What GPS Lap Timer Should I Get?

Christian_Woodward
Edited Date/Time 11/10/2022 10:54am
Hey everyone. I'm wanting to start tracking my motos to get faster so I can beat my buddies on the weekends. Was wondering what everyone runs and if there is one better than the other? Thanks!
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kNewc
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kNewc 7/14/2022 10:58am
7/14/2022 10:58am Edited Date/Time 7/14/2022 11:04am
What's your budget, and how accurate do you want to be? If you are just riding with your buddies...do you have a smart watch? If not, a Polar Vantage 2 is a popular one and the GPS works well for a watch. If you want to see which lines are making you faster, or better/more accurate lap data, then you will want a stand-alone device like the XGPS160. The XGPS can show which line you entered/exited or at least get close. Both the Polar watches and XGPS work with LitPro or MX Buddy. I highly recommend MX Buddy. The guy uses Vital, it's a great price, and does everything LitPro and CrossBox do. CrossBox is also another option, but will lock you into their subscription model. Another thing to note - the only devices available on the market that will give you jump height/distance are GoPro using the LitPro desktop program and app. This is a cool feature, but takes the gps data from your video so it takes a long time to process your lap times.
I've used and tested quite a few of these items. The most accurate and budget friendly solution I have come up with is the XGPS160 on-top of my helmet. It's extremely easy to use with MX Buddy. Turn on the xgps, double click the power button to start logging. Go ride. Double click to stop logging. Connect to the gps via MXBuddy and see your laps. I also mounted a GoPro mount to the bottom of my gps so I can connect it/disconnect it easily and still use my GoPro if I want. I used to use the velcro and that works too.
If you currently have a smartwatch, it generally doesn't matter the brand. You can pull GPS data from it (a .gpx or tpx file) and upload it to MX Buddy. I've used tons of watches. The Apple Watches tend to suck (I haven't used their newer models, only up to Apple Watch 5). Polar and Garmin watches seem to do the best.
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Tonynz
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Tonynz 7/14/2022 11:42am
7/14/2022 11:42am
I have been using LITPRO ever since it was released, about 6 years ago highly recommend it.
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Christian_Woodward 7/15/2022 12:57pm
7/15/2022 12:57pm
kNewc wrote:
What's your budget, and how accurate do you want to be? If you are just riding with your buddies...do you have a smart watch? If not...
What's your budget, and how accurate do you want to be? If you are just riding with your buddies...do you have a smart watch? If not, a Polar Vantage 2 is a popular one and the GPS works well for a watch. If you want to see which lines are making you faster, or better/more accurate lap data, then you will want a stand-alone device like the XGPS160. The XGPS can show which line you entered/exited or at least get close. Both the Polar watches and XGPS work with LitPro or MX Buddy. I highly recommend MX Buddy. The guy uses Vital, it's a great price, and does everything LitPro and CrossBox do. CrossBox is also another option, but will lock you into their subscription model. Another thing to note - the only devices available on the market that will give you jump height/distance are GoPro using the LitPro desktop program and app. This is a cool feature, but takes the gps data from your video so it takes a long time to process your lap times.
I've used and tested quite a few of these items. The most accurate and budget friendly solution I have come up with is the XGPS160 on-top of my helmet. It's extremely easy to use with MX Buddy. Turn on the xgps, double click the power button to start logging. Go ride. Double click to stop logging. Connect to the gps via MXBuddy and see your laps. I also mounted a GoPro mount to the bottom of my gps so I can connect it/disconnect it easily and still use my GoPro if I want. I used to use the velcro and that works too.
If you currently have a smartwatch, it generally doesn't matter the brand. You can pull GPS data from it (a .gpx or tpx file) and upload it to MX Buddy. I've used tons of watches. The Apple Watches tend to suck (I haven't used their newer models, only up to Apple Watch 5). Polar and Garmin watches seem to do the best.
That was super helpful thanks. I've heard of all three of those so it was super beneficial to get a comparison of all of them together. Thanks! I'll probably be using this mostly with my buddies so whatever I get they'll also get so we can compete. Is there one of those 3 that has better "social features" so we can compete against each other?
Christian_Woodward 7/15/2022 1:00pm
7/15/2022 1:00pm
Tonynz wrote:
I have been using LITPRO ever since it was released, about 6 years ago highly recommend it.
Someone at the track used LITPro which is what sparked this thought of mine. Interesting to see someone else who also uses LITPro. Are they still as good as they used to or have they gotten worse over the years?
-MAVERICK-
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-MAVERICK- 7/15/2022 1:15pm
7/15/2022 1:15pm
-MAVERICK- wrote:
MyPitboard
Christian_Woodward wrote:
I haven't heard of My Pitboard yet that's good to know there is other options. I've only heard of Crossbox, LITPro and MX Buddy. What do...
I haven't heard of My Pitboard yet that's good to know there is other options. I've only heard of Crossbox, LITPro and MX Buddy. What do you like about My Pitboard?
Real time onboard information. There's different modes available .

