The Chainlink

Mobile Phones for Cyclists

Last Sunday morning I dropped my phone at a cyclocross race, and didn't realize that I'd lost it until headed home. As the temperature was -30F with windchill at the time, I thought it better to simply write it off and get another. This will be my fourth phone this year -- all three having died bicycle-related deaths. The first met its end while on a 5 hour ride during one of the summer's worst thunderstorms. (Remember the tornado warnings? Yeah... I was stuck out in Willow Springs with my teammates, scared out of our wits and soaked to the bone.) The second one decided to stop working after it was ejected from my jersey pocket and slid across the street. Of course, it had already been dropped a dozen times or more... and of course the third one is now encased in ice somewhere in Jackson Park. In previous years, I have stepped on phones, dropped them into buckets of degreaser, and just plain misplaced them.

So what do you all use?

I realize that the prudent probably responsibly and carefully store their phones in waterproof bags, or at least in ziplocks. But the latter doesn't help much when dropped. How do you keep your phone running through the rain and snow? And for those of you who are as clumsy as I am, what do you do about dropped (and dirty) phones?

One strategy is to simply use very inexpensive models, which is what I tend to do. (I don't need it to do anything other than make and receive calls.) Some have suggested one of those military grade phones, like the Casio gzone. It might come to that, I dunno. Do these ruggedized phones really work?

I wouldn't really worry about this too much, except that on many of my rides I'm technically responsible for the welfare of my teammates. And from time to time, an emergency call is warranted. So no phone isn't an option.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 29, 2008 at 1:25pm
My solution, after dropping a few phones and either breaking or losing them (once on a street lined with massive leaf piles), has been to put the phone in a zippered pocket or handlebar bag and use a Bluetooth headset. The only way I've really been able to keep the phone reliably secure is inside a secure zippered compartment of some sort. I've tried a few different headsets, and found that most had crappy sound quality, poor design and/or lacked a case that would protect it effectively when not in use.

I've had the best luck with the Motorola Motopure H12. Sound quality is better than most. It's more comfortable than most. It comes with a compact carrying case that protects it well and doubles as a charger. However, it's not cheap. Anything I've tried under $50 has had lousy sound or broke fairly quickly without being abused.

My second choice would be a wired boom headset, with the wire tucked inside my jacket and phone in an inside pocket in cold weather. Wired headsets are a bit trickier, but you get a lot more bang for the buck in terms of sound quality.

Note: if weather looks potentially messy, I zip the phone into a sandwich bag before putting it into pocket or handlebar bag.
Permalink Reply by J on December 30, 2008 at 5:37pm
Thanks for all the suggestions. They have ranged from using pay phones instead of mobiles; to various levels of phone ruggedization; to waterproofing technologies like Golden Shellback; to all sorts of bags and waterproof sacks; to better raincoats with water resistant pockets; to bluetooth devices and lanyards.

I'm going to try out one of the so-called ruggedized phones this year and see how it goes. With my advancing age, I'll be sure to still drop it and soak it from time to time, but hopefully it will take the punishment better than phones past. :)


And who knows, if my team was really really good this year, I promised them wireless in-ear comms -- which, while expensive, would probably solve many of these silly woes.
Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on December 31, 2008 at 10:11am
So, what about cold? Many days recently riding in the cold, I find that my phone's crashed in the 20-30 min. of my commute. Fortunately i haven't needed to make an emergency call on the road. (take off case, open back, re-set, wait, wait, wait, put back and case back on, push on button, wait, wait, dial)

Anyone else have this prob? I suppose i could put it next to my chest when i ride.
Permalink Reply by RodimusPrime on December 31, 2008 at 10:30am
i've got a chrome phone holder, works like a dream, otherwise i always kept it in my bag since i dont' like shit in my pockets when i'm riding

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