Bicycle Sat Navs

[BeeKeeper]

All suggestions welcome!

Buy a GPS which has a suitable bike mount. It will be rainproof and have a much better battery life.

It looks like there is going to be a new SatMap available in the not too distant future. This has been rumoured but the fact they have recently been selling off existing stock at a significant reduction and now have no stock available suggests it will happen soon. The new model is supposed to have a better screen (not that the current one is bad) but smart 'phones have shown how good a little screen can be and GPS screens need to catch up. Downside is I guess the new model may well be pricey.

[al_yrpal]

I use this recharger, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... 0V304ZBGV3 made for smartphones, the ones in your post don't look right. On your phone in Google maps from the menu you can choose 'make available offline' and choose an area from the map, make sure you have a WiFi connection when you do it. You can pinch to select a wider area. This area stays around until you select another. When you are cycling turn data off, this makes google maps use the downloaded map.
There isn't a way of getting bikeroutetoaster routes into google maps. I have the complete UK on memory map and import any routes into that. As I say, I only use the phone to confirm positions and to guide me short distances in towns to reach unfamiliar destinations.

Al

[niggle]

All suggestions welcome!

Buy a GPS which has a suitable bike mount. It will be rainproof and have a much better battery life.

It looks like there is going to be a new SatMap available in the not too distant future. This has been rumoured but the fact they have recently been selling off existing stock at a significant reduction and now have no stock available suggests it will happen soon. The new model is supposed to have a better screen (not that the current one is bad) but smart 'phones have shown how good a little screen can be and GPS screens need to catch up. Downside is I guess the new model may well be pricey.

Seems daft, and expensive, to buy something additional to the smart phone when it has the ability to do this sort of stuff, and I am taking it with me anyhow. Even the diminutive Wildfire S has a better screen than any bicycle GPS I have looked at and if I found a way of overcoming the need to constantly or frequently touch/scroll the screen the other problems are relatively easy to overcome I think. Google Navigation has verbal directions, add headphones and I can put the phone safely in a waterproof place.

[Galloper]

Ayesha's comment about the Garmin Edge not being a satnav is in error. My 605 uses standard Garmin City Navigator mapping and I have used it all over the UK, in France and Germany and, with a separate sd card, in the USA. The only major difference between it and the Garmin Nuvi I use in my car is the lack of voice prompts.

[niggle]

I use this recharger, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... 0V304ZBGV3 made for smartphones, the ones in your post don't look right. On your phone in Google maps from the menu you can choose 'make available offline' and choose an area from the map, make sure you have a WiFi connection when you do it. You can pinch to select a wider area. This area stays around until you select another. When you are cycling turn data off, this makes google maps use the downloaded map.
There isn't a way of getting bikeroutetoaster routes into google maps. I have the complete UK on memory map and import any routes into that. As I say, I only use the phone to confirm positions and to guide me short distances in towns to reach unfamiliar destinations.

Al

Thanks, I think the key issue with the rechargers is probably to make sure they have the correct output (5V/1A for mine as per mains charger), some have two ports, including a 2.1A one that I would block up to avoid any over charging risk. As for maps, I like the OSM Cycle Map option on Maverick as it is nice and clear and has contour lines, can I get that downloaded somehow? Then all I need is an app that will take GPX routes and will show the route orientated in the direction I am heading...

[niggle]

And just to repeat my earlier edit: What about this bad boy (which does have a 1A port): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20000mAh-Univ ... vi-content 6x18650 Li cells, shame I am not a techy who could possibly make a converter for my Magicshine batteries somehow.

[philg]

And just to repeat my earlier edit: What about this bad boy (which does have a 1A port): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20000mAh-Univ ... vi-content 6x18650 Li cells, shame I am not a techy who could possibly make a converter for my Magicshine batteries somehow.

Looks OK - might take a while to charge up though (like 24 hours at 1A input)

Don't worry about the 1A/2A ports, they are the maximum current available from each. Whatever you plug into them will take (only) the current they need. [Obviously if you have a device needing 2A then use the 2A port!]

[Cherwell]

by Drake » Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:39 am

Ladies and Gentleman . When i first posted this thread,i thought it was a fairly simple request . . but it doesn't appear to be so .
I was always under the impression that GPS and Sat Nav systems were one and the same . . obviously not,or have i got that wrong .
So perhaps you can understand that when i said i'm a "digital dummy",i've never said a truer word .
Obviously with car systems,you can type in a post code and the sat nav guides you there,and that seems to work very well . I only have experience of the Tom Tom system and their screen displays,which gives clear information as to where i am ect ect .
So i get the impression that bike systems are not the same format . . that you have to down load maps of the area you wish to travel in,and the GPS indicates where you are in relation to that map . . would that be a fair assumption ?

