What GPS?

The Northern Monkey

Hey..

Been looking into some GPS to keep track of my roadriding progress but am not sure what GPS unit would be best.

Ideally I want to uplad my routes onto mapmyride too.

Whats cadence and why would I want a HR monitor?

Cheers, Ben

Bronzie

Cadence is how fast you turn the cranks (revs per minute) - perhaps useful for beginners but once you've been riding a while it's fairly irrelevant. Most people tend to turn the cranks at a speed that is comfortable for them and settle into a natural range of cadence when they are riding.

A heart rate monitor is pretty useful for gauging how intense your training rides are, but only if you are training with a purpose or ultimate goal. Again, more experienced riders can tell how hard their body is working without the need for an HRM although it's nice to have some figures sometimes to back your senses up.

I've got a Garmin Edge 705 myself and find it brilliant for routing and ride logging. The range of things you can do with it make it very flexible although the literature provided by Garmin is rubbish and I needed to do a lot of internet trawling to even get the basics of how to download and follow a route.

Have a look at the Frank Kinlan site - some really useful info on there:
http://frank.kinlan.co.uk/

The forums at Motionbased are also a great resource if you can speak American:
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php

shane515

hello

I have the 605 BUT, if you can spare the extra ££ get the 705, I really wish I had spent the extra so could do away with seperate HR mon/cadence mon. Great piece of kit though, so good to ride routes that you can have confidence in not getting lost or having to check maps etc etc plus it will record the data you are after and then upload. simples!!!

Shane

Jester84

Get an iphone, can upload it straight to map my ride whilst your on the road!!!

amaferanga

If you're not bothered about cadence and HR then a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx is quite a bit cheaper than the Edge 605/705 and every bit as good for navigating with. And obviously it records all your ride data as well. You can get a Legend HCx + bike mount + City Navigator UK and Ireland mapping for about £170.

If all you want to do is record your ride and upload the tracklog to mapmyride then all you need is a basic GPS like a Garmin Edge 205 or even a basic Legend Etrex.

il_principe

Jester84 wrote:

Get an iphone, can upload it straight to map my ride whilst your on the road!!!

Yeah but the battery'll die, no cadence, no HR. I have an iPhone but use an Edge 705, it's fantastic and a massive jump up from the old 305. BikeHike and BikeRouteToaster are excellent for creating routes. I use toaster and then upload directly to the Garmin.

The Northern Monkey

yea I also have a iPhone but its not been great tbh.

I was looking at a 305 with a HR monitor for around £120 (but then i'm not sure I'd use a HR monitor anyways).

Do the units actually show your route on a map if you preload one, or do they just track your route so that you can see it later on the pc?
or is that just the 605/705 models, does the 305 show any wayspoints etc??

Its not important that the unit has a proper map though, just want to track my progress over the same local routes and be able to upload it.

Cheers for your help though guys.

doyler78

bigbenj_08 wrote:

yea I also have a iPhone but its not been great tbh.

I was looking at a 305 with a HR monitor for around £120 (but then i'm not sure I'd use a HR monitor anyways).

Do the units actually show your route on a map if you preload one, or do they just track your route so that you can see it later on the pc?
or is that just the 605/705 models, does the 305 show any wayspoints etc??

Its not important that the unit has a proper map though, just want to track my progress over the same local routes and be able to upload it.

Cheers for your help though guys.

Then you don't a any gps device however curiously it may actual prove to be the cheapest option. In your case a 305 would the job very well however personally I'd get the 705 myself and that way you have the extra features if you need them (and I believe that most people could actually make very good use of a 705)

rjh299

I've got the 305 and wish i just waited and saved bit extra for the 705. 305's ok but a standard computer with hr and cadence will do the same for less money.

The Northern Monkey

rjh299 wrote:

I've got the 305 and wish i just waited and saved bit extra for the 705. 305's ok but a standard computer with hr and cadence will do the same for less money.

i take it that standard computers can't track your rides though?

Bronzie

bigbenj_08 wrote:

i take it that standard computers can't track your rides though?

None that I'm aware of - you need something that logs GPS co-ordinates if you want to follow your route on GoogleEarth or similar later

couldashouldawoulda

I got a 305 and it logs your route, HR, cadence and elevation. You can then see where you went in Training Centre, Mapmyride and Google Earth.

