Always used the Garmin Oregon 450 or 550 .
You can pick them up on ebay for about 60 squid . I think I am on my second one in 15 years or so .

have considered using an old phone as a dedicated GPS unit

Battery life is pretty poor especially with the screen on. You would need a dynamo hub as you won't get a day out of it IME .also not many phones are waterproof ( and if they are you cannot change the battery )

Lazarus wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 1:54 pm

have considered using an old phone as a dedicated GPS unit

Battery life is pretty poor especially with the screen on. You would need a dynamo hub as you won't get a day out of it IME .also not many phones are waterproof ( and if they are you cannot change the battery )

For full-day rides if I think I will need the screen on a lot I have a battery pack in a top tube bag plugged in to the phone on the handlebars. My old iPhone X would happily do a day of recording a route with the screen off, turning it on for occasional route checks, even with no additional battery. As the phone got older the battery life did drop off noticeably. I've recently replaced it with a 14 Pro and the battery life seems excellent. The GPS accuracy is also very good, which was the one real downside of the iPhone X (to the extent I used an external Garmin antenna).

Newer iPhones are also pretty thoroughly waterproof. I guess I just like the simplicity of only having one gadget - although in unfamiliar country I would also make sure I have a paper map and a compass.

For phone users I’ve just tested the Beeline Velo2 for the Cycling UK mag. I think it’s a great option if you don’t want phone on the bars and also saves battery. I tested it on roads but it would work with a GPX file.

For full-day rides

Sorry should have said I have a phone as back up gpx and have used it so know how long they last . Great for a one day long ride for sure ( and when lost as Garmin screens are too wee to use to find new routes )
I don't do long rides without it ( unless I know the route very well

I ran an old etrex 30 for BB200, lasted the 23 hours including riding through the night with the backlight on with posh aa's

Life was a lot easier when I got fed up with the default backlight turn-off and just had it on all the time and trimmed it to low

Running an old set of talkytoaster maps from at least 10 years ago

FWIW, I use an old Samsung S7 phone, in an SPconnect case (similar to quadlock, but more robust) this makes it waterproof and provides a clamping mechanism. I mount it on the stemcap on the gravel bike and stem on the fatbike.
I don't use the screen constantly, I fire up the screen as and when I need it. For power, I use Halfords 1600 lumen lights, which also act as powerbanks. One on the bars, one on my helmet. I find these are enough to top it up during a day or overnight, assuming I've not been caning the lights themselves. If I have, I also have two dedicated power banks I can carry, both a 5k mah and 10k mah unit. I reckon with the lights AND banks, I could go off grid for three to four days at least, but yes, they are heavy items to carry.
I've stripped the phone of unnecessary apps and configured it for battery life duration. I run GPXViewer Pro with offline mapping and I've never had an issue with this setup.
Also, I used to use a garmin Etrex which was slow, clunky and I could barely see the screen.

I have been impressed by the GPS accuracy of the new iPhone. The X had terrible reception, much worse than my old iPhone 6 which sadly ended up on the sea bed, but the 14 seems extremely good.

See this brief walking test before I got rid of the old one. Both phones in my pocket while walking to the school. The X was all over the place at times, while the 14 even picked up which side of the road I was walking on.

FWIW, I use an old Samsung S7 phone, in an SPconnect case (similar to quadlock, but more robust) this makes it waterproof and provides a clamping mechanism. I mount it on the stemcap on the gravel bike and stem on the fatbike.

Yes i uses the SP system but the phone cradle[waterproof phone] - its incredibly robust and i doubt it will ever fail and I can top cap mount or bar mount [ top cap cannot be adjusted for angle and whilst more secure sometimes means you cannot easily see the screen due to sun angle]
Pricey but reliable solution.

Does anyone know if the Edge Explore 2 will work with the USB C cable plugged in?

Yes / maybe / if you spend more according to DC Rainmaker
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/07/gar ... eview.html

Rich, there is no reason why a "standard" Explore 2 shouldn't work with a power cable attached to the (at last!) USB-C port, most Edges can be powered via a buffer powerbank which is in turn powered by a dynamo. I complained about the Explore 2 when it was announced end of last year, it ticked all the boxes that I had wished for , bigger screen tick, better battery life tick, touch screen tick, better screen brightness tick, USB C port, climb Pro interesting gimmick, turn the unit over to see the 5 pins to plug into my Garmin power bank???? This option is only available on the Explore 2 power bundle that costs another £150 and comes with a mount that I don't need and they then charge you another £40 for a cable to plug it into a USB output. Bloody garmin at it again!
Ended up buying a £300 (half-ish price) Edge 1030 plus which ticks all the boxes and comes with a 32Gb memory which allows me to add open fiets mapping which for Spain is miles better the the contour-free garmin basemap. The Explore 2 only has 16Gb which is more or less used up by the garmin worldwide mapping included.

Lazarus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 10:45 am

FWIW, I use an old Samsung S7 phone, in an SPconnect case (similar to quadlock, but more robust) this makes it waterproof and provides a clamping mechanism. I mount it on the stemcap on the gravel bike and stem on the fatbike.

Yes i uses the SP system but the phone cradle[waterproof phone] - its incredibly robust and i doubt it will ever fail and I can top cap mount or bar mount [ top cap cannot be adjusted for angle and whilst more secure sometimes means you cannot easily see the screen due to sun angle]
Pricey but reliable solution.

I use the adjustable top cap mount. I'm not sure I have a pic of it, but can adjust the angle... costs though £££

It's this https://sp-connect.co.uk/collections/bi ... -mount-pro

pistonbroke wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:46 pm Rich, there is no reason why a "standard" Explore 2 shouldn't work with a power cable attached to the (at last!) USB-C port.

An update to say that the Explore 2 will work whilst plugged into a power bank via it's USB-C port.

I use the adjustable top cap mount. I'm not sure I have a pic of it, but can adjust the angle... costs though £££

that is indeed spendy [ there stuff is mazing but the prices are insane] as i have the cap bit I think I can adapt this to do the same thing [ and i have one for my dynamo light] but still over £20

whitestone wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:53 am What do you mean by "it chops batteries"?

Chomps batteries ?