Sat Nav Advice / Recommendations

Hindmost

Hi,

I need a Sat Nav for cycling and my only requirements are good, clear maps and turn-by-turn instructions so I can try routes in parts of the world that I'm not familiar with.

A guy at Evans recommended the Garmin 800 or 810 but I think this has way more functionality than I need (I'm not fussed about recording times, cadence, heartrate, etc).

Can anyone suggest what I go for?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

ai_1

Obviously one pretty easy option is to use a smart phone in a weather proof cover, or one of the newer waterproof smart phones which should be safe from the elements so only needs a bar-mount.

wongataa

The options are:
Garmin 800/810/1000/Touring/Touring Plus
Mio 300 series/500 series
Bryton 50/60

The Garmin Touring model has less features than the 800/810/1000. I don't know much about the others. I can only really suggest going to the manufacturer's websites and seeing what they all do.

cougie

Half the fun of cycling is being semi lost. Thats how you find the best places.

I have a basic garmin that can follow breadcrumb trails after i've pored over an OS map - that would be a cheapish option.

meanredspider

The 800 is pretty poor when it comes to navigation. It can follow a pre-programmed route reasonably but let it think for itself and it all goes horribly wrong. Even developing a route in a Garmin Connect ahead of time can lead to some " interesting" routes.

If you really just want navigation, then the iPhone option would be OK and you could even just listen to voice rather than bar mount. Battery life is a bit iffy.

ai_1

meanredspider wrote:

....If you really just want navigation, then the iPhone option would be OK and you could even just listen to voice rather than bar mount. Battery life is a bit iffy.

Good point about battery life. That could be a problem with the display illuminated for long periods but I would think it should be sufficient for all but very long rides if you set the display to dim between turns or until queried. You can also get simple USB chargers which you could leave plugged into the phone to increase capacity.

keef66

I too thought the cadence and training features of the 800 / 810 would be wasted on me, but I was curious to have HR info on screen, so I went for the Garmin Touring Plus. More like a car sat nav, it comes with a detailed map of Europe pre-loaded, and it updates itself when syncing with Garmin Express. (although why updating a map should take 3 hours is a mystery to me)

I particularly like the round trip planner; you tell it how far you want to ride and it will propose 3 circular routes. You can see them on the map and also compare their elevation profiles (not really an issue round here...) then choose one and off you go.

Decent battery life if you don't have the backlight on constantly.

Hindmost

Hi,

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. It's very helpful.

Ai_1 wrote:

Obviously one pretty easy option is to use a smart phone in a weather proof cover

I thought about this but my battery won't last for the duration of some of my rides.

wongataa wrote:

The options are:
Garmin 800/810/1000/Touring/Touring Plus
Mio 300 series/500 series
Bryton 50/60

Thanks. I'll have a look at these non-Garmin devices too.

cougie wrote:

Half the fun of cycling is being semi lost. Thats how you find the best places.

I would normally agree but I don't fancy getting lost in countries that I'm not familiar with, especially when I'm alone.

meanredspider wrote:

The 800 is pretty poor when it comes to navigation. It can follow a pre-programmed route reasonably but let it think for itself and it all goes horribly wrong.

The 800 is the one Evan's are recommending me so I'll be wary of this, although I'm probably not going to require a device to plan routes for me - my main requirement is to load a pre-planned route onto the device so it can just tell me where to turn, etc. Basically a convenient alternative to reading an OS map whilst I'm riding.

keef66 wrote:

I too thought the cadence and training features of the 800 / 810 would be wasted on me, but I was curious to have HR info on screen, so I went for the Garmin Touring Plus. More like a car sat nav, it comes with a detailed map of Europe pre-loaded, and it updates itself when syncing with Garmin Express. (although why updating a map should take 3 hours is a mystery to me)

I particularly like the round trip planner; you tell it how far you want to ride and it will propose 3 circular routes. You can see them on the map and also compare their elevation profiles (not really an issue round here...) then choose one and off you go.

No doubt, I would end up using these features but they're not my main requirement.


Just one more question which might give a better idea of what I need: I'm doing a route at the end of the month and a friend has sent me the route, planned on Strava, so all I need is to somehow connect this Strava route with a device that can give me directions on screen. Would all the devices discussed do this?

My apologies for my ignorance with this. I'm not very tech-savvy.

Thanks.

defbref

Yes you just export the route as a gpx or tcx file and all the mentioned models should be able to handle it.

swj1

In the last nine months I have owned the 800, Bryton 60 and now the Mio 505.

I liked the 800 but the navigation was hit and miss and at time it just seemed to lose the plot completely! Also I found it was very hit and miss on connecting to my Mac after a ride, sometimes it would do if the first time and other times it would take ten.

