New Spec App?

[mmwada]

Leaving the thread topic aside for awhile, I'd like to say the knowledge of the number of cars following my e-bike will not help if a driver wants to kill me, so the plain rear-view mirror and riding with my ears listening to the ambient shall do. (That is, I don't need the Varia; and I think any cyclist using headphones or ear-phones is somebody with a death wish).

One of the most dangerous things is when a driver overtakes you at the "envelope thickness distance": a Varia or a mirror cannot help there. Another dangerous manoeuvre is the left-turn (in the right hand traffic countries): either the driver following you understands what you are doing or you're dead seconds after.

I agree. It isn't even safe if a person isn't out to get you. I take a different approach to a Varia. There is no certainty in knowing if a vehicle in back of you will jeopardize you. I use the Varia to help me keep aware of things in FRONT of me. For example, if I were to make a left turn and the Varia alerts me that there is a vehicle in back, I won't even bother looking back. I would slow down and wait till the vehicle passes, consider taking the next exit or at times pull over and wait before moving over from the right side of the road. I still look back after there is no Varia alert. Or, there is a hill I ride up a lot. I get a Varia alert and wait to hear the vehicle tires hitting the dot bots on the left side which notifies me the driver is moving over. If I don't hear the tires hitting the dot bots, I would try and safely move over further to the right side. What I don't like about Varia alerts is when going down a hill and Varia alerts me there is a line of cars trying to pass. The only out is to let the drivers push you and try your best to maintain a safe distance/speed.

 

[Calcoaster]

I’ve seen a few posters here say their heart rate monitor works with the new S app. Mine is paired to my Garmin and I see my HR there while on a ride, but the new S app doesn’t show or record it. I don’t see any option within the app to pair a monitor. It does work with the old MC, Ride, Blevo, and Garmin.

So for those of you who have said the new app works with your HR monitor, how did you pair it, or am I misunderstanding and you see it on your garmin/wahoo/other but not in the S app?

 

[CLR]

I’ve seen a few posters here say their heart rate monitor works with the new S app. Mine is paired to my Garmin and I see my HR there while on a ride, but the new S app doesn’t show or record it. I don’t see any option within the app to pair a monitor. It does work with the old MC, Ride, Blevo, and Garmin.

So for those of you who have said the new app works with your HR monitor, how did you pair it, or am I misunderstanding and you see it on your garmin/wahoo/other but not in the S app?

Which head unit do you have on the bike? On my Vado 5 I can pair my HR monitor directly to the head unit by pressing the + and - buttons together to enter the setup mode.

 

[Calcoaster]

Which head unit do you have on the bike? On my Vado 5 I can pair my HR monitor directly to the head unit by pressing the + and - buttons together to enter the setup mode.

Not sure what you mean by head unit. I have a creo and I use a garmin edge 130 on the bike. That does show my HR data because I paired the monitor to it. I don’t see any HR data in the new S app, and no way to pair one. The old MC app did display it and auto paired with my HR monitor.

 

[mfgrep]

Your Garmin edge 130 is your head unit

 

[Calcoaster]

Your Garmin edge 130 is your head unit

So back to my question: does the new S app connect with a heart rate monitor? I already know my garmin does and the old MC app did but the new S app doesn’t seem to.

 

[CLR]

So back to my question: does the new S app connect with a heart rate monitor? I already know my garmin does and the old MC app did but the new S app doesn’t seem to.

The new S app does not have HR support yet. Presumably it will be coming in the near future. Not sure why they released already considering it's lacking so many features from the previous MC app. Right now it will just be confusion until they update the app, manuals, web, etc...

 

[BEC111]

The new S app does not have HR support yet. Presumably it will be coming in the near future. Not sure why they released already considering it's lacking so many features from the previous MC app. Right now it will just be confusion until they update the app, manuals, web, etc...

It’s free and we’re unpaid beta testers.

