Cycle computers(gps)

[cosmic]

Now I know this has probably been covered somewhere on the forum!!
Looking into upgrading at the end of the year to a Garmin or the likes...
I use Endomondo on my smart phone for my commute too and from work and any other cycle runs i do but noticed when recently took part in the Edinburgh to St Andrews charity cycle, my phone was just about out of battery life when i finished it..roughly 5 hrs!!
Know i can't remember if i fully charged it or not!!
So for next year i plan to take part in as many Sportives as i can(work rota permiting) or maybe even a few runs with the Audax group!!
So now looking at something that will last a bit longer,with ease of use and will also be able to upload to Endomondo...
Been looking at the Garmin Edge 200 or 500
Does anybody have any thoughts on either of these two devices or prefer using something else??

 

[RhythMick]

I had the same problem with my phone battery. One option is to pre-load the maps, then turn off wifi and 3G radios as well as Bluetooth. Set screen to either max or auto (otherwise you waste time trying to see it) and set the screen timeout to 30s.

I did this at the weekend with my Samsung Galaxy S2 (notoriously bad for battery) and was at 50% after 5 hours riding.

 

[cosmic]

Yeah, i usually turn the wifi, bluetooth off.
Screen is set to dim and lock at 30s, will last about 5hrs(Blackberry Storm 9800) so quite happy to use it for any runs upto that time limit but need something for the longer runs...

 

[CopperCyclist]

if you don't need 'live' satnaving, then you can't go wrong with one of Holux offerings. I use the 260 pro and it's a fantastic bit of kit, and their customer service is second to none.

Battery life is marked as ten hours, I've never got near testing that! Check out www.holux.co.uk - they save some pennies over the Garmins too!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

+1 for Holux, I have the entry level model and only need to charge it after about two weeks of commuting and a few longer rides.


Sent from my FondleSlab using Tapatalk HD

 

[Hacienda71]

I recently got a Garmin Edge 200 as my Android phone was starting to run out of battery life after rides of 60 plus miles. It was also not always accurate on your track which was lets say frustrating when using Strava. The Edge 200 is absolutely fine and has replaced the phone and computer on the bike . Battery life has not been an issue with iirc 10 to 12 hours estimated. It doesn't do proper mapping or heart rate if you are wanting those functions as well though.

 

[cyberknight]

Unless you need to display heart rate and cadence the 200 has the same mapping as the 500 afaik.

 

[albion]

RhythmMick is on song,

10 to 12 hours is the norm on my smartphone .
And some smartphones have extended batteries of up to 5100mah available. They come with a new rear cover and by my calculation would thus give a maximum of 48 hours GPS use .

So bulk up and you are fine.

 

[cosmic]

i'm liking the Garmin Edge 500!! i wonder if i can get a bigger battery for my BB??

 

[MichaelO]

My phones an iPhone, so had to think about this sooner than most. I popped the Garmin 500 on my birthday list, and got lucky! Really enjoyed having it - although the last couple of days I've had small (1-2 miles) where it's gone a bit mental and mapped me yards away from where I was. But that's only annoying when using Strava . I didn't need satnav, so didn't need a higher spec - equally, I could probably done with a 200...but I didn't pay!!

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

I just got the Bryton 50.
It says 15 hours battery life. Quite happy with it 3 weeks in.

 

[RhythMick]

I'm planning to ride the 215 mile transpennine trail at the end of August. We did the Leeds to Chesterfield (north south) section as practise and lost a lot of time where signs are missing.

The solution now is as follows. I tried it last weekend and it works great.

Phone is Samsung Galaxy S2.
Software is ViewRanger which does an excellent job of tracking, mapping and directing to the next waypoint with a quick glance.
Mounted to the bike using the Ultimate Addons Waterproof Tough case (link below)
Maps - you can pre-cache the necessary areas of the free OpenCycle Maps. I chose to buy the whole Uk 1:50,000 OS maps for £90. All pre-installed on the phone.

The above will be enough. My trials showed that configured as described above I can get 10 to 12 hours no problem. I press the home button if I need to see the map, it comes on nice and bright and goes off 30 secs later. I use Tasker to automatically set up the config as soon as I load the ViewRanger software, inc turning radios off.

Mini pannier on top bar - sounds big, but it's tiny. On one side I can carry an external battery (New Trent IMP1000 with 11,000 mAh which would recharge my SGS2 5 times over). I very likely won't need this, but if for any reason we go beyond 10 hours I can keep navigating. Very short power cable from pannier to phone. Where the cable goes in to the phone case it's waterproofed with a rubber grommet which clamps the cable. Would have to watch the cable to the battery so I'd be uncomfortable using it in the wet.

Link to case. Very impressive.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006VDAPA0/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

 

[Rob3rt]

I have an Edge 500 and I like it.

Plus points:

It records all of the essential stats

It provides rudimentary navigation and has allowed me to navigate around several EU cities as well as the UK with little stress. You can programme turn by turn instructions and have them display, but with no street map to put the instruction into context it can be more confusing with turn by turn than without.

It manages to do the above whilst being compact.

Battery Life is good, not sure of the actual time, but it has never been a restriction I have run into.

It is also robust, I have drop kicked mine (by accident) while running with it in my hand a few times, it is still in full working order with very little sign of being abused.

Negative Points:

No street maps, just a pointer of your location and a bread crumb trail which you need to try to stick to yourself. this could be a plus point or a negative really depending on you, I think it is quite good as it invites you to deviate and explore while keeping you generally on track.

You need to programme the route manually prior to the ride if you want navigation, you cant look up postcodes like you do with satnav.

 

[cosmic]

excellent info guys, it'll just be for recording distance,track,cals,maybe cadence and heart later so i like the look of the 500..

 

[RhythMick]

excellent info guys, it'll just be for recording distance,track,cals,maybe cadence and heart later so i like the look of the 500..

Cool. You could I assume create routes (with the ViewRanger site, or BikeHike, or ...) and export them to gpx format for import to the 500