Cheapest sat nav for bike

Tony Williams
Tony Williams Posts: 28
edited April 2008 in Workshop
I'm looking for a sat nav for my bke which would allow me to cycle further away from my city for around <£100 since I'll be using it on my bike it'll need to be small with a mount or fit in a generic mount, I can turn off highways/motorways too since I can't ride on them. Good battery life too I don't mind paying a little more if it works in Europe and not just UK+ROI.

I was looking at the TomTom One V3 they sell on Amazon which looks good but I'd need a charger, mount which would bring it to £150. Anyone here who uses a sat nav on thier bike, what do you use?

Comments

  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    A Garmin edge 205 will work perfectly well as a satnav, so ,ong as you use one of the (free) internet based mapping programmes to plot your routes or "courses". I'm sure you can pick one up for well under £100. Whilst it doesnt have street maps, you simply follow a track line which providing your course follows roads, then you will have no problem folowing the route.

    However, you can't of course navigate without a pre-entered route, unlike a street map based satnav system.
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  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    Mad idea alert!

    I have a Garmin Zumo for my motorbike - fully specced satnav with voice instructions, MP3 player, bluetooth headset compatibility etc in a waterporrf and vibration-proof casing. It has an internal battery but only a 3-4 hour battery life. I'm wondering how long it would last on a Lumicycle bottle cage battery. A very heavy solution, but how cool would that be.....
  • John C.
    John C. Posts: 2,113
    Argos at Knareborough (not sure if it's a national deal) are selling Sony Sat Navs off for Seventy Five pounds. Battery life is only about 3 hours and you would have to sort out a mount. A collegue has a Garvin and the Sony is the better tool for ease of use and you can set it to cycle speed for calculating route times.
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  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    SteveR_100Milers wrote:
    A Garmin edge 205 will work perfectly well as a satnav, so ,ong as you use one of the (free) internet based mapping programmes to plot your routes or "courses". I'm sure you can pick one up for well under £100. Whilst it doesnt have street maps, you simply follow a track line which providing your course follows roads, then you will have no problem folowing the route.

    However, you can't of course navigate without a pre-entered route, unlike a street map based satnav system.

    They look pretty good what's the sat nav on it like? It looks like a b&w screen thingy and can I type in a post code or something and have it take me there or a city? Also would it work in Europe and not just the UK&ROI?

    Could I ride whereever I want and have this get me home still?

    I saw a refurb for like £70
  • fto-si
    fto-si Posts: 402

    They look pretty good what's the sat nav on it like? It looks like a b&w screen thingy and can I type in a post code or something and have it take me there or a city? Also would it work in Europe and not just the UK&ROI?

    Could I ride whereever I want and have this get me home still?

    I saw a refurb for like £70

    You can't enter a post code into it, you need to plan your route using one of the numerous mapping applications and transfer it to the 205.
    It's a great little tool, I have one and it navigated me round my 100k ride today perfectly.
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  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    fto-si wrote:

    They look pretty good what's the sat nav on it like? It looks like a b&w screen thingy and can I type in a post code or something and have it take me there or a city? Also would it work in Europe and not just the UK&ROI?

    Could I ride whereever I want and have this get me home still?

    I saw a refurb for like £70

    You can't enter a post code into it, you need to plan your route using one of the numerous mapping applications and transfer it to the 205.
    It's a great little tool, I have one and it navigated me round my 100k ride today perfectly.

