Sat Nav for your bike. Why?

Dudu

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

Why do cyclists but Garmin Sat Nav for their bikes?

Because they're too thick or lazy to learn to read a map?

il_principe

Sewinman wrote:

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

To question bike Sat Nav is to question the value of Sat Nav in a car.
aye. Original question should be: satnav for anything (well, anything land-based)...why? I can see the point if you're crossing the Atlantic and want a precise location but can't get a good sighting. Otherwise, it's just laziness.

Yeah, lets do it the Lancashire way and navigate by the colour of the falling leaves and bearing of the jackdaw's flight at harvest time. Maybe throw some runes in the air and see how they land.

Nothing wrong with laziness when it comes to navigation - its cycling not orienteering.

+1

I love my Garmin. love the fact that I can just plot a route out online, download to the garmin and ride, no memorising routes, no stopping to check maps/cards etc. Esp useful when you are training and want to try new routes/not be forced to stop/worry about getting lost. I cannot see an argument for not having one. Then there's all the lovely data it gathers. Top bit of kit. Honestly, bloody luddites!

:roll:

jonginge

Dudu wrote:

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

Why do cyclists but Garmin Sat Nav for their bikes?

Because they're too thick or lazy to learn to read a map?

What are these maps of which you speak? I have a London A-Z, is that similar? Doesn't fit in a jersey pocket, cover much of Surrey, Kent and certainly not any of France. My 705 does all those

Edit: and it talks to my PowerTap. Not sure a map can do that...

Slow Downcp

Dudu wrote:

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

Why do cyclists but Garmin Sat Nav for their bikes?

Because they're too thick or lazy to learn to read a map?

That's quite an assumption - I'm not thick, or lazy - I can read a map. I just like the ease of plotting a route beforehand and following it. A map doesn't tell me my speed, heart rate, or allow me to upload data to my PC either.

TheStone

I've got the 205 and love it.

I normally map out a route/sportive on bikely, then use gpx2crs to get the course.
This adds in the peaks too, so lots of good info.

Before, I'd take a map, or follow signs or repeat old routes.

Highly recommend.

lost_in_thought

Sewinman wrote:

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

To question bike Sat Nav is to question the value of Sat Nav in a car.
aye. Original question should be: satnav for anything (well, anything land-based)...why? I can see the point if you're crossing the Atlantic and want a precise location but can't get a good sighting. Otherwise, it's just laziness.

Yeah, lets do it the Lancashire way and navigate by the colour of the falling leaves and bearing of the jackdaw's flight at harvest time. Maybe throw some runes in the air and see how they land.

Nothing wrong with laziness when it comes to navigation - its cycling not orienteering.

+1 to that! Also,

It makes life easier. I have never really had any problems with the navigation, apart from routing errors on maps I've downloaded to the garmin - ie it was my/the person who made the map's fault!

On the little bit of touring I have done, the bulk of the nav was done with reference to the map, but the garmin was a very handy backup, especially when we hit confusing towns or veered off course unintentionally.

I often just go out for a ride and point my nose in a given direction, then think 'oooh town X isn't far from here' then use the 'find places' feature to take me from landmark to landmark and then home. It's great - if you haven't tried that, do!

It takes out the faff of paper maps and route cards, and messing around with a mobile phone for a (usually inaccurate) gmaps fix.

In downsides, it does remove the necessity for nav breaks...

EDIT: And another thing... find me a usable map that covers all of western europe. Hmmmm? No? Atlases don't clip to my handlebars...

desweller

londonlivvy wrote:

What's all this talk of getting maps out at junctions? Madness.

It's all about route cards.

A quick glance at the piece of paper in your hand, and you're off. No faffing with acres of paper. No faffing with temperamental technology.

Just riding.

Simples

+1 Dead right!

In fact, if you think ahead and check your route sheet while riding on the straight bits, you can usually dispense with stopping for route checks altogether...

I'm a bit ambivalent about computers for stuff like this. They're handy things, but I like to retain some basic abilities for myself.

