This is for BreakAway users, especially for the man himself @app4g
Today I realised that I could take the BreakAway app “off bike” and use it to navigate my running intervals workout. (I assume people usually use a garmin watch for this but as a beginner I can’t justify shelling out the cash at this stage). However the timer and audio prompts from BreakAway work perfectly for this, and of course the icu integration is brilliant. I think I’m on to a winner!
So today I turned on the app while I drove to work, just to see what data it would collect. I was able to collect HR using my verity sense, but no speed/distance numbers were coming through. I assume the app usually takes its speed and distance calculations from the bike sensors? As you’ve worked out by now, I’m wondering if it would be possible to add GPS capabilities so that I could collect that data whilst running?
I’m guessing this could open up another use case for the brilliant BA app which could boost its popularity. Failing this, does anyone know of a different way that I could achieve the above without buying a watch?
Hi There… Tx for the brilliant words. (a review on the app store would be absolutely fantastic )
As you’ve succinctly surmised, the app currently does not use GPS (it was created for indoors, so I only did “virtual GPS” and external sensors)
If you had a stryd pod, (and I’m presuming a footpod - I hve a Garmin Footpod - the very old version but it’s ANT+) then it will take Speed and Distance from it.
I’m currently working on getting MOXY supported but i will see how big of a task it is to support GPS (and what hoops I need to go thru w/ Apple Approval)
Location Data is a sensitive thing.
When I was running/cycling without a watch, I used to use cyclemeter app.
Awesome, thanks for that. Yes uploaded a review in the App Store but it says there haven’t been enough yet for it to display? I think for now I might just use a workaround where I collect my speed/distance/hr data in a different app whilst using BA as my intervals coach. Thanks again
I’ve made quite a lot of progress in adding GPS to the app. Wasn’t as hard as i thought it would be.
Now I can get dist / speed / location / Altitude via GPS and testing in the simulator + uploading the FIT seems to also be good. (still working on displaying the GPS map/route/track)
I need to work out how to present the UI to cater for outdoor activity.
Possible ways
Automatic - Based on if no Smart Trainer is detected (but HR is detected) Pressing Start button will activate GPS (vs No Bluetooth Sensors Connected at all = TestMode)
Long Press START button - pop up a dialog box for user to switch between (outdoor Run / outdoor Ride) else default to indoor w/ normal press
I think #2 is best, #1 is of course better but would take a lot more logic and possible wrong path. (eg: What happens if user doesn’t have any BT sensors conencted at all?)
I’ll ping you when I have a beta ready.
I think this just means that either apple is approving it or there’s < x users in your country giving a rating/review. But in any case, this is awesome!! TX!
Sounds really good. Yes I like option 2 as well - at times I have to faff around to get my HR sensor to connect, and it would be frustrating if this caused the app to switch modes automatically.
Just thinking about it further, I wouldn’t find the map etc all that useful and just want to be able to compare speed and distance between similar workouts. However I imagine some people would want to upload their maps etc into Strava so is probably useful
Looks like I missed your 2nd reply. Anyways, i think I’ve just finished getting the map (display) supported. Now it will be able to function like Google Maps, drawing the user’s track on the Map, Orient it TrackUP and also follow the user’s current location.
Long Press the “Start” Button. Once workout is finished / discarded etc, it will reset back to Indoors.
when Outdoor (Ride / Run) is selected, these icons would appear much like Apple Maps / Google Maps. There’s the visual cue that GPS is being used w/ the (non functioning)satellite icon.
Speed/Distance/Pace all seems to work with data taken from GPS (tho I have to check when external sensors are connected) I’ve not done any special filtering / auto pause / lap functionality to the app at all and I’m currently not planning to do that (except maybe a Lap button)
Before your 2nd reply, i’ve already gotten stuffs done except (and written to the FIT file - Including their GPS map) except for actually showing the user route on the display.
