which Garmin?

mrushton

Which is the a good Garmin GPS computer to get? I'm not bothered about HR or cadence but obviously the usual bike functions and the mapping (updateable) are what I'm interested in plus reliability.

chriskempton

205 Edge. It's down to £50 at PC World - that's a steal.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/518405

chriskempton

205 Edge. It's down to £50 at PC World - that's a steal.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/518405

Jez mon

I think if you want mapping, as opposed to lines to follow, you have to get the edge 605

Milkie

I think if you want mapping, as opposed to lines to follow, you have to get the edge 605

Yup thats right...

Although the maps ain't cheap either! You can get TOPO maps and City Navigator Maps. I have both on mine, and it works amazingly well! Although the TOPO's are not as good as OS maps, but they are on the way..

Wiggle are doing an offer on the 705, with HR & cadence and European Road Maps
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360035897&N=Garmin%20Bike%20Edge%20705%20Road%20Performance%20Package

If you're not bothered about HR/Cadence and advanced training features, try the 605..
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductSearchAdvanced.aspx?Wd=garmin%20edge%20605&cat=cycle


Apparently Memory-map are working on compatibility with the Edge 605/705, so OS maps are on the way for the Edge!

John Stevenson

605, rather annoyingly IMO, only does speed by GPS, which is never going to be as instantaneously accurate as measuring it off the wheel. Its altimeter is similarly GPS-driven rather than barometric, which affects its accuracy.

Jez mon

IMO GPS speed is fine, as there are no weird looking magnets on my pride and joy (plus the fact that i can swap wheels willy nilly).

SteveR_100Milers

I dont need mapping, just a simple line to navgate by works ok for me. However, the speed and gadient functions are laughable in real time. I was climbing the Bwlch on Sunday's DRagon and I was apparently rding a gradient of -5% when in fact it was the opposite + some. The summaries are ok, i.e. total distance travelled and total ascent / descent, but as a live snapshot its pretty useless....

ColinJ

mrushton wrote:

Which is the a good Garmin GPS computer to get? I'm not bothered about HR or cadence but obviously the usual bike functions and the mapping (updateable) are what I'm interested in plus reliability.

Hi Mark.

Even the bottom-of-the-range Garmin Etrex that I use has all the possible bike functions you could want. I chose that model because it has very good battery life and you can swap the batteries. That was important to me at the time because I thought that I might end up doing 400s and 600s. I seem to remember that the Edge series have built-in Li-ion batteries which wouldn't last for much more than a 200 (or a very nippy 300!) before needing charging - you can't swap out the batteries. Hang on - I'll check... Yep, the 205 and 305 have a typical battery life of 12 hours and for the 605 and 705 it is 15 hours. Don't forget that Li-ion batteries lose capacity over a couple of years, so those figures would drop off. I think cold weather would also reduce battery life.

My Etrex doesn't have mapping but the higher models in the range do. I prefer to plot my routes at home and then just 'follow the line'. If battery life is important to you, I'd look at them.

As for reliability - my Etrex has been fine. I did hear that some people had problems with batteries losing contact on bumpy roads. I use some very chunky Ni-MH cells (which give me about 26 hours on one charge) and they are a tight fit, so there is not a problem with them coming loose.