Bike Computer/GPS - Sunshade

[DarkNewt]

Hi All,

I recently came back from a ride from Spain across the border along the french coast, the weather was amazing. The only downside in the sun was my Garmin Edge Touring plus was oftend difficult to see in the glare.

So tonight I have put my noggin to work to make a shade/visor that I can clip on when necessary, I should also mention mine has the tuff luv silicon cover on it.

So far my cardboard prototypes are:
Option 1:
velcro cut and fitted around the edge, with a visor similarly stuck with velcro that can be take on and off. Seems ok - possible for a sturdier model
Option 2:
Currently workng on section with a hole cut out that fits over the back of the garmin again secured with velcro - so the garmin kind of slides into it and the added bonus of locking in with the garmin mount.

link to a quick youtube of version 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYUBXNKgciw

Anyone else got any suggestions/creative ideas, i have had a look round it doesn't seem like anyone sells these for smaller gps/bike computers unless someone knows a bought solution?

Anyhow this is just the sort of things those with a shed and some time might want to have a crack at

[Mick F]

Never noticed that my Garmin Montana is difficult to see in full sunshine. It seems to get brighter the brighter the sunshine.
Difficulty I have is seeing it in the shade because my cycling glasses are tinted, so I have to turn up the brilliance.

[Samuel D]

I find the display harder to read in overcast conditions, because then you can’t get an angle that doesn’t reflect bright cloud. In sunlight, you can always shift your eye slightly to avoid a reflection of the sun, and reflections from blue sky are not as bright as those from white cloud.

However, you mention a screen protector. These destroy contrast, which is precisely what you need to see the display. They also tend to get scratched a lot more easily than the display itself, and they are often harder to clean. For these reasons, I never use screen protectors on any electronic device.

You probably know this, but you can push the power button repeatedly to cycle between three different backlight brightness levels (off, some medium setting you can adjust, and full). This may help to quickly make the display brighter for a moment.

[Bez]

There's the somewhat more radical option of getting a GPS that's clear and readable in bright sun:

https://mashing53.cyclyc.com/wahoo-navi ... or-failed/

[Mick F]

I've been giving this some thought regarding full sunshine and my Garmins.
I've had in the past, I've had an Edge 305 and an Edge 705 and never had an issue with them.
At present, I have an Edge 20 and a Montana, and neither of them have an issue in bright sunshine.

The Edge 20 is a basic LCD device that seems to get BETTER in bright sunshine as the contrast increases the brighter the light.
The Montana is backlit permanently - or you can time-out the backlight. I vary the brilliance depending on the light level.
Therefore, I can only conclude that not all devices are equal in the bright light department.

Mobile phones OTOH are terrible in bright sunshine.

[Bez]

Devices with a resistive touchscreen will have much lower contrast in daylight, which I think explains those differences.

[Mick F]

Montana has a resistive screen or a capacitive one?
I don't know.

What sort of screens are there, and which has which?

[Bez]

The Montana is resistive, as are the older touchscreen Edges (800, 810 etc).

The newer ones (820, 510 etc) have capacitive screens, as do phones.

[Cheeky edit for stupid brain fail as pointed out below.]

[Mick F]

So ................ you suggested that resistive touchscreens aren't so good in daylight ................ but my Montana is absolutely fine in as bright a sunshine as you can find.

[DarkNewt]

Montana has a resistive screen or a capacitive one?
I don't know.

What sort of screens are there, and which has which?

@Mick,

I found this link may assist you: http://www.tru-vumonitors.com/images/To ... risons.pdf

just to report back I tried my prototype sunshade and it helped in very bright sun, especially when going through shades straight out into sunlight as the eyes adjust.

To be honest the thread wasn't really about the merits of different Sat Navs - just a solution for those who find their satnav whatever it is a little dim in the sun. Which I find my Garmin Touring Plus can be - although only in very bright sunlight any other time it's really good.

if anyone has any ideas for alternate sun shades or improvements would be glad to hear them, just not swapping my sat nav

[Mick F]

Thanks for the link DN.
I'm now educated!

I wasn't hijacking your thread, just rather puzzled by how I have NEVER had a problem, yet you obviously do.

[Samuel D]

The Edge 200, 500, and 520 don’t have touchscreens, Bez. From memory, the 520’s display is marginally easier to read in bright light than the Edge Touring’s, but still significantly worse than the eTrex 20’s (which is by some margin the clearest of the Garmins I’ve tried).

Garmins use transflective LCDs, which basically have a hole in the pixel to allow light (e.g. from the sun) to come in and reflect back at the viewer. That’s why they’re viewable (to varying degrees) with the backlight off. Phones on the other hand (except early iPhones before the high-resolution ‘Retina’ display was introduced, I think) all use transmissive LCDs. These rely on the backlight overpowering ambient light, which has dire consequences for battery life on bright days.

Transflective LCDs never get very high contrast, but all you need is about 5:1 or 10:1 to make the display legible. Of course monochrome LCDs achieve much greater contrast ratios than that.

All screen protectors I’ve seen have seriously harmed contrast, even when new (and they usually age badly). Likewise, greasy fingerprints make the display hard to see, and devices with touchscreens always end up with greasy fingerprints.

[DarkNewt]

Thanks for the link DN.
I'm now educated!

I wasn't hijacking your thread, just rather puzzled by how I have NEVER had a problem, yet you obviously do.

Hi Mick,

I have no problem with hijacking - I would be guilty of that Sin myself !!!

and it may also be to do with the way I ride, my touring bike is set up so that I am almost upright not the flat handlebars or drop bars setup, I have koga atalanta multiposition so it is almost a motorbike sit up and beg style - that may be it!

[Bez]

you suggested that resistive touchscreens aren't so good in daylight ................ but my Montana is absolutely fine in as bright a sunshine as you can find.

But you said it was permanently backlit. Which fixes the problem. In any case some screens will still be better than others, the point is really that the layers needed to provide the resistive interaction detract from contrast.

The Edge 200, 500, and 520 don’t have touchscreens, Bez.

Yes, not sure what I was thinking there. Meant the 510, and had a complete brain fail on the others despite having used them. Doh.

[Bez]

and it may also be to do with the way I ride

It's not (I have the same device.)