Check out the videos on YouTube.
Christian_Woodward 7/15/2022 1:17pm
7/15/2022 1:17pm
-MAVERICK- wrote:
MyPitboard
Christian_Woodward wrote:
I haven't heard of My Pitboard yet that's good to know there is other options. I've only heard of Crossbox, LITPro and MX Buddy. What do...
I haven't heard of My Pitboard yet that's good to know there is other options. I've only heard of Crossbox, LITPro and MX Buddy. What do you like about My Pitboard?
-MAVERICK- wrote:
Real time onboard information. There's different modes available . Check out the videos on YouTube.
Real time onboard information. There's different modes available .

Check out the videos on YouTube.
I'll check that out thanks!
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kNewc
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kNewc 7/15/2022 1:40pm
7/15/2022 1:40pm
Tonynz wrote:
I have been using LITPRO ever since it was released, about 6 years ago highly recommend it.
Christian_Woodward wrote:
Someone at the track used LITPro which is what sparked this thought of mine. Interesting to see someone else who also uses LITPro. Are they still...
Someone at the track used LITPro which is what sparked this thought of mine. Interesting to see someone else who also uses LITPro. Are they still as good as they used to or have they gotten worse over the years?
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of LITPro is the auto-segmentation/track setup. MX Buddy you have to set-up the track and segments yourself before riding the track. That is about the biggest difference IMO. LITPro it's a bit more "plug-n-play" then MX Buddy since it does those things on it's own. However you can chose between Apple Maps and Google Maps in MX Buddy which may make a big difference depending on the tracks you ride.
2
Christian_Woodward 7/15/2022 1:49pm
7/15/2022 1:49pm
Tonynz wrote:
I have been using LITPRO ever since it was released, about 6 years ago highly recommend it.
Christian_Woodward wrote:
Someone at the track used LITPro which is what sparked this thought of mine. Interesting to see someone else who also uses LITPro. Are they still...
Someone at the track used LITPro which is what sparked this thought of mine. Interesting to see someone else who also uses LITPro. Are they still as good as they used to or have they gotten worse over the years?
kNewc wrote:
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of...
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of LITPro is the auto-segmentation/track setup. MX Buddy you have to set-up the track and segments yourself before riding the track. That is about the biggest difference IMO. LITPro it's a bit more "plug-n-play" then MX Buddy since it does those things on it's own. However you can chose between Apple Maps and Google Maps in MX Buddy which may make a big difference depending on the tracks you ride.
That's actually really nice LITPro does it automatically. I can see from a budget standpoint how nice MX Buddy can be. Thanks!
paddyB745
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paddyB745 7/15/2022 4:25pm
7/15/2022 4:25pm Edited Date/Time 7/15/2022 4:25pm
LitPro just released a new update where you can use your phone as the GPS device so you don’t have to buy a watch or special gps device to try it out. Just got the email this afternoon.
AgileMike
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AgileMike 7/15/2022 6:02pm
7/15/2022 6:02pm
We have four riders on our team that use LitPro. Three with Garmin watches and one with XGPS. LitPro works great and only costs $2.99 per month. We love LitPro because you can add all your friends and see their lap times. It makes for great bench racing back at the trailer.
It also really helps everyone push harder on practice days, as everyone is completing on fastest lap, best average lap time of the day.
The Garmin watches are great for other things, especially tracking your sleep quantity and quality.
Cygrace74
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Cygrace74 7/15/2022 6:35pm
7/15/2022 6:35pm
Does Litpro not use their own helmet device like in the beginning?
Dirtdemon 7/16/2022 10:21am
7/16/2022 10:21am
We like the crossbox alot. Really helped my two sons on having a good practice and not just riding around.
As a father I miss live timing to my iPhone for pitboard info
kNewc
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kNewc 7/18/2022 6:02am
7/18/2022 6:02am
Cygrace74 wrote:
Does Litpro not use their own helmet device like in the beginning?
They discontinued it and now sell the XGPS160 or Polar watches. I believe they had some quality issues with their hardware. It's almost impossible to find them used. Crossbox is now the only one who makes their own hardware.
mxdoctor
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mxdoctor 11/6/2022 1:33am
11/6/2022 1:33am
I´m also using Crossbox since two years and totally happy with it!

