Has anybody got a bike GPS working on the cheap?

RetiredGreyFox · 12 Mar 2023 at 14:13

So for instance "I bought this £10 device off Amazon, bought a Lebara Sim at £1 a month and put the GPS in my saddle tube" etc.

Obviously I know if you pay peanuts you get a monkey but sometimes you may get a gorilla.

Thanks

Temujin · 12 Mar 2023 at 17:29

What about an Apple Air tag, if you're already in their ecosystem that is?
Although, this is assuming you want it to track something rather than actually use it as a gps haha.

RetiredGreyFox · 12 Mar 2023 at 17:49

Temujin said:
What about an Apple Air tag, if you're already in their ecosystem that is?
Although, this is assuming you want it to track something rather than actually use it as a gps haha.

I have a Samsung and watching a couple of videos yesterday their version is supposed ot be better but still depends on other phones being around.

Oh yeah, it's to track my bikes if ever they get nicked.

Martynt74 · 19 Mar 2023 at 20:29

Oh. To keep an eye for stollen stuff I’m not sure if there’s a cheap option.

AirTags etc only work by Bluetooth so limited by distance.

We looked at them for the dog but once you tule out the rubbish stuff it was quickly into fairly pricey territory. I’d just suggest decent insurance and move on.

PikeyPriest · 20 Mar 2023 at 07:30

For basic navigation, there are free phone apps that work fine. Strava..etc are perfectly fine to record distance/speed/route. Phones will go through battery quite quickly, but will be more than enough for a 3-4 hour ride. If you are doing beyond this you are not likely to be considering a phone anyway. The negative is that phone mounts are not particularly cheap and when securing a phone worth hundreds it’s difficult to be cheap. This money is lost if you ever transition to a dedicated GPS computer in the future.

I think the cheapest GPS will be around £130ish for a garmin edge 130 new. Could probably get cheaper on eBay.

Edit - ahh realise this is for tracking not navigation.

AndyCr15 · 20 Mar 2023 at 07:38

Tbf, the thread would have been clearer asking about a 'tracker' I guess. Yeah, I've wondered about these a few times. I know some people use AirTags and I think they're generally quite useful, even if only via BT. I think Google are working on their own version now and I might get one once they do. What are Samsung's version? I remember TrackR (I think they were called?) but they need someone else with the TrackR app installed to be located, so pretty useless.

RetiredGreyFox · 20 Mar 2023 at 09:32

AndyCr15 said:
Tbf, the thread would have been clearer asking about a 'tracker' I guess. Yeah, I've wondered about these a few times. I know some people use AirTags and I think they're generally quite useful, even if only via BT. I think Google are working on their own version now and I might get one once they do. What are Samsung's version? I remember TrackR (I think they were called?) but they need someone else with the TrackR app installed to be located, so pretty useless.

Both Apple and Samsung tags only work if there is an Apple or Samsung phone near the stolen item.
I'm after a simple device like a Vodafone Curve that uses one of their Sims but cheaper