Best Garmin type computer for bicycle tourist?

[Mick F]

Garmin Montana.

Full stop.

[Jdsk]

I've had an Edge Touring but much prefer the larger and better screen of my current Oregon so that would be my choice, given that as a tourist you probably won't be too bothered about a small increase in size and weight of the GPS!

The screen size and quality was one of the main factors that led me to the Edge 1000 rather than the Touring: 39 by 65mm, 240 by 400 pixels rather than 36 by 55 mm, 160 by 240 pixels. I've never used a sensor or any of the competitive timing functions.

But, as always, there's only one test of screens.

Jonathan

[Mick F]

The screen size and quality was one of the main factors that led me to the Edge 1000 rather than the Touring: 39 by 65mm ......

Garmin Montana.
50 mm by 89 mm.
102mm diagonal.
Big huge bright screen, and all the software and mapping you could ever want.

https://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_montana600_en.html
http://www.gpsrchive.com/Montana/index.htm
https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/75226


This is mine.
https://www.burrowsgps.co.uk/garmin-noh ... 24-00.html

[richardfm]

Just gone through the process of replacing my old Garmin 800 as the battery life is not much more than 5-6 hours now and was getting a bit idiosyncratic. What was important for me was mapping, a barometric altimeter, a decent battery life and the ability to use an HRM. The new Garmin's for me didn't really do the trick, a lot of user reviews suggested that the touch screens were flaky and battery life is not great and the QC not great. Also they had a lot of functionality which I didn't want or need. My view is that Garmin have lost their edge (sorry for the pun). After a bit of research, I went for a Bryton aero 60 unit for which I paid £130, the equivalent Garmin unit was over £300. Its been fine, has an easy mapping program and importantly the battery life is 35 hours.

I've never heard of Bryton so I thought I would look them up. This s what they have to say about the Aero 60

With precisely engineered dimple design wrapped around its back and the brand new Aero Mount developed as an integrated system to reduce air drag, Aero 60 not only provides powerful features, but it's also built to be highly aerodynamic so you can ride fast just like the wind.

Apart from words that would be filtered out I'm speechless. I won't be buying that one.

[Thatsme]

Don't buy a fancy divers watch if you are only going to use it in the swimming pool. Buy what you need and don't overspend. I bought my Garmin Edge Explore on Gumtree, it was unused and a very good price.

[ferretdiver]

New model of Garmin Montana just being released with even bigger screen.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mih2gC0Wozk

https://youtu.be/vEViQSpXHa0


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my iPad using hovercraft full of eels.

[mattsccm]

I suspect that I am going to be in the same boat soon and I have a question about Garmins that use AAs. How do they perform on rechargeables? My experience isn't good. Maybe half the life of a normal AA and not enough for a day. Yes I can carry spares but that's another thing to remember to pack etc. Good as I could find rechargeable batteries but in admittedly old, 2000 , GPS.

[Tigerbiten]

I suspect that I am going to be in the same boat soon and I have a question about Garmins that use AAs. How do they perform on rechargeables? My experience isn't good. Maybe half the life of a normal AA and not enough for a day. Yes I can carry spares but that's another thing to remember to pack etc. Good as I could find rechargeable batteries but in admittedly old, 2000 , GPS.

I use Panasonic 1900 mAh ones in mine.
I can normally get around 2x 8 hour days on a full charge.
But stretching to 2x 10 hour days may be a bit iffy now they're old.
But I have turned off anything that's not really needed but can use power, Ie:- backlight, recalculate route, turn warning, etc, etc.

Luck ............

[Jdsk]

I don't have a simple answer, but I have found a solution that suits our style of touring.

1 There's a wide range of capacity across both rechargeable and nonrechargeable AA and AAA batteries. I use Eneloop rechargeables, nominal 1900 mA h for the AAs.

2 I don't carry the additional mass of a charger and I don't want to have carry empty batteries home. So for longer tours the removable batteries used at home are all swapped for nonrechargeables. If I ever needed to buy others I would. That's for headtorches and the back-up bike lights.

3 Different Garmin devices use very different amounts of power. Turning off unnecessary functions makes a big difference, as above. The consumption of my Edge 1000 is probably its weakest point but the 1030 seems to be much better. If you include other models and makes the range gets even wider, see above.

4 The solution that we have found for all our devices includes a USB battery pack. The current (!) question is whether it needs the dynamo charging as well. The battery pack recharges the Edge 1000 at lunch and as an early task each evening. After that it recharges the smart 'phones, the Bluetooth headbands and the Kindles (on the rare occasions that they need it).

Jonathan

[pwa]

I suspect that I am going to be in the same boat soon and I have a question about Garmins that use AAs. How do they perform on rechargeables? My experience isn't good. Maybe half the life of a normal AA and not enough for a day. Yes I can carry spares but that's another thing to remember to pack etc. Good as I could find rechargeable batteries but in admittedly old, 2000 , GPS.

I am sitting here drinking coffee but still wearing my cycling gear after just getting home from my 12 day tour around Wales and the border, so I can confidently tell you that my Etrex 32x ran two 7 hour days at a go with brightness at full with the best AA NiMH batteries, and they are Ansmann 2850s, which have been the best for a decade or more. I use them in lights as well. I took the smart charger, which weights next to nothing, so I always had a spare couple of fully charged replacements if I needed them suddenly. But we were B&Bing, so charging was a simple routine at the end of each day.

https://www.batterystation.co.uk/ansman ... es-4-pack/

[Mick F]

I suspect that I am going to be in the same boat soon and I have a question about Garmins that use AAs ..........

The Montana takes the Li ion battery supplied with it, or it will take three of any sort of AA battery you want.

Li ion battery goes for five or six hours generally, but it you use the power-saving methods, it'll go for seven or eight hours.
Fit good quality AA batteries, and it'll go for twelve hours or more.

I use the Li ion battery, and sometimes rechargeable Eneloops.

[willem jongman]

I use a Garmin Etrex 30. Its advantages are low price, low weight and low battery use: I can ride for 4-5 days on two Ansmann 2500 Eneloop style rechargeables ( the best there are in my experience). So for a 2-3 week tour all I need are a couple of spare rechargeable AAs in my handlebar bag. I don't take a charger and the weight and hassle penalty that comes with that. It is a fairly basic device but I think the advantages outweigh the limitations. The newer Etrex 32x apparently has a somehat better screen and is a bit faster but I have not yet investigated. I am happy wth my Etrex 30 as it is and will keep using it until it dies.

[Sweep]

I use a Garmin Etrex 30. Its advantages are low price, low weight and low battery use: I can ride for 4-5 days on two Ansmann 2500 Eneloop style rechargeables ( the best there are in my experience). So for a 2-3 week tour all I need are a couple of spare rechargeable AAs in my handlebar bag. I don't take a charger and the weight and hassle penalty that comes with that. It is a fairly basic device but I think the advantages outweigh the limitations. The newer Etrex 32x apparently has a somehat better screen and is a bit faster but I have not yet investigated. I am happy wth my Etrex 30 as it is and will keep using it until it dies.

have heard other good reports on ansmann. are they any better than eneloops? thetre are very few factories for these things and as i understand it eneloops are effectively available under other names.
agree with your post - as upthread, I use etrex 20 and 20xs.

[Jdsk]

"Eneloop" is a trademark of Panasonic, although they were developed by Sanyo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eneloop

Jonathan

[willem jongman]

Indeed, Eneloop were I think the first of the so called low discharge rechargeable batteries. In my limited experience the Ansmann slow discharge batteries seem to outperform the Sanyo/Panasonic originals.