Solo Riding Safety device trackers a - which ones to review?

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I’ll include 8-10 of the best... any must sees?

EDIT:
OK so far here is a shortlist

Smart device:

1. Apple Watch Series 4 (fall detection)
2. TBC
3. TBC

Dedicated & GPS:

1. Specialized Angi
2. SPOT Device or similar
3. TBC

App Based:

1. Strava (Full Version)
2. TBC
3. TBC

 

[R120]

There seem to be 4 main types

• Pure standalone ones that work via GPS/Satellite and don't need a phone connection ,e.g the Spot devices
• Dedicated devices like the Angi that are a sensor and need to connect to your phone via an app
• Garmins/computers/Smart watches that have a function built in to enable emergency response, again likely need phone connection.
• Phone app that has no external device or sensor, e.g Strava (the full version) which has a tracking function.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

I use WhatsApps ‘Location’ when I do solo rides which allows you to share your ‘live’ location for a period of 15 mins or 1 hour or 8 hours.
However, I believe you need to a working mobile phone connection for this to work which will not be the ideal if you are miles into the deep dark wilderness or in a mobile phone signal blind spot.....

Be good to see what other better options are out there as I do a lot of solo rides and need to get this sorted.

Not sure what they use for skiing as I know there are personal trackers you can wear in case you get buried in an avalanche.

I think a ‘Spot device’ is what I need as mentioned by @R120 in the above post.

 

[Pdoz]

Not everyone rides in mobile range so please include the 2 sat based trackers / emergency beacons

Spot
Garmin inreach

 

[R120]

We can do a test on Northern Monkey at the forum ride, draw straws to see who gets to huck themselves at the gap jump and see which device records the crashes best ?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

We can do a test on Northern Monkey at the forum ride, draw straws to see who gets to huck themselves at the gap jump and see which device records the crashes best ?

I just drew the short straw for you

I have updated the opening post... I'll get sourcing some products - feel free to add suggestions.

 

[estoril]

how about Wahoo Bolt or Roam? They both have a tracking ability

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

how about Wahoo Bolt or Roam? They both have a tracking ability

I have the Bolt so I can definitely do that one easily.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

I just drew the short straw for you

I have updated the opening post... I'll get sourcing some products - feel free to add suggestions.

Garmin Inreach mini looks like a good option but fairly expensive and on top of that it also requires a monthly subscription

 

[HikerDave]

I’ll include 8-10 of the best... any must sees?

EDIT:
OK so far here is a shortlist

Smart device:

1. Apple Watch Series 4 (fall detection)
2. TBC
3. TBC

Dedicated & GPS:

1. Specialized Angi
2. SPOT Device or similar
3. TBC

App Based:

1. Strava (Full Version)
2. TBC
3. TBC

I work for Garmin who just just announced the GPSMAP 66i, a handheld GPS mapping device with text-based sattelite communications; rescue coordinated by 24/7 GEOS company. I’m speaking for myself and have no inside knowledge but it looks like a combination with the InReach devices designed by the Yarmouth, Maine facility, formerly DeLorme.

You can buy rescue insurance from GEOS which covers your extraction to a medical facility.

 

[aarfeldt]

Many riders use the Garmin Fenix watch, to track the ride and maybe use the mapping software.
There is a new feature called IncidentDetection, which will text the contacts allready chosen for this feature.

I would like to know, what to trigger the Incident detection and how it generally works.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Many riders use the Garmin Fenix watch, to track the ride and maybe use the mapping software.
There is a new feature called IncidentDetection, which will text the contacts allready chosen for this feature.

I would like to know, what to trigger the Incident detection and how it generally works.

Is that the one you have @Jonny2

 

[highpeakrider]

iPhone running find my friend or using beacon buddy in the ViewRanger app.
Other half uses find my friend to make sure I’m still on the move.

The Apple Watch would be better cellular to make it truly independent, I went back to an old iPhone as it gets better signal strength in the hills.

 

[mark1a]

A number of Garmin Edge devices (820, 530, 830, 1030 & possibly others) have live tracking and incident detection with the ability to message contacts via the Garmin Connect app. Once triggered, you have a 30 second countdown to cancel, if you don't your nominated contacts receive a message and a GPS position.

 

[iXi]

Many riders use the Garmin Fenix watch, to track the ride and maybe use the mapping software.
There is a new feature called IncidentDetection, which will text the contacts allready chosen for this feature.

I would like to know, what to trigger the Incident detection and how it generally works.

I have the forerunner 245 to track my rides and it has incident detection. It needs your phone in Bluetooth range to work. The watch has an accelerometer in it that senses a crash. When I went OTB the other day it worked. It was a pretty low speed crash maybe 15-20km/h but it knew I had hit the deck.

 

[Mikerb]

my advise would be to look at Personal Locator Beacons ( PLBs). There is a huge difference between the GPS capability of a phone and a dedicated GPS device both in terms of accuracy and satellite coverage. Most use next to no battery either. Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 at £199.95 made by a UK company is widely used by sailors/windsurfers etc if venturing offshore but it is just as functional on land. 7 year battery life means just add it to your kit and forget it until you need it.

 

[ChrisB NZ]

You can classify these devices in various ways:
Needs a phone (either as an app or device paired to a phone) vs stand alone device
Needs mobile network coverage vs satellite
Provides voice communication vs just an emergency signal/message of some sort
Needs manual activation vs automatic activation (fall detection or geofence breach)

They all have their use cases. Good to cover these options. But this might become a big test!

And of course cost comes into it - both in terms of upfront cost and ongoing subscriptions.

 

[Stumpy]

iPhone running find my friend or using beacon buddy in the ViewRanger app.
Other half uses find my friend to make sure I’m still on the move.

