Garmin Edge 1000 - potential buyers beware

[jiberjaber]

RWGPS, TCX files and
turn guidance off,
off course warnings on
recalculation = prompted
Never select the "navigate to start option"

Works for me, plus always check over your route with the Google pin man - generally (unless you have some other knowledge from locals) if the google car hasn't been there, it's not good for cycling.

There is now a connectIQ app to allow similar options to the new Wahoo functionality of transfer files from RWGPS to the Edge 1000 over wifi/BT - it's OK but some options like sort on date created (to find that route you just plotted before the ride) would be useful and they have said they will look at adding...

http://dynamic.watch/

I'm not fully sure what's stopping me jumping to a Wahoo Bolt at the moment (probably the remote for my Edge?), but the Edge seems to behaving for the first time in a long time!

 

[Markymark]

RWGPS app (premium). Iphone (other less awesome phones available). Download the map in advance and switch to airplane mode. Put phone in a charging case and use a Quadlock to secure it. You have a massively clearer screen without any of the crashing. Charging case gives an extra 1.5 charges (2.5 batteries in total) which I'ved used for 8 hours still with plenty to spare.

My Garmin Edge is gathering dust and will be ebayed soon.

 

[MikeG]

I don't have a smart phone. I won't have a smart phone. I want a GPS which will guide me around a 100 miler without issues, put me back on course if I go wrong, and very little else. I don't want it to measure my cadence or heartrate, just the basic trip-computer stuff such as ave speed, distance, and time. Why is it that the leading GPS maker in the world hasn't got a simple bomb-proof product which will do this for me, and without me having to take out a second mortgage? Walkers have some pretty good equipment to choose from. What is the difficulty in taking the guts of a walkers' GPS, making it slimmer, adding turn warnings, and putting it on a bike mounting system?

Until and unless someone comes up with such a simple thing, I shall be scrolling through paper direction instructions written out laboriously by hand beforehand, and stopping to ask locals when I go wrong.

 

[PK99]

I genuinely puzzled by this thread. I know loads of people with Garmins of various specs and have never heard anyone complain.

mine operates flawlessly for following pre planned routes and recording riding data. plug it into pc and it uploads to Connect instantly and recharges.

 

[Markymark]

You can pickup a smartphone for much less than a Garmin and it will do everything you want, better and with a decent screen. You can simply not bother putting a SIM in it and then it won't be a phone. They make massively more phones than gamins, hence the firmware/software/hardware is better. It will do what you want and imo it would only be stubbornness stopping you.

 

[Dogtrousers]

What is the difficulty in taking the guts of a walkers' GPS, making it slimmer, adding turn warnings, and putting it on a bike mounting system?

I do exactly this. Well, almost exactly this. Sort of. I've missed out the "making it slimmer" and "turn warnings" bit. I just mount a walking-style GPS (Oregon at the moment) to my handlebars.

Maybe a bit un-trendy. If I was a bit more sensitive I may notice that it results in a few percentage points drop in the number of people waving to me <- Meant to be a joke.

 

[Mark1978]

RWGPS app (premium). Iphone (other less awesome phones available). Download the map in advance and switch to airplane mode. Put phone in a charging case and use a Quadlock to secure it. You have a massively clearer screen without any of the crashing. Charging case gives an extra 1.5 charges (2.5 batteries in total) which I'ved used for 8 hours still with plenty to spare.

My Garmin Edge is gathering dust and will be ebayed soon.

This is what I do, apart from the bit about owning a Garmin.

 

[Markymark]

This is what I do, apart from the bit about owning a Garmin.

Well what you did was save the £300 on the crappy Garmin whereas I thought it was going to be a good bit of kit. Too many crashes, too small and crappy screen.

 

[PK99]

g

too small and crappy screen.

In automotive mode the screen is an ideal size - two nice big tramline to stay within and turn points very clear - never a need to read a route in full map display mode.

 

[Markymark]

g


In automotive mode the screen is an ideal size - two nice big tramline to stay within and turn points very clear - never a need to read a route in full map display mode.

The garmin I had was awful. Just about ok to follow a route but if you wanted/had to devaite, planning a new route and seeing where you mkight want to go was terrible.

 

[Lpoolck]

A few people have mentioned buying a phone instead of a Garmin. I did actually consider this before buying my 1000. If I recall correctly the Sony Ericsson phones have inbuilt ant+, ran android and were fairly cheap with a better screen than the 1000. I just didn't want the 'hassle' of putting my sim into each before each ride (for map data and call alerts) I wish my laziness on that occasion didn't get the better of me, as it had not I would have a more fit for purpose cycling computer.

 

[PK99]

The garmin I had was awful. Just about ok to follow a route but if you wanted/had to devaite, planning a new route and seeing where you mkight want to go was terrible.

As others have said, yes Garmin is poor for that, but it is not really what it is designed for.

I got lost off the back in traffic on a group ride a few years ago. I had no route in my Garmin, but knew the pub they were going to. I searched for Nearby restaurants, saw the name, said take me there and it took me there by a very sensible bike friendly route.

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

What alternative product is there?

I have been using a Mio Cyclo 315 for the last 18 months and absolutely love it!

Bigger screen than most of the Garmins and seems to have a similar huge number of functions including:

Turn by turn navigation. Really quick to recalculate route if you tale a wrong turn.
Surprise me function, where you input a distance or time and it will create 3 routes for you to choose from.
I get about 10 hours battery life from a full charge.
Live Strava segments.
Ant+ connectivity for HR monitors, cadence and speed sensors.
DI2 connectivity.
Multiple screens fully configurable to display any of a huge number of possible options.
A lot more stuff that I either don't use or can't remember.

When I first got it, some of the above functionality was missing but has subsequently been added with several software update.

I can honestly say that it has never crashed and I haven't had a single problem.

I use it a lot and ride approx 7000 miles a year.

You can pick one up new for about £160.

Graham

 

[Gary E]

I've had massive issues with both my 705 and 800 and it's for that reason that I never upgraded to the 1000. The only way I can get them to work reliably over long distances is break down the ride into smaller chunks and then to upload them as separate routes. This means I have to input each new segment as I finish the previous one (which, due to my fat fingers and old man eyesight, means I have to stop riding) but unfortunately that's the only way I've found to get my Edge(s) to navigate longer routes

I could understand if this was Garmin's first effort at producing a GPS device but this isn't the case. I feel that after several models (and particularly at the price) their products should be a lot slicker. You need to be some kind of programming expert sometimes just to work out what files to use and where/how to upload them! I'd like to upgrade to something that works a bit better (more intuitive?) but until someone releases a unit that does what it says on the tin without all the faff, I'll stick to what I've got

 

[Mark1978]

I've had massive issues with both my 705 and 800 and it's for that reason that I never upgraded to the 1000. The only way I can get them to work reliably over long distances is break down the ride into smaller chunks and then to upload them as separate routes. This means I have to input each new segment as I finish the previous one (which, due to my fat fingers and old man eyesight, means I have to stop riding) but unfortunately that's the only way I've found to get my Edge(s) to navigate longer routes

I could understand if this was Garmin's first effort at producing a GPS device but this isn't the case. I feel that after several models (and particularly at the price) their products should be a lot slicker. You need to be some kind of programming expert sometimes just to work out what files to use and where/how to upload them! I'd like to upgrade to something that works a bit better (more intuitive?) but until someone releases a unit that does what it says on the tin without all the faff, I'll stick to what I've got

(Nice avatar)

This is where i'm hoping that the new Wahoo units will come into their own. Apparently you can just create a route on RideWithGPS and it will automagically sync over to the device wirelessly. I like the idea of the leds on there for turn indicators.