Garmin (or other) - advice please

[Hacienda71]

He will be on Strava before you know it now he is coming over to the dark side

 

[marinyork]

Make me an offer I can't refuse ...

Jeez, what is the world coming to. I've offered 3 members on here use of my Vista HCx for free. £105!! Frigging hell.

 

[marinyork]

You can buy the maps separately, but you can also use the openstreetmap project which will let you download them for free, and the quality is fine in my experience.
Downside is you can only have one on the unit at a time, so if you want the world, make sure you download the correct one.

You can have more than one map on the newer devices. You are very correct to say the older devices had these problems unless you combined maps or made you own (as is the case with other older GPS devices of many varieties). My dakota does go a bit silly sometimes when I've had too many maps on at once though.

 

[marinyork]

My advice would be to peer over the shoulders of people on the Brighton FNRttc with garmin or other units and then if anyone thinks that you are looking at a GPS device, simply pretend you are admiring their bike.

 

[berty bassett]

i have the 705 what is brilliant and you can have 2 maps on it if you put one on the micro card , i use it for day rides and short bursts and the battery has never let me down , it has all the bits and bobs that you need on it and i am well pleased with it . i also have an old etrex for when i am away for longer than a day as you can change the batteries . it doesn't do quite as much as the 705 does in the biking department but covers walking better . i think it all depends on how your going to use it - if you are going to be near electric every night i would get the 800 as they dont do 705 anymore - i think . on the openstreetmap web page they do alsorts of maps that you can download for free - i have the gb+contours on 705 thats never let me down and british isles +contours os50 on etrex ( more for footpaths on the etrex again its never let me down but i haven't used that to its limits

 

[Blue Hills]

I recently did the unthinkable after slagging them off for ages.

I'd recommend the new Etrex 20 - better than the defeatured 10 model but without the extra price of the 30 which pays for stuff you don't really need. Uses AA batteries and rechargeables which is good so you can go for ages unlimited by battery power.

No need to pay for maps - you can use openstreetmaps as referred to above.

I thought might have problems seeing the thing as the display isn't massive but it's fine.

The free maps are excellent and I've used the thing in Sardinia where helpful souls have done some limited mapping.

I find the unit's routing pretty good - it's a bit odd sometimes but since I know London prety well it's nice to get a little lost/take an odd route once in a while.

Yes, the guidance in that other place, the dark side, is truly excellent - one of the best things about that forum I think.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I am second to no one in my love for a Garmin Etrex (mine is a Vista HCx)

I am an active advocate for opencyclemaps/openstreet maps and do contribute to the mapping locally, which more folk could do especially in regard to RoWs.

But I have a confession, and ross the train will back me up on this, there were times, on a little excursion from London to the top right corner this year, when we were cycling on roads that didn't actually appear on the maps.

At which point the helpful GPS track loaded to show you the way to go is next to useless!

Hence I'm thinking of investing in a new series Etrex with OS mapping.

 

[marinyork]

I recently did the unthinkable after slagging them off for ages.

I'd recommend the new Etrex 20 - better than the defeatured 10 model but without the extra price of the 30 which pays for stuff you don't really need. Uses AA batteries and rechargeables which is good so you can go for ages unlimited by battery power.

I'm not really sure why Garmin built the eTrex 10. In the olden days that sort of model made sense. Today with the different price points it makes a lot less sense.

The etrex replacement range other than that ie. the etrex 20/30 and the Dakota 10/20 are fine though (I own the latter). I bought the dakota because the etrex 20/30 prices were uncompetitive, but they have fallen now.

 

[slowmotion]

He'll get mudguards next.

 

[PpPete]

I am second to no one in my love for a Garmin Etrex (mine is a Vista HCx)

I am an active advocate for opencyclemaps/openstreet maps and do contribute to the mapping locally, which more folk could do especially in regard to RoWs.

But I have a confession, and ross the train will back me up on this, there were times, on a little excursion from London to the top right corner this year, when we were cycling on roads that didn't actually appear on the maps.

At which point the helpful GPS track loaded to show you the way to go is next to useless!

Hence I'm thinking of investing in a new series Etrex with OS mapping.

LIke Greg I'm an advocate for and occasional contributor to OSM but I'd disagree with the notion that a preloaded track is next to useless where the mapping is incomplete. Happily did JoGLE just with tracks (created on bikehike) on my Legend before I learned how to use routes. Went wrong twice in a 1000 miles, once in unmapped area, once in mapped area, both times quickly spotted and easily corrected

 

[Trickedem]

Wow, what a change of heart. I love my Garmin 800. It has the whole of the UK OS Maps at 1:50,000. It can also use the Open Source Maps, which are available readily, but you can also get hold of the Garmin street maps. It is compact and waterproof and designed for cycling. I have just done a trip to Paris and it was invaluable.
I wouldn't trust it to do the routing for me though. I plot my routes in advance on BikeHike or similar.
Only slight bugbear is battery life. I can get about 10 hours max from it, before it needs a charge.

 

[srw]

If you have the right base map (we shelled out for the Garmin version) and have the base map installed on a computer, then letting the unit do routing is as simple as a very simple thing, both to set up and to follow - and means you're not paying for a large bit of functionality you're not using.

A typical 60-odd mile route that you've already got on a bit of online software can be set up on the computer and transferred to the unit inside 5 minutes. It then pops up at every turn with a beep and a message telling you where to go - 99 times out of 100 on the exact roads you'd plotted. I'd still always carry maps in a belt'n'braces kind of fashion, but for security rather than real use.

 

[rich p]

Jeez, what is the world coming to. I've offered 3 members on here use of my Vista HCx for free. £105!! Frigging hell.

Marinhoooo!!!! Why are you getting rid and would it be suitable for me?

 

[rb58]

I am second to no one in my love for a Garmin Etrex (mine is a Vista HCx)

But I have a confession, and ross the train will back me up on this, there were times, on a little excursion from London to the top right corner this year, when we were cycling on roads that didn't actually appear on the maps.

I can back Greg up on this. However, that is the only time it has happened to me.

I use a Vista HCx (with Garmin map on the device and OSM on the PC) and the Arallsop method of building routes and tracks (demonstrated here) with a couple of minor variations (such as filtering down to 500 points to stay within device limits). This gives me a breadcrumb trail on a map (a track) and pop up, personalised, turn by turn instructions at junctions (a route). As ppPete says above, prep time can be a little long winded, but it soon becomes second nature. I favour ridewithGPS. I used to have Garmin 705 but got rid of it due to battery life limitations over longer rides. For me, the eTrex does everything I need and is better than the 705 on the road, but it's not cycling specific so there's no cadence, HR etc. And the absence of a start/stop button means that walking to the side of the road at, for example, a coffee shop will reduce your recorded average speed. Vista HCx can be had quite cheaply now if you Google them.

I am wondering if the mapping method I use on the Vista could also be used on the new eTrex 20 as I believe that may have some more cycling specific features. I haven't investigated that yet though. Someone will know though.

EDIT - I have documented the 'Arallsop method' with my variations into a step by step guide (one side of A4), so if anyone wants a copy PM me.

 

[marinyork]

Marinhoooo!!!! Why are you getting rid and would it be suitable for me?

We got a Dakota a while ago. We even used it in Italy. Don't tend to comment on that fact other than when people talk about buying garmins!