Xert EBC

General
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Hi everyone, I’m trying the Xert EBC application on my Android smartphone, I like it and it’s great for outdoor workouts. However my smartphone is really too big to stay on the handlebar and I’m looking for an older smartphone with a screen no larger than 4 inches or 4.5 inches. One question: what is the minimum Android version on which to install the application?

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You probably don’t want anything lower than 6.0 (Marshmallow).
New model phones in the 4" screen range would be the Cubot KingKong Mini 2 (3000 mAh) or a refurbished Palm (needs a power pack for anything longer than 2-1/2 hours).
Both are about the size of a Garmin 1030 and cost around $99USD.
Mini 2 is Android 10. Palm is 8.1.
No need to insert a SIM card to use the device as a bike computer and still carry your phone in your jersey pocket.

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Thanks, I didn’t know Cubot KingKong.
3000 mAh should be enough even for long runs.

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FWIW I use the KKM1, and it’s recorded a 5.5 hour ride indoors (screen on lowest setting the whole time). With battery left to spare. And the KKM1 has a much smaller battery than KKM2.

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Great.
Thanks.

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Me again.
For outdoor use, I’d rather prefer to switch between two full-screen tabs: one with the data fields only and one with the map only.
Also, would it be possible to add a data field with right / left power balance?

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Something we can likely add in future updates. The first release is focused around stability and the very basics/essentials for recording indoor/outdoor rides.

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Perhaps a silly question. Is EBC supposed to replace the current Xert app? Or is it only supposed to be a bike computer?

Please excuse me if this has been talked about somewhere else, but a search for EBC on this forum doesn’t return anything.

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Hi Brett,

It’s meant to do both! Hasn’t been anything shared about this in the past because it’s brand new (still in pre-release at this point)!

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Excellent.
I’ve installed it, and will start testing :wink:

One feedback already is to include planned workouts (if any) in the workout selection screen.

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… Stay tuned

:wink:

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I’ve just installed this on my android phone but when I run it my screen brightness changes to Full On bright and I cannot reduce it as my phone tells me that the app is controlling the brightness. Its far too bright to look at…

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Hi George,

Tapping and holding any of the data field cells will bring up the display menu (which can also be accessed via the Settings > Display menu). From here you can change the brightness of the display (you may need to allow EBC to change system settings to allow for changes in the brightness setting). You can also toggle between various backlight timeouts, to further improve battery performance.

Hope this helps!

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The idea is you start the app, dial in the brightness level desired (varies by phone brand/model), then start your activity.
If you want to lock the setting during the activity tap and hold on a field which brings up the dimmer control with option to click a lock icon. That locks your setting during the activity (tap & hold disabled). If you need to change things, swipe up to release the lock and return to activity home screen then tap Continue.
Indoors I can dial the dimmer all the way down and see things just fine.
Outdoors brightness setting will vary by the day (overcast versus sunny).
The goal is to reduce brightness to what works best for your situation while auto-dim boosts battery runtime considerably.

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Perfect thanks

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Perfect thank you

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Feature request - show radar.

I realise that’s probably an annoying request but I don’t ride outside without radar these days!

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I’ve got a few questions (sorry)

  • Will this be replacing the regular app going forward?
  • Is it stable enough right now to use for daily training indoor and outside?
  • Are there any app crashes?
  • If it crashes does it lose the workout ?
  • Does it require continous connection to the server in order to work or is it totally standalone and only requiring access to upload once the workout is complete?

Thanks

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Also in the same boat :grin: radar would be important

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Yes.

Yup. Still not fully released yet, but you should be okay to test it out and let us know if you encounter any difficulties. We’ve been working on stability for months - you should never lose data. Even if app crashes, force closing and reopening the app should let you continue with the current activity/workout right where you left off.

It will pull your fitness signature and selected + recommended workout(s) when the app starts up, but doesn’t require a continuous connection to a network. If no network is available when the app is started, it uses offline mode, where the last signature pulled from the server is used & workout selection is unavailable. Conversely, if no network is available when the ride is finished, the activity is stored locally on the device and you can upload it later once connected to a network. Hope that makes sense.

I’ve been using a KingKongMini Android phone and a Google Pixel 2 phone (both with no SIM installed) along with a Garmin quarter turn mount on the back to fit on my existing Garmin mounts. I’ve been recording all my activities on this for the past 6 months or so… Works great! We’ve also done some testing with Palm phones, HH Karoo, as well as a whole slew of Samsung and other Android devices.

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