Any one use a sat nav?

smithosa

Having just bought a new bike, now capable of much more comfortable long rides I'm thinking/dreaming about a sat nav system. This would make my car use '0', what I need is one that works like a car satnav, namely that you can simply type in your destination and it'll guide you right there. Any thoughts/suggestions much apreciated.

redddraggon

Garmin Edge 705 gives turn by turn directions - I believe you can enter destinations on the unit itself.

karlmoreton

Garmin Etrex Range pretty good (I have a legend HCx), do most things 705 does except cadence,heart rate and power. Just way way cheaper and uses AA batteries that not only last longer but can also be bought anywhere, ideal for touring also for this reason.

Have also used my Tom Tom with a stem mount.

Now also have a Sony C905 phone with google maps and wayfinder sat nav.

Sudor

I have a Garmin edge 705 with European Road card. Its great for even minor roads (e.g. poor quality single track). Once you have a route down loaded (e.g. via bike hike gpx file) the directions are clear. However, whilst its capable of route finding using a sort of "go to" function I've not yet tried this. I reckon it'd take you on direct road routes which may include major roads. All in all I find the combination of route and performance tracking (heart rarte, altitude, speed, cadence etc) really useful for keeping track of routes and training progress via the Garmin Connect website. The ability to race/pace against your previous route performance helps make those lone rides a little more competative and interesting. Also, it is compatible with many wireless power meter units.

If you want off road capability (Mountain biking, hiking etc) you will need an OS map compatible GPS system and unfortunately the 705 does not offer this. The 705 Topo map package is v poor compared to OS and does not cut it for me (the euro rroad package s fine though) If you want OS map functionality I'd look at the Garmin Oregon and consider a non gps bike computer ( cateye v3 is good for , speed, odometer, heart rate, cadence etc. )

If you have an iPhone then mapmyride have developed an iPhone app that is worth a look at especially as there are stem/bar mounts for iPhone now available.

Mark Alexander

A friend has th Garmin 605. a n often overlooked option to the 705. I think this can lead you where to go.

amaferanga

Sat nav directions don't work so well with bikes. If you expect to get a nice route from just putting in a destination then you'll likely be disappointed (whether you use a Garmin, iPhone or whatever). Most have a 'bicycle' option, but these will tend to take you on massive detours to avoid even 100m down an A-road. Its easy with car satnav as all people generally care about is shortest or fastest.

The Garmin Etrex or 705/605 are excellent though if you're prepared to spend 10 minutes planning a route on your computer beforehand and then download to the device.

keyser_soze

I just came back from a ride out guided partly by a garmin 705 and partly by me where I knew the area and it did not put a foot wrong. The route was easy to see and although I did plan the route before it worked out very well. I have not used mine to just plug in a destination and let it choose yet, but I haven't got too lost yet! I plan my route before hand on bikehike, drop them onto the unit and then I'm good to go. Highly recommended peice of kit.

ColinJ

I don't like the idea of a machine deciding where I ride so I bought a dumb GPS (bottom of the Garmin Etrex range) and program detailed routes in from my Memory Map software. Best of both worlds - I choose the route, the GPS stops me getting lost on it!

andrew_s

the routing on the Etrex/605/705 is all the same as they all use the same (extra cost) maps.

If you just want to say "take me there", you are probably best off setting it to car, but to avoid highways. That will keep you off motorways and the larger dual carriageways, but otherwise take you fairly directly. If you are in London don't set it to avoid toll roads unless you want to be kept out of the congestion charge zone.

I usually use mine either as a simple moving map, or routing me via a few intermediate locations that I've chosen so that shortest routes send me more or less where I want to go.