 

[Calcoaster]

The new S app does not have HR support yet. Presumably it will be coming in the near future. Not sure why they released already considering it's lacking so many features from the previous MC app. Right now it will just be confusion until they update the app, manuals, web, etc...

The new S app does not have HR support yet. Presumably it will be coming in the near future. Not sure why they released already considering it's lacking so many features from the previous MC app. Right now it will just be confusion until they update the app, manuals, web, etc...

Thanks, and I agree it’s odd that S released and is hyping up their new app that leaves out some important basic functions. Maybe they’re striving to be unique as the only available bike app that doesn’t display heart rate.

 

[Tim C]

YEA!!!​

FAQs​

Will the Specialized App offer Smart Control, Charge Limit, and other current features of Mission Control?
We will be adding Smart Control and Charge Limit to the Specialized App in a future release. We have a lot of new features in the works as well–stay tuned!

Nice!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks, and I agree it’s odd that S released and is hyping up their new app that leaves out some important basic functions. Maybe they’re striving to be unique as the only available bike app that doesn’t display heart rate.

It is certainly not easy to write a brand new app that would handle all Specialized e-bikes since 2017 and provide the full capability of Mission Control. I think the SA is missing many e-bike specific features, such as handling Range Extenders, Stealth Mode and many other. It will take a long time to even recreate the full MC capability in SA.

 

[bobf]

It is certainly not easy to write a brand new app that would handle all Specialized e-bikes since 2017 and provide the full capability of Mission Control. I think the SA is missing many e-bike specific features, such as handling Range Extenders, Stealth Mode and many other. It will take a long time to even recreate the full MC capability in SA.

Sounds likely.

Worse, does the S app do things that neither MC nor Ride can do? If so, you need all three to have all possible features. If not, I see reason to have it until it catches up to MC.

On the bright side, it's worth every penny you pay for it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Sounds likely.

Worse, does the S app do things that neither MC nor Ride can do? If so, you need all three to have all possible features. If not, I see reason to have it until it catches up to MC.

On the bright side, it's worth every penny you pay for it.

I work in the software business. The motto I learned over thirty years ago was 'You need to release the brand new software every seven years or your customers get bored' I know Specialized are serious about what they are doing but they are slow a bit.

I can remember the older Giant RideControl app replaced by a new one. Each of them could be described as "disastrous", and Giant is incapable to improve the RideControl. Specialized eventually brings a finished quality product.

 

[rochrunner]

I've used the Varia products with my Garmin Edge devices for a number of years. Does the built-in Varia work with the app in a similar way to the Edge, where approaching vehicles appear as dots moving up one edge of the screen? I really like the Varia for the way it can pick up a vehicle when it's still not quite visible in my mirror, and if nothing else, the warning beep notifies me to start checking my mirror more closely. I also have a ConnectIQ data field installed that can tell me how fast the car is approaching and also displays a count of the cars that have passed.

 

[mschwett]

…

I would be interested in having the Varia....particularly the non camera and non tail light (cheap) version. Unfortunately I don't believe that the Varia will overlay the other app(s) that I have on my phone and (a) I don't want to buy a 2nd head-unit Wahoo, Garmin or similar and (b) I like seeing either GPS or BLevo stats while I am riding and don't wish for my sole view to be the Varia app.

I did read recently that "Ride with GPS" has an agreement with Garmin and Varia works alongside the RideWithGPS app....but I haven't looked into it further.

the taillight version is a must. there are two first level things keeping you safe on a bike - are you aware of the car? is the car aware of you?

the varia taillight goes from solid to flashing or flashing to different flashing when a car approaches. the change in a bright light is very effective at getting a distracted driver’s attention.

as for you being aware of the car, even at moderate speeds with good hearing the varia warns you of a vehicle long before you can hear it or see it in a tiny mirror. you can choose whether you’d like this warning by beeps or colors or both - personally i prefer the bar changing from green to orange in my peripheral vision, without changing focus or looking away from the road ahead, and then a quick glance shows not just how far back the car is, but how fast it’s closing, and how many cars there are. it’s very often the second car that poses the biggest risk, since the first car sees you and the second may not. two or more cars closing fast = get as far over as you can.

i have excellent hearing, but at 20+ mph with unfavorable winds you simply cannot hear cars from far enough away, and a mirror requires too much focus away from the road ahead at high speed to gather a useful amount of information for me.

