Garmin Edge Touring experiences?

evovilol

Hi All,

Haven't seen much written or said about this particular GPS cycle computer. Was simply wondering if anyone in the forums have had any good/bad experiences using it?

Considering buying it as I've (finally) started going out for rides with some others but would like to be able to download the GPX files beforehand and navigate the route (should I be in front leading the pack) or be able to find my way home if I'm dropped and also make my own routes or do solo rides with confidence.

My understanding is that it's pretty similar to the Edge 800/810 with software tweaks to make it simpler and with different maps. Not too interested in heart rate monitoring, cadence and the whole ANT+ thing so the Edge Touring+ and the Edge 800/810 seem overkill for my needs.

hp1975

I managed to navigate across france using just an Edge 500 with preloaded courses from the Garmin Connect site with only a couple of Nav errors. The Edge Touring should be infinitely better!

itboffin

Or try http://osmand.net/ from online & offline OSM maps for your phone with full nav functionality and free

Pot Odds

Is it wrong that I have more Garmins than bikes ?

I started with a 200 then shortly after blagged a 500 (£25 quid with HRM/Cadence ).

I have now just purchased the new edge touring as on paper I suspect this was what i really wanted (just wasnt aware it was in pipeline). I was after a GPS that gave key in ride data (all the usual stuff - i havnt used the 500's HRM or cadence for anything more than curiosity) as well as course mapping. Bread crumb course routes with turn by turn were possible on the 200 and better on the 500 with its additional cue screens and countdowns to turns etc. However a GPS with on screen maps was what i really wanted but without the cost of the 800/810.

So ~£140 later I have an edge touring (£199 rrp - i did some fancy footwork 10% discount stacking).

Unfortunately due to poor weather ive only had chance to take it on 2 or 3 quick rides.

Course routes are good on the 500 (tcx from bikeroute toaster) but its much easier seeing the car style sat nav display on the touring when you get to junctions. The 500 was more than adequate (several 50 mile plus rides) but I just fancied the mapping as im doing increasingly longer rides. The ability to see more clearly if you've missed a turn and how to work around this is also useful - you normally notice on the 500 if you miss a turn (it shouts at you) but ive had a few where ive sailed 1/4 mile past on a fast decent - navigating back is then less easy. The Touring also has the advantage of naming the road which you are turning onto.

I'm still in early days of use but tbh if you dont want HRM / cadence then i'd go for the touring - its rumoured halfords have a 10% off weekend coming this week and if you can stack further (eg british cycling member) then its a good time to buy.

The halfords one is also a 'special' (or at least mine was) which comes with the 2 normal garmin twist mounts as well as an out front mount (which are nortmally £20+) and a rubber case (usually £7).

I'll be selling my 200 as I blagged my 500 almost immediately after I got it. As my 500 was so cheap i'll be keeping it for virtual partner solo rides (touring doesnt have VP) as well as using my touring for longer rides.

Will happily post back further user experience once ive had more chance to use it.

PO

evovilol

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Have a unit on its way now and will post a mini-review somewhere at some point once I get it and use it.

As Pot Odds mentions I've got no need for the HRM or Cadence features or the barometric altitude sensor in the Plus edition (never missed it before, after all).

I decided against OsMand as I need a proper case for my phone(s) to mount on the bike - which proved impossible (Nexus One, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4, can't find a good phone mount for any of them), not to mention I don't want any of those phone mounted to the bike as you like to be able to make a phone call home once you've stuck the bike in a ditch and you've broken your phone. :-/

rodgers73

Has anyone had any experiences of this since last year?

I'm considering one of these for Christmas

evovilol

Hi rodgers73

Since my last post I've had some good use of Garmin Edge Touring. My main gripes are that

A) It's quite slow compared to the Edge 800/810. Calculating routes take a long time, especially if its longer or even over 100km. Frustrating when it doesn't update during your ride in a timely manner and you've made a wrong turn somewhere.

I now want cadence and heart rate logged and power and more accurate speed and elevation data etc. I've grown as a rider and want more data than the Edge Touring features or supports. My next upgrade is probably the Edge 1000 or competing device (whatever is available).

Having said that I'm quite happy with my purchase. It's paid for itself several times over in terms of usefulness and it's allowed me to lead rides and go on solo rides with confidence. No more worrying where I am or if my phone battery will last a 112 call (trust me, the time will come, especially if you do lots of group rides).

It's stood up to some punishment as well, some crashes here and there and still going strong. A few chips in the plastic but still working fine. You don't need to treat it like it's made of papier mache. Handles rain admiraly as well.

Tried to download open source maps (open street map) which works fine but haven't had much need. Maybe I'd you travel more you would find that particular feature more relevant.

My final tought today would probably be if there is a unit that brings more value for money. If you can get the Edge 800/810 for a good price I would probably go for one of those instead.

Hope it helps!

rodgers73

Thanks for that - roughly how far after a wrong turn are you going before it responds? (time or distance)

evovilol

If you've got a course loaded (gpx or tcx file etc) it will tell you you're 'off course' straight away. It will pick this up simply by knowing your GPS position and the course you told it to guide you along (and the fact you're not on it any longer).

It's the time it takes for it to recalculate the route to get you back on course that can take some time. I've learnt by now that it's easier to go back and pick up the course yourself instead of it attempting to guide you back (this usually involves simply looking at the map and going back to the last turn or intersection).

Just make sure you stay on course you'll never have a problem! :-)

Hope it helps

rodgers73

Good stuff - cheers very much!

keef66

Mine has on a couple of occasions tried to send me along footpaths despite being set to riding on road / avoid narrow tracks. The last one would've been a challenge for a walker!

And twice when I've been using the round trip routing option it's gone completely mental and started directing me back home the way I've just come. Once that may have been prompted by my refusal to follow an utterly pointless cycle path, but the last time I was out in the sticks following the directions faithfully, and it just suddenly decided it had had enough and wanted to go home.

It does seem to have a certain preference for routing you along stretches of NCN, sometimes going out of the way to find them.

And if you ever decide it's you that's had enough, and ask it to plot the most direct route home it will give you a straight line. Useful if you're a pigeon, not so much for a cyclist.

I've yet to try following a course I've uploaded to the unit; maybe that will be a less frustrating experience?

Bar Shaker

keef66 wrote:

Mine has on a couple of occasions tried to send me along footpaths despite being set to riding on road / avoid narrow tracks. The last one would've been a challenge for a walker!

This is a Garmin mapping problem on all units if you use GoTo. Garmin Connect is the same.

Either use www.ridewithgps.com or strava to map rides, to avoid this.

You cannot import good, useful rides into Garmin Connect, for some reason.