What Garmin?

[cd365]

I recently upgraded to an 800 from a 200, I keep forgetting to use my HRM!
A lot more info on the 800 but a lot more expensive. You can download free maps onto it as well.

 

[lay]

Look at the Bryton series as they're pretty good too!

http://corp.brytonsport.com/products/index/Cycling?lang=en

 

[Cuchilo]

I'm not really sure I would use the maps to be honest

I thought that but they are really quite fun . If you want to go for a ride but don't want to do the same old route you can click on explore at the garmin site and pick a ride . A 30 miler taking in big ben or a 40 miler taking in box hill etc . I have a garmin 500 and seem to lose all my other stats when I have a route running ( is that normal ? ) I'm thinking of getting an 800 if that shows speed / time and distance aswell as the map .

 

[Newman8]

I've been trying to pick which computer too, going back & forth between a dozen or so models...

Garmins & in particular 800's btw hardly seem much cheaper 2nd-hand. Guess that's just demand, but why pay £65 for a used 200 when a new one's only £80?

Also - if you're not using mapping, then is GPS - eg a 200 - really offering a lot more than say a Cateye Velo/Micro?

Love the look of the 800/810's actually, but can't justify that kind of spend!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Also - if you're not using mapping, then is GPS - eg a 200 - really offering a lot more than say a Cateye Velo/Micro?

Well yeah. Neither of those have GPS tracking.

 

[Edwardoka]

Edge 500 user here. Apart from a tendency for the USB port to get corroded (which can be fixed with a bit of WD40), it's smart enough for all my needs. Full navigation/mapping would be nice but not really worth the extra if you go with a pre-plotted route.

 

[Newman8]

Well yeah. Neither of those have GPS tracking.

Yeah... And???

So you're using gps to tell you how fast you're going & how far you've been instead of using a spoke magnet!
And then when you've already found your way home, you can upload/download or whatever to confirm that you really have made your way home...

I'm not trying to sound rude or cynical - I really am keen on buying one of these things - but it seems like: (1) the benefits of gps (maps) only kick in when you spend nearly £300; (2) you've got decent wireless computers (speed/distance) at £25-£30; & (3)
I genuinely don't understand what all the stuff in between is for & nothing I've read yet has shed much light on that - so if anyone has any links to a site with a fairly concise explanation, I'd be grateful.

Cheers.

 

[DefBref]

Its not just about how fast and how far but WHERE you've been, a spoke magnet can't do that. Some people like a record of their ride and upload their rides to a website like strava or garmin connect. GPS tracking gives you this. Its not always about it telling you your current speed, cadence, position etc, but the history of that.

The Edge 200 gives you the GPS tracking cheaply by forsaking cadence and HRM and full mapping, models further up the range start to add these features.

If none of the GPS tracking interests you or you personally see no need for the way you cycle then thats fine a 'normal' bike computer will do you.

 

[ianwoodi]

810 the best ever

 

[Cuchilo]

Yeah... And???

So you're using gps to tell you how fast you're going & how far you've been instead of using a spoke magnet!
And then when you've already found your way home, you can upload/download or whatever to confirm that you really have made your way home...

I'm not trying to sound rude or cynical - I really am keen on buying one of these things - but it seems like: (1) the benefits of gps (maps) only kick in when you spend nearly £300; (2) you've got decent wireless computers (speed/distance) at £25-£30; & (3)
I genuinely don't understand what all the stuff in between is for & nothing I've read yet has shed much light on that - so if anyone has any links to a site with a fairly concise explanation, I'd be grateful.

Cheers.

If you have a smart phone DL the strava app . This will give you an idea of the extra benefits you get from a garmin .

 

[Cubist]

Many less expensive GPS units have breadcrumb trails. The Edge 305 for example that I have, you can plot a route on a mapping site then download it to your GPS. You can't see a map, but you have a trail visible on the screen, and an arrow that shows where you are in relation to that trail/course. You can also ask the GPS to lead you back to your start point, or plot a route with waymarkers, like turn by turn instructions, this then turns the GPS into a sort of voiceless SatNav for want of a better term. If you don't need navigation or tracking then by all means get a cycling computer, but the middle ground that you describe is very useful indeed.

Have a read through this link to see what I'm talking about
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/garmin-edge-305-gps.php

 

[Roadrider48]

Had my edge 800 for two weeks now almost. I was a bit sceptical at first, due to the price.
But it is really a great bit of kit. I downloaded free maps that work fine.
Depends what you're looking for in a computer and if you can afford/justify spending that much.
If you just want to see how fast you are going and how many miles you've done, a wireless cateye or something similar will do fine. I had one before I got the 800 and it did those things fine.

 

[uclown2002]

All roads lead to Garmin!

 

[mangid]

Only bad things to report about Garmin here. My first 810 unit failed after a particularly wet ride (5 and a bit hours torrential downpour), the screen started to delaminate. It also had a tendency to crash when swiping between displays, leading me to never us that feature. The second replacement unit would crash after 90 minutes or so, incredibly frustrating as I'd have to stop to reset it (virtually impossible to find the buttons with 3 layers of gloves on).

When it worked I loved it, but unreliable in my experience.

 

[uclown2002]

Only bad things to report about Garmin here. My first 810 unit failed after a particularly wet ride (5 and a bit hours torrential downpour), the screen started to delaminate. It also had a tendency to crash when swiping between displays, leading me to never us that feature. The second replacement unit would crash after 90 minutes or so, incredibly frustrating as I'd have to stop to reset it (virtually impossible to find the buttons with 3 layers of gloves on).

When it worked I loved it, but unreliable in my experience.

Garmin have outstanding customer service; what did they say/do when you reported the faults?