Pit Row

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kNewc
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kNewc 11/7/2022 7:12am
11/7/2022 7:12am Edited Date/Time 11/7/2022 7:13am
dieselsmith12 wrote:
Where can you buy a crossbox in the US?
They are accepting scheduling orders on their site, but I believe they have been on backorder for quite some time now. I would recommend the XGPS160 and using MX Buddy or LitPro if you need something soon. I took my XGPS and screwed a GoPro clip mount to it and mount it to my helmet. I'm slow but like the stats lol. The CrossBox GPS is pretty cool but you are stuck with their app and their subscription to use it. If you get a smart watch or XGPS160 you can use any app you like.
sandtrack315
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sandtrack315 11/7/2022 7:16am
11/7/2022 7:16am
I just got the Apple Watch Ultra. If you're just looking for a GPS lap timer, obviously not great, but it does work much better than old apple watches for lap tracking, and is a great smart watch, if you're an apple person.
Moto520
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Moto520 11/7/2022 2:10pm
11/7/2022 2:10pm
Get the Mypitboard.com timer. It gives real time information while you are riding. I really like it. I also use a Vantage Polar M with Litpro and that's good too.
David934
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David934 11/8/2022 10:55pm
11/8/2022 10:55pm
General question. How really helped this kinds of devices to you guys? You are faster?
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BRZ 11/9/2022 3:05am
11/9/2022 3:05am Edited Date/Time 11/9/2022 3:06am
kNewc wrote:
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of...
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of LITPro is the auto-segmentation/track setup. MX Buddy you have to set-up the track and segments yourself before riding the track. That is about the biggest difference IMO. LITPro it's a bit more "plug-n-play" then MX Buddy since it does those things on it's own. However you can chose between Apple Maps and Google Maps in MX Buddy which may make a big difference depending on the tracks you ride.
Hi kNewc, based on your favorable comments I decided to try MX Buddy. I use a Polar GPS watch and I can get the lap times from the Polar Flow app, but wanted to see if I could get a more detailed analysis from MX Buddy.

I’ve followed all the instructions connecting MX Buddy to Polar Flow, but so far haven’t been able to import the sessions from Polar.

