Anyone using a Garmin dakota 20?

[fast but dim]

I've had a dakota for a few years for fellwalking, but didn't even think I could use it for cycling until I read the manual today (who reads manuals anyway )

I've got the uk topo maps on it, and have just ordered a bar mount off ebay.....

So, is anyone using one, and if so, is it any good?

[CREPELLO]

Sorry I can't offer you experience of the Dakota, because I have an Etrex. But what I can say is they both use the same bar mount and there are some cheap imitation mounts that go for around £4 on ebay and amazon. Don't use them - thery're rubbish and will drop your gps in a blink of an eye. Unusually, Amazon is actually the cheapest (or was) for the real thing.

[bristolmick]

I have used 2 for cycling. Always found them good. Map view is great. Sometimes compass view works better, depends on what is happening on the road.

I planned my routes on the computer and then uploaded a GPx as you would do for walking etc. I have also used the auto routing feature as a get me home as fast you can function.

Lanyard it to the bars especially off road but even on road. Take it from me it is quite sickening to be combing the grass verge of a 40 mph descent looking for £300 worth of GPS and maps (that is why I have used 2).

GPS transformed my cycling, no more stopping at every junction of a new route. Happy cycling.

Mike

[nez]

Yes I have one. It's pretty good if you treat it as a cycle computer with a little map you can sometimes peer at. I don't Think the mapping works while you're riding - it's too difficult to see. Very reliable, though and tough to break.

[fast but dim]

cheers for the replies, I'm not expecting much from the bike mount: the belt clip is pretty insecure, I always back that up with the lanyard and a carabiner.

I'm just gutted I didnt think to use it earler

[jonathanuk]

Bit of an old thread, I know, but thought it worth mentioning that I have been using my Dakota 20 on my bike for a while now and it works very well. I researched mounts for the bike and settled on the RAM mount system - they make a cradle for the Dakota 10/20 and various handlebar attachments that connect to the cradle via a ball joint, makes getting that perfect viewing angle easy in any light, although the handlebar attachment I currently have keeps slipping so will be looking at getting something more secure (I have one where you have to pull a plastic loop around the handlebar, perhaps not the best design for bumpy roads, just seen a quick-release style one online so will be investigating that).

As for the Dakota 20 as a bike GPS, when put in bike mode it works very well, navigation is 90% hit (I use OpenStreetMap free maps, the roads do not always connect up for proper routing as most of the map has been auto-generated, I go online and fix things using the OpenStreetMap editor when I find them but it can take a while to trickle down to a garmin-compatible downloadable map; most roads are fine, it's only when it gets into forest roads or very minor / farm roads that it sometimes struggles) and will quickly re-calculate as you ride if you take a detour. Having the same map in the Dakota and in BaseCamp is a big help as it allows you to plan a route on the computer and know that the Dakota will be able to display it - if you have different maps then the route may come up differently or may have odd detours if there's a map error.

When asked to route to a destination the Dakota has selected some interesting cycle-friendly detours that I would not otherwise have known about, avoiding difficult hills or busy sections of road in favour of quiet side roads.

The display can be changed to show large speed readouts and other data, all based on GPS but having compared it to a wired cycling computer side-by-side it seems fairly accurate, though when signal is iffy it can't be relied upon like a dedicated computer with a wheel-mounted speed sensor.