Garmin, Bryton etc. Why????

migrantwing

The more I look, the less I understand. I'm sure I'm not the only person scratching his head, but aren't a lot of people out there falling for a sales ploy? I understand that it's nice to have a bike computer that gives you speed, distance, time etc, but aren't these Garmin and Bryton units and the like a bit...OTT? I can fully understand having a £300+ bike computer if you want to keep an eye on your heart rate, cadence, calories burned etc if you are a serious cycling athlete but, for the mere mortal, aren't they just another way for us to spend that money that's burning a hole in our pocket?

I use an Android phone with downloaded free apps that give me all this information plus GPS routing. The only benefit I see with bike specific computers is a much better battery life. After all 10 miles at 20mph on a bike with a Garmin is still 10 miles at 20mph on a bike without one.

APIII

When it's my turn to lead the club ride, I'll use the garmin for turn by turn navigation of the route as there will inevitably be roads I'm not familiar with.
I also set up interval workouts based on power and use it on the turbo.
I use it when riding in the mountains so I can see how much climbing there is to the top.
Aside from that, it's useful as a lifesaver i.e. you can find nearest garage if you run out of fodd/drink when you are on unfamiliar roads.
Having said all that, I do know plenty of people who ride the same old roads, yet feel the need for a garmin 800, for what purpose I don't know.

MountainMonster

The main reason I have stopped using phone based GPS programmes is because it drains the battery so much, and since I am self employed I need to keep in contact with clients, which can sometimes happen out on a ride. Annoying, I know, but I would rather save what little battery life I have when I get out ICE.

Following on from your points i'm guessing you think buying nice kit is a waste? Why have a nice bike when a £300 bike does the job? Why buy more expensive kit when you can get decent enough stuff for 20 a jersey? Some people just like having tech kit. It's not a ploy to get people to buy them. Many people find them useful so that is enough.

zx6man

300+ tend to have the Nav options so to have that you need to pay. Some of the cheaper ones are not much more than a standard computer, and dont need the sensors on the forks etc, much better and can easily swap between bikes.

migrantwing

APIII: That's fair enough. When I posted, I had the latter person you mention in mind.

MountainMonster: Not often we see you over on 'this side' How ya doin'?

I completely agree. Battery life on a phone sucks. I have an HTC Wildfire S and can only get about 3 hours max when using GPS. I don't think buying nice kit is a waste at all, I was just referring to the Everyday Joe that spends all this money on hi tech gadgets and rides 3 miles on the same route every day, as APII mentions.

Both of you. As mentioned, I use GPS for mainly route planning. I like to create a route to and from somewhere I may not be familiar with and go out on a 60+ mile ride. What Garmin/Bryton units would you suggest for route planning, as I know some of the lower priced ones don't have live routing. It's not that I'm against these units, I think they are great, it's just the price that needs justifying to me, personally speaking.

MountainMonster

I'm doing well mate, how about you?

As I always say "to each his own" if having that Garmin makes him wants to get out more and ride, so be it. It was their money, and it makes them happy, more power to them. At the end of the day it is one extra person on a bike, so all good.

migrantwing

Good, good! I'm alright, mate. Cheers.

Yeah, as you say, each to his own. I'd have one myself, but just can't justify the cost. Yep, one more person on a bike

APIII

I have a 705, and create maps on mapmyride, export them as a gpx to the garmin folder and take it from there. It can take ages for the unit to be ready to navigate once I select the route, like 10 or 15 minutes if it's a long route. I *think* using courses would be quicker, where you just follow the breadcrumb trail, but there are far more qualified people than me to advise.

junglist_matty

I use a Garmin Edge 500...

I like that I can pick and choose from 100(ish) readouts and configure what's displayed on each screen.... This way I don't have to use default settings chosen by manufacturer that usually don't suit what I want.

GPS Battery life over 16 hours..... with my phone tracking a ride, I'm lucky if I get 3hours, so for me it's a no brainer, especially as in the summer months I ride plenty of rides over 3 hours where a phone would be useless.

rolf_f

The cheapest Garmins and Brytons are well under £100 and how I'm supposed to get my old Nokia to navigate for me considering it doesn't know where it is is anyones guess.

At the OP - I'm scratching my head why people fall for all this Android Smart phone guff with the annual replacements and high line rentals. Tools for the job and all that

Considering I cover up to £250 miles or more in a week, I think it would be a bit bizarre for me to inflict on myself a second rate tool for the job for the sake of a couple of hundred quid at the most.

Gazspurs

I have a Mio Cyclo & personally couldn't ride without it.

I tried to use apps for the iPhone but the battery just drained & I got the GPS falling out a lot down the country roads.

Personally I like to explore new areas but its also nice to know you can get back, find a POI when needs be.

I'm also cycling to a couple of MotoGP races next year (Lemans, Assen) so it will be handy to plan the routes in advance on the laptop & send the files across to follow the sat Nav.

Agreed I don't think they are essential but it is nice to have the peace of mind with one on board.

antfly

Edge 800 user here and love it, having tried phones for navigation in the past.
You don't have to be a serious athlete to want to know your cadence and heart rate {forget calories}, you can ride without it of course, but it's a lot better with if you want to improve and when you get it you will wonder how you managed without it.

majormantra

I'm extremely lazy so having my rides logged for me with minimal effort suits my lust for data. Before I had a Garmin I very vaguely tracked cumulative miles from my regular cycle computer but I couldn't easily see how much I'd ridden in a given week, month, season etc. Not to mention how HR and cadence are entertaining, if not strictly necessary.

gloomyandy

Another advantage of a dedicated unit is that they are weatherproof and in the case of units like the Garmin 500 very robust. No messing around with odd mounts and cases/covers for the phone, and less risk of your expensive iPhone getting wet or damaged.

