What sat nav do you have?

[DLB]

Thinking babout investing in a sat nav especaily since i'm going to train up for a 70 mile ride in the summer.

There seem to be a few differnt types and i'm not sure how useful they all are.

from the garmin 205...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIKE-GPS-GARM...14&_trkparms=72:1691|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

to the expensive 705

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Edge...sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1237022458&sr=1-1

via the modestly priced 305

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Edge...sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1237022458&sr=1-3

i'm pretty much confused. Is there an affordable handlebar mounted one that will allow me to get lost and then find my way back to civilisation? If i do turn down a new road is the map good enough for me to see my new route? does the map scroll like it would on a pc

the other sat navs without a map function - how useful are they? arethey just a posh cycle computer? does anybody race against they 'ghost' ie their last recorded race?

Any comments would be helpful as i haven't much of a clue!

DLB

 

[yello]

Is there an affordable handlebar mounted one that will allow me to get lost and then find my way back to civilisation?

From your list, that'll be the 705. The 205/305 are not sat navs*. Whether a 705 is affordable or not is your call!

You could just take a map. Damned sight cheaper Seriously though, how "lost" can you get?

I have a 305 and I love it to bits... but I plot my ride before leaving home and simply follow the trail. I don't use the 'virtual partner' ("ghost" in your words) and pretty much use it as a "posh cycle computer". I wouldn't be without it. A brilliant bit of kit and I'd get another when/if it packs up.

From what you say is your intended purpose (training), I'd say a 305 will do you just fine. Plot your course before hand, load it to the 305 and away you go. You can then compare times etc with previous efforts. It's pretty much its intended purpose.

* Edit: in the generally accepted sense. Some folk will tell you that they are because they use satellites to navigate you/follow the track. However 'sat nav' is assumed to mean auto-routing, i.e. key in a post code/town name and the unit will direct you there via roads. If you've saved a location on the 305 (say) you can say 'take me there' but it'll be a direct line across fields etc etc etc... not really what people take 'sat nav' to mean!

 

[gavintc]

I have the 705 and for most its use (so far) it is a glorified computer. But, it is an excellent computer allowing download of lots and lots of stats. I am still learning the various functions. However on a couple of occasions, I have used the GPS (get me home function) a couple of times and was really impressed with it. The first was when I had to get off the train early (it was running really late and I reckoned I might as well cycle). In the dark at a station I had never been to before, I set the route and off I went. About 200m before each junc, the thing came to life, backlit showing a little diagram of the junc and at the junc an alarm sounded with a reminder - outstanding. It got me home through virgin territory on a damp, cold winter night.

I love it. It will get tested to the full when I take it abroad to Majorca next week and then to France for 2 weeks summer hol.

 

[DLB]

thanks for the comments guys.

the 705 sounds like what i'd like. not for the stats it produces, but for the mapping and so i can just go out anywhere and not worry.

Budget wise however the 305 is probably more in my porice range (short of winning the lottery tonight).

gavintc - when you used the get me howm function, could you see where you were going or did you jjust follow the arrows at junctions. I guess i'm wondering if i go out for a long ride and think "i'll go towards doncaster now" could i see a route for this on the sat nav like i could a normal map? (the problem with a normal map is keep stopping to read it - in my opinion anyway)

Do any of the satnavs let you put in a place name while out on the road e.g. a village name, and direct you to it? The perhaps i coudl use the sat nav and a map combined but the satnav will direct me. if this makes sense...

DLB

 

[gavintc]

Yes, I think you can. To be honest, I was not confident that it would work so having set it and then put the screen back to the normal computer screen - showing speed, HR etc. Off I went, and I was impressed at the instructions. I have not used the GPS side of it much other than to review where I have been after a ride and look at route. I think others on here have done more analysis with the 705. It is still a new toy for me.

Have a look at this site - some useful detail and comment:

http://frank.kinlan.co.uk/?page_id=1212

 

[DLB]

is the mapping function on this any good? is it a cheaper 705???

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Garmin_eTrex_Summit_HC_GPS/5360031551/

 

[Will1985]

As yello says, a 2/305 is perfectly acceptable if you use it properly with location markers.

DLB, you have also forgotten about the 605. If you don't want HR, cadence or power this might be a (slightly) cheaper option. The base map is rubbish, but the open source maps are generally pretty accurate and a lot cheaper than the Garmin licensed ones.

I have a 705 - while it was a vast amount of money, I find it a very useful training aid more than using it for GPS. I moved from a 205 primarily for the ANT+ protocol so I could get it to record power output from my PowerTap.

 

[jimboalee]

Mine's a 605.

I have Topo GB left over from my days with eTrex Legend.

If you want the thing to get you out of the woods, you must get a mapping package that allows 'By road' routing.

I have Topo GB, so I don't look at anything else and I don't know what else is out there.

My mapping gives a 'Map view', not a perspective 'helicopter' view.

The 605 gives 'turn-by-turn' pop up instructions with a warning bleep. That's useful.

I always have mine 'Road up' so the cursor arrow is pointing the direction I'm travelling and the compass needle swings round.

One bugbear. Garmin's route calc algorithyms are far from perfect. If you use 'Get me home', don't be surprised to go Via Worcester ( an in joke around here ).

Battery life won't get through a 300km rando, so I have a PowerMonkey.

With a 4gbte card, Edge 605 can be used as a USB memory thumb, so can hold files etc. That's useful. It can be charged off your PC at work with a mini USB cable.

 

[DLB]

the 605 is £200 on amazon, may be able to get it cheaper but as a guide this could be within budget. Would i need to spend a fortune on the maps? can the be downloaded cheaply from somewhere on the web. How much are they to buy them new. Another £50+ and it would be definitley out of my range.

Also is the 605 the same as the 705 but without the heart rate and cadence functions?

Thanks for the info so far.

 

[dodgy]

I have Topo GB.....
snip
...One bugbear. Garmin's route calc algorithyms are far from perfect. If you use 'Get me home', don't be surprised to go Via Worcester ( an in joke around here ).

That's because you're using Topo, it only has rudimentary knowledge of the road system. Topo will just try to get you to your destination by getting you on the nearest 'A' road. City Navigator is the premier routing map for the Edge.

 

[DLB]

so i'd need something like this for city navigator..?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Naviga...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237047437&sr=1-10

is that price reasonable?

 

[fossyant]

This thread is really useful - I don't have a Garmin, but one day I intend to - good to get ideas about which mapping is best.

What if you want road and off road use ?

There are tonnes of tracks and stuff near me, but never tend to ride them...... something like this would be great....one day......

 

[dodgy]

I recommend the City Navigator DVD version over SD card and it's available here https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=6299&pvID=7880
You can use the DVD version on your PC (though there is a workaround/hack to make the SD card version work on a PC). Also, if you lose or damage/corrupt your SD card it's not a problem, you simply export more maps from the DVD to replace them.

 

[DLB]

I recommend the City Navigator DVD version over SD card and it's available here https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=6299&pvID=7880
You can use the DVD version on your PC (though there is a workaround/hack to make the SD card version work on a PC). Also, if you lose or damage/corrupt your SD card it's not a problem, you simply export more maps from the DVD to replace them.

yes but the dvd version is twice the price of the sd card on amazon!

 

[ufkacbln]

There are also issues with the Garmin file types.

They use a specific types (*.crs / course for instance) They are not compatible with some common programmes such as MemoryMap without puttingthe files through a third party file conversion programme. This also aplies to some online systems where not only upoads are difficult, but downloaded files also have to be converted before being read.