Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Which GPS to use ?

This may have been discussed previously but with new devices coming out regularly i was hoping someone would point me in the right direction.

I'm after a GPS system that will show routes and which turn to take etc as, due to shift work, i do a lot of my rides on my own and its a pain working which way to go at times.

I have a basic speedo type system at the moment but want something better.

I've looked at the Garmin 810 and 520 however the 1000 is beyond my price range.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

26 comments

Avatar
keef66 | 8 years ago
0 likes

My Garmin Edge Touring Plus is fine if I create a route and import it; reliable turn by turn directions.

I've learned that it's important to turn off Recalculate if you're doing a circular route, otherwise if it loses satellite reception on the outward leg it will invariably start sending you straight back the way you came to get home.

Also the option of having the device suggest a circular route of a certain distance can be a bit hazardous if you don't check carefully where it's proposing to take you.  I've had too many unscheduled cyclocross events when it's decided a footpath is cyclable when all the evidence is to the contrary.  (And it's Garmin's fault; the tracks on the OSM maps are invariably correctly labelled as unsuitable for cycling when I check)

And the option to return home is pretty useless; it plots a straight line!  What effing use is that to a road cyclist??

 

Avatar
Uplift | 8 years ago
0 likes

Does anyone have experience with the Mio Cyclo units?

Mio Cyclo 500 series looks good value compared with Garmin, I have been considering a purchase recently.

What I would really like is to be able to just ride wherever I want until I'm lost, then hit a button and let the GPS guide me back to where I started on a sensible route. I haven't yet worked out if that's possible with either Mio or Garmin Edge

Avatar
rnick | 8 years ago
1 like

I've had a touring edge plus for around 12 months.   In summary, I'd describe it as "ok".  Mapping your routes from the Garmin Connect to the device seems to generate too many "bridleway de-tours" and cannot give you a reliable elevation gain.  I now use a paper map to pick the route and then enter way points directly into the Garmin.  It's a useful backup device in case you get lost.  It's a robust device, good battery life and you can tailor screens to suit. 

I've had to upgrade the memory (a few £'s for a SIM card) to allow the seemingly never ending map upgrades from Garmin to be processed.  I've had endless problems connecting this to a 64bit laptop for updates and now use an old laptop for this.  Garmin support can't resolve this.

I picked mine up for a 50% of RRP offer, so don't feel too hard done by - but if I'd paid full price I'd be unhappy.  All in all - quite a frustrating device - sometimes perfect, sometimes hopeless.

 

Avatar
Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
0 likes

I have an 800 and the 810, touring and 1000 do the same thing (I think the 700 also). They have a map which you can pre-load a route and follow it using the on-screen map. If you upload the right format it will tell you that a turn is coming up (though this feature has usually been annoying for me).

the 500 and 520 just tell you that a turn is coming up with arrows and street name. If it's a complicated junction then you may struggle, especially if you don't know the roads and can't see a street sign. Even with the maps it can be difficult.

No GPS unit does the same route planning as a car GPS, such as a TomTom. The reason seems to be that no one has invested in a route finder that eliminates motorways and focuses on cycle friendly roads (is there such a thing?)

If you need something to plan routes and guide you the 700/800/810 are what you need. An alternative is the Bryton. My wife has one and they are a bit fiddly.

Bike GPS's do give you more respect for the technology in your 'humble' iPhone. There's a lot that could be done to improve them. Plotting routes without a computer would be useful (or at least in a way which is more user friendly). On screen manipulation could be better (the 700 and 800 are relatively clunky - though I'm not sure that a rained on iPhone is easy to use.

The main reason for using the ones developed for bikes is the specificity that it brings e.g. Long battery life, coupled with lots of data.

These things are still in their infancy so I imagine they will get better with time. I actually have a Suunto Ambit Sapphire and so I have a choice, but the Garmin is my go to on the bike - though I love the fact that my Suunto (and the 1000) can now channel text messages from your phone into the screen.

Avatar
700c | 8 years ago
0 likes

or just get a Garmin

Avatar
rjfrussell | 8 years ago
0 likes

if you have bluetooth smart phone then you can get turn by turn directions on a Wahoo RFLKT+ using the ridewithgps app on your phone (which you can keep in your pocket).  You have to get the phone out if you want to look at the map, but the directions work pretty well.

