ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: GNU on January 25, 2014, 09:01:51 AM
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Do you listen to music while riding?
Have you wished you knew who's calling while riding?
Have you ever wondered what that space next to the throttle is for?
Pebble is a smart watch that lets you control the music that's playing on your smartphone, shows Facebook messages, text messages and other types of notifications.
Mounted on a late model Zero it blends in perfectly and lets you pause, resume and fast forward the music you're listening to. All through a wireless bluetooth connection.
Check out how well the red Pebble matches the red Zero SR!
With it mounted I've got full control over the smartphone in my pocket using only my thumb. And I can glance down to see text messages (while pulled at a red light or otherwise standing still).
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Cool - it would be nice to see the text messages as they come in, rather than catching up at the end of a ride.
I don't listen to music while riding though - I usually wear earplugs to protect what little hearing I have left ;-)
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The messages are shown as they come in but it's safer to pull over and read them. Reading and riding is not a good mix. At least not in city traffic.
This is the gadget btw: getpebble.com (http://getpebble.com)
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Good grief!!!! What have we come to?
Trikester
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Good grief!!!! What have we come to?
Trikester
So true.... In the 80's you were a techno freak (a geek now !) if you had a CLOCK on your bike !!!
Laurent
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I listen to music on my commute so this looks like a nice option for me. Reading the description, it says that the backlight turns on with a flick of your wrist. Does it randomly turn on the backlight while riding? How does it work at night? Are the side buttons really operational with gloves on?
Curious because everything else looks fantastic for my commute.
Jose Soriano
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The backlight hasn't turned on when I've been riding with it. It will however turn on when you press a button or receive a notification from your phone.
I sometimes push pause/resume to turn on the backlight to see the artist&song information.
It works great with thick and stiff gloves. The buttons are on the other side of the rubber lip of the rubber throttle grip so you just press the side of the grip on top of the button you want to press. It may sound odd but works really well. In fact it feels like it could have been an original accessory. Mine is even color matched with the fairings on my bike :)
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This strikes me as a terrible idea. Not sure why you would listen to music whilst riding but texts? If it was that important that it couldn't wait until you stopped they would phone you.
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I am not a music-listening rider, but I have to admit that this is a more suitable info display than the iPhone mount. I'm not jazzed about the Pebble, but I will keep watching for something that works for me.
Also, I have had friends text me while I'm in transit to update plans and it was relevant. It's important to keep information displays away from your field of vision while riding, and the Zero has been small enough that this is easy. I normally wait for a stop light delay or pull to the side of the road to read, anyway.
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I have a Recon Jet on order: http://www.reconinstruments.com/products/jet/ (http://www.reconinstruments.com/products/jet/)
And inquired about the Skully helmet beta program: http://www.skullyhelmets.com/ (http://www.skullyhelmets.com/)
I think moving things that cause you to look down into your vision's periphery is a good thing. In FOV obviously not so clearly a good idea. HUD GPS navigation sounds great, and not having to tilt my head down to see my speed would be welcome. (Tilted down I can neither see ahead, nor my mirrors.)
Things like reading texts when you're trying to meet up could be okay if you have the discipline to not be diverting your focus at the wrong times, though sending would clearly be both illegal and dangerous. Wearable and AR tech is coming, to cagers too, there will be a lot of new lines to be drawn between the safety enhancing and the dangerously distracting... And how much information can be handled at once is going to vary person by person.
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It get's even better.
With the upcoming 2.0 update Smartwatch supports turn by turn GPS relay from your smartphone.
I've got that set up and working on my Pebble on my SR. It's very useful!
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Sold! Thanks GNU!
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Just picked it up. Looks like it will work great for my usage. So where or how do I get the gps relay app?
Jose
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Cool!
It's called PebbGPS and it's a 2.0 application. Meaning you have to either wait for 2.0 to be released OR get the SDK.
Here's the SDK:
https://developer.getpebble.com/2/ (https://developer.getpebble.com/2/)
Here's the page for PebbGPS:
http://www.mypebblefaces.com/apps/1896/7109/ (http://www.mypebblefaces.com/apps/1896/7109/)
The needed app costs $1
Let us know if you find more Zero friendly apps!
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Although I agree safety takes priority - there are times when you need to be connected. I work in the medical field - sometimes when I'm "on call" I have to respond right away. If the hospital has been trying to call me during my 30 minute ride home - and I don't realize until I get home... I'm in trouble!
This is what I did (I don't answer the phone while riding, of course, but I can see the phone ringing, pull over, and call back. It's bulkier than the Pebble option, but it works for me):
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Nice setup!