Garmin advice
jezinio
Posts: 21
Hi - I am doing a charity ride from Land's End to John O'Groats, UK, in May - www.e2e-rtb.co.uk if anyone's interested. I am cycling solo and think I eed a sat nav - don't want to go any further than necessary! I'm looking at the Garmin Edge 800 and would idelly like to load all of my 13 days worth of routes to the device before I set off. Has anyone experience of the 800 and can tell me if this is possible? Any other general comments on the device?
Many thanks
Many thanks
0
Comments
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No reason why not. I'd load 13 seperate courses using Garmin Base Camp and number them 1-13. You could also use Bike Route Toaster, Tracklogs etc. It can easily cope with this number of courses. Only problem I have had is if you have the redirect facility switched on (this is supposed to put you back on course by the shortest route if you go off for some reason) it sems to go a bit nuts - telling you to turn around etc. Not a problem though - just switch off the redirect function and use the on screen map to get back on course if you divert for some reason. Your only other challenge will be battery charging. I recharge mine every day although I guess it might last 2 days. Access to a 13amp socket for an hour or so will do it (plus of course youll need the charger).0
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The Garmin Dakota is less sophisticated as a bike computer than the 800 (and it is a lot cheaper at about £180), but it has the advantage of using 2 AA batteries. I toured for 2 weeks using it with a supply of about 10 AA's I took with me. No worries about finding mains power every day. It does all your trip stuff (speed, max speed, average, moving average, altitude etc etc) mapping, navigation (on downloaded routes, routing to destination on routable maps, or just following a compass). You can buy full UK OS mapping for about £100 but I have managed fine with open street maps (uk and abroad, on and off road). I think the Edge is best for training and day rides, but for touring the Dakota was my choice and it has done everything I want. I have since bought a HRM strap to go with it (£26), and it would run the cadence sensor if I wanted it.0
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careful
Many thanks for this advice - just what I was looking for. I should be near a plug every night so charging shouldn't be a problem.
Do you use the base map supplied with the unit or have you bought additional maps?0 -
alfablue
Great - thanks for your help0
