Garmin upgrade

[don1]

I currently have a Garmin 200 and I'm looking to upgrade to something capable of mapping.
I'm not necessarily interested in cadence sensing or HR monitoring, but maps are important.
I don't really want to spend a fortune on a top end garmin if I'm not going to make use of all the functions so I've narrowed things down to a 2nd hand edge 705 or an etrex 20.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and recommendations. Thanks.

[old_windbag]

I've an edge 500 which I use for simple waypoint navigation as it doesn't take too many for longish rides. Prior to getting this as a fitness aid I'd investigated the garmin Dakota 20 which looked really nice for cycling and hiking with the ability to add maps beyond the base maps. Also it takes AA batteries which seemed advantageous if going on a long holiday rather than needing to rely on the usual charging regime. It looks to be about £120 nowadays. At around £145 is the garmin edge touring which may fit your needs. The Bryton rider 60 can be bought with full UK OS 1:50000 mapping if only cycling on uk adventures.

The Dakota ( and oregon's ) look really useful devices but one would need to study the user reviews for any weaknesses, I know from my edge 500 experience the firmware on that is pretty poor and buggy as well as having a crude user interface. I'd prefer Garmin to let a professional third party software company create the interface side of the firmware, the edge 510 may have addressed this now with its more advanced display.

[maxcherry]

I was hoping to get the 1000 (already have the 800) just because the screen is bigger. Unfortunately the part that goes on the
crank arm is to thick for the space I have and the Garmin 1000 doesn't use magnets like the other Edge products.
The Garmin 800 will give you what you need and now it is even cheaper due to the other Edge products with 'bells and whistles' taking it's place. I got the performance bundle with road and trail maps and HRM. It's not let me down

[andrewjoseph]

my wife just had a new 1000 and continued to use the old cadence/speed sensor from her 800, er actually it was from her old 705.

[chris_suffolk]

I've recently bought an etrex 20, primarily because I can get the whole of the UK loaded in the memory (I use VeloMaps). Create and download tracks from the laptop, and then just follow the line on the screen - can zoom in and out with the map as you would exepct, but rarely do - just set the track on and follow it. If that's what you are looking for, I would say it's just about ideal, and not expensive (as GPS devices go) either.

[maxcherry]

my wife just had a new 1000 and continued to use the old cadence/speed sensor from her 800, er actually it was from her old 705.

The new bits have an Accelerometer in them. It's part of the cadence speed thingy bob. Does she have full use of all the bicycle tabs (all the items to use in the data fields). Be interested to know if it is using the sensors or GPS as the new sensors don't use magnets

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/06/garm ... eview.html

I’ve talked at length about these new sensors in this post from a few weeks ago, however I’ll touch on it here a bit more, along with a bit more data. In short though, Garmin introduced two new sensors as part of the Edge 1000 announcements. They were a new speed-only sensor, and a new cadence-only

announcements. They were a new speed-only sensor, and a new cadence-only sensor. These are both separate sensors, each performing their own duties

The speed-only sensor is magnetless in that it wraps around your front or rear wheel hub, just as shown below – using simply only the included rubber-band style mount

[TrevA]

The Edge 705 has a very old Gps chip and takes absolutely ages to lock on to the satellites. I mean several minutes, whereas my Edge 200 locks on straight away. Other than that the 705 is Ok to use. I've had mine for about 7 years and still use it if I need mapping.

I wouldn't pay very much for a 705, certainly not more than £100. It is quite old technology and newer Garmins are better.

[andrewjoseph]

my wife just had a new 1000 and continued to use the old cadence/speed sensor from her 800, er actually it was from her old 705.

The new bits have an Accelerometer in them. It's part of the cadence speed thingy bob. Does she have full use of all the bicycle tabs (all the items to use in the data fields). Be interested to know if it is using the sensors or GPS as the new sensors don't use magnets...

we bought the head unit only, using the old hr strap, old 705 one piece cadence and speed sensor with magnets on spokes and crank arm. gets cadence and speed data shown on screen. the unit uses the sensors for speed as it works as normal on the turbo for which the gps is turned off.

it also says on the garmin accessories page for the unit that it is compatible with the old sensors.

only difference in usability is the increased screen size making reading it easier. all screens and data that she wants to use are there.

[maxcherry]

my wife just had a new 1000 and continued to use the old cadence/speed sensor from her 800, er actually it was from her old 705.

The new bits have an Accelerometer in them. It's part of the cadence speed thingy bob. Does she have full use of all the bicycle tabs (all the items to use in the data fields). Be interested to know if it is using the sensors or GPS as the new sensors don't use magnets...

we bought the head unit only, using the old hr strap, old 705 one piece cadence and speed sensor with magnets on spokes and crank arm. gets cadence and speed data shown on screen. the unit uses the sensors for speed as it works as normal on the turbo for which the gps is turned off.

it also says on the garmin accessories page for the unit that it is compatible with the old sensors.

only difference in usability is the increased screen size making reading it easier. all screens and data that she wants to use are there.

Thank you for replying and thank you for giving me a reason to spend money

[don1]

Thanks for all the replies. Food for thought.

[samsbike]

Just to add, of the two you have picked I would concur with going for the etrex 20 , which comes in a fetching shade of orange.

However if you think that you will require cadence or HR monitoring then I would get the 800. The mix in the ointment is the Garmin touring range which essentially only do mapping and speed (although the plus does HR monitoring as well) and would be cheaper than the 800.

The advantage of the touring/ 800 (and if you were keeping your 200) is that they should both use the same mounts and the mounts are cheaper slightly than the etrex mount (which you would have buy separately and get the garmin one as it fits the unit much better from my reading on the web).

Two other things to consider:

1 . Do you prefer usb charging or aa batteries (touring / 800 v etrex)?
2. The neatness of the mount (etrex is handlebar only - while the 800/ touring can be mounted in front and behind the bars).

happy shopping

[Sweep]

Won't the etrex mount also go on the stem?

[PH]

Won't the etrex mount also go on the stem?

It can, but if you do it can't be tilted to avoid glare, so IMO not a good place for it.
The mounts for the smaller Garmins that put it just ahead of the stem are ideal, unless you're using a barbag...
There are simple workrounds for all of it, I wouldn't base my choice on the mount.

[PH]

I've recently bought an etrex 20, primarily because I can get the whole of the UK loaded in the memory (I use VeloMaps). Create and download tracks from the laptop, and then just follow the line on the screen - can zoom in and out with the map as you would exepct, but rarely do - just set the track on and follow it. If that's what you are looking for, I would say it's just about ideal, and not expensive (as GPS devices go) either.

Exactly that, though if I were buying again I'd go for the 30 with the better compass and the ANT capability

[samsbike]

Note that the etrex 20 and 30 have been slightly upgraded (there is a thread somewhere) - so prices of the current ones may drop a bit