FYI, for those bike geeks, (I know there are many in SlowTwitch land!)
Coming soon! An Apple IPhone/Touch app that will use ANT+ sensor to display your power, speed, etc on the bike. http://www.wahoofitness.com/
Not sure if any of the data will be downloadable but it is open coded so who know where it will go. So if you have a Touch or IPhone you will have a color display for the power meter metrics.
Does not look so aero unless you can mount flat 
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I have a feeling the first site might be in trouble for using all sorts of trademarked items on their site with out giving credit to Apple, SRM or any other vendor that they are claiming to work with.
For that matter, they haven’t said anything about how to get the data off the phone.
Pedal brain (i’m not affiliated with, but have been following for a while) seems to have a little bit better solution, but time will tell.
I can just see someone using it with an iPad!
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Then they will have a table to unpack their bento box on… =]
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They’ve got a pretty interesting solution that I think long term could really pay off.
They sent me a few units to play with, and I wrote up my first impressions on it last week:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/05/first-look-at-wahoo-fitness-ant-iphone.html
In short, the difference between PedalBrain and them is that PedalBrain aims to be both the manuf and service/software provider, whereas Wahoo simply wants to be more of the OEM and let the market create whatever apps it wants to using that hardware (both an adapter and a built-in case).
There’s some pretty interesting apps in the channel, so I think that Wahoo’s approach may pay off in the long run, especially with the apps coming integrating into Training Peaks and Garmin Connect (both to upload directly from your 310XT to the iPhone to TP, and directly from the iPhone data to TP).
Anyways, tons of pictures and details in my post above, but if you have questions I’ll be happy to answer them here or there.
First I want to say I love your site. =]
I guess a lot of my questions will depend on the application that you end up using with the wahoo sensor. Like I assume PT will probably not write an application that will directly compete with the joule.
I posted the below questions on pedalbrain’s facebook page and never got a response. it seems there is a lot of silence from them right now. so people are starting to wonder if their product is dead before arrival.
Does it write to a file on the iPhone so you don’t have to upload to the web in realtime?
Is the realtime uploading an option that can be turned on or off? I haven’t seen any numbers on what the battery life is with using realtime uploading, what is the longest ride you have been able to do?
Can you set the interval that it uploads to the web?
Is the iPhone app going to be free?
Could it transfer the file to a mac/PC using a Garmin ANT+ dongle or the iPhone charging cable?
Are you going to be including TrainingPeaks’ Training Stress Score (TSS) and Intensity Factor (IF) in realtime on the app similar to the Saris Joule?
I’m sure you don’t know the answers to a lot of them, but I do like that the wahoo group is not trying to be a service provider. that was a turn off that I would have to pay someone to get my data into a format that I want it in. I would prefer if I could just sync it to my mac and similar to a garmin FR60, etc.
Personally I am pretty happy with the good old yellow Powertap CPU computer although it can sometimes be problematic. But those who take phones for emergencies could do double duty as a display that may be easier to view than some of the new stuff like the Garmin Edge 500 which I have been told has a high reflective face in certain light conditions.
I agree in a lot of ways, would you leave your iPhone sitting in transition?
Not to mention the waterproof issues. When that rogue raincloud shows up at mile 40 and starts spitting on your $300 dollar phone. I love the Garmin 705. There’s nothing wrong with adding another toy.
My phone stays in the car on race morning. Last year, someone threw their wetsuit on top of my backpack - which was on the other side of the transition fence. Luckily, it still works.
I really don’t understand why this is so alluring.
I beat the crap out of my cycling computers and I’m a very careful person who really tries to take care of them.
No way in hell I’d mount my iPhone on my bike and risk it getting wet or getting knocked around.
Are the people who are excited about this really going to forgo the Edge 500/Joule and have this huge brick stuck on their handlebars? Don’t knock your bike over! Don’t spill from your water bottle on it! Make sure there isn’t a hint of rain! And for the love of God, don’t crash.
I wonder what each of these companies market research was? Seems like a technology looking for a problem.
I cannot disagree with you. The thought of mounting it on the handlebars does not invoke no worries. Another program on the market is called SportyPal
Here is a program that uses your phone, Blackberry, Iphone, Droid to use the GPS and track your ride for upload later. So a kind of phone in the pocket type of thing that allows you to create maps of your rides with Metrics. It works for walking, running and cycling efforts and is very popular in Europe.
I have a GPS locked Blackberry thanks to Verizon right now, so I do not know how good it is as I cannot use it with my current phone. Just an FYI on it for everyone. No ANT+ features though.
There is a fair amount of value in some of the things that PedalBrain seem to want to offer, e.g. getting a workout route on your phone and being able to see on a map that you’re on route/etc. I was thinking about writing such an app myself as I don’t do well with paper sheets (of course, w/o the fancy ANT+ connectivity as I had no idea at the time someone was working on that).
Now as far as PedalBrain is going to monetize their Web subscription… The amount of data retention available for free seems to be a huge joke, especially considering the price of the device. So on moral/philosophical grounds I would probably not buy into their platform because I think they are too aggressive in trying to monetize all sides of the play: the device, the device owner, and the coach who is interacting with the owner(s).
Edit: this being said, the pedalBrain form factor, including an extra battery (ignoring for now the hassle of charging yet another thing, especially one mounted on your bike), is nicer than the dongle IMO.