Bicycle Sat Navs

[Sweep]

I'd encourage hondated to persevere if he/her does a fair amount of longish rides or is planning a tour. I too was a doubter/scoffer for many years. And yes there's a lot to figure out (Garmin's lack of instructios are notorious I think) but there's lots of help available online here and elsewhere.

Anyone planning to use one for a tour should I think leave several months to acquaint themselves with their unit's oddities so that they can get the best from it.

[philg]

I'd encourage hondated to persevere if he/her does a fair amount of longish rides or is planning a tour. I too was a doubter/scoffer for many years. And yes there's a lot to figure out (Garmin's lack of instructios are notorious I think) but there's lots of help available online here and elsewhere.

Anyone planning to use one for a tour should I think leave several months to acquaint themselves with their unit's oddities so that they can get the best from it.

+1

This site has been invaluable to me

[NUKe]

I recently upgraded my Garmin Legend to an Etrex 20, I have loaded Talky Toasters routable version of Open Street mapping for the UK and Ireland. I've used it for Sunday rides and commuting for 2 months to get used it even if I didn't need it just to try and understand how to use it.

If you set the routing to bicycle it will try and take you down tracks and bridal ways which I wouldn't use my road bike on. If you set the routing to car, but set the options highways etc. it gives an acceptable relatively low traffic routeing which usually compares with the route I would have chosen myself. but will avoid busier roads which I would have chosen for a short period, If you know the area this is not a big problem as it reroutes fairly quickly, and on longer rides in unfamiliar territory this would not be an issue as I now trust the Garmin to get me there. In fact we are currently in Ireland and I used it Yesterday knowing my main way points I let the Garmin route in between. I was very pleased with the route it picked and found a new route I hadn't used before.

Only problem I have is it does not seem to be able to use addressing this may be a function of the mapping

[hexhome]

I recently upgraded my Garmin Legend to an Etrex 20, I have loaded Talky Toasters routable version of Open Street mapping for the UK and Ireland. I've used it for Sunday rides and commuting for 2 months to get used it even if I didn't need it just to try and understand how to use it.

If you set the routing to bicycle it will try and take you down tracks and bridal ways which I wouldn't use my road bike on. If you set the routing to car, but set the options highways etc. it gives an acceptable relatively low traffic routeing which usually compares with the route I would have chosen myself. but will avoid busier roads which I would have chosen for a short period, If you know the area this is not a big problem as it reroutes fairly quickly, and on longer rides in unfamiliar territory this would not be an issue as I now trust the Garmin to get me there. In fact we are currently in Ireland and I used it Yesterday knowing my main way points I let the Garmin route in between. I was very pleased with the route it picked and found a new route I hadn't used before.

Only problem I have is it does not seem to be able to use addressing this may be a function of the mapping

This raises several issues with our misunderstanding of how these OSM solutions work. Generally, with cycle specific OSMs, the usual setting is Automotive to get cycle routing! I have tested most of these cycle specific mapsets (as well as Talkytoaster which strictly speaking is not) and they have differing levels of weighting towards 'quiet cycle routes' and 'direct routes'. Generally when using an Etrex 20, I find that the setting 'automotive' and 'for distance' gives good cycle routing for me using Velomaps.

In my tests using Velomaps and OFM in an Etrex 20, auto routing to an address or city works well though not to the same level as a TomTom. I am fortunate in that Velomap offers comprehensive information on GPS and Basecamp settings.

[hondated]

Thanks hexhome,portland & philg for your encouraging words and if I should buy one in the future I will let you know howI get on.

[Ayesha]

TomTom has another little trick.
Using 'Map Corrections' / 'Correct a map error'; one can 'Block' a road in either or both directions.

This allows
1/ The cyclist to personalise the map to avoid roads that frighten him,
and
2/ With Mapshare, block country lanes to the TomTom Mapshare community if you don't want Sunday drivers driving past your farm.

The tip here is to only accept Mapshare items issued by TomTom BV, not any old 'get orf my laaand' oaf.

[hondated]

Well everyone never say I do not listen to any advice I receive because since my last post at 1.28 I have been trying down load to my mobile which is an HTC Explorer Runtastic Bike which proved to be a nightmare and I was unsuccessful.If your thinking of buying a mobile don't buy one of these.

Its impossible to synch the thing if you know what I mean.

So more by luck than intention I managed to down load MapMyRide instead.Exhausted that is it for today and I will investigate it some more tomorrow.

[Sweep]

This raises several issues with our misunderstanding of how these OSM solutions work. Generally, with cycle specific OSMs, the usual setting is Automotive to get cycle routing! I have tested most of these cycle specific mapsets (as well as Talkytoaster which strictly speaking is not) and they have differing levels of weighting towards 'quiet cycle routes' and 'direct routes'. Generally when using an Etrex 20, I find that the setting 'automotive' and 'for distance' gives good cycle routing for me using Velomaps.

In big towns/London etc , wouldn't setting it to automotive mean that the route would route around perfectly acceptable bike cut-throughs, paths etc, those bollards used to stop rat runs on streets which create cul-de-sacs for cars but not pedestrians/cyclists?

I fully accept that setting the thing to pedestrian can be, ere, "interesting" - I once created a route between points designed to make it route on country lanes near the south downs and ended up pretty much climbing over two hills with the bike and almost busting a leg coming down when I fell with the bike - but that was of course my own stupid fault and a sort of march or die/let's just see how this way works out psychosis. I should have had a sit-down, taken swig of water and a bit of common sense.

[hexhome]

In big towns/London etc , wouldn't setting it to automotive mean that the route would route around perfectly acceptable bike cut-throughs, paths etc, those bollards used to stop rat runs on streets which create cul-de-sacs for cars but not pedestrians/cyclists?
.

Not necessarily, it depends which mapset you are using. The important thing is to read the setup instructions applicable to the mapset. The point I was trying to make is that the modes don't work as expected with different maps.

This little demo uses Basecamp rather than a GPS but it illustrates the point - http://medialoft.co.uk/basecamp.html

[Whippet]

I love my Garmin and would happily recommend them. The only drawback is the price.

Agree, but my 705 is so good, I think it was worth it.

I've decided not to upgrade to an 800, but wait for the 900 to come out next year. Maybe by then, my 705 will be a bit old hat.

I asked my local bike shop about the "900" today, they've discussed it with the Garmin rep:
Apparently it's not called the 900, but 810 or 801s or similar. Doesn't sound like the screen will be much different as it uses the same body as the 800. Main advances appear to be in connectivity. It'll have Bluetooth and connect to you smartphone with the Garmin app. This means you can upload you rides straight from the Garmin / phone. Others will also be able to track you live during your ride if you like ( off course I wasn't at the pub for two hours darling... ).

If all this is true, I might hang onto the 705 a bit longer.

Looks like I was right about the new Edge 810. Not much of an upgrade unless you really want to upload via Bluetooth / link to the net via your phone. Interestingly, I was on a club run last Sunday and put my 705 down next to an 800. The 800 owner immediately said he wished his screen was as good as mine. Although the 800 is touch screen and colour, the resolution is awful and the numbers look rather blurred compared to the 705. Compared to my Samsung S3 phone, the 800 screen looks like it belongs in the Stone Age.

Looks like I'll be hanging on to the 705 a lot longer.