Oddjob62

TBH my main reason was, I love computers/gadgets, I love cycling and I had some cash to spend on myself.

stuaff

I'm thinking of getting a 705 sometime, along with an iPhone 3GS/later version (the latter being more likely), particularly for all the stats, and those occasions when my internal route finder malfunctions.
But...generally speaking I get by just nicely without them. When I want to work out where I've been, how quickly, I use bikely/bikehike and trace the route (for timings I have a watch...!). Works well enough, and I don't need a map or GPS when I'm on my usual rides- I've worked out which ways I like to go from A to B, through good old fashioned trial and error and following road signs...
The one occasion when I repeatedly took a creative re-interpretation of the route I should have taken (no, I do not mean 'lost' ) was in Wales on the SCR trip, the one day when I was doing my own thing. Went from the bunkhouse north for a bit, then down to Brecon. No bother so far. Getting out of Brecon and on the right road...hmm. Kept finding myself going the wrong way, in one form or another- sometimes repeatedly hitting on the same wrong road. Was I annoyed or irritated? Nope, surprisingly...it was all mileage, after all, I wasn't in a rush to get back to the empty bunkhouse, I wasn't holding anyone else up, and I got back on the right track in the end. An Edge or other GPS would have sorted it out in five seconds flat of acquiring a signal. But that wouldn't necessarily have been better under the circumstances...
And when you have multiple GPSs, they do tend to have differences of opinion...:)

Wallace1492

Tell me this, would the Garmin tell you where you had parked your car after returning to a small town after a 3 day tour? Took me 3 lap of the town and an additional 5 miles to find the car. Knackered enough without that....

If it would track where it started from without me needing to programme co-ordinates in, it could be useful....

Oddjob62

Wallace1492 wrote:

Tell me this, would the Garmin tell you where you had parked your car after returning to a small town after a 3 day tour? Took me 3 lap of the town and an additional 5 miles to find the car. Knackered enough without that....

If it would track where it started from without me needing to programme co-ordinates in, it could be useful....

Couldn't you have done a "save location" before setting off? Would have taken about 3 seconds.

lastwords

I bought an edge 205 a year ago for my mtb the main reason was i didnt want any extra cables/sensors on my bike things get shaken around a lot when descending in the peak district, however i never used it for navigation.

In june i bought a cheap road bike and found i enjoyed it and have since planned routes and uploaded them to the edge and used it as navigation it means i dont have to worry about directions i just follow the route.

Wallace1492

Oddjob62 wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Tell me this, would the Garmin tell you where you had parked your car after returning to a small town after a 3 day tour? Took me 3 lap of the town and an additional 5 miles to find the car. Knackered enough without that....

If it would track where it started from without me needing to programme co-ordinates in, it could be useful....

Couldn't you have done a "save location" before setting off? Would have taken about 3 seconds.

"Save location" on what? I don't have a Garmin, and was wondering if they did that sort of thing. My Cateye Velo does not have the feature...... Ended up asking a binman if there was another car park, where there might be a car with a bike carrier..... funnily enough, he knew it!

lost_in_thought

Wallace1492 wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Tell me this, would the Garmin tell you where you had parked your car after returning to a small town after a 3 day tour? Took me 3 lap of the town and an additional 5 miles to find the car. Knackered enough without that....

If it would track where it started from without me needing to programme co-ordinates in, it could be useful....

Couldn't you have done a "save location" before setting off? Would have taken about 3 seconds.

"Save location" on what? I don't have a Garmin, and was wondering if they did that sort of thing. My Cateye Velo does not have the feature...... Ended up asking a binman if there was another car park, where there might be a car with a bike carrier..... funnily enough, he knew it!

You just buy a Garmin 705, and hit 'save location' and call it 'car'.

Wallace1492

lost_in_thought wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Tell me this, would the Garmin tell you where you had parked your car after returning to a small town after a 3 day tour? Took me 3 lap of the town and an additional 5 miles to find the car. Knackered enough without that....

If it would track where it started from without me needing to programme co-ordinates in, it could be useful....

Couldn't you have done a "save location" before setting off? Would have taken about 3 seconds.

"Save location" on what? I don't have a Garmin, and was wondering if they did that sort of thing. My Cateye Velo does not have the feature...... Ended up asking a binman if there was another car park, where there might be a car with a bike carrier..... funnily enough, he knew it!

You just buy a Garmin 705, and hit 'save location' and call it 'car'.

