Alternative to Garmin 1000

A few years ago now I bought a Mio 505 and that was a pleasant unit to use, but completely bug ridden. Software updates were infrequent and never fixed any of the real issues. It would die mid ride for no reason, lose sensors, all sorts. I managed to get my money back on it after 6 months. If you think Garmin Edges are bad, the Mio was a total dog, and never got updated to anything like usable.

I bought an Edge 1000 and it has been absolutely great. I use RwGPS for plotting rides, and get the occasional farm track or bridleway. I'm aware enough of where I am that I simply ignore the Garmin at this point (it is going to tell you to turn around and use the trail as it doesn't know any different) and guide myself to roughly where I should be. I have done a couple of routes using Garmin Connect Mobile which now has a course creator using the Trendline popularity routing in it. Has worked well so far.

The Edge 1000 itself has worked great the whole time I've had it. Touch screen has been perfect, rain or dry, connects to my lights, Di2, HR, Vector, radar without any issues. And it gets reasonably frequent updates with a smattering of new features.

If I needed to replace it I'd buy the same again or an Edge 1030 without any hesitation.

I had an edge 1000 and it was very unreliable all round so I sold it and bought an elemnt bolt and never looked back. I would never buy another Garmin.

The Garmin Egde 1000 is a dog. The older garmin 500 series were pretty solid but Garmin have gone downhill WRT quality big time. I went through a couple of 800s (screen took in water through the buttons - yes, heavy use but they are supposed to be made for that) and then switched to a 1000. The features and functionality are amazing but that all comes to nought because it's a shockingly bad device reliability wise. The touch screen either does not operate or, more likely, becomes so senstive that drops of sweat or rain select things on the screen or cause it to detect too many touches so the screen locks but then will not unlock. The two buttons at the buttom of the devices are ill-fitting and so rattle around even on the smoothest road (the only damn thing that rattles on my bike and I can't do anything about it!). It's also prone to software glitches where it will not start up or freezes on a certain screen. No amount of resetting will work, the only fix is to leave it and let the battery run dead.

I have had it "fixed" by Garmin previously and have even had to purchase a refurbished until when they could not fix it but the old issues eventually return. I was a massive Garmin fan and always thought that the premium price was worth it but no more. A cheap device will provide the functionality that you need at a fraction of the cost and with the same reliability. For a little more money there are a stack of other devices that have almost all the functionality but appear to be a stack more reliable.

My next device (I am battling to reset my frozen Garmin again at the moment) will be a Wahoo or a Bryton. 

I had a mio sat nav years ago. It was by far the best user interface navigation device I have used.

Yes I'd second the mio 505, I've really enjoyed using mine over the past month or so but it's very much a personal choice. I don't have any experience of the Garmin 1000 but on the net people seem to say that the Mio is the better navigator and the 1000 is better at collecting stats (particularly from sensors). I do agree with the navigational ability of the device it is excellent for a plotted route. You also get full osm maps for the UK, strava wifi sync, bluetooth connection to compatible phones etc. Battery life probably somewhere around 8 to 9 hours with HRM, cadence sensor and bluetooth operational. The mio is also cheaper than the garmin. However you will probably enjoy using either device they are both fully featured. Have a look at http://cyclogps.com/index.php for more on the mio.

I'm not sure about alternatives to the Garmin, but having moved from the 800 to the 1000 a few months ago, here are a few points that may be of interest:

Wireless connection is a breeze for uploading rides- no more hassle of plugging into a PC.

Bluetooth connection allows you to twin up a phone to the unit. Incoming calls will show caller id on screen if they are in your phone contacts, or number is displayed if not in contacts list. Incoming texts will also be displayed and can be read on screen.

There are a number of pre-installed maps to choose from on the 1000, but I also downloaded and use Open Source maps on a separate SD card, as this also gives plenty of additional storage for adding in pre-plotted routes.

The auto screen illumination is brilliant and very responsive to changing light conditions, although now daylight is not as good going into Autumn, this does have the effect of shortening battery life. Yesterday, mine was down to 17% after 105 miles (6 hrs), although if bluetooth is switched off, that will help prolong the battery.

It is possible to use an external power source to charge the unit mid-ride without losing any info. There is nothing more infuriating than plugging a charger into a dying unit only to find that your current ride has been zeroed (As happens with the 800)! Even so, if doing any super-sized rides, it's always handy to record on two seperate devices.

Regarding mapping, the best maps for the UK are undoubtedly from Ordnance Survey, and although i've not tried it yet, I'm sure they can be purchased on an SD card to use in a Garmin. The only other gps unit that i've tried with a similar level of mapping to the Garmin has been a Satmap, but that fell massively short in too many other respects for use on the bike.

Many more pros than cons since my change of units, and i'm still only scratching the surface regarding its capabilities!

For what its worth i have just. Bought a miocyclo 505. I havenot had a gps befpre andam still at the playi g with it stage. Have taken it out walki g places i know, and it picked up wverythi g well. Have set out a couple of paths and it seemed ok too...

I tried to use the navigation on my 1000 and was seriously unimpressed, I suspect with some tweaking it could be usable, but I haven't had the time/patience.

I programmed a route, it decided I missed a point about 100yds from my house and kept on insisting that I turn around even 1 mile further along the same route...

Garmin navigation is woeful. They are fine with preset route/course. That is why I haven't upgraded from the 800.

Just as a bit of a side note, one of my riding mates has (well had) the garmin 100. he asked it to take him home the shortest way on roads. it then took him on a longer route (he knows the shortest route) and took him through some forest paths...hardly a road.
It made him then sell the 1000 as one of its main features didn't work...
If you were going to buy the 1000 for this mapping feature I wouldn't bother personally. YMMV