Thinking of buying a GPS ??

[cbs]

I have posted up various reviews before of the kit that I have used, but a quick summary here wouldn't hurt...

Both myself and my wife started out using our iphones with Endomondo, which did what we needed at the time. However, there was no link to any external device such as HR, the phones are bulky to have on the bars and if you use it with the screen on, battery life was poor. My wife did buy an ANT+ dongle for hers and used it for some time, but it wasn't always reliable in terms of recording.

When my wife bought a new bike, we also bought a Bryton Rider 20 for her, but I ended up with it and used it for some time. Although cheaper than the Garmin 200, and without the "breadcrumb" feature, it did however have ANT+ connectivity and for someone not needing mapping on the ride, it was ideal. Small, good display info, long battery life. Slightly quirky interface on both the device and the software, but the latter has improved a lot over time.

Eventually, my wife bought a Bryton Rider 50, which includes mapping and navigation, but this was soon passed on to me as she didn't get on with it. It is quite a large device, but with a relatively small screen as it is not touch screen. It does most things you need, and I now have it configured with the screens that I need when riding. Downsides are that the battery life is not great, especially if the screen light is on, it isn't responsive to the buttons sometimes (think it prioritises the recording over the display) and niggly things like a poor ghost rider implementation.

My wife now has a Garmin 800 that was purchased 2nd hand off ebay. We initially added openmaps, but eventually bought the proper Garmin ones - the former did work, but not with routes from friends. The Garmin is the best device that we own, and does everything that we need and more. I haven't found it to be a problem to configure either. Haven't really explored the navigation functions yet, but am sure that these would be fine.

So, in summary, if you want something small, neat and functional, but don't need the maps, a Bryton 20 would be my recommendation. In fact, I am considering going back to it myself! If you want mapping, the Garmin is the winner.

 

[BRounsley]

If you have iPhone 4S or newer (so currently 4S, 5, 5S 5C) then it packs Bluetooth 4.0 which is the low energy versions. You can get Bluetooth 4.0 - hart rate monitors, cadence sensors, power meters etc. Bluetooth will replace Ant+, it a more widely adopted and a better standard. My Wahoo hart rate monitor and Topeak cadence sensors both work impeccably.

 

[uclown2002]

It's heart!

 

[BRounsley]

It's heart!

I’m dyslexic, I’ll take a 80% hit rate.

 

[Jenkins]

How about the Garmin Edge Touring which can be had for around £180? Comes with pre-loaded maps so you can plan your own route or it (apparently) can offer a choice of circular routes if you input a distance you want to travel. It can also display speed, distance, time, etc and links up with Garmin Connect.

I'm tempted to replace my Edge 605 with one of these this year so does anybody have one (or the Edge Touting Plus) that they can offer opinions on?

 

[David5416]

Just bought the Garmon edge 800 perforamnce bundle off Amazon for £334. Best price i have found by a long way so well happy, loads of informative threads,vids ect on here and Youtube on how to get free maps etc. Just waiting for delivery soon and then give it a go.

 

[maltloaf]

How about the Garmin Edge Touring which can be had for around £180? Comes with pre-loaded maps so you can plan your own route or it (apparently) can offer a choice of circular routes if you input a distance you want to travel. It can also display speed, distance, time, etc and links up with Garmin Connect.

I'm tempted to replace my Edge 605 with one of these this year so does anybody have one (or the Edge Touting Plus) that they can offer opinions on?

I don't think either work with speed or cadence sensors so if that's important to you you'll need to go for something else

 

[jazzkat]

I've just splashed out on a Garmin 810 and while its had a couple of hiccups it's loads better than taking maps out or trawling through google maps for hours trying to remember routes and key turns.
Wish I'd bought one yonks ago.

 

[Basil.B]

My Mac is old, running OS 10.4.11
Would a Garmin Edge 200 be compatible?

 

[MaxWall]

+1 for the Garmin Edge 200. I’ve just bought one and am delighted with it. I particularly like uploading my rides on Strava and sharing with my children

 

[David5416]

Just bought the Garmon edge 800 perforamnce bundle off Amazon for £334. Best price i have found by a long way so well happy, loads of informative threads,vids ect on here and Youtube on how to get free maps etc. Just waiting for delivery soon and then give it a go.

I actually got the Edge 800 for £234 not £334 typing error opps.

 

[mikeIow]

Anyone considered using a mobile phone with battery extender (in handlebar bag!) as a "touring mapping" option ?
I'm planning a London-2-Paris ride in summer, and whilst the thought of a fancy 800/810 with GPX route pre-loaded sounds the bees knees, I am baulking at the cost when I *think* a phone+extender could do the job !
Already own a Garmin 200 (I guess I could recoup maybe 70-80 cost by selling that if I did want to lash out!).
Mind you, the 800 is a fair bit cheaper than the 810 - don't think I would miss the extra couple of hours battery and phone linked bits....down to 225 on Amazon....

I'm *not* a major regular cyclist who would get massive use out of the 810 - another reason to not be so daft as to invest.

Maybe I should just print some paper maps ;-)
cheers!

 

[Kestevan]

I've just returned a Bryton 50, it was returned under warranty to Wiggle, 18 months after purchase the battery life was down to 4hrs. It was sent back to Bryton, who deemed it BER. Wiggle immediately refunded me the purchase price, and I've just bought a Garmin Touring as replacement.

Not had chance to try it out on the road yet, but initial impression is good. The built in maps are much more detailed than the Bryton, and the touchscreen seems nice and responsive. I wanted the unit for mapping and ride recording, not bothered about cadence or heart rate, so the Touring seemed ideal.

 

[mikeIow]

I've just returned a Bryton 50, it was returned under warranty to Wiggle, 18 months after purchase the battery life was down to 4hrs. It was sent back to Bryton, who deemed it BER. Wiggle immediately refunded me the purchase price, and I've just bought a Garmin Touring as replacement.

Not had chance to try it out on the road yet, but initial impression is good. The built in maps are much more detailed than the Bryton, and the touchscreen seems nice and responsive. I wanted the unit for mapping and ride recording, not bothered about cadence or heart rate, so the Touring seemed ideal.

Do you know the differences between the Touring & the 800 ?
I am able to build a .gpx file for our holiday route, perhaps 300 miles of many points: I just wondered if both of these can take that and "perform" as the navigation device well.
Indeed, I may plan the things as daily routes, so could be 4 or 5 of them.
I can see the Touring can come with "Garmin Cycle Map of Europe and Points of Interest" - is that better/same/worse than just downloading the OSM mapping ?
Maybe I ask too many questions!!!
thx

 

[Basil.B]

[QUOTE 2964128, member: 259"]You need OSX 10.7 to run Garmin Express, so no, I don't think so. I have the same problem with the old Mac in the office.[/quote]
Blast, thanks for the information.
Got an iPad Air, might be able to connect to that.