Any tips or suggestions? I followed all the directions in the support material and even emailed the owner (hopefully he’ll reply soon). Thanks 🙏🏻
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sandtrack315
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sandtrack315 11/9/2022 3:12am
11/9/2022 3:12am
David934 wrote:
General question. How really helped this kinds of devices to you guys? You are faster?
No it’s just fun to keep track and look at how I’m doing across a moto. It’s like sleep tracking. Now you just have data to back up how much you suck at it, and that’s fun.
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pietscher
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pietscher 11/9/2022 3:30am
11/9/2022 3:30am
BRZ wrote:
Hi kNewc, based on your favorable comments I decided to try MX Buddy. I use a Polar GPS watch and I can get the lap times...
Hi kNewc, based on your favorable comments I decided to try MX Buddy. I use a Polar GPS watch and I can get the lap times from the Polar Flow app, but wanted to see if I could get a more detailed analysis from MX Buddy.

I’ve followed all the instructions connecting MX Buddy to Polar Flow, but so far haven’t been able to import the sessions from Polar.

Any tips or suggestions? I followed all the directions in the support material and even emailed the owner (hopefully he’ll reply soon). Thanks 🙏🏻
I‘m here 😉 Sent you a pm
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kNewc
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kNewc 11/9/2022 5:09am
11/9/2022 5:09am Edited Date/Time 11/9/2022 5:10am
kNewc wrote:
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of...
I too used LitPro, but I found that I could get the exact same results from MX Buddy without paying the fees. The nice part of LITPro is the auto-segmentation/track setup. MX Buddy you have to set-up the track and segments yourself before riding the track. That is about the biggest difference IMO. LITPro it's a bit more "plug-n-play" then MX Buddy since it does those things on it's own. However you can chose between Apple Maps and Google Maps in MX Buddy which may make a big difference depending on the tracks you ride.
BRZ wrote:
Hi kNewc, based on your favorable comments I decided to try MX Buddy. I use a Polar GPS watch and I can get the lap times...
Hi kNewc, based on your favorable comments I decided to try MX Buddy. I use a Polar GPS watch and I can get the lap times from the Polar Flow app, but wanted to see if I could get a more detailed analysis from MX Buddy.

I’ve followed all the instructions connecting MX Buddy to Polar Flow, but so far haven’t been able to import the sessions from Polar.

Any tips or suggestions? I followed all the directions in the support material and even emailed the owner (hopefully he’ll reply soon). Thanks 🙏🏻
I use an iPhone and this article pretty much nails it: https://docs.mxbuddyapp.com/import-gps/

The app takes a little time to get used to, mostly figuring out how you would like to section out your track (and comparing segments if you like). But once you get everything dialed it's great. The link above has other good tutorials as well. This is also a very good read: https://mxbuddyapp.com/blog/2020-03-08-find-fast-lines/
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kNewc
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kNewc 11/9/2022 11:21am
11/9/2022 11:21am Edited Date/Time 11/9/2022 11:22am
David934 wrote:
General question. How really helped this kinds of devices to you guys? You are faster?
I'm a slow guy in his 30's. I've been using mine to track my progress over the last few years. It's obvious I'm getting faster based on previous lap times. I know I am going faster, but it's nice to see "oh, I shaved 5 seconds off from last year". Which then it feels even better if you knock off a second or 2 of your best recorded time in a day. It's been a bit interesting seeing how the track changes over the years too. I also use MX Buddy to track my maintenance, hours, and suspension settings. It also shows you how many laps you did in the year. I can see I rode 3 more times and did 50+ more laps then last year. Another stat I try to beat. I'm an IT guy and it's nice to get some tech involved. I admit it's not for everyone.
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kwoody51
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kwoody51 11/9/2022 6:45pm
11/9/2022 6:45pm Edited Date/Time 11/9/2022 6:48pm
Cygrace74 wrote:
Does Litpro not use their own helmet device like in the beginning?
kNewc wrote:
They discontinued it and now sell the XGPS160 or Polar watches. I believe they had some quality issues with their hardware. It's almost impossible to find...
They discontinued it and now sell the XGPS160 or Polar watches. I believe they had some quality issues with their hardware. It's almost impossible to find them used. Crossbox is now the only one who makes their own hardware.
I have one for sale Smile

It’s basically new.

https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/For-Sale-Bazaar,26/Litpro-003-HDGPS,1398…

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