computer distance error

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <Keep it in the [email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

higb said:

I'm kind of shocked that Garmin sells a handlebar mount for the eTrex ... but other than the
GPS turning itself off on minor fall-downs (not really crashes), it's held up pretty well.
Knock wood.

Put a _thin_ slice of foam rubber inside the battery compartment, or wrap the batteries in tape,
and your gps will not longer shut itself off.

This can also help with cell phones that power off spontaneously. Just fold up a small piece of
paper a few times and slip it between the phone and the battery. Fixes mine, and the phone of she
who must be kept happy.

Stephen Baker said...

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You'd be a damn fool to try it with a map for a different trail, now wouldn't you........

Okay, I'll play along. The point was that maps aren't available for every trail or for all of the
optional parts if there is a map.

Quoted message said:

Since most maps today are taken from satellite or aerial photography, the distances given are
pretty good.

Sorry, I don't buy it. If you want to know how far you travelled, there is no better way than with a
computer attached to your bike.

Quoted message said:

No being a retrogrouch (in this case) since R@nsh asked why a map and timer would help. Just
pointing out how it was done in the Old Days. ;-)

Steve "Tan lines all over the place....."

Progress can be a great thing, eh?

JD said...

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No, stupid is weighing down your bike with useless electronic [censored].

I'm not worried about the 40 grams or so that my computer weighs, and after reading your posts for a
few months now, I'm surprised that you would be.

Quoted message said:

For $30, I can drive to the Monarch Crest and back. Riding one of the most epic rides in the
country sure beats the hell out of a piece of useless [censored] on my handlebars. Numbers, yeah that's
important.

I'm sure it's a great ride, and if it was that kind of choice I would have to agree with you. But
for me the problem is finding the time to burn $30 worth of gas.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No need to be a retro-grouch for something so useful.

No need to listen to the hype and buy everything the media tells you that you need. Mindless
drones are exactly what they need to keep the machine oiled.

I'm not sure what hype you think it was that drove me to buy a computer. I don't read biking
magazines or even the Net magazines. I didn't know that computers were hyped that much. I bought one
because I think they are fun and give you interesting info. Heck, I had a speedometer on my bike
when I was a kid in the '70's. It was fun then and it's fun now.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you time the ride you still need a watch, but if you have a computer, you can leave the watch
at home and not get a tan line on your left wrist.

And that would give you higher style points with all of the other trendoids.

That was an attempt at humor. But a computer does dispense with the need for a watch.

Stephen Baker said...

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That's not what you said, though, and my phychic abilites were obviously lacking yesterday.

No, I'm afraid it is your attention that was lacking, because I said more or less the same thing in
both posts.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sorry, I don't buy it.

Don't buy what? The fact that aerial photos are even semi-accurate? Or the fact that people have
been accurately navigating all over the planet using effectively hand-drawn maps, developed
without aerial photog, for hundreds of years (wel,, OK, maybe they have only been _really_
accurate for a hundred or so.....)

I don't know what sort of maps you get for the trails you ride on, but no trail map I have ever had
reveals how it was made or gives any guarantee of accuracy. But no matter how it was made, the only
way to know how far YOU travelled is to have an odometer on your bike.

Quoted message said:

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Progress can be a great thing, eh?

Progress is great, and I enjoy it's fruits, I just don't happen to think that having a bike
puter on the bike will make me enjoy the ride any more. If you think differently, that's what
it's all about.

Steve

Hey, I think we found some common ground.

Stephen Baker said...

Quoted message said:

Slinky says:

Quoted message said:

Hey, I think we found some common ground.

About feckin' time, too! But can you find your way there accurately without GPS co-ordinates and a
cycloputer?

;-)

Steve

I don't have a GPS or a HRM, nor will I anytime soon. Some gadgets are cheap and useful, others
aren't. Actually a GPS might be amusing at times, but I am officially broke now, and even if I
wasn't, I regret that I only have one life to give to my hobbies. After getting my new Loco-Moto in
shape, I will be living on Ramen for the next year. :-P

Super Slinky said:

There is no error with my computer, because I program the tire roll-out.

Well how much you substract to account for tire deformation due to your and the bikes weight?