Avatar
gonedownhill | 8 years ago
0 likes

If you're using Google maps you have to download the map data whilst you're out on your ride which takes ages and probably won't work in the sticks, whereas with osmand you already have the maps loaded into your phone and all it has to do is the GPS bit.

Avatar
srchar replied to gonedownhill | 8 years ago
0 likes

gonedownhill wrote:

If you're using Google maps you have to download the map data whilst you're out on your ride which takes ages and probably won't work in the sticks, whereas with osmand you already have the maps loaded into your phone and all it has to do is the GPS bit.

You can save Google maps data to your handset so that it works without a data connection. Zoom the screen to the area you want to save, then type "ok maps" in the search bar.

Avatar
gonedownhill replied to srchar | 8 years ago
0 likes

srchar wrote:

gonedownhill wrote:

If you're using Google maps you have to download the map data whilst you're out on your ride which takes ages and probably won't work in the sticks, whereas with osmand you already have the maps loaded into your phone and all it has to do is the GPS bit.

You can save Google maps data to your handset so that it works without a data connection. Zoom the screen to the area you want to save, then type "ok maps" in the search bar.

 

That's cool didn't know that. If you are doing say a 60 mile ride and do this at a scale big enough to fit the whole ride on does it also save the detail you'd need when you want to zoom right in?

Also  seem to remember you can't load a route into google which is a bit annoying if you want to put a circular route in rather than use one of google's own calculated routes - they do have a bike option on them to avoid motorways though which is cool.

Avatar
JeffBrown | 8 years ago
1 like

I personally use the garmin edge touring gps, it is very simple to use and has great battery life.  There are quite a few other good ones but I try and stick with garmin ones, cause personally I find them more reliable.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 8 years ago
0 likes

caveat on the 520 above is that it only has enough memory to store a smaller part of the UK at a decent resolution, the base maps are pretty average.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 8 years ago
0 likes

do you actually need it to tell you the route instructions?

On my 520 (and previously the 1000, and before that the 810) I just:

  • create a route
  • upload it to the garmin
  • go into the route settings, set to always display (yellow and purple work well)
  • go into the display, set to night mode (easier to see the line)
  • go off and follow the line

I've done 300km+ rides like this with only the barest minimum of faffing at awkward junctions

Avatar
Stumps replied to dave atkinson | 8 years ago
0 likes

dave atkinson wrote:

do you actually need it to tell you the route instructions?

On my 520 (and previously the 1000, and before that the 810) I just:

  • create a route
  • upload it to the garmin
  • go into the route settings, set to always display (yellow and purple work well)
  • go into the display, set to night mode (easier to see the line)
  • go off and follow the line

I've done 300km+ rides like this with only the barest minimum of faffing at awkward junctions

 

Dave, i'm pretty new to the gps systems so what i'm trying to describe might not be possible on my budget. What you've described above is what i want so i'll give it a go, cheers mate.

Avatar
amazon22 | 8 years ago
0 likes

If you're not in a rush, the Wahoo Elemnt looks very promising but is delayed - expect April in the UK now realistically. Upload a route from Strava or ridewithgps and away you go for tbt. 

Avatar
bechdan | 8 years ago
0 likes

I used a friends Etrex 20 recently and thought that it was an excellent unit for navigating on and off road. Can upload maps etc.

Avatar
Stumps | 8 years ago
0 likes

Thanks folks its appreciated. It seems the 520 is more than likely going to be my choice. The 810 has been criticised for screen freezing and loss of data by a number of users.

Avatar
theflatboy | 8 years ago
1 like

I used to use Osmand on the phone for pre-planned routes, before I switched to a Garmin Edge Touring. Though Osmand on a good phone is actually much better in terms of processer, display quality and other aspects, because it needs the screen to stay on permanently while in use (unless you are only using audio instructions in the headphones, which I never tried), the battery life is nothing compared to the Garmin. Plus with Osmand you have a huge smartphone attached to the bars, rather than a much more compact computer. Both had their benefits, but I definitely prefer the Garmin.

Avatar
mattydubster | 8 years ago
1 like

I have a Garmin Edge Touring plus - Has maps and navigation and an excellent battery life.  And it's pretty cheap!