The Apple Watch would be better cellular to make it truly independent, I went back to an old iPhone as it gets better signal strength in the hills.

+1 for the Mrs using find my friend to see I’m still moving, especially after the heart attack scare

 

[Stumpy]

my advise would be to look at Personal Locator Beacons ( PLBs). There is a huge difference between the GPS capability of a phone and a dedicated GPS device both in terms of accuracy and satellite coverage. Most use next to no battery either. Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 at £199.95 made by a UK company is widely used by sailors/windsurfers etc if venturing offshore but it is just as functional on land. 7 year battery life means just add it to your kit and forget it until you need it.

I’m assuming you have to enable the beacon manually? If so, not helpful in a immobilised or blackout/unconscious incident I guess?

 

[Pdoz]

I’m assuming you have to enable the beacon manually? If so, not helpful in a immobilised or blackout/unconscious incident I guess?

Yes, a plb / epirb is an emergency beacon - not a tracking device. They're a cost effective way to call for help, but have the disadvantages that you need to be able to make that call ( both be conscious AND be lucky enough to have sat reception) - unfortunately, being a one way device you have no way of knowing if the signal has been received , or communicating what help you actually need.

I've been involved in a couple of remote area rescues and was lucky enough to have my sat phone to communicate with emergency services - saving several hours by being able to explain what help to send ( eg a 4.5 hour 4x4 ambulance with paramedic for a brocken neck instead of the police officer they were going to send to determine the nature of the incident , and the other incident they deployed a helicopter immediately for a punctured lung) .

The sat phone is large, so I was hoping a garmin inreach mini would suffice as both a 2 way text communication device ( via sat) and a tracker so they could find my body if / when I couldn't send a signal. As mentioned in the other thread, I'm dissapointed with my garmins ability to reliably transmit signals in hilly / mtb riding situations - and quite frankly paying garmin for every position ping EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T GO THROUGH sucks.

Looking forward to a better option so I can one day sell my satphone , plb, AND garmin inreach mini!

 

[Mikerb]

I’m assuming you have to enable the beacon manually? If so, not helpful in a immobilised or blackout/unconscious incident I guess?

Yes...you just press a button but the other scenario is that you do not return or make contact and then that person can alert the emergency services and as long as the device ID is known it can be located. So it is a matter of having an overall system in place as well as a reliable gps device.

 

[Pdoz]

Yes...you just press a button but the other scenario is that you do not return or make contact and then that person can alert the emergency services and as long as the device ID is known it can be located. So it is a matter of having an overall system in place as well as a reliable gps device.

Sorry, are you saying a plb can be detected even when not activated? Where did you get this information from? I'm reasonably sure my plb with an 11 year battery life isn't transmitting a location signal all the time

 

[Dax]

I use stalk my friends on iPhone, but this is a pointer at best with the mobile signal in places we ride.

They're a cost effective way to call for help, but have the disadvantages that you need to be able to make that call ( both be conscious AND be lucky enough to have sat reception)

How good is sat reception? I assumed it would work more or less anywhere

 

[Pdoz]

How good is sat reception? I assumed it would work more or less anywhere

Unfortunately not - you need reasonably clear line of sight to the satellite , so for example down a gulley or in a deep valley you may be out of luck.

 

[Mikerb]

Sorry, are you saying a plb can be detected even when not activated? Where did you get this information from? I'm reasonably sure my plb with an 11 year battery life isn't transmitting a location signal all the time

Yep..sorry...reading that back its not clear. I was trying to say that firstly the only completely reliable device is a PLB but a complete safety system would include a communication/tracking device. As you say the PLB has to be activated. I would not rely on a comms/tracking device in heavilly wooded or mountainous terrain though.

 

[Pdoz]

Yep..sorry...reading that back its not clear. I was trying to say that firstly the only completely reliable device is a PLB but a complete safety system would include a communication/tracking device. As you say the PLB has to be activated. I would not rely on a comms/tracking device in heavilly wooded or mountainous terrain though.

Unfortunately you also can't rely on a plb in heavilly forrested or mountainous terrain either - they rely on direct line communication to geo satelites, and if that's not available HOPEFULLY a leo satelote will eventually pas over. Meanwhile, you have no idea there has been a delay ( or that you need to move somewhere)

I wish there was some sort of "signal detected" feature , but at the moment I carry both the inreach mini and a plb , and pray that my wife cares enough to come looking if I'm significantly delayed and the inreach insn't getting a signal out ( hopefully I'm only 1/2 missed inreach positions away ....)

 

[Mikerb]

Doesn't satellite coverage depend on which gps service the specific plb uses? Some better than others.

 

[Mikerb]

Just to provide some balance as far as cost v functionality is concerned I ride most in woodland. I use a dog tracking device....not for my dog...but as a anti theft device on my bike. On my local rides it has recorded a full track everytime (where my Levo has failed to do that!).....it has a live tracking function as well. Subscription £4 a month. Battery life is about a week of being permanently on. The cost in my case is primarilly for its anti theft use so as a ride tracker its free! So I guess a lot depends on the specific territory you ride whether you need anything more sophisticated and expensive.

 

[davez]

I use the live track feature in my Wahoo Elemnt. I am extremely happy with the device, for my purposes far superior to the Garmin devices. The display is brilliant and also the integration with Komoot (which I use for discovering new routes and for navigation). You can also download the tracks so you do not need mobile coverage during the trip. Also the Strava integration with live KOM information is a lot of fun (as long as I have a good day ;-)

 

[steve_sordy]

Unfortunately not - you need reasonably clear line of sight to the satellite , so for example down a gulley or in a deep valley you may be out of luck.

Not in thick forest then?