My Garmin switched itself off mid ride. Any ideas why?

[steveindenmark]

Garmin?? Old and cannot recall the last time I used it.

Garmin Touring. It will get you where you want to go. But there are far better routes than it selects. Freezes when it wants to, good at losing GPS signal. Especially in narrow streets with high buildings either side

Garmin Etrex30X Battery operated, heavy, same route problem and faults as Garmin Touring.

Wahoo Bolt. Load the route and it never fails.

 

[Milkfloat]

Just to burst @steveindenmark 's bubble Wahoo have not exactly had it plain sailing after shopping shipments of the Roam a few months ago and who can forget the very expensive KICKR debacle. Being a fan-boy is great, but be careful you don't get bitten.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Garmin Etrex30X Battery operated, heavy, same route problem and faults as Garmin Touring.

They are indeed heavy. So, so heavy. It's those very heavy AA batteries that do it. It makes a tremendous difference.

 

[ColinJ]

They are indeed heavy. So, so heavy. It's those very heavy AA batteries that do it. It makes a tremendous difference.

Ha ha.

As for the GPS choosing dodgy routes... Why let a machine tell you where to ride? Just take a look at a map, plot the route for yourself, and upload that. As long as the GPS can follow that reliably, fine. OTOH, if the device keeps crashing or losing track of where it is, then that is bad news. THIS might help?

 

[Venod]

Its a fairly basic model (200 edge?).
It was on approx 50% charge when at 12 miles it beeped and switched off. I immediately re-started it and was able to "resume" my ride.
The whole ride was 28 miles and it behaved the remainder of the way.
Its never done it before and never given me any problems.
Any ideas why it would do that ?

I'm a bit late to this thread but I had a mystifying problem with my 520, it would turn off after about 3 miles, I then turned it on again and it would be fine for the rest of the ride, I cured it with a factorty reset and its being fine since.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Ha ha.

As for the GPS choosing dodgy routes... Why let a machine tell you where to ride? Just take a look at a map, plot the route for yourself, and upload that. As long as the GPS can follow that reliably, fine. OTOH, if the device keeps crashing or losing track of where it is, then that is bad news. THIS might help?

Actually this is a really important point and I think it's possibly why I just don't appreciate why other people get so frustrated.

Some people do want on-the-fly routing and turn by turn prompts. Because I don't want and never use these things I just don't appreciate their issues. Maybe that's why - for example - I never had any issues with my Garmin Touring, but other people end up tearing their hair out. I just never used the features that happen to be dodgy.

 

[Dave7]

Actually this is a really important point and I think it's possibly why I just don't appreciate why other people get so frustrated.

Some people do want on-the-fly routing and turn by turn prompts. Because I don't want and never use these things I just don't appreciate their issues. Maybe that's why - for example - I never had any issues with my Garmin Touring, but other people end up tearing their hair out. I just never used the features that happen to be dodgy.

Dont know if I said this earlier. I agree with you.
I use mine purely for distance and time etc. I have also used it when kyaking or hill/coastal walking to get accurate records of distance.

 

[ColinJ]

Actually this is a really important point and I think it's possibly why I just don't appreciate why other people get so frustrated.

Some people do want on-the-fly routing and turn by turn prompts. Because I don't want and never use these things I just don't appreciate their issues. Maybe that's why - for example - I never had any issues with my Garmin Touring, but other people end up tearing their hair out. I just never used the features that happen to be dodgy.

Interesting... @Littgull has a Garmin Touring device which DID make him tear his hair out so he bought a replacement (Garmin!) device which he is happier with. He offered to let me borrow the Touring GPS when my old Etrex was playing up. I discovered that the problem was that I had started turning the Etrex on before leaving the house and it got confused when it couldn't lock on to any satellites. The Etrex is now switched on OUTSIDE the house and is working properly again so I don't NEED to borrow Littgull's device, but it might be interesting to see if I could get it to work reliably. (Brian would be the first to admit that his tech skills are somewhat lacking... )

 

[bigjim]

My etrex always did it and I tried all sorts of fixes. Cured the problem by wrapping an elastic band or preferably a hair bobble around the mount where it is attached to the unit. It must cure the vibration and rocking on the mount. Never a problem since.