You can also download other peoples routes(for free) to the gps and follow these. The routes show up as a single line and when you come to a junction there will still be only one line on the screen so you have to figure out where to go - in reality it's very simple. If you go off course my more than a few meters it beeps once to warn you.

I've got mine attached to the bars. Its waterproof (upside down in a marsh proof!) It's relativly small (compared to a 705). If doesnt have the bells and whistles or colour screen of it's more expensive brethern.

ps A HR monitor is great for training, loosing weight, making sure you're not overdoing it etc.

mgcycleguy

I've had a garmin 305, with cadence and HRM for about 2 and half years... if you are into stats and post ride analysis and at the current prices its a good bit of kit.

... I've also just picked up a Sony Z750i phone, argos currently doing them for £45. put £10 a quarter on it and you have free access to the internet, and Google earth GPS. So no issues with getting lost anymore. (also of course gives you emergency phone cover, an MP3 player and fm radio)

... so all in all in combination I think you have a pretty good touring package ?

FSR_XC

A 305 Edge or Forerunner (or even a 205) is ideal for what you are asking to do.

If you don't want the fitness stuff (Cadence & HR), then a Garmin Vista / Legend will give you extra map features without forking out over £200.

Gustibus

I've the Garmin Vista HCx, as I like to use it off the bike as well. If you're only interested in GPS for cycling the edge range might suit you better.

With the handlebar mount it's excellent, very easy to read, very long battery life and does all the track logs, elevation and routing stuff. I initially had two frustrations with it

1- It would switch off (infrequently) going overy very bumpy roads, i.e. every 'B' road in Northern Ireland solved by a bit of padding and some paper behind the battery terminals to keep them in contact.

2 - I wasn't using it properly. It has a lot of options and screens - http://www.aukadia.net/gps/ is an excellent site that explains how to set it up properly for the various displays and routing methods.

As an aside, anyone using a GPS that can create a tracklog - take a look at http://www.openstreetmap.org/ It's a user generated maps site. You can download maps (for free) compatible with GPS units, or upload gpx traces for other volunteers to use in creating worldwide maps that are free for anyone to use.

Headhuunter

I'd be interested in people's views on these too. I think I have similar requirements to Big Benj, I have a crap sense of direction and all I want is to be able to download other people's routes, store club runs that I've been on so that I can do them again and have a clear screen which will tell show me the route without me having to take an Ordnance Survey map and spend ages stopping and poring over it getting cold (in winter). Not really that bothered about HRM and def don't need cadence.

With that in mind would the 205 do me? Is the screen easy to see/Is it easy to navigate from?

amaferanga

Headhuunter wrote:

I'd be interested in people's views on these too. I think I have similar requirements to Big Benj, I have a crap sense of direction and all I want is to be able to download other people's routes, store club runs that I've been on so that I can do them again and have a clear screen which will tell show me the route without me having to take an Ordnance Survey map and spend ages stopping and poring over it getting cold (in winter). Not really that bothered about HRM and def don't need cadence.

With that in mind would the 205 do me? Is the screen easy to see/Is it easy to navigate from?

No. GPS without maps are crap for navigation. From what you say, your cheapest option is a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx. It has a nice big colour screen and maps making following routes easy.

Headhuunter

amaferanga wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

I'd be interested in people's views on these too. I think I have similar requirements to Big Benj, I have a crap sense of direction and all I want is to be able to download other people's routes, store club runs that I've been on so that I can do them again and have a clear screen which will tell show me the route without me having to take an Ordnance Survey map and spend ages stopping and poring over it getting cold (in winter). Not really that bothered about HRM and def don't need cadence.

With that in mind would the 205 do me? Is the screen easy to see/Is it easy to navigate from?

No. GPS without maps are crap for navigation. From what you say, your cheapest option is a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx. It has a nice big colour screen and maps making following routes easy.

OK, that's interesting. Wonder how I'd strap it to the bars though! So from what you're saying, the cheapest cycling specific model which has maps for navigation is the 605? How easy are they to read and follow whilst on the move? I don't want to be trying to see the screen/work out where I'm going and run into the back of a tractor or something!

amaferanga

There's a handlebar mount for the Legend HCx, costs about a tenner.

bandeja

Garmin Etrex Legend HCx doesnt have an electronic compass. I think thats pretty important with GPS devices.... its always annoying when you have a signal, but you have to move a few metres to figure out which way you are facing

amaferanga

Spend a few pounds extra on an Etrex Vista HCx then....