Dear God please...

[BigonaBianchi]

....make it so that Strava make a hardware unit better than the garmin edge unit and compatible with strava software so that I can finally dump Garmin and move on to a world free of software unreliabilty once and for all. Make it so that the strava app functions within such an on bike unit free of any flimsy,short battery life ,smart phone requirement, such that all is well and I can ride in happiness, peace and free of Garmin induced torment for the rest of my days... This I humbly ask, in the name of all things holy and sacred, Amen.

 

[Bollo]

Yes. This. Have a million likes.

In know my way around the ANT+ protocol and real time programming and I've researched around for possible open source alternatives to garmin, but it seems that the one or two attempts by people so far have died on the vine. Mio (Magellan is the U.S.) is probably the closest, but for some bizarre reason they've fixed the map sets for each unit, and the UK version only comes with GB and Ireland maps I believe. Leyzene have also entered the market, but only with GPS training, not navigating.

Garmin are the great Satan. Their last wheeze was to close their API on Garmin Connect (a heap of shoot anyway) and demand 5 large for the privilege of accessing your own data.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Not cheap, but I use a Satmap

https://satmap.com/

 

[mythste]

I cycled almost 8 hours a day with my iPhone attached securely to my handlebars over 3 days, so unless touring, surely that must be enough? Never understood the lure of cycle GPS when a lot of people have readily available and perfectly good phones myself.

Usual caveat of happy to be proved wrong, of course applies!

 

[Milkfloat]

TomTom multi sport watch for me, unloads easily to Strava, Garmin connect, map tried etc. does everything I need and more.

 

[John the Monkey]

I cycled almost 8 hours a day with my iPhone attached securely to my handlebars over 3 days, so unless touring, surely that must be enough? Never understood the lure of cycle GPS when a lot of people have readily available and perfectly good phones myself.

Usual caveat of happy to be proved wrong, of course applies!

For me, battery life, finding a mount that seemed secure enough at a reasonable price, heat build up running the GPS & inability to have the screen on without contributing significantly to that heat build up , weatherproofing.

The Garmin 800 I use hasn't given me any trouble so far[1], loaded with OpenStreetmap mapping, and it leaves my phone to be a phone.

I think it may be the best bike thing I ever bought.

[1] I've ridden pre-planned routes (loaded from RidewithGPS), ad hoc routes using the mapping to follow bike routes and check that "wonder where that goes" roads don't end in dead ends, and let it navigate me back to where I was staying in France when I had to cut a circular ride short unexpectedly in an area I didn't know.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Currently touring in Europe for a month using google maps turn by turn on cycle mode.

Firstly we have tried it without having your phone roaming as well and discovered it to be highly unreliable. The phone signal boosts the GPS.

It has served us very well for the last 2 weeks but i would add a rider that on an 8hr cycle especially if you go wrong it drains the battery. Im probably using 1 and a half full batteries.

 

[John the Monkey]

Currently touring in Europe for a month using google maps turn by turn on cycle mode.

Firstly we have tried it without having your phone roaming as well and discovered it to be highly unreliable. The phone signal boosts the GPS.

It has served us very well for the last 2 weeks but i would add a rider that on an 8hr cycle especially if you go wrong it drains the battery. Im probably using 1 and a half full batteries.

If you can get it, Here Maps allows maps to be downloaded to your phone, and will navigate fully offline. The only thing I can't tell you is whether it includes bikerouting or not.

No.1 son has used it for finding his way around Berlin and Geneva fairly recently, using the walking directions, and Mrs M used it on her last trip to London, again, for walking directions.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Walking is fine but i cant be stopping every 5 mins on a bike to check the map.

Helga, as we have named the google woman, talks to me whilst i am looking around, looking for the next turn etc. We tried Mapsme the first few days in Holland but the GPS kept falling out it was a nightmare especially as it was getting late.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Google (Helga) came into her own on our worst day of dreadful weathet. She didn't let us down, kept with the programme and delivered us to the campsite exactly as promised.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

The garmin hardware units are fine, it's the complex and user unfriendly (well at least me anyway) software I find unreliable and frustratingly difficult. I know some will come in again and say how it woks for them, which is great but it just isnt for me, and its been like this forever. Constant disappointment when all i want to do is easiy import my ride activity and have it logged on strava .

Regarding the issue of 8 hours being enough above, I agree it is for the bulk of rides, but I ride 4 imperial centuries+ last month, on eof which was 125 mies and took 9 hours...right at the last 10 mile section the bloody battery failed. I also have a Gpsmap60csx, old style unit. This unit runs off AA batteries easy available in most petrol stations. It is much bigger and heaviier than the edge though. If I were on a long tour again I would not take the edge as it requires a usb or power hook up to charge. It would be good if there was a way to extend the edge battery life with AA batteries rather than an external power pack which also requires a usb or power supply hook up.
Some rides definatly are much longer than 8 hours (especially my rides to the corner shop lol!)

 

[Drago]

I don't see the problem? With Garmin connect installed on my desktop pooter all I need do once a week is switch the poorer on, plug in the Garmin and.. nothing else, Connect extracts it automatically. Tapiriik is set up to share it with Strava and Endo automatically. Really can't see how that could be made any easier.

 

[Incontinentia Buttocks]

My Garmin touring was a nightmare at first, wouldn't sync, wouldn't update properly and trying to plan a route was made unnecessarily frustrating by making the route plotting map not full screen. Why? Just bloody why would they make that not full screen?
But once I discovered RWGPS and made sure I plotted the routes and NEVER EVER give the Garmin the option of rerouting or planning a route it's been great.
still deeply cack handed though.

 

[andyfraser]

My Garmin Edge Touring Plus has been ok for the last 8 months. It's turned itself off 4 or 5 times but I can live with that although I'd rather it didn't happen at all.

I'd much rather use a device that's been designed to have the screen on all the time while still giving over 15 hours battery, that has a screen that can be read in sunlight, that is waterproof and designed to be mounted on a bike.

 

[R_nger]

I don't see the problem? With Garmin connect installed on my desktop pooter all I need do once a week is switch the poorer on, plug in the Garmin and.. nothing else, Connect extracts it automatically. Tapiriik is set up to share it with Strava and Endo automatically. Really can't see how that could be made any easier.

This+

Edge 810 with Garmin Connect on the phone...bluetooth upliad at the end of the ride with GC automagically updating Strava, Endomondo and RideWithGPS. I have a sneaky feeling that upcoming firmware changes may even include some Strava segment functionality. As the owner of several Garmin units I could not deny that they involve a not insignificant learning curve (luckily there's plenty of useful info online)