 

[Littgull]

Interesting... @Littgull has a Garmin Touring device which DID make him tear his hair out so he bought a replacement (Garmin!) device which he is happier with. He offered to let me borrow the Touring GPS when my old Etrex was playing up. I discovered that the problem was that I had started turning the Etrex on before leaving the house and it got confused when it couldn't lock on to any satellites. The Etrex is now switched on OUTSIDE the house and is working properly again so I don't NEED to borrow Littgull's device, but it might be interesting to see if I could get it to work reliably. (Brian would be the first to admit that his tech skills are somewhat lacking... )

Ha ha, yes there is definitely a lack of teccy skills factor which have contributed to my Garmin woes.
As Colin mentioned my Garmin Tour was absolutely exasperating. That too, occasionally switched off mid ride for no apparent reason as well as unilaterally deciding to recalculate and alter a pre loaded route even when I hadn't strayed off course! . So far my 'new' Garmin Explore has behaved faultlessly in respect of following pre-loaded routes which meets my main priority. However, it does grossly under-record the amount of ascent for each ride.
I do also have a Garmin 200 which I acquired for free from my son when he purchased another Garmin. That is generally very reliable. I also had a 200 several years ago as my first GPS device. That one 'bit the dust' as the connection port became damaged but it worked well up until then. I don't think it ever switched off mid ride. I now take both Garmins when I am riding a day long pre loaded route just to have a back up - such is my lack of 100 %faith in Garmins!

One thing I would say, is that despite the inconsistencies of Garmins or any other make of GPS device, I cannot understand how any cyclist who regularly rides long unfamiliar routes would prefer to use paper maps or typed/hand written cue sheets. What a hassle having to rig up an unwieldy map/route sheet holder on the bike to refer to or even worse to have to keep getting route details out of your pocket. I can see the merit in taking them as a back up though.

 

[the_mikey]

I bought a 2nd hand Edge 200 with evident battery problems, but I did strip it down, removed and reinstalled the battery, ensuring the connections are securely reinstalled and it has worked fine since, so it's likely that battery problems could be caused by a poor connection somewhere. But also, don't disregard human error, sometimes it looks like it has just turned off when it has really been paused for too long and the timeout timer has triggered a shutdown.

 

[Blue Hills]

Garmin?? Old and cannot recall the last time I used it.

Garmin Touring. It will get you where you want to go. But there are far better routes than it selects. Freezes when it wants to, good at losing GPS signal. Especially in narrow streets with high buildings either side

Garmin Etrex30X Battery operated, heavy, same route problem and faults as Garmin Touring.

Wahoo Bolt. Load the route and it never fails.

Thanks for the polite reply steve but am afraid that you have confirmed that you have been captured by the cult, for you are clearly judging the garmin and wahoo by different standards.
You say you don't like the garmin's on the fly routing but that the wahoo performs faultlessly once it is told a route. Hardly an equal test.
I have ridden for 18 hours faultlessly with a garmin working from a route I had given it. I only use its inbuilt routeing on short hops round london and on diverts to stuff off a main route, maybe 20 or so miles or km, possibly less.
The Touring I gather has problems. The etrex 20/30 are fine and the occasional freeze is no great problem. The fact that you can briefly disconnect the removable AAs actually helps sort issues.
Heavy?
Mm - not going to kill me, and I instinctively mistrust any cycling componentry sold on weight.

 

[steveindenmark]

Thanks for the polite reply steve but am afraid that you have confirmed that you have been captured by the cult, for you are clearly judging the garmin and wahoo by different standards.
You say you don't like the garmin's on the fly routing but that the

They are indee

I judge all GPS units by the same standard. Do they work and can you be confident that they will work 100% of the time. I have had years of experience with Garmin and they dont instill confidence. I have had the Wahoo Bolt for 2 years and it doesnt go wrong. It really is that simple. I have used it in forests in Germany, out in the wilderness of Bulgaria and in narrow streets in Sienna with 5 storeys either side and the Bolt just works. I can load a 300km route in seconds and it just works without fail every time.

Routing on the fly, I use Komoot. Plan it at the side of the road and send it over to the Bolt and it works every time.

Just to burst @steveindenmark 's bubble Wahoo have not exactly had it plain sailing after shopping shipments of the Roam a few months ago and who can forget the very expensive KICKR debacle. Being a fan-boy is great, but be careful you don't get bitten.

The Roams problem is in its re-routing. Its why I will not get one. Hopefully Roam 2 will come out and have that sorted. Its problems has not been a secret from the start.

They are indeed heavy. So, so heavy. It's those very heavy AA batteries that do it. It makes a tremendous difference.

That is the problem. But they are regarded as the most reliable Garmin. I accepted the heavier weight for the reliability.

My opinion is that Garmin were the only real contenders in the bike GPS field for years and became lazy and just released units without solving the real issues. Hopefully, they will now start sorting those problems out now that Wahoo has taken a big chunk of their profits.

 

[Blue Hills]

They could certainly boost the speed of the processor in the etrex 20/30x series.
Unless I am mistaken, the wahoo bolt, diminuitive featherweight thing that it is, has no onscreen map?

 

[Dogtrousers]

That is the problem. But they are regarded as the most reliable Garmin. I accepted the heavier weight for the reliability.

An Etrex weighs 140g. Bike specific GPS units units come in at around 60g or thereabouts up to about 100g. Do you really consider an 80g difference a problem?

This from someone who recommends Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres that weigh the best part of a kilo each to someone struggling for speed.

I think your brand loyalties are getting the better of you.