I use a 500 and swap it around between three bikes. I've used it for touring to track my route and to provide simple breadcrumb navigation. The battery life is very good often lasting for two or three days before needing to be charged (which when you are camping can be a real bonus). Also means that my phone can stay turned off and so the battery in that will be good if I need it...

migrantwing

Rolf F wrote:

The cheapest Garmins and Brytons are well under £100 and how I'm supposed to get my old Nokia to navigate for me considering it doesn't know where it is is anyones guess.

At the OP - I'm scratching my head why people fall for all this Android Smart phone guff with the annual replacements and high line rentals. Tools for the job and all that

Considering I cover up to £250 miles or more in a week, I think it would be a bit bizarre for me to inflict on myself a second rate tool for the job for the sake of a couple of hundred quid at the most.

I use an HTC phone with a payandgo tarrif at £10 a month, which gives me free minutes, unlimited SMS messages and unlimited mobile data. That's why I do what I do. Cheap and cheerful

migrantwing

APIII wrote:

I have a 705, and create maps on mapmyride, export them as a gpx to the garmin folder and take it from there. It can take ages for the unit to be ready to navigate once I select the route, like 10 or 15 minutes if it's a long route. I *think* using courses would be quicker, where you just follow the breadcrumb trail, but there are far more qualified people than me to advise.

I use MapMyRide also, albeit via my phone. Great little program.

migrantwing

Interesting to read all the replies. Thanks, guys.

I'm not against the whole Garmin/Bryton stuff, it's just the cost vs actual required use. No doubt I'll be following in your shoes if and when the prices come down Again, battery life on an Android phone sucks. That's a plus for the Garmin/Bryton units.

antfly

Or if you come in to money...

migrantwing

antfly wrote:

Or if you come in to money...

Not much chance of that, mate

tiredofwhiners

Am I going to bounce my £600 mobile phone up and down on handlebars, subject it to shocks galore and have to put it inside a non-guaranteed allegedly weatherproof enclosure ? Nope.

It can stay safe in my back/side pocket and be cushioned while the rightly designed tool for the job, does its job. And when/if the Garmin packs up, I have enough battery left in my phone to find my way home, or call for help.

alihisgreat

- navigation
- training - Cadence and HR can be monitored and recorded
- Strava (if you have a crappy Iphone - My Samsung Galaxy nexus gives me ~9 hours recording Strava)

napoleond

I agree, no need at all.
I just carry a few OS maps in my back pocket in a metro carrier back for waterproofing.
If I want to know how far I've ridden I just take my average speed, estimated by taking the average speed of all the cyclists in the 'what's your average speed' thread and see how long I was riding, rounded down to the nearest hour.
If I get lost I always have my trusted Nokia 3210 to ring my mrs, I've not charged it up since August 2004. It's still got 2/3rds charge left.

Beatmaker

NapoleonD wrote:

I agree, no need at all.
I just carry a few OS maps in my back pocket in a metro carrier back for waterproofing.
If I want to know how far I've ridden I just take my average speed, estimated by taking the average speed of all the cyclists in the 'what's your average speed' thread and see how long I was riding, rounded down to the nearest hour.
If I get lost I always have my trusted Nokia 3210 to ring my mrs, I've not charged it up since August 2004. It's still got 2/3rds charge left.

LOL.

I like mine because I can swap between different bikes with different wheel sizes and not worry about magnets and recalibrating and stuff. As mentioned by others, If it goes launching down the road if I come off the bike its a lot more palatable to replace a £150 GPS than a £500 iPhone.

rolf_f

tiredofwhiners wrote:

Am I going to bounce my £600 mobile phone up and down on handlebars, subject it to shocks galore and have to put it inside a non-guaranteed allegedly weatherproof enclosure ? Nope.

£600 mobile phone? Where's a 'coughs and splutters' smiley when you need one? I'll just have to use these....

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

(nope, still not enough!)

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

(but, but..... why?.........)

Strith

Why what? Thats pretty much how much an iphone costs now.
I've seen people sellotape cheap samsung phones to their handle bars. I'll give that a miss.

rolf_f

Strith wrote:

Why what? Thats pretty much how much an iphone costs now.
I've seen people sellotape cheap samsung phones to their handle bars. I'll give that a miss.

It's funny how people just accept ludicrous inflation like that. Similar to how people accept that a computer glitch on their car might require a new CPU for £1000.

It's just madness to spend that much money on a phone and there is no need for it to cost that much - except that people are daft enough to pay it.

Ricey83

Can you upload routes to a Garmin Edge 200?

Strith

Very true, but it looks soooo nice and shiny, and I'm guilty of similar when it comes to bikes.

My girlfriemd finds it very difficult to understand why I must spend £300 on wheels when I can get ones just as round for £100!

I got my garmin 800 considerably cheaper in taiwan, so she didn't say anything about that one.

Strith

Ricey83 wrote:

Can you upload routes to a Garmin Edge 200?

I believe you can upload courses, but I've never done that.

sigorman85

I'm going to buy a edge 800 In the new year I'm sick of going for a ride and the app part recording or totally going off track plus I like to feed my hobby with "gadgets" lol

PK1

1) Yes you can download courses to a Garmin 200
2) My Bryton 35 has just failed due to the winter weather. -5C followed by torrential rain has left it with a blank screen. It's drying out on a radiator , hopefully it will recover.