 

[mschwett]

i took a short ride with the new app this morning.

nothing new to report but the combination of missing or coming someday features make it a nonstarter for me:

1) no dark mode. too much battery usage, distracting.
2) no direct heart rate monitor pairing. this is an absolute must for me.
3) no radar overlay. mission control doesn’t have this either but all other apps i use do.
4) no new data fields, no customizations of the display

 

[mfgrep]

the taillight version is a must. there are two first level things keeping you safe on a bike - are you aware of the car? is the car aware of you?

the varia taillight goes from solid to flashing or flashing to different flashing when a car approaches. the change in a bright light is very effective at getting a distracted driver’s attention.

as for you being aware of the car, even at moderate speeds with good hearing the varia warns you of a vehicle long before you can hear it or see it in a tiny mirror. you can choose whether you’d like this warning by beeps or colors or both - personally i prefer the bar changing from green to orange in my peripheral vision, without changing focus or looking away from the road ahead, and then a quick glance shows not just how far back the car is, but how fast it’s closing, and how many cars there are. it’s very often the second car that poses the biggest risk, since the first car sees you and the second may not. two or more cars closing fast = get as far over as you can.

i have excellent hearing, but at 20+ mph with unfavorable winds you simply cannot hear cars from far enough away, and a mirror requires too much focus away from the road ahead at high speed to gather a useful amount of information for me.

Thank you. I have now noted the taillight version's value. I had previously figured that I already had a good taillight.... But point taken and thanks

 

[ReedM]

The first time I used the Specialized App, it worked as expected. The second time I used it, it performed poorly,dropping the rider power and motor power data part way through the ride.. Everything else seemed to be OK. The following images show what the S app was presenting.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? How did you resolve it?

Regarding the previous discussion of the Varia, I have the radar only version, and would not ride without it. The comments about the varia with light are thought provoking, however. My tail light is bright, but changing brightness with approaching car would be useful, but would work only for the first car in a bunch.

 

[GuruUno]

The first time I used the Specialized App, it worked as expected. The second time I used it, it performed poorly,dropping the rider power and motor power data part way through the ride.. Everything else seemed to be OK. The following images show what the S app was presenting.
View attachment 159629View attachment 159630View attachment 159631
Has anyone else encountered this problem? How did you resolve it?

Regarding the previous discussion of the Varia, I have the radar only version, and would not ride without it. The comments about the varia with light are thought provoking, however. My tail light is bright, but changing brightness with approaching car would be useful, but would work only for the first car in a bunch.

I've had any Specialize app, old or new, drop at times. Doesn't matter if my phone is in a bag, on the bars, in my pocket, strapped to the bike tube, anywhere, it drops.
Possibly due to Bluetooth being the worst communication protocol.
When it works, its great.
When it drops, reboots, turn on, turn off, 30 minutes of wasted time to keep stopping to reconnect make me wonder why.

 

[rayray]

I've had any Specialize app, old or new, drop at times. Doesn't matter if my phone is in a bag, on the bars, in my pocket, strapped to the bike tube, anywhere, it drops.
Possibly due to Bluetooth being the worst communication protocol.
When it works, its great.
When it drops, reboots, turn on, turn off, 30 minutes of wasted time to keep stopping to reconnect make me wonder why.

Yep. I tried the new app, and it dropped off 30 miles into a 40 mile ride. I was trying out the Smart distance management and it reverted to manual mode selection. I was going to try it again, but with others having the same problem I think I’ll stick with the BLEvo app.