Garmin 500, Bryton 40 or Bryton 50.

trekker66

Hello,

I was looking to get one of these computers, the main feature I am looking for is navigation. I know that the bryton 50 has mapping and the garmin 500 just has a line you follow but is it still quite easy to follow where to go on an unkown route?

Also where can you download the routes from? Are there thousands of routes to choose from so you will never really be left without one?

And finally, does the Bryton 40 do pretty much the same as the garmin 500, with similar navigation along a line?

Cheers

pitchshifter

trekker66 wrote:

garmin 500 just has a line you follow but is it still quite easy to follow where to go on an unkown route?

Fairly easy, as long as its got good signal. Its good if you have a general idea of where your going. I have often gone off course but managed to work my way back to the line.

trekker66

Thanks,

Does the Bryton 40 have the same breadcrum trail as the garmin 500?

And are the features such as uploading and looking at all your stats afterwards just as good on the Bryton 40 as the garmin 500?

rolf_f

trekker66 wrote:

Thanks,

Does the Bryton 40 have the same breadcrum trail as the garmin 500?

And are the features such as uploading and looking at all your stats afterwards just as good on the Bryton 40 as the garmin 500?

It does have pretty much the same features as a 500 plus extra pre prepared training sessions. It's not really much different to the Bryton 35 either but the packaging is much nicer than either the 35 or the 500. It's a fair bit narrower and slimmer so you hardly notice it mounted on a stem yet the screen is almost exactly the same size (it's marginally narrower but the aspect ratio is adjusted so it shows the same info). It almost looks like a conventional computer on the stem which isn't bad for security!

The breadcrumb trail seems less sensitive to signal strength than the 500 one but I do find myself occasionally overshooting a turn. I'm trying to get Bryton to increase the scale as it would be easier to follow then.

I think the general feeling is that the Garmin interface is better and more flexible than the Bryton one though they are planning on improving this (but Bryton can be slow). It depends on how fussy you are. As far as I am concerned it does what I need it to. There are loads of routes you can download but, tbh, I've never bothered. I always do my own routes on the website.

I have a 50 as well and it works very well but it is a bulky thing that I wouldn't want on my stem all the time. But then you can get a 40 and a 50 I reckon for the price of an 800.

trekker66

Can you do your own routes on the computer and then follow them on the breadcrumb trail?

Are you confident going to a completely new area and following a route on the breadcrumb trail?

Thanks

Pigtail

I've a Garmin 500 and think its an amazing piece of kit, but it has a major issue following routes. In particular you can't exceed a limit of around 50 miles.

calmx5

trekker66 wrote:

Can you do your own routes on the computer and then follow them on the breadcrumb trail?

Are you confident going to a completely new area and following a route on the breadcrumb trail?

Thanks

There are many mapping programs on the Internet which you can draw a map before you leave, then transfer the gpx file to your garmin.

I don't believe you can do this easily with the Bryton, plus with the garmin you can use strava, garmin connect etc. to check your stats

Gladiator

For the same price as the Garmin you can buy a Mio Cyclo 300 and it comes with full mapping instead of that breadcrumb sh*t.

Google it.

rolf_f

Gladiator wrote:

For the same price as the Garmin you can buy a Mio Cyclo 300 and it comes with full mapping instead of that breadcrumb sh*t.

Google it.

I did - the cheapest I can see the 300 for is £207 at Satnav discounts. This 'breadcrumb sh*t' as you so charmingly put it can be had for less than half the price. And you can get full mapping from other sources for less as well though the Mio does look a reasonable unit - neat but still bulky for an everyday unit when you aren't using the mapping at all.

Probably not the most helpful post you could have made but never mind.

Another unit worth checking is the Holux. Even cheaper than the Bryton options but again, slightly clumpy packaging.

daviesee

Gladiator wrote:

For the same price as the Garmin you can buy a Mio Cyclo 300 and it comes with full mapping instead of that breadcrumb sh*t.

Google it.

I Googled it. The reviews conclududed that it was sh*t.

gabriel959

daviesee wrote:

Gladiator wrote:

For the same price as the Garmin you can buy a Mio Cyclo 300 and it comes with full mapping instead of that breadcrumb sh*t.

Google it.

I Googled it. The reviews conclududed that it was sh*t.

+1

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/gps/1293 ... -cyclo-300

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/revi ... 300-review

springtide9

Personally I can't recommend the Edge 800 enough :-)

But the 500 is a bargain and probably good enough for most people. If you are prone to getting lost, you could always take a smartphone with you I guess.

I didn't realise until today, but Google Maps now has an Offline mode - allowing you to save blocks of maps to your phone at home and using them without any data while out and about. I can only assume Google navigation will also use these offline maps.