Avatar
gonedownhill | 8 years ago
0 likes

If you want turn-by-turn instructions and have an android phone then you can do it for free.

1. Create a route in strava or garmin connect or whatever will allow you to save it as a .gpx file

2. Download OsmAnd app for free - this is an open source map program which you get 10 free maps with, you can get a map of the whole UK as one download although it will take up about 500Mb of storage on your phone.

3.  Open OsmAnd, load the .gpx route and turn the navigation on. You can follow the route overlaid on the map and also have audio instructions (might need an ear piece in to hear properly though).

 

Pros are that as you have the map already stored on your phone you can see where you are no matter how far away from a 4G signal, and the GPS itself hardly uses any battery so you can go as remote as you want and not have a problem.

Cons are that it's not the most intuitive app ever and took a little bit of messing about with it for me to get the voice commands. If you want the map displayed on your handlebars you'll need to get a mount for your phone and having the screen on all the time might cane the battery. Personally I usually have some idea of where I am going so don't need it for every single turn, and I don't really mind stopping to check whether I'm lost.

Avatar
Morat replied to gonedownhill | 8 years ago
0 likes

gonedownhill wrote:

If you want turn-by-turn instructions and have an android phone then you can do it for free.

1. Create a route in strava or garmin connect or whatever will allow you to save it as a .gpx file

2. Download OsmAnd app for free - this is an open source map program which you get 10 free maps with, you can get a map of the whole UK as one download although it will take up about 500Mb of storage on your phone.

3.  Open OsmAnd, load the .gpx route and turn the navigation on. You can follow the route overlaid on the map and also have audio instructions (might need an ear piece in to hear properly though).

 

Pros are that as you have the map already stored on your phone you can see where you are no matter how far away from a 4G signal, and the GPS itself hardly uses any battery so you can go as remote as you want and not have a problem.

Cons are that it's not the most intuitive app ever and took a little bit of messing about with it for me to get the voice commands. If you want the map displayed on your handlebars you'll need to get a mount for your phone and having the screen on all the time might cane the battery. Personally I usually have some idea of where I am going so don't need it for every single turn, and I don't really mind stopping to check whether I'm lost.

 

Ingenious! But I'm not sure what that gives your over standard Google Maps?

Avatar
sergius | 8 years ago
0 likes

I've got a 1000 and it works very nicely, I've tried to use the navigation a couple of times and it's completely useless IMO (probably user error, not bothered to read the manual etc, but still).

It's the only device I've experience with, but for what I use it for it works perfectly.  I believe the lower end models have largely similar features.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 8 years ago
0 likes

even the 1000 isn't all that for routing, tbh

Avatar
srchar | 8 years ago
0 likes

Do you need a unit that can plan routes on-the-go? I have a 520 and, while it can certainly navigate you around a pre-planned route, it can't calculate routes while out and about. Also, there's not much storage space on it for decent maps; you can get a few counties on it at most.

I had an 810 prior to the 520 and, although it could calculate routes on-the-fly, it was borderline unusable due to the awful interface and sluggish response.

To be honest, unless you pony up for a 1000, which a friend tells me is OK for routing, you'll always have to use your smartphone for route planning on the road.

Avatar
kamoshika | 8 years ago
0 likes

I'm still using a years-old Edge 500, but that does everything I need, so I imagine the 520 would be . Re the turn-by turn navigation, it doesn't do maps, but will give a breadcrumb trail to follow, and if you plot routes on ridewithgps.com it will stick markers in at turnings which are then displayed on the Garmin. I've never felt the need to have anything more than that.

Avatar
AKH | 8 years ago
0 likes

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/download-garmin-705800810.html

 

You might find the above useful.

 

I believe only the higher end models (810 and 1000) give turn by turn navigation similar to sat nav.

 

The 520 can show a dotted line to follow, but you have to create the route on a PC first.

 

The 520 can display a map for you to follow, but you'd have to figure out your own route.

 

If you navigate around the DC Rainmaker site, there's a comparison table somewhere that has all the models your interested in. 

Avatar
Stu Kerton | 8 years ago
0 likes

I use the 810 and although it doesn't come with maps you can download them for free by following these instructions : free maps you can use it for the 520 as well.

Add a route to the Garmin as a .gpx and the maps show you directions, road names and count down in time and distance to each turn.

Latest Comments