gpx or tcx

[PK99]

i export from ride with gps in gpx format and have the map display in automotive mode with turn by turn OFF.

route then display as wide black and white tram tracks with turning easy to spot and instant audible warnings if stray off track. MUCH easier to follow than standard map display ... like flying over the route on a car sat nav.

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

Phew!

I had read Ride's info, so grabbed the TCX, but the organisers sent out the GPX and TCX files anyway, so started to question myself.

Thank you to you both

 

[Albert]

TCX works for me.

 

[Matthames]

As it has been mentioned, GPX and TCX are both XML based formats. GPX is designed mainly for way points and is ideal for uploading a course you want to cycle; however it doesn't naturally contain data for things like heart rate, cadence, etc. To store that information, this needs to get added at the end, so you would end up with a bigger file.

TCX although a propitiatory format to Garmin, is ideal for storing work out data as that is what its primary intention was. This schema contains all the necessary information for things like heart rate, cadence, etc.

Software wise, somebody with some fairly basic programming skills could actually write a parser for both those formats and extract the information they need.

FIT on the other hand is a digital format so to program a reader for it takes significantly more skill. The advantages of this is that it is a more compact file format and can contain significantly more detail. During the winter I was starting to attempt to write a reader for FIT files written in Python. Although I would take another crack at it when I become less busy and can sit down and get my head around the specifications.