But the binman worked just as well, and he was cheaper. I probably would have cycled about trying to find it even if I had a Garmin.

squired

For offroad mountain biking I've found GPS very useful. On the road I've used it sometimes for routing, but where something like the Edge does come in useful is the other features. The thing that actually convinced me to buy a GPS unit was an offroad ride I tried to do from Croydon down to Littlehampton, via Guildford. Having to constantly refer to my maps and route notes seriously detracted from the enjoyment of the ride.

Last night I was looking at data from rides along similar routes to see how my performance compared. If you are into analysing data there is plenty of added value with units like the Edge.

DonDaddyD

I presume the naysayers of a Garmin 705 also don't approve of a Tom Tom in the car. :roll:

They're the ones who still pull up at the side of the road and whip open the AZ for ten minutes to find the page that will eventually tell them where to go. Yep that's a step forward for progress. :roll:

Technophobes or simply Amish. Lets also ban the contraceptive pill, automatic gearboxes, concorde (well you won that one), mobile phones, MP3, personal computers, CD, the digital signal and the Internet. :roll:

shoulder_of_orion

I used to be a nonbeliever. On the slowcial ride last year we seemed to go round and round in circles following someone with a Garmin.

But, I have since started to do long solo rides into Kent and I now crave one. I have a very good sense of direction but on those twisty lanes it is easy to get lost. I have spent a lot of time pondering print outs and road signs and asking random pensioners how to get to Pratt's Bottom.

In the winter in the cold and wet that is tedious.

I managed to get Rapha past the CFO as it appeals to her sense of style. A 705, next on my shopping list, may be a harder sell...

bails87

DonDaddyD
Agree with that.

I assume most of you ride road bikes? Not as reliable as good sturdy mountain bike with 7 speed Tourney, even though it does make things easier. How lazy of you!

I don't understand why some people seem to have a fascination with making things difficult for themselves. Why ride a bike in the first place if using technology is 'lazy'?

wgwarburton

bails87 wrote:

.... Why ride a bike in the first place if using technology is 'lazy'?

'cos it's fun!

Seems to me this is the differentiator, here: for some, getting "lost" is part of the experience... an opportunity to explore. For others, route preparation is clearly part of the hobby- you don't research, write up and carry route cards, unless the time spent doing so is part of the fun. There's a group of gadget and/or stats folk, who enjoy tracking and analysing, then there's the folk who like maps for their own sake.

I daresay there's a small group who don't get any of this and just want to be able to ride their bikes without getting lost...I don't suppose there's any "best" solution to that, since it'll depend on the individual's preferences... but SatNav's clearly one answer.

Cheers,
W.

singlespeedexplosif

I presume the naysayers of a Garmin 705 also don't approve of a Tom Tom in the car.

Quite right. Particularly where it comes to sort of numpty who spends the entire length of the M1 sitting transfixed by a wee screen displaying a straight line and the sound of Stephen Hawking's mum saying 'in two hundred and thirty four miles, turn left'.

Look at route before setting off. Negates the need to 'pull up at the side of the road and whip open the AZ for ten minutes to find the page that will eventually tell them where to go.'

simples (squeak).

Runoutofgears

Because which ever map I take with me I nearly always end up falling off it.

They get soggy, even in bags

and because I don't like stopping to read them.

I always check my route before I go, if i plot it on the garmin software I get to know it reasonably well and the 705 jogs my memory as I go. The peeps can get a bit anoying though.

Post ride info is helpfull

And it gives me confidence to ride off route if I fancy the look of it on the go.

DonDaddyD

WGWarburton wrote:

bails87 wrote:

.... Why ride a bike in the first place if using technology is 'lazy'?

'cos it's fun!

Seems to me this is the differentiator, here: for some, getting "lost" is part of the experience... an opportunity to explore. For others, route preparation is clearly part of the hobby- you don't research, write up and carry route cards, unless the time spent doing so is part of the fun. There's a group of gadget and/or stats folk, who enjoy tracking and analysing, then there's the folk who like maps for their own sake.

I daresay there's a small group who don't get any of this and just want to be able to ride their bikes without getting lost...I don't suppose there's any "best" solution to that, since it'll depend on the individual's preferences... but SatNav's clearly one answer.

Cheers,
W.

I'm not seeing any of what you wrote as a reason not to have a Garmin.

There will be times when you want to explore and in those instances you can turn the Sat Nav off.

