Garmin Edge Touring - getting started questions
kingrollo
Posts: 3,198
Hi,
Ive just ordered a Garmin Edge touring. My basic need is navigation. I want to be able to route away from busy road. For example I have one great route -
but then the only way I can get home is on one of two very busy dual carriageways - Ideally I would like to be able to return via quiet country lanes -
I've heard that routing direct from the device can be a little unreliable - so I need to know how to plot my own routes - what the best way of doing this ?
Finally - I got it cheap but it doesn't have a silicone case - which one should buy \ avoid ?
I've used an old edge 205 before and liked it but if Anyone has any other tips using the thing would be appreciated !
Ive just ordered a Garmin Edge touring. My basic need is navigation. I want to be able to route away from busy road. For example I have one great route -
but then the only way I can get home is on one of two very busy dual carriageways - Ideally I would like to be able to return via quiet country lanes -
I've heard that routing direct from the device can be a little unreliable - so I need to know how to plot my own routes - what the best way of doing this ?
Finally - I got it cheap but it doesn't have a silicone case - which one should buy \ avoid ?
I've used an old edge 205 before and liked it but if Anyone has any other tips using the thing would be appreciated !
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> I've heard that routing direct from the device can be a little unreliable - so I need to know how to plot my own routes - what the best way of doing this ?
Not sure if it's the best, but it's good enough. Use Ride with GPS: https://ridewithgps.com It's free.
Its cue points aren't very good (points which are designated as turn points "left", "right" or "straight"). Not very good as in, it puts cue points on sometimes where you don't want them at all, eg in the middle of a straight road with no turnings, and other times misses them out where they should be. I always edit those manually – on the RwG site while sorting the route out. Cue points aren't that important though really, just useful/good to have right.
While doing that I also check its other shortfall: It sends you down totally unsuitable paths/mud tracks sometimes, but not very often. One quick easy way to check this, although not a 100% foolproof but nearly always works, is to simply start dragging the little orange guy which you use to drop somewhere in order to be able to see streetview, but as soon as you start dragging it, all roads that the Google van has been down turn blue. If your route goes along a stretch which doesn't turn blue, that's a strong suspect of being a mud track or something, but not necessarily, but it shows you what to check. Check by using streetview; actually drop the orange guy round the bit in question.
So the route needs checking and a bit of tweaking possibly. Then you donwload it as a tcx file, copy it onto your device into its New Files folder and that's it.0 -
I've had a Touring Plus for 3 coming up to 3 years; been out in all weathers and bounced down the road a couple of times and I've never felt the need to pamper it with a silicone case.
It's reliable if you plot the route on Garmin Connect or Ride with GPS and upload it to the device. Asking the thing to suggest routes on the fly, or indeed a round trip route of a certain distance, can be interesting. I now know that a CR1-SL is capable of a bit of cyclocross as long as it's dry!0 -
It hasn't arrived yet
I did have a dabble with ride with gps - but it kept jumping all the over the place while plotting (ive stared at the map so long - I think have a route home in my head !!!)
How do you use courses other people have prepared ? - bearing in mind no one is likely to start a course outside my house !!!0 -
kingrollo wrote:It hasn't arrived yet
I did have a dabble with ride with gps - but it kept jumping all the over the place while plotting (ive stared at the map so long - I think have a route home in my head !!!)
How do you use courses other people have prepared ? - bearing in mind no one is likely to start a course outside my house !!!
RWGPS: Click on the "add/remove control point" option on the right on the route planning screen. Should help0 -
I plot my routes on Garmin Connect, pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Worth zooming in to any odd jinks and zig zags to ensure it has not routed you across a ploughed field (can happen). Any doubt its easy to flip across to google streetview to see what the terrain is really like. You can just drag the route about once you have set the start and end points to increase/decrease distance and avoid places you don't want to go.Rose Xeon CDX 3100, Ultegra Di2 disc (nice weather)
Ribble Gran Fondo, Campagnolo Centaur (winter bike)
Van Raam 'O' Pair
Land Rover (really nasty weather
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wongataa wrote:
I would generally modify a copy so they started/finished from where I live.kingrollo wrote:How do you use courses other people have prepared ? - bearing in mind no one is likely to start a course outside my house !!!
I think the OP should invest some time learning how to use RWGPS (or an equivalent) so he can plot routes
This might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqfLmRVYA6w
You then save the gpx track (or tcx) file to your pc, plug in your touring, drag the file to the newfiles fodler on the garmin, eject and you are good to go0 -
I have a 520 and use Strava to plot routes.
It works just fine if you just want a route on the display and aren't bothered about getting directions.
It tells you that you are off course but turn left/right are pretty random and best ignored.0 -
can i get the edge touring to display average speed while i am riding ?0
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kingrollo wrote:can i get the edge touring to display average speed while i am riding ?
