Best device for GPS navigation

perfectmark

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

Another newbie buying question...

I'm starting to get to the point where my rides are becoming longer and I'm wanting to explore more, so I'd like to get a GPS.

I don't really have the need for one that has all the training/heart rate/power meter stuff, I'm purely interested in the navigation side of things. One where I can design a route in Strava/whatever, upload it to the device and then go ride, with it providing turn by turn directions.

So, what would people recommend? I know Garmin seem to be the default option but even within their range I'm a tad confused by all the options, and I assume there are plenty of others out there as well.

Oh, I'm not interested in using my phone. It's not waterproof and the battery won't last

Even if you don't want to use your phone mounted to the front of your bike with a water proof case, you could always get some bluetooth headphones and leave the phone in whatever bag you take with you. Then use google map's voice navigation to guide you. Allowing you to spend more time enjoying the ride rather than looking at your screen.

ugo.santalucia

hsiaolc wrote:

BTW they've already done an article here that the best GPS accuracy belongs to a phone.

That might be true, but if the accuracy is one netre or two metres, what difference does it make for you?

A GPS device is designed to do a job, a phone is designed to do a different job, although it has the capability to act as a GPS... A phone might have some water resistance, but I wouldn't want to leave it on youtr handlebar if it rains hard... GPS computers are better sealed. They are also lighter, which means if you drop them, they might not fall apart in the way a smartphone does. They generally have simpler operations, whereas with a phone you need to faff with the touch screen to get what you want, which is problematic on the go and even more so if you are wearing winter gloves.

lettingthedaysgoby

The only thing stopping me using my phone is battery life. It just isn't good enough for long rides, plus I want to know that if I need my phone in an emergency it will be charged up and ready to go.

redhanded

I used a Garmin Edge Touring for a while and was never happy with the routes generated by the GPS itself. I think bike GPS is inherently more complex than car GPS.

Personally, I'd look to plan the routes in advance and load them onto the GPS or use the map on the GPS but don't rely on it to calculate routes.

The thing about smart phones is the screen backlight kills battery life so either the screen is on all the time and you'll need to get external battery for rides of any length, or you'll need to faff around and wake the phone screen up (and maybe disable a screen lock as well...) A dedicated GPS device is "always on" so you just glance at it.

I replaced my Garmin with a Wahoo ELEMNT and have been very happy with it, I find the screen is more legible, particularly in bright sunlight. Most of the ELEMNT settings are done using a smart phone although you don't need a smart phone during a ride except for features like displaying phone notifications that obviously do rely on a phone. I don't bother with these myself.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

hsiaolc wrote:

BTW they've already done an article here that the best GPS accuracy belongs to a phone.

It's an old article, but came across this yesterday, found it ironic that the Nexus 7 2013 came out very strongly!

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/gps/g ... cated-gps/

stevie63

NitrousOxide wrote:

hsiaolc wrote:

BTW they've already done an article here that the best GPS accuracy belongs to a phone.

It's an old article, but came across this yesterday, found it ironic that the Nexus 7 2013 came out very strongly!

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/gps/g ... cated-gps/

Is that always the case though? I was looking up directions on my phone recently and it showed my current location as being around half a mile from where I actually was. I've also noticed that people who use Phones for strava record a longer distance than they actually do and the reason for this can be seen when you zoom into the track. Rather than being a straight line along the road it actually zigzags around a bit. I have never seen that kind of result from a dedicated device.

perfectmark

stevie63 wrote:

NitrousOxide wrote:

hsiaolc wrote:

BTW they've already done an article here that the best GPS accuracy belongs to a phone.

It's an old article, but came across this yesterday, found it ironic that the Nexus 7 2013 came out very strongly!

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/gps/g ... cated-gps/

Is that always the case though? I was looking up directions on my phone recently and it showed my current location as being around half a mile from where I actually was. I've also noticed that people who use Phones for strava record a longer distance than they actually do and the reason for this can be seen when you zoom into the track. Rather than being a straight line along the road it actually zigzags around a bit. I have never seen that kind of result from a dedicated device.

Some phones are better than others, but your phone just hadn't got a GPS fix yet and was using cell towers for triangulation.

chippyk

If I''m lost I take my phone out of my back pocket to navigate. My Edge 800 has some very strange ideas on the best route to take, I once rode from Lyme Regis to Yeovil and it wanted to go via Langport and Glastonbury. That said if I upload a route in to it is does a good job although Garmin connect likes farm tracks and overgrown footpaths.

On the subject of phones, I don't buy it but Cycling Plus has a plastic phone wallet this month I think. What's wrong with a zip lock sandwich bag?

paul_smith_srcc

I wanted one for the same reason you do, I'd now get the Garmin edge touring. That model did not exist when I bought my Garmin Edge 810, that as a link to my own personal blog that I effectively use as my own 'Janet and John' instructions of how to use the thing, as I spent the first few weeks a tad confused! Much of that information applies to route planning that is valid for whatever model you finally chose.

The advantage of the touring, is not only price, I do like that you can use it to generate it's own suggestions "with round-trip routing, you can tell Edge Touring how far you'd like to ride and then choose from three ride options that will bring you back to where you started", my 810 does not have that feature.

Of all the free route planning websites, I personally I use Ride With GPS. With Garmin Connect, when you plan a course it's not obvious that it shares routing with runners, so it may take you the shortest way around a roundabout, which may be anticlockwise (zoom in to proof read and drag to correct before saving) which will effectively send you off course each time you ride the correct legal way around one as a cyclist. It can also navigate you the wrong way down a one way street, less easy and sometimes impossible to spot when proof reading as you can't zoom in enough on the Google mapping, so the indications arrows referencing that a street is one way are not visible.

This is not an issue with Ride With GPS as their route planning also uses Google Maps so you can zoom in enough to view one way streets clearly, plus if you optimize for 'driving mode' one way streets and roundabouts will be navigated correctly.This is something I hope Garmin will change, can't believe they allow Garmin Connect to share routing with runners, no wonder many plan courses in alternative sites.

greasedscotsman

What's the base map like that comes with the Garmin Edge 1000? