloody mess. It's hard to clean blood off a jacket.
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Yeah, in my State if you mount something with blue lights on your handlebars, and you're not an emergency vehicle, you can get a huge fine.
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Then way are most of the stupid people driving SUV's then?
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Next thing you will suggest is obeying traffic laws, stopping at stop signs and riding on the proper side of the road. All insanity! Pure insanity!