Stupid question about Gps

[lordjenks]

hi all,
looking at a bike gps for longer rides and as i understand there are two types, one that just records your exact speed/distance etc and the other which actually show you the way and have a map on screen.
im looking for one that i can plug in a route beforehand and it shows me the way with the visual aide of an actual map on screen.
Anybody got any good suggestions as for which ones to go for, the garmin ones seem pretty popular.
thanks!!

 

[ColinJ]

I have the cheapest of the Garmin Etrex range and have navigated well over 10,000 km with it and I can tell you that if you are going to stick to preplanned routes it does the job perfectly.

It doesn't have mapping capability and you don't need it. It displays a 'breadcrumb trail' on its screen and you just follow it.

You can set it to auto-rotate the route display so that you are always 'riding up the screen' unlike the mapping GPSs which usually display the maps the 'right way up' meaning that you have to mentally rotate the map if you happen to be riding in any direction other than north.

There have been some lengthy discussions on the forum about using GPS on bikes. If you search for posts by me including the terms GPS or GARMIN then you will find a lot of your questions have already been answered.

 

[Hacienda71]

A lot of the new smart phones have full sat nav. Battery life can limit them for touring though. There are also some good cycling apps available for them like Endomondo.

 

[Candaules]

I also had a basic garmin etrex, and it did the job very well. I create routes in advance, using memory map, upload them, and go. There is no map display on the basic etrex, but the compass page (if that's what it's called) warns you of approaching waypoints, and points in the right direction. I find this more use than trying to follow a tiny picture of a map, which is often vibrating furiously due to bad road surfaces.
My old Garmin fell apart, (the rubber gasket came off) and has now been replaced with an etrex legend HCx, on which I have loaded the Open Street Map projects free maps (the garmin maps are expensive and not much good). I still use the compass page most of the time, though the map display can be useful when you have stopped, and want to see where you are, alternative routes, etc.

It is a good trip computer, and when you get home you can upload your track and see where you actually went.

 

[CopperBrompton]

You can set it to auto-rotate the route display so that you are always 'riding up the screen' unlike the mapping GPSs which usually display the maps the 'right way up'

On the Garmin mapping units, you can choose between North Up and Track Up.

I have (and recommend) the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx:
http://www.benlovejoy.com/cycle/kit/gps/

 

[benb]

I've got a Garmin 605 that sonofsid sold me, and I'm very happy with it.

I create my route with bike route toaster and it can send it directly to the connected unit with the Garmin Communicator plugin.

It's got a few different modes. You can have it just point an arrow to the nearest waypoint. You can have it show the actual route for you to follow, or (with the maps) you can have it navigate the fastest route.

I really only use the second option - it shows the route as a pink line, and if it has a map of the area that's on the screen too, if not then it's just the line.

Whichever you use, the key is having a good idea of the route when you plan it - that's why I like bike route toaster, as it has cycle routes from openstreetmap on there which is invaluable for route planning.

 

[RedBike]

I have the very cheap Etrex Legend. It has a black and white screen/map. The map is pretty much illegable making it useless.

On most GPS devices (even the ones without a map) you can upload your route/track to the device and it will point in the direction of the next waypoint on your route. A kind of dot-to-dot picture of the route if you like. The trouble is there's no auto-correct function. If you go off-route / take a wrong turn the GPS wont tell you how to get back on track. It will just show you the general direction that you should be heading in.

I've done 100's of rides following this GPS, but I have started putting a car A-Z road map in my panniers on longer rides.

 

[yello]

I have the Garmin edge 305 which does the things you mention. It doesn't have an 'actual map' on the screen, but a followable trail.

It's not a device I'd choose for touring though, due to it's battery. Battery life is good but you'll have to find a mains supply to recharge it at the end of the day since you can't replace the battery. Something from the Etrex range is better suited to touring since they take standard AA batteries. I used to have an Extrex Legend and couldn't really fault it. I sold it only because, with the Edge, I was able to replace Etrex and my cycle computer with one unit - and the Edge suited my needs.

I think you need to look at the differences between the Edge types devices and the more standard (if I can call them that) GPS devices like the Legend to decide what's important to you, what you can and can't live without. Either device will do what you describe in your brief description, so it's a matter of fleshing that out a little.

I'm going to be looking at the new Edge 800 shortly, it's looks quite a neat bit of kit but it's not cheap.

 

[ColinJ]

Something from the Etrex range is better suited to touring since they take standard AA batteries. I used to have an Extrex Legend and couldn't really fault it. 

It was one of the reasons why I chose an Etrex. I get well over 24 hours use from one pair of 2,800 mAH NiMH AA cells. The simple Etrex only consumes about 100 mA if you don't use the backlight (which you don't need to in daylight, and I use a headtorch in the dark).