Choosing a Cycle GPS

[FreewheelingUK]

I'm a bit of a crap navigator. I always seem to get slightly lost on long journeys and have to retrace my steps. I take a load of Google Maps printouts with me to enable me to find my way, but I generally find route planning a bit of a chore and stopping to check my maps every few miles adds to my journey time. So... I figured I'd invest in a cycle GPS

I tried a Garmin Edge 800 on a Sportive last year and quite liked it for its features but I didn't really get to test out its navigation features (the route was signposted so I had no need for its navigation features)

What are the main differences between the Edge 705 and the 800. It seems like the 800 offers nothing more than a touch screen interface and a thermometer. I don't consider either to be particularly useful, especially for ~£80 more. Are there any other features it has that I might like?

Is Garmin the only choice in this area? It seems they're by far the most popular, but are there any competing brands worth looking at?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Bryton Rider 50

Mio Cyclo 305/HC

 

[cubegame]

Is it worth looking at this? I was considering it for a cheapy.....

https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/huawei/ascend-y100

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Had an 800 for almost 2 years and love everything about it. The ease of creating and uploading routes, all of the data it gives you, (speed, distance, temp, time, gradient, HR, HR zones, cadence, elevation, calories to name a few) the training set ups you can make, virtual partner, Garmin Connect is a nice bit of work, decent battery life, looks nice . . . . Can't think of one thing I don't like about it.
I cannot comment on how it differs to the 705 because I've never had one and do not want to make assumptions.

 

[Norry1]

In terms of value - I'd suggest a second hand 705.

 

[FreeFlow Bikes]

I have just sold my 705 as I upgraded to the 810 and love it. The 705 was a great GPS device and was very happy with it but I'm a sucker for gadgets and gizmos and upgraded.

 

[Garz]

Cateye have just released two units which if I was in your position would check out!

Linky

 

[Rob3rt]

I have just sold my 705 as I upgraded to the 810 and love it. The 705 was a great GPS device and was very happy with it but I'm a sucker for gadgets and gizmos and upgraded.

The 810 is lame............. it should never have been released in this state, the bug list is beyond excessive and I am hugely irritated about the power measurement bugs.

 

[gb155]

The 810 is s***e............. it should never have been released in this state, the bug list is beyond excessive and I am hugely ****ed off about the power measurement bugs.

You got one rob?

 

[Rob3rt]

Yes, my Edge 500 broke so I bought an 810 (then had the 500 repaired and sold it), wish I didn't bother now. I know they usually have bugs at 1st, but this thing is ridiculous. The damn thing can not even record power measurement data correctly, all power data is compromised due to random "half values" thus it under reads by up to 8W over a 20 minute effort, this effects NP, TSS and IF calculations quite substantially.

I have tested it against the 500 (before sending it on to the new owner) and the 500 read power perfectly. It is not just my unit either, lots of complaints on the Garmin forum, yet Garmin can not provide a single answer and keep telling people different things, I myself have had 3 different answers from Garmin, none of which agree with each other.

Also, this is my second 810, the 1st had a few dead pixels (the screen is still the same grainy screen as the 800 btw, no improvement, the only differences are the bluetooth rubbish and the new UI, the UI is a massive improvement though, I'll give them that).

Given the premium price, the current state of the device is not acceptable.

I would recommend NOT to buy one until they have worked out most of the bugs.

Gaz, You are welcome to check mine out before investing in one of your own if you want.

 

[Kestevan]

I've got a Bryton Rider 50 which TBH does everything I need it to do (and plenty of functions that I'll probably never use).

The manual is a bit poo, and it takes a while to work out some of the more esoteric functions, but on the whole it's an impressive piece of kit (especially as it's considerably cheaper than the equivalent Garmins).

 

[FreeFlow Bikes]

Yes, my Edge 500 broke so I bought an 810 (then had the 500 repaired and sold it), wish I didn't bother now. I know they usually have bugs at 1st, but this thing is ridiculous. The damn thing can not even record power measurement data correctly, all power data is compromised due to random "half values" thus it under reads by up to 8W over a 20 minute effort, this effects NP, TSS and IF calculations quite substantially.

I have tested it against the 500 (before sending it on to the new owner) and the 500 read power perfectly. It is not just my unit either, lots of complaints on the Garmin forum, yet Garmin can not provide a single answer and keep telling people different things, I myself have had 3 different answers from Garmin, none of which agree with each other.

Also, this is my second 810, the 1st had a few dead pixels (the screen is still the same grainy screen as the 800 btw, no improvement, the only differences are the bluetooth rubbish and the new UI, the UI is a massive improvement though, I'll give them that).

Given the premium price, the current state of the device is not acceptable.

I would recommend NOT to buy one until they have worked out most of the bugs.

Gaz, You are welcome to check mine out before investing in one of your own if you want.

Haven't had any issues with mine yet but I don't have a power meter so don't use that function. I think it's an improvement over the 705.

 

[Crackle]

Bryton Rider 50

That Bryton looks quite good. I saw it reviewed in roadcc a while back but didn't pay much attention but on closer inspection it's looking pretty good and in fact their whole range looks quite smart for the money.

 

[Trickedem]

The 800 was just as buggy when first released. It took a couple of firmware updates before it was stable. As far as I know the 800 manual has never been updated and it is a real shocker.
I think Garmin make good hardware, but maybe they should think about making the software open source.

 

[The peddler]

stick with my 500 then Rob ?