There are also going to be times when knowing the route is needed and in those instances you can turn the Sat Nav on.

Having one provides us with the option of doing both.l

Singlespeed wrote:

Quite right. Particularly where it comes to sort of numpty who spends the entire length of the M1 sitting transfixed by a wee screen displaying a straight line and the sound of Stephen Hawking's mum saying 'in two hundred and thirty four miles, turn left'.

What is wrong with having your Sat Nav on when driving along the M1?

I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or technology simply because you don't agree with its usage.

Singlespeed wrote:

Look at route before setting off. Negates the need to 'pull up at the side of the road and whip open the AZ for ten minutes to find the page that will eventually tell them where to go.'

I was in a rush a few weeks back, had to get to Epping from Wimbledon. No time to look in a map or turn the PC on, so I jumped in the car turned the Sat Nav on and was there in about 1hr (I was in a rush).

When microwaves, washing machines and dishwashers became mainstream did you have a problem with those (individually) because the work they did made life easier? Instead would you rather perform a longer, harder and more tedious task to get the desired effect?

Technology is there to add convenience to our lives and make living it more easier. Would you throw away your toaster and stand over an open fire and poke at it with a very long stick with bread attached at the bottom end of it.... :roll:

singlespeedexplosif

When microwaves, washing machines and dishwashers became mainstream did you have a problem with these (individually) because the work they did to make life easier (ultmately freeing up our spare time) could be replicated by doing a longer, harder and less productive tasks?

not at all. because the word they did made life easier (ultimately freeing up our spare time). Sat-Nav doesn't do this. It doesn't make things 'easier', it just makes people lazier.

Perhaps they are unsure of the junction. Perhaps the journey is longer than merely the M1

they are unsure of the junction? they should have looked at a map.
the journey is longer than the M1? I should hope so too, unless they live in service stations.


I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or technology simply because you don't agree with its usage.
I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or maps simply because you can't be bothered to use your brain and/or eyes.

bails87

WGWarburton wrote:

for some, getting "lost" is part of the experience... an opportunity to explore. For others, route preparation is clearly part of the hobby- you don't research, write up and carry route cards, unless the time spent doing so is part of the fun. There's a group of gadget and/or stats folk, who enjoy tracking and analysing, then there's the folk who like maps for their own sake.

I daresay there's a small group who don't get any of this and just want to be able to ride their bikes without getting lost

I'd imagine there are far, far more people who have a bike GPS for the last reason, than there are who just enjoy maps :?

"Getting lost" might be fun. But it's probably more fun when you know that if you end up really lost, you can still get home.

bails87

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or technology simply because you don't agree with its usage.
I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or maps simply because you can't be bothered to use your brain and/or eyes.

Sorry, I missed the post where DDD said that anyone who uses maps is either lazy or stupid.

singlespeedexplosif

Sorry, I missed the post where DDD said that anyone who uses maps is either lazy or stupid.

I don't think he/she did, did they?

bails87

So who's vilifying who(m?) for using maps?

DonDaddyD

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

not at all. because the word they did made life easier (ultimately freeing up our spare time). Sat-Nav doesn't do this. It doesn't make things 'easier', it just makes people lazier.

If you say so. I suspect your forefathers would say the same to you for daring to drive to places that they often walked to.

I guess you don't have a mobile, because walking to the phone box is preferred. And hell lets hope you're not using the internet to talk to people or email. Visiting friends and hand writing letters and then posting them must really add to your fitness levels. :roll:

Dude, Sat Nav making people lazy is a blinkered argument old folks use to berate young folks because they (old folks) don't understand the technology and it scares them. :roll:

they are unsure of the junction? they should have looked at a map.

And I'kll repeat my point:

I was in a rush a few weeks back, had to get to Epping from Wimbledon. No time to look in a map or turn the PC on, so I jumped in the car turned the Sat Nav on and was there in about 1hr (I was in a rush).

I'm not seeing the logic of vilifying someone or maps simply because you can't be bothered to use your brain and/or eyes.

See above.

Sat Nav making people lazy (or hints at not using their brains) is a blinkered argument old folks use to berate young folks because they (old folks) don't understand the technology and it scares them. :roll:

singlespeedexplosif

who is vilifying someone or technology simply because they don't agree with its usage? Certainly not me. I'm vilifying people for being stupid.