Garmin edge 800

[sean8997]

Im thinking of getting a new Garmin Edge 800, had the 705 untill it was stolen, what would be the best mapping software to get with it and how easy is it to plan a route/course? I like to plan a route on my laptop then upload it to gps, is there a specific garmin software to do this and how simple is it to use? any advice most gratefull



Sean

 

[mattlandells]

Hi Sean - I was in the same situation as you but it's all sorted and the Garmin really is a great bit of kit!

Best thing to do is get the standard Edge 800 without a mapping bundle (I got mine for around £270). Then for maps, you need to go onto Amazon and buy a 2gb Micro SD Card with adapter for around £5. Make sure that you have an SD reader for your computer as well!

Then you can go to http://talkytoaster.info/ and download the maps for FREE - it's based on Open Street Map and covers the whole of the UK. I've been using it for about a month now and it's fantastic - it doesn't allow postcode lookup but has loads of POIs and is routable. The instructions are all there on how to put it onto the SD Card. Then all you need to do is pop it into the Garmin and you're off

Planning routes - download Garmin Basecamp for free. Then from http://talkytoaster.info/ again, download the basecamp version of the same map. This is a bit more fiddly but the instructions work fine. Then you install the map into basecamp and plot routes that you want to ride. Then it's just a case of plugging in the GPS, sending the route over and you've got the route with the option of turn-by-turn directions if you wish.

All very simple and no problems so far.

Going to do a video tutorial/review for my blog, will let you know when it's done

Hope that helps for now

Matt

 

[lulubel]

I'm planning to get one of these for my OH's birthday in August, but not sure exactly what to get in terms of maps.

She wants one for the navigation because she gets lost easily, and worries about trying new routes in case she can't find her way home (map reading is not one of her strong points!) I also want to get her the performance bundle, which I think she'll have a lot of fun with once she's got it.

We live in Spain, so she'll need a Europe package, but I'm not sure which one.

There are 3 choices on Amazon, and it seems that anything with "Europe" in the title includes the base maps, and the "navigation" bundle includes detailed city maps as well. Is that correct? She doesn't need city maps, so I'm hoping I can save some money by not buying a navigation bundle, but the difference in price seems like a lot for just city maps?

Would this be what I'm looking for?
Garmin Edge 800 Performance Bundle Europe

I want to make it as simple as possible for her to get set up, so don't want to go down the route of downloading maps to install on it unless that's absolutely necessary.

 

[sean8997]

Hi Sean - I was in the same situation as you but it's all sorted and the Garmin really is a great bit of kit!

Best thing to do is get the standard Edge 800 without a mapping bundle (I got mine for around £270). Then for maps, you need to go onto Amazon and buy a 2gb Micro SD Card with adapter for around £5. Make sure that you have an SD reader for your computer as well!

Then you can go to http://talkytoaster.info/ and download the maps for FREE - it's based on Open Street Map and covers the whole of the UK. I've been using it for about a month now and it's fantastic - it doesn't allow postcode lookup but has loads of POIs and is routable. The instructions are all there on how to put it onto the SD Card. Then all you need to do is pop it into the Garmin and you're off

Planning routes - download Garmin Basecamp for free. Then from http://talkytoaster.info/ again, download the basecamp version of the same map. This is a bit more fiddly but the instructions work fine. Then you install the map into basecamp and plot routes that you want to ride. Then it's just a case of plugging in the GPS, sending the route over and you've got the route with the option of turn-by-turn directions if you wish.

All very simple and no problems so far.

Going to do a video tutorial/review for my blog, will let you know when it's done

Hope that helps for now

Matt

Many thanks for your help Matt, just another quick question, which mapset is the best one to go for as there are quite a few for the 800?

Sean

 

[mattlandells]

I went for the GB Map with contours which is great:

110610-GB+Contours-Routable-GMAPSUPP.zip

Matt

 

[PaulSB]

I think with all the different models about its about time garmin got their sh**t together and stopped selling sub standard products I am damn sure they wouldnt get away with it in other markets.

I am currently looking at GPS's and I think at the moment I will look around for a cheap 605 or 705 I cant see any point getting an 800 until they sort out all the problems with it.

Absolutely agree with this view. I bought a 705 at Christmas and returned it to Evans for a refund three weeks later.

I found it impossible to use in any sort of reliable way. I've been using TomTom in various forms for years without any issues. The Garmin was so poor I would never purchase a Garmin brand product again. It seems to me they have the market and offer products which will work if you're prepared to spend hours fiddling but if you want an "out of the box" product look elsewhere.

I fully accept my experience is probably the minority and due to my lack of technical interest.

 

[barongreenback]

One thing to note is that if you use a Mac, expect features to come along 2 years after PC users. Garmin's support for Macs is shocking and the software is usually full of bugs. I had to install a dual boot on my Mac to get my Forerunner 305 up and running properly and was still less than impressed.

 

[User269]

I'm very happy with my 800. In terms of it's features, operation, and stability it's an improvement over my previously owned 305 and 705. We've just got back from the Pyrenees, where I used it every day for navigating routes I created on bikeroutetoaster, as well as collecting all the usual ride data. My only gripe is the inadequate instruction manual, but once you start exploring all the menus you soon work out how to do things.

 

[yello]

Garmin's support for Macs is shocking and the software is usually full of bugs.

Luxury! Garmin don't even offer support for Unix/Linux!

Actually, I don't bother with Garmin software anyway. There's a number of solutions on offer for Linux users, all developed outside of Garmin, so you don't need GTC etc,

 

[zacklaws]

For free maps I use the ones from:-

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

I also use the ones from "Talkytoaster" too in conjunction with all my other maps, mainly for the contours as you can use just the contours at the same time. The trouble with the "Talkytoaster" ones I have found is they can route you cross country at times which is no good if you only ride on the road. Yet both maps are almost similar in features and style.

As these maps are constantly getting updated, I've just done a check in Mapsource to see if "Talkytoaster" still routes cross country and it does, even with preferences set to use just highways

 

[zoxed]

Maybe it is the Garmin mapping/routing that people do not like: I have a 305 and am still *very* happy with it.

> Luxury! Garmin don't even offer support for Unix/Linux!

No, but 'the community does', e.g. QLandkarte GT which by default used Open Street Map.
Or you can use a web-based program, eg RideWithGPS.

 

[yello]

> Luxury! Garmin don't even offer support for Unix/Linux!

No, but 'the community does', e.g. QLandkarte GT which by default used Open Street Map.

Oi! A bit of selective quoting there! I ALSO said...

There's a number of solutions on offer for Linux users, all developed outside of Garmin, so you don't need GTC etc,

 

[yello]

On the subject of QLandKarte, I've tried it but didn't find it functioned in a way that made sense to me. I use PyTrainer, TurtleSport (both which use GarminTools to take data from my 305) and RideWithGPS which uses a Firefox plugin that replaces the need for the Garmin Communicator plugin.

I've also got SportTracks running under Wine but it's a bit flaky.

 

[zoxed]

Oi! A bit of selective quoting there!

Ooops: apologies. Guess I should take more care with my lunchtime speed reading of all the cycling forums !!

 

[zoxed]

On the subject of QLandKarte, I've tried it but didn't find it functioned in a way that made sense to me. I use PyTrainer, TurtleSport ...

I agree with your comment on QLandKarte: I did not find it intuitive, but I have now worked out the steps I need to do to get what I need !!
I tried PyTrainer and TurtleSport but had problems getting them to work for me (although it was some time ago now: I should try them again !). I also played with MyTourbook, which has good visualisations. And I played with GoogleEarth for viewing routes.