The last beta version (TestFlight 93 (41) ) of the APP is working as expects with outdoors activity (Bike/Run) of course you will need all sensors (HR, Cadence, Speed, Powermeter) for full stats
Yes I have been using it for a few runs and have found it really good. Can customise the audio cues to announce target heart rate and duration at the end of each hard effort. Perfect solution. Now I just need to get out there and put the miles in!
This is now Released officially. For outdoor modes using GPS, I have also added using the internal Barometer (> iOS15) to get more accurate altitude data.
Also added directional arrows on loaded maps. If you’re riding outdoors with GPS, you can get your pre-planned route loaded and as you ride, it will also plot your current (completed) route.
I have experimented with turn-by-turn directional cues but have yet to implement. (working on other possibly higher value features)
Updated to the latest version, but there are a couple of issues:
1, where do I load the map, if I want to load a certain gpx file so I can sync it to strava after indoor training to show virtual map data, similar to zwift
2, after selecting a riding course, can I select the power corresponding to a certain moment by sliding or tapping on the phone screen, right now it can only show the power of the initial stage, for example 120w, of course the app can show the data of all the intervals directly if possible
3、Why can’t I watch the ads when I click on them after the countdown is over, which means I can’t get the gold coins, can you provide a monthly subscription mode?
4、Is there a way to set up two ftp for one account so that my wife and I can train together
You’ll want to “Ride by Slope”. You’ll need to load the GPX/FIT/TCX via Dropbox (This is an old video). This will process the file and then load the climbs and simulate the gradients etc like the actual outdoor ride (slope etc will be dependent on how good the original data is and we do apply smoothing as raw data is very noisy - Ascenders (Climbing) Feature – BreakAway) https://youtu.be/hxPoC9jM4FY
if you’re “Ride by Slope”, there’s no way to “skip” to a particular section. You’ll have to grab /cut that from the GPX/TCX/FIT file.
If you’re “Ride by Power”, the app now breaks each interval down to average power for last 60secs. You can enable the “skip interval” function to move to the desired interval.
Ads are dependent on Google. I know some countries just doesn’t have any ads to show. (After the countdown, does it say “no ads available” or just does’t allow you to tap?)
Supporter level mode is in the works (been saying that for close to a year, but there’s some hoops I need to go thru to make sure implementation is solid, cos unlike using things like paypal, I can’t provide refunds etc, so it’s a bit more involved)
I think I mis-expressed it, it’s in power training mode and I’d like to know the power levels and times for the later stages so I can assign the level of effort instead of just skipping the current workout
no ads available
I use ios and you can pay directly through apple store subscription, no paypal setup needed!
If you use a Previously Ridden Route (from a FIT/TCX file) and use Ride By Power, you can get the intervals broken down by 60s, and you can see the current and next interval power levels (red box below).
Yes. That’s why it’s a bit more involved as unlike paypal, i don’t have any control over it. It’s all dependent on Apple. When things go south, i can’t provide any resolution on my end. Hence the need to be cautious on implementation.
This will only tell you the strength of the current moment and the next phase, which is not conducive to overall judgment
There are two ways to solve this problem, they are trainerroad and zwift, you can refer to them:
In trainerroad, you can click on any moment to know the corresponding power and duration in this interval
In zwift, you can show more than just the next interval by having multiple lines of data in the top left corner
Also, I used the SLOPE mode of this software without a trainer connected and found that the speed figures provided were particularly exaggerated, reaching several hundred km per hour. My wheel length and weight are set correctly, is this because it’s a test mode, or is it a bug in itself?
Ah… you would like to scrub thru the workout and show the corresponding power / HR / Time etc at that point in time. Got it.
The Zwift version is not conducive for such a small screen, esp if you have a outdoor ride type interval (every 60s) that makes for a very long list.
Yes. When no trainer / no sensors are connected, the app will prompt if you want to enable test mode. (this should have popped up and you needed to press “OK”) and the speed etc are greatly exagerated on purpose so if anyone uploads it to Strava etc, it will get flagged.
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