GPS navigation recommendations?

[Yerfdog81]

Hi all, just getting kit together to go on my first adventure, can anyone recommend an entry level bike GPS nav unit to mount on the bars?

[dlovett]

Garmin edge 1000, or 800 series.

[Wotsits]

Etrex, ideally a 30x..

[Yerfdog81]

Thanks guys, I'll take a look

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'd forget all about the Edge series and as Wotsit says, look at something more 'outdoor' than 'cycle' ... there's numerous reasons why, one being AA batteries which can be easily sourced / carried. Another reason is, they don't seem to crash / freeze anywhere near as often.

Anyway - I use a Dakota 20 which is similar to the eTrex in many ways. It's quite an old model but still available at a good price if you look on-line.

[johnnystorm]

If you were spending Edge money then I'd recommend a Wahoo Elemnt instead, especially as there is £50 cashback (although you need an old gps unit tp get that!) But as above, Dakota is a safe bet.

[dlovett]

I also have two Etrex's and a 12xl, but the Edge is the one I would take every time.

Batteries, wha the hell are they, some old fashioned thing?? Dynamo or usb pack as that charges all your gismos. I've never had a Edge crash on an event, but mine is set to write to the SD card anyway.

I'd forget all about the Edge series and as Wotsit says, look at something more 'outdoor' than 'cycle' ... there's numerous reasons why, one being AA batteries which can be easily sourced / carried. Another reason is, they don't seem to crash / freeze anywhere near as often.

Anyway - I use a Dakota 20 which is similar to the eTrex in many ways. It's quite an old model but still available at a good price if you look on-line.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Batteries, wha the hell are they

Cheap and easily sourced generally.

Dynamo or usb pack as that charges all your gismos

Is potentially an expensive (and not always reliable) additional purchase ... especially for someone just starting to source their kit. Oh and you say 'usb pack' like it somehow isn't one of those old fashioned battery things

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Tried many Garmin options and whilst they all have their issues, I would definitely say the Etrex are simpler, more reliable, better battery life, no Dynamo will-it-won't-it work faff. Whilst I use an older edge 800 (the new 820 was returned as it is shockingly crap) on my road bike for power metrics, it offers nothing that I need for off-road nav.

Yet to try the options from Wahoo or Lezyne; would be nice if they are a more reliable alternative to Garmin, who consistently release products with over-complex beta software for their customers to de-bug!

[Moder-dye]

Well its been said before, but a few if us just use a smartphone ( on airplane mode) with and free app like maverick ( full uk os 1:25k coverage free) and a battery pack. Most people nowadays already have a smartphone so no additional cost

£10 basic text and call phone from tesco for an emergency phone back up if its felt necessary with a battery that lasts weeks.

I always take a paper strip small scale map of the route with me too and discard bits as I do. Just bodge it together on publisher and print.

[Steezysix]

As above, I'm firmly in the smartphone camp, use OSMand+ for mapping and charge via dynamo & cache battery. You can get a cheap silicon mount like the getfinn or something more solid like Quadlock which will set you back £20-30.
Not knocking a dedicated GPS but for my needs the phone does what I want.

[Gummikuh]

I am using a second hand garmin gpsmap62s, batteries last a good day if you stay off the backlight, and spares are easy to carry, I just wrap a few with some electrical tape and pop them into a corner of a bag, tape is useful for repairs as well. It always gets a really quick fix, so you could leave it off and only turn it on when needed. I have 1:25000 UK mapping card in the unit and that cost me more than the actual GPS!
AA batteries are available anywhere, most petrol stations for example and they tend to open late as well.
Its waterproof and seems to be fairly robust, it has survived a few unplanned dismounts.

[ootini]

I've got an Etrex 20, cheap, cheerful, simple to use, it works.

[PaulB2]

All those people that use a etrex-a-like, do you use a non-navigation bike computer as well?

[Bearbonesnorm]

do you use a non-navigation bike computer as well?

For what? ... genuine question, asked in a slightly flippant way

[PaulB2]

do you use a non-navigation bike computer as well?

For what? ... genuine question, asked in a slightly flippant way

Speed, avg speed at a glance I suppose, though I'll admit to being cadence-curious.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Speed, avg speed at a glance I suppose, though I'll admit to being cadence-curious.
Gps tells me those things. As for cadence, I know where my legs are comfortable and very obvious alarms sound if I stray too far.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Speed, avg speed at a glance I suppose, though I'll admit to being cadence-curious.

Gps tells me those things. As for cadence, I know where my legs are comfortable and very obvious alarms sound if I stray too far.

[sean_iow]

All those people that use a etrex-a-like, do you use a non-navigation bike computer as well?

I do, several reasons. Firstly I already owned my Edge 500 so when I bought my Etrex 30 for navigation I already had it. I like to look at speed and cadence but that might be a single-speeder thing, no point trying to start peddling again when on descents unless the speed is something I can manage and on the flats I can get carried away spinning so a check on the cadence stops me spinning to fast which I find makes my legs sore the next day.

Secondly, I l mark up my paper backup maps (printed out on A4 sheets) with the route distances at say 10 mile intervals. When navigating with the Etrex in unfamiliar areas I'm just following the pink line and don't necessarily know where I am. In the event of a failure of the Etrex I can see how far I've gone on the Edge and then from that find which sheet I'm on and hopefully where I am on the route, using landmarks then to double check.

[AlexGold]

Etrex will show all of those, and even heart rate (it won't show power as it can't connect to sensor)

You can set up the map screen to show a few fields, and have the rest on another page.

Happy with mine so far!

edit: replying to a few posts up!

[whitestone]

All those people that use a etrex-a-like, do you use a non-navigation bike computer as well?

I use an Oregon for off-road stuff that I need maps for and an Edge 510 for road based riding. There's a lot of overlap but the Edge is cycling specific and lets you connect lots of data generating willy-waving sensors so you can shout "Strava God!" at anyone who cares to listen.

There's a huge amount of features on the Oregon that I'm fairly certain I'll never use but that's the same for most units these days, especially those that are generic.

[ScotRoutes]

The Oregon will also support HRM and Cadence sensors (and a Tempe if you have one) and you can choose whatever fields you want to display.

[whitestone]

I know Colin. The only time I've tried to have the cadence sensor on my MTB I nearly lost it as stones had flown up and cut the rubber band loops that held it on. As far as I know you can't pair power meters with the Oregon.