sat-nav dilemma

[Brains]

Any advice on sat-nav dilemma? i'm heading to the pyrenees and am sick of stopping at every junction to check a map. I have at most £150 to spend and have been looking at new Garmin etrex 20 or 2nd hand garmin 705 if i can persuade anyone to sell me one at my budget. Help on choosing would be great for me.

The solution is:
Get a bar bag with a paper map module
Buy paper maps and learn how to read them (1:75,000 is the best size)
Get a GPS as well

You use the map to see where you are going and the GPS to see where you are.

I have toured across thousands of miles of Europe and also many miles of wingley wangerly Sustrans routes, I rarely miss a turn and a rarely stop at junctions to see which way to go
I do stop every so often to turn the map (I tend to read the map in direction of travel rather than always 'north up'

The only skills you need to learn are how to read a map, and how to read a map whilst riding a bike. A good bar bag with map attachment is essential.

The map is the main route finder, the GPS is the backup (and tells you when the next turn is coming up)

 

[rich p]

Sorry to be an idiot but when do those who plot a route on the garmin do so? Is it every evening during the tour or at home before the trip?
I can see problems with both. My route changes in minor ways frequently during the day, let alone major en route decisions such as, " Let's go to Verona instead of Venice".
I can appreciate that occasionally a gps might come in handy but nobody is in that much of a hurry on tour surely that you can't glance at a map every few miles and say, left here. It also gives me a chance to catch up with my wife while she glances down.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Depends on the length of the tour, Rich. A few days, I'll plot it all out in advance and load it into the GPS. Longer, I carry a MacBook Air 11 loaded with Basecamp and the whole of Europe, then plot the next day's route in the evening before loading it into the GPS.

 

[Crankarm]

How did we all manage before the era of GPS and the mobile phone ..............

If buying new now I wouldn't bother with the eTrex range. There are far better units available. Garmin Montana for one - larger screen or a SatMap.

 

[Blue Hills]

better in what way?

Just larger screen?

 

[CopperBrompton]

Large screen, touchscreen, wireless transfers, lots of customisation. It's a very nice machine, but with a price to match.

For UK-only use, the one with OS mapping would be lovely:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/out...-600-moto-gb-discoverer-1-50k/prod117521.html

But I don't think you can get any update deals on OS mapping - and it's very expensive to update at full price.

 

[bigjim]

I found my legend invaluable on my last trip. But I also take a paper map. To read either I need to use reading glasses but I don't ride in them. Without them I can just about see to follow the pink line on the goto feature on the garmin.
Each day over breakfast I note down the names of villages and road numbers on my route under each other in large capitals and place that on my barbag. I also note turns such as T/L T/R etc. As long as the route has decent signposting this is usually all I need. In larger towns or where the signs are missing then I need the Garmin and map.
Or I just ask somebody.

 

[Blue Hills]

Large screen, touchscreen, wireless transfers, lots of customisation. It's a very nice machine, but with a price to match.
But I don't think you can get any update deals on OS mapping - and it's very expensive to update at full price.

mm - I know some of the other GPS's have impressively large screens but though I thought I might find the Etrex 20, with my aging eyes a problem I don't - part of the reason I think is that I use OSM and variants which are graphically pretty simple - give you what you need.

Mine came with a free sample of O Survey mapping and though I love OS maps I feel that they are inappropriate on a small screen, even bigger screen GPS. OSM is excellent in the UK.

Wireless is kind of nice I suppose if you are in a tent with a laptop or something but otherwise not a must-have. I prefer the joystick to touch screen, specially with gloves.
I'd encourage anyone to check out the Etrex 20* - you could save yourself a lot of cash.

Probably best to get a fellow user to demo it for you - don't suppose the shops will be showing off OSM.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I tend to plan routes on the Mac then transfer them to the GPS, so OS mapping would be wonderful. However, my elderly eTrex Vista HCx still works really well, and coupled with bikeroutetoaster.com to generate good cycling routes is still a device I'd recommend.

