GPS questions.

[Cubist]

I'm thinking of getting a GPS. I want to be able to see where I am on a map display, and I want to be able to log rides, share them, and share other people's.

I have some money burning a hole in my pocket, but don't want to spend the earth.

I'm not particularly bothered about cadence or heart monitoring but would like to be able to plot a course and navigate round it off road.

SO far it appears that the Garmin Edge stuff is very popular, but I can't afford an Edge 800. My question I suppose is this: Is the Edge 200 a good unit for what I want to do?

 

[derrick]

Android phone, all the navigation you need.

 

[ianrauk]

The Edge 200 does not have mapping.
What it does have is course where you follow a pre loaded bread crumb trail (black line). So yes you can plot a course and follow it but it will not show it on a map.

Garmin has a great site for logging and sharing rides. Like THIS

 

[ACS]

Garmin Etrex Hcx?

 

[Mrbez]

Edge 705?

I bought one a few weeks back for only £130 with all the maps and HR and cadence stuff. I love it.

 

[ianrauk]

Edge 705?

I bought one a few weeks back for only £130 with all the maps and HR and cadence stuff. I love it.

Blimey, that's a great price

 

[Mrbez]

Blimey, that's a great price

I know! It was used, but the HR strap, cadence stuff had never been taken out of the wrappings. The whole package itself was won in a race by the guy I bought it off, he used it twice and prefers his polar watch for training data as he doesn't really need the maps.

I couldn't believe it, I got a great bargain.

 

[ianrauk]

I know! It was used, but the HR strap, cadence stuff had never been taken out of the wrappings. The whole package itself was won in a race by the guy I bought it off, he used it twice and prefers his polar watch for training data as he doesn't really need the maps.

I couldn't believe it, I got a great bargain.

Would have snapped his hand off at that price also. Well done on that one mate.

 

[Mrbez]

Would have snapped his hand off at that price also. Well done on that one mate.

Thanks. I see them on Handtech still for £220, and I was willing to buy one at this price, but when this came up it was great.

The guy was a really nice guy too, we have kept in touch since and plan to do some rides together.

 

[ianrauk]

Yep, got both my 205 & 500 from Handtech.

 

[mcshroom]

I'd suggest looking at the walking Garmin walking GPS range. Then again I only have a little Geko 201 that doesn't do maps either

 

[marinyork]

Garmin etrex legend/vista HCx. **Old models** 256 colours. About £100.
Garmin etrex 20/30 £150-250. 65k colours
Garmin dakota 10/20 £150-200.
Garmin edge 705 etc.

This is what mapping on the etrex vista HCx looks like. The new etrex/dakota/edges are better than this. And below here is the dakota (20):-

The map is of the same area. Not the slightly bigger screen on the dakota and how it renders it differently as it isn't restricted to 256 colours.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Anyone that says android/iphone obviously hasn't tried navigating with one over a mountain!!
Ok, there are some apps where you can cache "tiles" from the area you're about to cycle/walk, but you'd better do it at home, because if
you get anywhere like llanberis (foot of snowdon) the mobile internet is poo!! I've tried on a zte, htc desire and galaxy s2.

As for standalone sat-navs ... i have a "memory map 2800" which has proper ordnance survey mapping.
Crap display in daylight, and even with screensaver set to kick in after 10 seconds it went flat on me after 8 hours of walking,
not good when i had another 3 hours of walking to go!!
On the other hand its ideal for people who walk/cycle for half a day:

The garmin edge 800 with full uk o/s mapping is splendid though, with 15 hours battery life, although you'd be mad
to go riding black routes round your local forest with it onboard:

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I think a lot comes down to what maps you need/want to use. and do you just want to see where you are on the map or do you want that map to also show you where you are going?

I use an Extrex HCx with open cycle maps on it. Took a while to get used to the mapping over the familiar OS mapping. On road say to follow an Audax route or riding somewhere I've never ridden before, it is excellent and I'll cheerfully use it without any paper map backup, or at best a road atlas page. Off road a little less so as not every bridleway I can ride down is necessarily on opencyclemaps yet. That said it has been on some pretty remote ones in mid-Wales. Off road I tend to have a paper map as backup.

If I was buying one now I'd get one of the new Etrex with OS mapping on just because I like the look of those maps. I tried a mates memorymap; bigger display, OS mapping, couldn't get on with the user interface in gloves. Not worth the extra cost in my view.

 

[PpPete]

I think a lot comes down to what maps you need/want to use. and do you just want to see where you are on the map or do you want that map to also show you where you are going?

I use an Extrex HCx with open cycle maps on it. Took a while to get used to the mapping over the familiar OS mapping. On road say to follow an Audax route or riding somewhere I've never ridden before, it is excellent and I'll cheerfully use it without any paper map backup, or at best a road atlas page.

If I was buying one now I'd get one of the new Etrex with OS mapping on just because I like the look of those maps. .

+1
I don't so any off road biking so cant comment on that side, but use my Etrex Legend HCx (with free OSM mapping) for both cycling and hill-walking and hard to fault it. The only downside is my eyes/small screen size.... but anything with a bigger screen would chew through batteries.