Cycling Sat Nav...Help!!

[cyberknight]

Sorry to be a killjoy but apart from that useful speed what is the point of the 200 ?

That Carphone place does smartphone PAYG upgrades for £10.

Using a smartphone is not as accurate as the gps in them is basic leading to misleading results and it drains the battery pretty quickly , a dedicated device like garmin has about 15 hours of riding on one charge .

 

[albion]

Well, I'd hope the Garmin is as accurate as my phablet in a rugged case, often hidden down at the very bottom of my panniers.

Surprisingly It has never missed a beat even when running those 15 hours days I did mid summer.

 

[cyberknight]

Well, I'd hope the Garmin is as accurate as my phablet in a rugged case, often hidden down at the very bottom of my panniers.

Surprisingly It has never missed a beat even when running those 15 hours days I did mid summer.

The garmin should be more accurate than the phablet .........

 

[dickyknees]

I have the Edge 800 and could not manage without the sunrise and sunset times.

But seriously the Edge 800 has everything I need from a cycling sat nav.

 

[Peteaud]

Edge Touring here and love it.

My very old 305 (same as the new 200) was good and the breadcrumb trail is ok when you get used to it.

 

[albion]

The garmin should be more accurate than the phablet .........

Why? They mainly use the same GPS chipsets.


In fact I'd say that the Gamin would be more fussy on placements. I never know which way up my smartphone is in the pannier.

 

[cyberknight]

You would think so but a dedicated gps unit tends to have a higher sample rate and more accurate altimeter

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/smartphones-vs-garmin-which-gps-is-best-for-strava/
http://coachlevi.com/cycling/garmin-edge-vs-smartphone/
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/gps/gps-elevation-accuracy-test-smartphone-apps-vs-dedicated-gps/
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Smartphone.116068.0.html

 

[albion]

'You would think so but a dedicated gps unit tends'

Conversely you will also find that many dedicated GPS units have a finite access to data for accuracy etc

However, last I knew, the iPhone samples every 3 seconds.
But that must be the exception, being a premium metal device, designed primarily for looks and even operating in a very different way to smartphones in general. I even imagine it is quite fussy on positioning too, like a dedicated unit.

One thing for certain, competition means smartphones(more so the functionally inclined ones) and dedicated units will benefit from newer better chipsets.

 

[albion]

..but a dedicated gps unit tends...

And do you really a dedicated bike GPS will be less fussy to the actual positioning in the bottom of my panniers.
One would hope not as that could mean it loses any accuracy benefit when mounted 100% correctly.

 

[smutchin]

And do you really a dedicated bike GPS will be less fussy to the actual positioning in the bottom of my panniers.

You're supposed to mount the device on your handlebars rather than leave it in your panniers - it makes it much easier to see the display and use the buttons.

 

[albion]

It also makes sense to have a very expensive smartphone very well protected whenever possible.
I figured that one out when I came off my bike with my device newly mounted on the handlebars navigating slippery Carlisle.

For some reason I thought this was the 'GPS tracker' thread, but my thoughts still apply.

 

[John the Monkey]

Using a smartphone is not as accurate as the gps in them is basic leading to misleading results and it drains the battery pretty quickly , a dedicated device like garmin has about 15 hours of riding on one charge .

I think Tony from Road.cc did some interesting empirical testing of this - he couldn't find an appreciable difference.

Edit - actually, it was Dave Atkinson - see here;
http://road.cc/content/forum/108899-smartphones-and-long-rides-strategy

Far bigger headaches are mounting the device securely, weatherproofing it, dealing with battery drain (although even there, I could get 3-4 hour rides out of my Galaxy S4 without going below 30% battery) and with heat build up. Personally, I weighed the options and went with a Garmin 800 (with Open Streetmap free maps for navigation). At least part of that calculation was factoring in the cost of a decent 'phone mount (Quadlock level), HRM strap, Cadence sensor, external battery... If there are parts of that list that aren't needed, the Garmin starts to look (more) expensive again. I was also lucky to get a good deal on the "Performance Bundle" - Garmin 800, HRM strap, cadence sensor. The only extra I bought afterwards was an outfront mount, after finding that stem/handlebar mounting was something I didn't like.

The Garmin navigation has been used mostly for following pre-plotted tracks, although I've used it several times to get me back to my starting point when I have to cut a ride short unexpectedly - it worked well.

 

[albion]

Out of interest, is anyone using 'touchless technology' , that being eye tracking ?
Could something like the Galaxy S4 turn the screen on only when you look at the map ?

I have a button that I could use inside my headphone socket for that but 'smart eye' or whatever it is called, if it worked, and did not waste battery, would be even more useful.

 

[John the Monkey]

Out of interest, is anyone using 'touchless technology' , that being eye tracking ?
Could something like the Galaxy S4 turn the screen on only when you look at the map ?

I have a button that I could use inside my headphone socket for that but 'smart eye' or whatever it is called, if it worked, and did not waste battery, would be even more useful.

Interesting idea - I have to admit, I switched most of those things off after I'd charged my S4 for the first time There is some overhead in using smart scroll, smart look et al - probably less than having a constantly active screen though.

 

[smutchin]

It also makes sense to have a very expensive smartphone very well protected whenever possible.

Well, yes, that's another of the advantages of a dedicated GPS device over a phone - they're actually designed to be exposed to the elements. Although having said that, you can get waterproof cases and bike mounts for your phone - eg I have a Lifeproof Fre for my iPhone, which is great but not cheap - and some newer phones are actually waterproof, eg Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z1.

But based on my experience of using both an Edge 510 and an iPhone, I would far rather use my Edge 510 for navigation/training.