 

[mmmmartin]

Buy a used Etrex HcX on eBay for maybe £60. Install maps, I have the Garmin maps, I think they were £30 for the whole of Europe, they have just the roads not things like churches, contour lines etc etc. Buy AA batteries, a pair last a good couple of days. Brilliant piece of kit, used it in France from Med to Manche and also the southern bit of Spain. Also has things like nearby shops, hotels, etc etc. need a proper map obvs but a GPS on the handlebars saves a lot of unneccesary cycling. And when travelling rechargeable batteries are trouble: you are not always sure when you can recharge, esp when camping. Even hostels may not have plug points for customers.

 

[bof]

I own an Etrex 30 - I bought it for the HRM facility after my Garmin Hcx (I think) packed up after several years abuse.

If I were you, I wouldn't bother with a GPS unless you are pretty sure you will keep on using it, especially if you have a smartphone that can do GPS. Since you said you are going to the Pyrenees most of your cycling will be in France. Download a reasonably detailed map of the whole of Western France (or whichver way you are going) and a really detailed map of any really large towns you plan on visiting. ViewRanger is a good site/Android = dunno about iphone - app for this. Then if you get seriously lost, your maps turn to pulp in the rain or you want to cycle around a place like Bordeaux you can use your phone without incurring charges.

Next buy (or locate an old copy of) the Michelin road atlas for France. Cut out the pages you might use and leave the rest behind. Cut them up into 2 or 4 and for £10 or so you have maps. I number mine with a semi-transparent marker pen in the order I expect to use them so I can locate each one quickly and dispose of them when I know I'm done.

 

[Gravity Aided]

How did we all manage before the era of GPS and the mobile phone ..............

If buying new now I wouldn't bother with the eTrex range. There are far better units available. Garmin Montana for one - larger screen or a SatMap.

I think I managed By having a Gazetteer for each State between here and South Dakota. Highly detailed. I'd then photocopy and put route information in. After that preparation, some other event would come up, and I never did a solo ride to Mount Rushmore.But I was ready. Oh, and I have a Garmin Nuvii 200.

 

[Crankarm]

I own an Etrex 30 - I bought it for the HRM facility after my Garmin Hcx (I think) packed up after several years abuse.

If I were you, I wouldn't bother with a GPS unless you are pretty sure you will keep on using it, especially if you have a smartphone that can do GPS. Since you said you are going to the Pyrenees most of your cycling will be in France. Download a reasonably detailed map of the whole of Western France (or whichver way you are going) and a really detailed map of any really large towns you plan on visiting. ViewRanger is a good site/Android = dunno about iphone - app for this. Then if you get seriously lost, your maps turn to pulp in the rain or you want to cycle around a place like Bordeaux you can use your phone without incurring charges.

Next buy (or locate an old copy of) the Michelin road atlas for France. Cut out the pages you might use and leave the rest behind. Cut them up into 2 or 4 and for £10 or so you have maps. I number mine with a semi-transparent marker pen in the order I expect to use them so I can locate each one quickly and dispose of them when I know I'm done.

GPSs rely on statellites. Mobile phones on phone masts. There are not always phone masts in remote areas so coverage issues. Plus mobile phone batteries don't last so long and cannot be readily replaced as most GPSs can use AA batteries.

Why not laminate your cut up paper maps to make them even more durable?

 

[CopperBrompton]

GPSs rely on statellites. Mobile phones on phone masts.

All modern phones have GPS built-in. They typically also use wifi to assist the GPS fix in urban areas, but don't usually use mast triangulation the way some very early systems did.

However, you're absolutely right about battery-life: GPS + screen on a lot = very poor battery-life.

 

[doog]

All modern phones have GPS built-in. They typically also use wifi to assist the GPS fix in urban areas, but don't usually use mast triangulation the way some very early systems did.

However, you're absolutely right about battery-life: GPS + screen on a lot = very poor battery-life.

A modern phone wont report a GPS signal without a mast as they rely on communication with the network to report your location . A stand alone GPS like the Etrex doesnt need it.