I have not found a way yet, I wanted speed and average next to each other but could not do it.Rose Xeon CDX 3100, Ultegra Di2 disc (nice weather)
Ribble Gran Fondo, Campagnolo Centaur (winter bike)
Van Raam 'O' Pair
Land Rover (really nasty weather )0 -
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I got a the Edge specific black silicone case from Evans ... think it was £7.990
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kingrollo wrote:
Maybe you should just have a play with it and look at a few youtube videos explaining its features. There's loads of stuff it can do and you may not be making the most of it?0 -
feisty wrote:kingrollo wrote:
Maybe you should just have a play with it and look at a few youtube videos explaining its features. There's loads of stuff it can do and you may not be making the most of it?
Yes I intend to - I only got it Friday - and just wanted the basics set up for todays ride.
Given that some people on here will have been using these devices for a number of years - its not unreasonable to come on here and start a thread about using the thing though ?0 -
Is a tcx file better to use than a gpx_track?
I have always exported my routes from RWGPS as gpx_track files with only the odd routing issues but haven't tried tcx files, in what way are tcx files better?0 -
The only difference is that you can have course points in a tcx file. These will cause a message to pop up on the screen when you reach them and are usually used to say turn left/right/etc. Otherwise they are identical. I use gpx files as I don't find course points particularly useful.lemon63 wrote:Is a tcx file better to use than a gpx_track?
I have always exported my routes from RWGPS as gpx_track files with only the odd routing issues but haven't tried tcx files, in what way are tcx files better?
In RWGPS the course points on the current route are listed down the LH side of the screen when looking at the route map.0 -
ok - I have some routes in ridewithgps - how do i get these onto my garmin ?
(I know how it should work - ie export as GPX - then import to garman connect) but the import to garmin connect always fails...?)
assuming I cross that hurdle - do I have choice to get turn by turn instructions - or just follow a line on a map ? - if I have such a choice where do I select it ?0 -
> ok - I have some routes in ridewithgps - how do i get these onto my garmin ?
Download as tcx file onto your computer. Then drag/copy that file into the Garmin device's New Files folder.
> do I have choice to get turn by turn instructions - or just follow a line on a map ? - if I have such a choice where do I select it ?
I don't know if there's a switch for that on the Garmin device. But if you don't want cue points, instead of downloading as a tcx file download as a gpx file.0 -
ben----- wrote:> ok - I have some routes in ridewithgps - how do i get these onto my garmin ?
Download as tcx file onto your computer. Then drag/copy that file into the Garmin device's New Files folder.
> do I have choice to get turn by turn instructions - or just follow a line on a map ? - if I have such a choice where do I select it ?
I don't know if there's a switch for that on the Garmin device. But if you don't want cue points, instead of downloading as a tcx file download as a gpx file.
Thanks ben.
Ive heard some feedback that turn by turn instructions are unreliable - so was leaning towards following a line on a map (i used to do this on my old edge 205) - whats your (or anyone else's) opinion ?
Also read that having re route turned on can cause issues as it re routes the whole course - not just get you back on your own route ?0 -
If you have Recalculate switched on, when you stray from the route the thing recalculates the quickest way to your destination, not the quickest way to rejoin the route. And if you're doing a circular route and stray early on, it usually starts directing you back the way you've just come. So I leave Recalculate switched off.
If you ask it the fastest way back home it will plot a straight line, which would be useful for Superman, less so for a road cyclist.
Turn by turn directions from a previous ride saved as a course are utterly reliable. They are also pretty good for a course uploaded from a pc as long as the mapping used is based on Open Streetmap.0 -
> Ive heard some feedback that turn by turn instructions are unreliable - so was leaning towards following a line on a map (i used to do this on my old edge 205)
As I described in an earlier reply in this thread, the cue points which RwG generates isn't great; misses some, adds some in where you don't want them. But if you edit them and get them right pre ride, then they're totally reliable. It's the initial setup/data that makes them good or not. You need to manually edit them.
I don't know about your device. I use a 500. On that, route and cue points are not mutually exclusive. I use the route line nearly all the time, that's the main thing, and the cue points beep and display over/as well as.0 -
OK - saved a previously rode route as a course and tried to use it today. It was all going pretty well I had the compass screen - displayed then the map detailed the turns as approached it. However I then wanted to see the stats - so i swiped across on the touch screen and found - swiped a couple more and came to the map. This was where the problems started - When I tried to swipe again I was moving the map - no swiping through the screens - when I stopped I tried to find a home button - but only started another 'lap' (which ive never understood on previous garmins !)
and finally when I got home - Id only got roughly half the ride recorded ! - I also seem to remember configuring the date fields I wanted to display - but these had gone back to the standard ! - any ideas folks ? - or any explanation of what went wrong ?0
