Garmin 800 - Will it last a 300k Audax?

[Norry1]

Ok, so I'm sure the traditionalists will say Garmins are the work of the devil - but I plan to do my first ever 300k audax later this month and I don't think my Garmin 800 will last for all of it.

Can any of you long distance bods give me a view?

I am thinking of taking my charger and plugging in at the cafe stops if possible - any other tips?

 

[Lee_M]

mine has struggled at 4-5 hours so unless youre doing 30mph you might have a problem

:-)

 

[machew]

Have done a shorter sportive with mine, but due to my level of fitness it took me about 10hrs, and the garmin still had a bit of charge at the end

 

[Norry1]

Thanks - mine lasted for a 200k in January which was an elapsed time of about 9 hours and still hadn't conked out, but the battery indicator looked pretty empty by then

 

[StuAff]

It won't, particularly if you've got your routesheet as a GPX, even with just using it as a bike computer it would be at best (very) marginal. What I use with my 705 is one of these. With decent rechargeable AAs, enough grunt not just to keep the Garmin going (like the 2xAA one I've got can) but to keep the battery topped up. Got the battery down to about 25% (no figure on 705s, just an icon, but rough guess) last Thursday night/Friday morning on the FNRttC (plus ride up)- plugged it at halfway & by the time I got to the breakfast stop, probably rather sooner, it was fully recharged.

 

[zizou]

If i turn off the backlight and dont leave the display on the map page constantly then mine is good for about 15 hours.

If it is on the map page all the time so the map is always updating then its more like 12, if the backlight is also on then about half that

 

[HLaB]

It should last no problem Norry. Mine lasted a slow (18mile, 1:20 ride) to the start of the Tour of Flanders and 11:13 on the actual 160mile ride (290km altogether) and it still had battery left (iirc 40%).

 

[HLaB]

If i turn off the backlight and dont leave the display on the map page constantly then mine is good for about 15 hours.

If it is on the map page all the time so the map is always updating then its more like 12, if the backlight is also on then about half that

Good Tip, mine had the map on continuously and was often lit up by the navigation software for the 1h20m (3:45am-4:05am) ride to the start but both features weren't used during the 11h13m Tour Sportive.

 

[PK99]

It is the process of constantly redrawing the map that drains the battery. keep it on a other page most of the time and switch to map when you need to - it will still beep when you go off course.

 

[StuAff]

It's partly going to depend on :
(a) how fast you are- if you're going to get round in 15 hours no problem, I'd have thought. I'd be nearer 30....
(b) the temperature. A bit of cold kills battery life.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I did a 170km ride in the Victorian Alps in January, with the ride elapsed time* about 10.25 hrs, and I think the Garmin 800's charge was at about 30% at the end of the ride.

* including rest/food stops, with the Garmin on and recording the whole time.

 

[PMarkey]

I use a battery pack similar to the one StuAff links to as I found that using the garmin to actually navigate a route even with the backlight turned right down meant that the battery died after nine or ten hours . I have my battery pack plugged in from the start and after a 200km ride the Edge is still fully charged ,I haven't used it on a 300km+ ride yet but I have the plains 300 in a couple of weeks so will see if the battery pack will last for the full ride..

Paul

 

[Norry1]

Stu and Paul - thanks for the links to the chargers. Think I will get me one of these. Any view on which one is better?

 

[PMarkey]

Stu and Paul - thanks for the links to the chargers. Think I will get me one of these. Any view on which one is better?

I would think StuAffs would be more versatile as it has a USB port rather than the gomadics interchangeable tip plus it is half the price

Paul

 

[JoeyB]

The Gomadic will probably supply more backup power due to taking 4 AAs and not 3.