    So I would need to plan it on a computer first? That's fine. What's the nav screen like I can't seem to find a pic of it. Is there a way I can just say 'get me home' if I end up lost?
  • fto-si
    fto-si Posts: 402
    Yes you need to plan it on a computer initially but thats easy, there are free applications on the net you can use.
    You can store routes/courses on the unit or store them on your computer and just transfer them as and when needed.
    The navigation screen is fairly basic in comparison to a SATNAV you would have in a car, its just a straight line really showing you where you need to change direction, it works well and i don't see why you would need more info.
    There is no GET ME HOME feature on it if you get lost but isn't finding your way home part of the fun of cycling anyway?
    I use my Garmin in conjunction with MemoryMap digital mapping software and SportsTracks to record all the data from my rides and I am really happy with it.
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  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    Okay Garmin Edge 605 or a TomTom One v3?
  • fto-si
    fto-si Posts: 402
    Another thing to consider is do you want to record all your ride data? The Garmin will do all this where the TomTom wont
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  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    Good point, I'm looking at the 605 but it is an arm and a leg.
  • Kirky
    Kirky Posts: 459
    What about something like the Nokia N95 black?? Thinking of getting one as I'm due an upgrade and I think (although I could be wrong) it uses the OS mapping software - so you van load very detailed maps etc.

    Also means you're carryint a phine and camera in the same unit :D

    As Nokia are sponsoring National Bike Week this year - I'm sure they've got this all covered!!

    Might be a cheaper option if you're due a new mobile soon!!

    KIRKY
    Las Vegas Institute of Sport
  • pyro_maniac
    pyro_maniac Posts: 232
    tomtoms are fine when plugged in, but the battery normally only lasts a couple of hours at most, i reckon the garmin would be a better buy
  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    pyro_maniac wrote:
    tomtoms are fine when plugged in, but the battery normally only lasts a couple of hours at most, i reckon the garmin would be a better buy

    Like your idea, I'm going to look into it and price up what I need. Is the GPS thingy going to be free or will I need to pay monthly?
  • fto-si
    fto-si Posts: 402
    Garmin is free to use
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  • pyro_maniac
    pyro_maniac Posts: 232
    i have a n95 black and the satnav on it is pants
    also you have to pay for the nokia maps service if you want to have voice guidance
    its ok to use as a mobile a to z though, but i would use a tomtom or garmin over nokia maps anyday for route guidance
  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    Looking at the Garmin Edge 605, will this work in Europe and can I 'where to' postcodes?
  • Tony Williams
    Tony Williams Posts: 28
    Ordered the 605 for £218 from Amazon they have a 30 day money back thingy too.
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    The 605 I think has full streetmapping, and is therefore a much more powerful device than the 205, but then you pay for that. The 205 (like all of the garmins I guess) will tell you how far you are from your route, and which direction u need to take to get back on it. It's all you need to find yor eway home to be honest. Plus it has about 10 hours or so battery life, which is what u need for an all dayer / sportive
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  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    Tony Williams wrote:
    can I 'where to' postcodes?


    not sure if you can with the basemaps, but you can with the optional city navigator ones on an sd card, tried it out today on the 705, even re-routes if you go off course!
    Manchester wheelers

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  • Kirky
    Kirky Posts: 459
    See what you mean about the Nokia mapping - not the best!! But, you can get OS maps for the N95, found this company:

    http://www.viewranger.com

    It looks pretty good, and pretty detailed too. Only thing I want to look into now is whether it will go the 'where to' postcode type sat nav - then I don't need to buy one for the car either :D

    And even a quote from our very own C+ on the site (I knew I'd seen it in a mag!!) - "ViewRanger is any outdoor enthusiast's best friend. A Cycling Plus Recommended Buy."

    KIRKY
    Las Vegas Institute of Sport
  • Kirky
    Kirky Posts: 459
    Bit more info - the maps cost £20 per 'section' (although I'm not sure how big one section is!!) or £160 for the entire of the country!! Not sure whether you can use it as a 'normal' sat nav device though!! Might have to go back to Nokia maps for that :(
    Las Vegas Institute of Sport
  • blorg
    blorg Posts: 1,169
    Navigation is really really crap on a Garmin Edge 205/305 compared to a GPS designed for navigation. DO NOT get a Garmin Edge for navigation purposes, you will be disappointed. (I am a happy 305 owner who got one NOT for navigation purposes.)

    This does not necessarily apply to the new 605/705 which are designed with mapping in mind, but they are expensive compared to most satnavs.

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