Garmin Advice needed

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onb

Guru
Location
North Yorks
Im going to the Netherlands cycle touring and have purchased a Garmin Edge Explore for route finding . Will it send me along the Dutch cycle routes by default or is there a way I can set it up to do this .
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
No it wont. In my experience Garmin default routing can send you almost anywhere.

I dont use Garmin anymore. I use Wahoo. But you need to plot your route in Garmin Connect or Ridewithgps and transfer it to your Garmin.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Also, it depends whether you mean cycle routes (LF1 and so on) or the numbered junction node network (green and white circles). There are route planners which will prefer the routes but not follow them slavishly (cycle.travel is one) and I think there is a node based one (endorsed by fietserbond maybe? Searching past threads should find a link).
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
As per @steveindenmark ’s comment.

I had the edge touring for 3 years. HAD. It was a real disappointment and I went with Wahoo which has been exemplary.

But as you have the Edge, that is your tool. It now really depends on the routing software you use. Cycle.Travel will favour the fietspads more than most. I have also used RWGPS and Komoot in the NL and generally they favour the fietspads. It was only Komoot that did weird stuff through quiet neighbourhoods. I found the little excursions along cobbled avenues annoying.

If you want guaranteed trips from knopunten to knopunten, you need to plot your route with a paper atlas.
 
Location
España
I returned the (old) Garmin Touring after 3 weeks as it was totally useless - and I live in NL. Others like them.

I am reading from your post that you want to plot a route every day (as opposed to following a pre-prepared route).

I'm not aware of any gps device that will plot a "nice" daily route on the fly. That is better done in advance or on a dedicated route planner, (cycle.travel is excellent) and transferred to the device.

I like to think of navigation in 2 parts
1 Is the planning
2 Is the following.
(A device that does both well and is touring friendly is the Holy Grail and we are not there yet.)

So to answer your question specifically, it is not the Garmin that will keep you on the cycle paths - it is the planner that you use.
 
Location
London
I gave up on ours a couple of years ago after it malfunctioned and got us lost around Saddleworth
@Almartino perseveres with it but he swears at it. Alot!
We are in Belgium with it at the moment and it has nearly been lobbed in a canal several times.
Will be looking into Wahoo when we get back
Suggest you check out the garmin etrex20x. My etrex 20 (discontinued) has served me well for years on many rides, many well over 100 miles and some at dark. Longer rides I preplan on cyclestreets or cycletravel, though I do use autorouting sometimes for short bits, usually limited to 10 to 15K. No plans to downgrade it to anything garmin labels Tourer/Explorer/Adventurer/Road warrior or whatever.
 

berty bassett

Legendary Member
Location
I'boro
If you download the app dynamicWatch onto garmin connect and your phone , it lets you plot cycle routes on your phone and send them straight to garmin
There are more things you can do with it but gets a bit faffy but it works
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
If you download the app dynamicWatch onto garmin connect and your phone , it lets you plot cycle routes on your phone and send them straight to garmin
There are more things you can do with it but gets a bit faffy but it works
Would you not need a garmin with bluetooth connection for that?
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
Hasn’t it got Bluetooth?
If not then you will need laptop and download them before hand into new files folder
Any app will do that but I really like cycle.travel

No Bluetooth on Edge Tour. Not sure about Explore and if it’s just suitable for Connect software. And not many are going to lug a laptop around on tour. The Edge really isn’t a great option which is another reason I dumped it. Mainly because of Garmin’s rubbish software was the reason I jumped ship.
 
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Location
España
Would you not need a garmin with bluetooth connection for that?

No Bluetooth on Edge. And not many are going to lug a laptop around on tour. It really isn’t a great option.

It's possible to connect your garmin/wahoo directly to a phone or tablet with an OnTheGo (OTG) cable and suitable adapter.
With the right file manager software you can transfer files from phone/tablet in a similar way to your P.C.

Not sure about Apple, but it definitely works with Android.
 
Location
London
I think to be honest it depends on the Android tab Hobbes. I have an OTG cable and a Lenovon tab. It is very hit and miss as to whether the link works. I often seem to get a warning telling me to shut down because of some power issue and am somewhat loath to ignore this. I have tried using an OTG cable which allows you to link a power bank into the system but this doesn't always work. So my preffered system these days is to use a small (11 inch or so) Chromebook. Only cost me £100, easy to protect, goes in panniers OK, easier to use with its own keyboard and USB I/Os.
 
Location
España
I think to be honest it depends on the Android tab Hobbes. I have an OTG cable and a Lenovon tab. It is very hit and miss as to whether the link works. I often seem to get a warning telling me to shut down because of some power issue and am somewhat loath to ignore this. I have tried using an OTG cable which allows you to link a power bank into the system but this doesn't always work. So my preffered system these days is to use a small (11 inch or so) Chromebook. Only cost me £100, easy to protect, goes in panniers OK, easier to use with its own keyboard and USB I/Os.
If I'm reading that correctly your cable seems to be the issue.
On an older Lenovo phone it took me a while to get it up & running, an older Asus Tablet running a very old version of Android would not do it. Since then I've tried it on 2 different brands of phone and a newer Samsung tablet. All work.

There's a number of variables and cable is definitely one. File manager software is another.

I did consider a chromebook at one point, but from what I could see none were available that would recharge through USB from a powerbank.
 
Location
London
Did you ever have the "power overload" or whatever flash up on your phone or tab hobbes?

Can't remember where i got the otg lead from - some ebay seller probably, possibly 7dayshop.

Will maybe try more experimenting.

File management IS an issue at times on my android tab - Android 6. You?

I too am not aware of any chromebooks which will charge from usb so yes you need mains access. Battery life up to 8 hours though, recharges pretty quickly, and unlike my android tab can be used while charging so quite easy to keep charged on refreshment stops. Syncs with 7 inch android tab which can of course be used with usb charging.
 
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