Cycling UK Forum

I'm really grateful for all the advice. I'm having a go at all of the remedies suggested. As well, I hope to meet up shortly with the son of my LBS owner. They sell Garmin and apparently he's an tech expert. I'll let you know what he says after I get together with him.

Cheers

I would be happy if the Garmin recognised my return to my plotted course after going ofof it for a few kilometres. When I get back to my course, usually at a different point from where I left it, I sometimes get a line on the screen which is my course, but there are no 'turn-by-turn' instructions or beeps. I did try turning the unit off and reloading the course but it didn't solve the problem.

On my last tour in France, I had every day's ride plotted from the B&B I had just stayed at to the front door of the next one and never deviated from the route more than 100 metres. It worked a charm. But had I wanted to go off course to see something much further away that I didn't know about when doing the original plotting, I would have been really concerned about getting back on course and probably not done it.

All of this surprises me because at other times, when I am starting miles from my programmed start, the option of getting directions to the start, has worked well even when to distance to the start is 10km or even more. Perhaps I am too easily surprised!

Cheers

Yes, I can often get back to my planned route if I am not too far off of it. The problem then becomes getting the Garmin to give me turn-by-turn directions. It usually does show my progress along the course but not having the turn-by-turn is a nuisance. I have the RideWithGPS suggested settings on the Garmin and haven't played with them and RWGPS didn't suggest any changes. So I don't think there is anything wrong with the way I set it up.

Maybe I am just expecting too much from a relatively inexpensive device. But when touring in France last year, I felt compelled each day to stick to my Ride With GPS plotted course without any deviation. In fact, when I was doing the planning, I used my B&B address as my start point and the next night's B&B as my finish and never turned it off from start to finish. But now I am wondering what I should do if I deliberately want to leave my route for a few kilometres to explore something not previously included on my route. If I leave the gps running while off course, I imagine it will go haywire for a bit. But when I come back and resume cycling at the exact point I left it, will it go back to normal giving me turn-by-turn as I can on? I have experimented with turning the device off and then restarting it and then clicking on to the course. But when I tried this, I got a message asking if I wanted to navigate back to the start, obviously a non runner. Or in another scenario, if I deliberately go off course to sightsee and then return to my course, not at the point I left it but a few kilometres further down my planned course, will the Garmin accept all that and get back to tracking and turn-by-turn direction?

I'll try some more experiments next week and get back. Tomorrow we have winds in excess of 90 Km/h so the bike will stay in the shed. If all else fails, there is a super family-run LBS in Belfast and one of the sons is a real techie. He might be able to help and if he does, I'll post his suggestions and advice. He might not have the answer, but that is why we need LBS. I twice asked Garmin for advice about this and the first person said it was not possible to get the device to get back on route and function normally. The other said it would ...without any problems. Disappointing isn't it.

Cheers

Thanks for all the comments. I imagine that there really isn't a solution.
Cheers and best wishes for 2018

Bob

I'm sorry if I should be posting this request elsewhere, but I am struggling to decide which is the correct one.

Anyhow, I tour with a Garmin Edge Tour Plus and it has been a great addition to my touring equipment over the past two years. But I have never been able to get an answer about how one can get the Garmin back to navigating fully when I get back on course having gone off course. The other day, I was cycling along a road which had emergency road repairs being done and I had to detour. I followed the detour directions and eventually, I was back on my planned route but the Garmin wouldn't navigate fully. It tracked my position. But beyond that, there were no directions, no audible beeps and no turn indicators on the screen. Am I expecting something the Garmin can't do for me? Is it that model? Would another model be better for that sort of complication?

Many thanks

Bob

Many thanks for the advice. As suggested, I am using the regular, disposable, battery light for the flashing element and keep my my new LED light on solid.

Cheers

Bob

Thanks very much to both of you for these replies.

Cheers

Bob

I have a Light&Motion Hi Vis 180 led rear light. It high powered, has both flashing and solid modes, and works really well but I have a questions. Some time ago, Chris Judden recommended using two lights in the rear - one flashing to warn drivers that a cycle was ahead and the other a solid light to enable drivers to judge the distance to the cycle. My question is: if you have a really high powered (but not dazzling) light and the other is less bright, should I use my high powered light in the flashing mode and the other, less powerful light, in the solid mode? Or would the other way around provide more safety?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Bob

Thanks for the info. It is very much appreciated. I'll continue looking at the routing options, but, at the moment, I think avoiding the velo vertes and sticking to the D roads will suit me best.

Cheers

I would be grateful for some advice. I am planning a tour for next spring going from Roscoff to Bordeaux and I am trying to decide whether I should use the Velodyssey or a route that sticks to minor roads. Three years ago I did a short stint on the Velodyssey, on my way to Douarnenez, and I found it to be rather boring but maybe it gets better. RWGPS came up with one that uses a bit of the Velodyssey but then sticks to D roads while taking in Nantes and other towns. Can anyone advise?

Cheers

Bob

I have used a Showers Pass Refuge jacket for more than a year now and it has been really good. It ventilates very well because of the extra long ventilators and it has never leaked even through those long zippers. It is a much looser fit than many cycling jackets and, in my view, is much more suitable as a result for touring than any other that I have worn since the seventies - including the famed Greenspot. Fortunately, the extra looseness doesn't mean it is bulky when being worn, or stuffed into a handlebar bag for that matter. Lastly, it comes with a hood which fits over a helmet, but I can't really comment on this feature as I have never used it.

One more thing, I know have some Refuge trousers and they are every bit as good - especially for commuting or a trip to the shops.

Cheers

Bob

Well it has been about two weeks since Ifirst tried to contact them about new mudguards and there has been no response. Couple that with the other comments and I have to believe they are either out of business or not concerned about staying in business. Either way they won't be getting my business in the future.

Bob

I guess I am old fashioned, but it seems to me that common courtesy says that if you are closing a business down, or a part of it, then it is just being polite to advise potential new customers that is happening. In the case of a website business, they could easily take the site down or put a message on it. In an earlier posting I had asked the question what would happen if I had ordered something on the Velo Vitality website and they were no longer doing business. Someone posted that had I paid with a credit card, I would have been protected. But that can often involves a lot of inconvenience.

Regards

Bob

I have now ordered new Honjo mudguards from a company in Germany. I wasn't able to get the same model as what has been on the bike for the last four years, but they are Honjos and they are the right size. One of the two owners of the German firm told me that stocking a wide range of Honjos was difficult because, in Germany at least, the distributors require retailers to order a minimum of fifty each time.

The company's name is Studio Brisart and they are based in Munster. The website has a number of interesting items that I haven't seen before so it might be worth a look - if only for curiosity. In the meantime, I'll report back after delivery.

Incidentally, Velo Vitality, the British company which sold Honjos up until now, seems to have gone out of business.

Cheers

Bob

Thanks. I have taken your advice and now waiting for them to get back.

Cheers