The Bryton 60 was not great nav wise and the surprise me feature would take around twenty mins to plot a 50 mile route. Overall I came away with the feeling that the unit was underpowered CPU/Ram wise.

My favorite of the three is the Mio 505, the Sat Nav function is as good as a car and it re-routes very quickly if you do take a wrong turn. It also has Wifi so after a ride you don't even need to plug it in to a computer to sync and with Stava/Myfitneespal etc. If i had one criticism of the Mio is that the battery does not seem to last as long as the Garmin or the Bryton and I doubt you would get the advertised twelve hours, I have done a seven hour ride and that almost drained it totally.

All three will allow you to upload gpx/tpx routes.

Hindmost

swj1 wrote:

My favorite of the three is the Mio 505, the Sat Nav function is as good as a car and it re-routes very quickly if you do take a wrong turn. It also has Wifi so after a ride you don't even need to plug it in to a computer to sync and with Stava/Myfitneespal etc. If i had one criticism of the Mio is that the battery does not seem to last as long as the Garmin or the Bryton and I doubt you would get the advertised twelve hours, I have done a seven hour ride and that almost drained it totally.

Thanks a lot. This has narrowed down my options. I'll investigate the Mio too.

wongataa

Hindmost wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

The 800 is pretty poor when it comes to navigation. It can follow a pre-programmed route reasonably but let it think for itself and it all goes horribly wrong.

The 800 is the one Evan's are recommending me so I'll be wary of this, although I'm probably not going to require a device to plan routes for me - my main requirement is to load a pre-planned route onto the device so it can just tell me where to turn, etc. Basically a convenient alternative to reading an OS map whilst I'm riding.

I use a Garmin 800 and plan my routes before I go out and load them onto the device, and it tells me where to turn etc. It works fine doing this when set up properly. There is the occasional glitch but nothing major and I'm sure all the mentioned devices will have the odd glitch somewhere.

One bonus of Garmin units is the ability to your own/downloaded custom maps.

stueys

The garmin 800 navigates fine if you get the settings right. The default settings are hopeless and menu options aren't intuitive. Good guide here http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/foolproof- ... -edge-800/. Then it's a nice piece of kit that works well.

tangled_metal

What phone you got? Some allow you to change batteries. Those that do you can replace the batteries with spare ones. Recently got another the £15 for my old phone a Samsung. You can also get extended batteries that come with built in back. It makes the phone thicker but it lasts a bit longer. I reckon it's possible to rig up some battery pack to your frame topping the phone up as you go.

Also some phones have under powered batteries. I believe iPhone batteries are below 3000mah (think that's the units) which is poor if you have a screen with that resolution and the processor it has. My lg g2 has a bit more and works well with satnav on. Get at least most of the day with intermittent satnav user. Plus energy saving on it really works well.

Viewranger makes their own GPS for walking that comes with or you can buy a bike mount. Battery life is good. It uses os maps and you can export files to/from. Two models iirc with different screen sides.

Perhaps other walking GPS units might work. Satmap 10 or 12 can take a bike mount. They all have good battery life too. Garmin used to do one that was a car type GPS in the car but becomes an walking GPS level of detail when not on roads.

Philly8mt

I'd take a look at the Garmin Touring. I received one for Xmas and have been using it successfully since.

I've used the round trip routing quite a lot with hardly any mishaps and recently on holiday in Devon I just set off and when ready to return I just popped the village name in for it to guide me back.

Hindmost

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

Tangled Metal wrote:

What phone you got? Some allow you to change batteries. Those that do you can replace the batteries with spare ones. Recently got another the £15 for my old phone a Samsung. You can also get extended batteries that come with built in back. It makes the phone thicker but it lasts a bit longer. I reckon it's possible to rig up some battery pack to your frame topping the phone up as you go.

Thanks. I have a Galaxy but the screen is very poor and the battery doesn't last long at all. I thought about buying a second battery but I'm not confident that two will last the duration of some of my rides (I have a few long, full day rides planned).

alan_sherman

I use an android phone when I do this. Switch off wifi, have the screen off, use directions through an earpiece into one of your ears. If using google maps then cache the maps for the area beforehand.

tangled_metal

You can pick up cheap Galaxy or other android phones from secondhand shops if your's is not good enough. Galaxy S3 is cheap and even S4. I've seen qyuite a few HTC one phones too for £200 or even less. Sony Experia Z1 phones are sub-£200 at £150 even less if you are lucky. That is waterproof too but is sealed so the battery can not be replaced. Shame they seal them in really as batteries fail or start failing to take enough charge in less than the 2 years most contracts last.

I'm back on my 3-4 year old Galaxy S2 now that I am waiting for a repair on the LG G2. It is annoying but now I have a new battery it is at least keeping charge. I could switch that to my mapping phone on walks/rides in future.