Kind regards

Bruno

iddqdATworldonline.dk <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Super Slinky said:

There is no error with my computer, because I program the tire roll-out.

Well how much you substract to account for tire deformation due to your and the bikes weight?

You measure the tyre roll distance while you are on the bike for best result.

Shaun aRe

Super Slinky <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

But no matter how it was made, the only way to know how far YOU travelled is to have an odometer
on your bike.

Smells like [censored], looks like [censored], must be [censored]. That's much too bold of a statement for
such a little mind. You need to get out more and take the time to burn $30 in gas to get to a good
ride occasionally.

JD

Shaun Rimmer <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

iddqdATworldonline.dk <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Super Slinky said:

There is no error with my computer, because I program the tire

roll-out.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Well how much you substract to account for tire deformation due to your and the bikes weight?

You measure the tyre roll distance while you are on the bike for best result.

P.s. - if you measure the distance of say 5 tyre revolutions, then divide by 5 to get the single
circumference, you're going to be more accurate still.

Shaun aRe

Super Slinky <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

[snip]

Quoted message said:

But a computer does dispense with the need for a watch.

Which can be nice, if you don't want to take your hand off the bar. A computer can be useful in
those areas where there are multiple trails that cross one another and you're not familiar with the
area, but *do* have good written instructions.

Normally, I wouldn't use one, only because it'a another thing to break if I crash. If I don't need
it, I don't bring it along. Like last weekend.

If set up well, it will measure distances pretty accurately. And if you like it, and use it, who
cares what anyone else thinks? After all, JD's not right all the time, is he? Or *is* he ... ?

😉

Spider

JD said...

Quoted message said:

Smells like [censored], looks like [censored], must be [censored]. That's much too bold of a statement
for such a little mind. You need to get out more and take the time to burn $30 in gas to get to a
good ride occasionally.

JD

Alright, [censored], I know you are the resident troll and sociopath, but I was content to leave you
alone as long as you did the same. I even gave a civil reply to your first troll, hoping you would
show some class and leave it at that. Weren't you the one [censored] about leg humpers? Yet here you
are humping away. You also make comments about e-tards, yet what are you? A big obnoxious mouth on
the Net, because here you can act the cretin that you are without consequences. E-tard indeed. No
surprise that you are a lying two-faced hypocrite. That was self-evident after reading two of your
posts. I would offer you the chance to shut your sphincter and do everyone here a favor by keeping
it civil, but I know that would be pissing into the wind. So let the games begin,

encounter on the Net, and I haven't met one yet who could take what they were dishing out.

Spider said...

Quoted message said:

Which can be nice, if you don't want to take your hand off the bar. A computer can be useful in
those areas where there are multiple trails that cross one another and you're not familiar with
the area, but *do* have good written instructions.

I think they have a lot of uses, although none of them are absolutely essential. Like estimating how
long it would take you to get back to the trail head given how far you have traveled and your
average speed. And if you know that you are prone to run out of gas after X miles, then you can use
it to know when to call it a day.

Quoted message said:

Normally, I wouldn't use one, only because it'a another thing to break if I crash. If I don't need
it, I don't bring it along. Like last weekend.

Yeah, but since it is a non-essential item, it is the least of my worries after a crash. It is also
one of the cheapest things on the bike. A brake rotor costs as much and will be a much bigger
problem if it is damaged. Besides, if the computer is next to the stem on a riser bar, it is pretty
well sheltered.

Quoted message said:

If set up well, it will measure distances pretty accurately. And if you like it, and use it, who
cares what anyone else thinks? After all, JD's not right all the time, is he? Or *is* he ... ?

😉

Spider

Believe me, I don't care what anybody thinks, least of all JD. For one thing, as often as not, he
isn't going to say what he really thinks. He's the kind of guy that will say exactly the opposite of
what he thinks and then laugh at anyone stupid enough to believe him.

iddqdATworldonline.dk said...

Quoted message said:

Well how much you substract to account for tire deformation due to your and the bikes weight?

Kind regards

Bruno

What Shaun said is correct. Small changes in tire pressure won't make a significant difference. And
before Mr. Baker interjects with his O-C worries, no, the numbers won't be perfect. No measurement
is ever perfect, but it can be very good.