Garmin Touring ?

[Barabus]

Hi folks, I'm in need of your wisdom.
I'm using a Garmin Edge 200 at the moment, which I cannot fault at all, it's great.
But, looking for a GPS with maps. The Garmin Touring seemed the obvious choice.
Trouble is, I'm reading as many bad reviews as good. Any help with this one ?

 

[robgul]

I bought a Garmin Touring with the 1-50 000 OS map on an SD card bundled (from Go Outdoors) - so far so good but takes a bit of studying to get the hang of it .... - but of course it depends how you want to use it. My primary use is plotting a route/tour on the PC with Memory Map and loading that to the GPS to follow ... NOT asking the Garmin to find a route a route for me which is I think where the bad reviews focus? The data recorded is fine, but again I'm only interested in distance - none of the speed, calories, effort and health type stuff ...... it's all I can do to manage to ride a bike!

As a simple bike computer to move from bike to bike I kept my Garmin 200 - simple, easy, low-ish value if it gets lost. No brainer - way better than anything wired or wireless that works off a wheel sensor.

Rob

 

[CopperBrompton]

There's no advantage to the Touring over the Edge 810 unless you want the 'find me a circular route from here' function. I'm very happy indeed with my 810 (running OpenStreetMaps).

 

[andym]

The Garmin Touring may be the obvious choice but it's not necessarily the only one. The eTrex 20 for example is chunkier, but has the advantage that it uses AA batteries - that may not be much of an issue if you are using it for day rides, but it is an advantage if you are camping (although you could carry a power pack). It has a smaller screen - but that means it has a good battery life. The eTrex 20 doesn't come with a bike mount so you need to factor that into the calculations.

When you say 'a GPS with maps' bear in mind that you can easily download free Open Street Map mapping for Garmin.

As robgul says people may be complaining about the autorouting and SFAIK all the GPS units are a bit of a muchness - autorouting depends not just on the algorithms, but also the settings you use, and the information that's input into the map by the map-maker. I find that autorouting is useful for getting through the one-way system of a town you don't know, but as far as finding good cycling routes it's a bit hit and miss - so like robgul I use tracks.

I also suspect that GPSes are the sort of product that are bought by the sort of people who if they get a problem will rush off to post a bad review, rather than read the manual.

 

[psmiffy]

GPSism?

I also suspect that GPSes are the sort of product that are bought by the sort of people who if they get a problem will rush off to post a bad review, rather than read the manual

 

[vernon]

I'm a very satisfied user of the Etrex20. I've used it here in the UK and in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia with Open Street Maps.. Using AA batteries is an advantageous when access to mains electricity for charging purposes can't be taken for granted.

 

[andym]

I had a vague memory of complaints about the Garmin OS mapping and how it pixelates when you zoom in to high zoom levels.

There's an article here with screenshots:

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/os-discoverer-maps-screenshot-zoom-levels-garmin-edge-800/

(I'm assuming that all Garmin GPSes will have the same issue).

 

[Barabus]

Thanks guys for your input and your time, I appreciate it.
I'm gonna go for the Garmin Touring, I think it will suit my needs.
I'll be up touring around Edinburgh and the East Coast in July
and put it to the test, probably report back and bore you with my results..
Again, many thanks
Rab

 

[steveindenmark]

I have the Garmin Touring and have used it in Denmark. germany. France and Italy and it is great. I use it with Plotaroute which is brilliant.

 

[Kestevan]

I have the Touring, and find it an excellent piece of kit. I mainly use it for ride logging, and navigation on pre-planned routes.
The maps are clear and easy to follow, and the unit so far has worked well.

Where it falls down a little bit is on the recalculation of routes. If you do go off route for any reason the default behavior of the unit is to re-route. This can be very hit and miss. I've disabled the re-routing option and now if I deviate from the route it simply points the rough direction to re-join, once back on the route navigation resumes.

All in all I'm very happy with it and would recommend.

There's no advantage to the Touring over the Edge 810 unless you want the 'find me a circular route from here' function

Functionality wise very true, and in fact the basic Touring model has no ANT+ support (so no heart-rate or cadence) and loses many of the "training" apps the 810 has... however the Edge 810 currently costs £230 and the base Touring £155 so for those of us not interested in the above there's about 75 advantages

 

[Barabus]

I agree with your comment on Plotaroute, Stevie.
I'd seen you bigging it up in a previous thread, thought I'd take a look.
I installed it onto the pc last week and have had a good look around the app.
Very impressed with it. So ta for the heads-up

 

[Arthur]

I've got the Touring Plus (I'm a sucker for altitude and temperature) and I'm now really happy with it, although it did take me a while to figure out how to get the best from it.

The manual is absolute sh** - 14 pages, of which only 7 contain any information about using the device, and none of the instructions go into anywhere near enough detail.

Do NOT leave it to work out the route for you, or you'll find yourself taken on long detours to find cycle-paths at the expense of perfectly good roads.

When plotting a route on the PC, put waypoints in at every junction, and at frequent points along straight roads, and it will take you on the route you choose. Unless you do this, the route that is shown (an that looks eminently sensible) on the PC map will probably not be the route the Touring will take you on.

I'd strongly advise a few trial runs to get to grips with its quirks before using it in earnest.

Oh, and if you go for the Plus model, don't forget to power it on at least five minutes before you start moving, to allow the altimeter to calibrate itself.

 

[andym]

The manual is absolute sh** - 14 pages, of which only 7 contain any information about using the device, and none of the instructions go into anywhere near enough detail.

There's no substitute for a bit of 'ooh-I-wonder-what -this does?' fiddling.

Do NOT leave it to work out the route for you, or you'll find yourself taken on long detours to find cycle-paths at the expense of perfectly good roads.

Good general advice - but this depends on the maps you use and your settings: a different combination and it will happily send you down rubbish A roads.

 

[dr snuggles]

Turn off the function that recalculates the route if you deviate from it, when using pre plotted tracks, and you have yourself a cracking piece of kit.

 

[Cringles]

I used it for a 3 day trip, which was 140 miles. Apart from sending me the wrong way for two miles, in a dense forest, and getting lost in a city as there was so many round about, it was a great bit of kit. With this, common sense and a map, can't go wrong. It is nice to have f you have a ''I'm really lost moment''.