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wolfeh@lemmy.world

I'm looking for the most "open" fitness tracking system (bike computer, Strava alternative, etc.) (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by grue@lemmy.world to c/bicycling@lemmy.world

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I want to get more intentional about my fitness and measuring my performance and whatnot. As such, I'm in the market for fitness tracking technology for the first time.

However, I'm very much a Free Software / self-hosted sort of person, and I'm very un-thrilled about how proprietary all this stuff seems. It looks like the sensors themselves are kind of standardized ("ant+", whatever that is), and some of the data formats can be imported and exported, but the bike computers themselves and the companion apps and the online services appear to be trying to become walled gardens.

Short of building a bike computer from components myself, what hardware and software should I be looking into?

Edit: my most immediate concern is figuring out what bike computer to get, to be able to log data from the ANT+ speed, cadence, and heart rate sensors I've already bought (along with a GPS track). I'm considering anything from a Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt V3 ($300), to an off-brand(?) one like a Magene C506 ($100) or iGPSSport BSC100S ($38), to using my smartphone with an ANT+ dongle and the "A Training Tracker" app (Github, Play Store).

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[+] Krusty@quokk.au -8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I'm a professional bike mechanic. If you're in my store I'd sell you everything you want more. But here I'm just being honest. 90% of the people I sell that shit to... They want it removed within 6 months. "Distracting" is the most common complaint. Extra weight. Extra fuss. Extra gear. Most cyclists want to travel light. (And your smartphone can handle a lot if you feel nerdy.)

It's a neuroticism. I'm not insulting you. That's just the definitional word. The other 10% post their shit on Strava and 90% still don't give a fuck.

But you do. You really do. So do it. You got the money. Go to your LBS and tell them your budget and what you want and I'm sure they will gladly hook you up.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You just want to pontificate and aren't paying attention to anything I'm actually saying. I don't want the proprietary shit normies think is good. A random LBS employee will not be able to help me -- case in point, you sure as hell aren't!

What I need is advice from people at the intersection of bicycling and being Free Software weirdos. Hence asking on Lemmy.

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Lol I'm a bike mechanic, and we put that stuff on people's bikes all the time, and they never ask for it to be removed.

You're just being an ass. Okay it's something you aren't interested in, fine, but there's no need to be an asshole to the people that are interested in the data. Just because you can't handle seeing data and being unable to have fun, doesn't mean everyone else has the same problem.

[–] Krusty@quokk.au 0 points 1 week ago

Nobody puts that shit on their bikes these days except old people who don't know how to use a smartphone.