I’ve had a Garmin Edge 705 for nearly 3 years now.It came complete with European road maps.

Most of the time I use it for directions on a pre planned route from bikehike or ridewithgps. I have used it extensively throughout England and on holiday in France and on Corfu.

On occasions I have used it to take me to addresses in unknown territory. You just enter an address and the devise plots a route from your current location and then gives turn by turn directions to get there. In this respect it works just like a car sat-nav and has not given me any problems.

The only time I find the screen too small is when I’m in a town and there’s too much information on the display. This is not a problem on country roads or in villages.

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

[Vantage]

I recently did a very unscientific test with my Garmin eTrex 20. My sister and I took my kids to a visitors farm (one of them places where you get to have your fingers chewed off by the lamas) and we both plotted the route, my sister using her cars built in Sat Nav and I using my little GPS. Both devices took the exact same route. Hers voiced the way to go and mine just bleeped at turns, good enough. So, in my opinion, the difference between using a Sat Nav and a GPS is pointless to argue over.
The problem over screen size is also a stupid debate IMO because as far as I know, most of these Sat Nav/GPS units have the ability to zoom in or out on the mapping. Some, such as mine (although I don't use it) can even zoom in on junctions as you approach them. TBH, a small screen is better IMO as bar space on a bike is somewhat limited and the bigger the screen, the easier it is to break.

[Drake]

Very manythanks for your all your comments and imput . Maybe i'm not ready for the digital age just yet . . so i'll stick with an O/S map and compass for now .

[vjosullivan]

Very manythanks for your all your comments and imput . Maybe i'm not ready for the digital age just yet . . so i'll stick with an O/S map and compass for now .

Garmin 800 with the complete GB O/S 50,000 maps on board, on the handlebars, in front of you, in all weathers. No more stopping at an unsigned junction in the middle of no-where (but on the edge of the map), faffing about with paper, finding the probable location and choosing the probable way to turn. Just an arrow that says "You are here." and a blue line that tracks where you've come from. The result? I cycle further and faster for less effort. Simples.

[Ayesha]

Ayesha's comment about the Garmin Edge not being a satnav is in error. My 605 uses standard Garmin City Navigator mapping and I have used it all over the UK, in France and Germany and, with a separate sd card, in the USA. The only major difference between it and the Garmin Nuvi I use in my car is the lack of voice prompts.

After further investigation into the meanings of the term 'SatNav', it appears all Garmin hand helds and bicycle computers are indeed SatNavs.

As I now understand, creating a destination Waypoint by way of Lat/Long or OS Grid ref, will result in the device's compass / heading indicator pointing at the destination Waypoint. Just follow the pointer direction and you will arrive at the destination waypoint.

Additional downloadable mapping eg City Navigator, is necessary because there are hedgerows, canals and rivers obstructing the direct line route to the destination Waypoint, and local councils would prefer cyclists, walkers and drivers to follow ROADS.

Following this explanation, TomTom, Garmin Nuvi et al are NOT Satnavs. They are 'Road Navigators' as per Garmin's description of their Zumo 'Motorcycle Navigator'.

Sorry for any confusion.

[Mick F]

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.

[BeeKeeper]

Ayesha's comment about the Garmin Edge not being a satnav is in error. My 605 uses standard Garmin City Navigator mapping and I have used it all over the UK, in France and Germany and, with a separate sd card, in the USA. The only major difference between it and the Garmin Nuvi I use in my car is the lack of voice prompts.

After further investigation into the meanings of the term 'SatNav', it appears all Garmin hand helds and bicycle computers are indeed SatNavs.

As I now understand, creating a destination Waypoint by way of Lat/Long or OS Grid ref, will result in the device's compass / heading indicator pointing at the destination Waypoint. Just follow the pointer direction and you will arrive at the destination waypoint.

Additional downloadable mapping eg City Navigator, is necessary because there are hedgerows, canals and rivers obstructing the direct line route to the destination Waypoint, and local councils would prefer cyclists, walkers and drivers to follow ROADS.

Following this explanation, TomTom, Garmin Nuvi et al are NOT Satnavs. They are 'Road Navigators' as per Garmin's description of their Zumo 'Motorcycle Navigator'.

Sorry for any confusion.

Has someone been sneaking an early sip of the Christmas sherry? Garmin describe their car "thingies" as Sat Navs on their own website: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134

[Vantage]

You say tomato, I say tomato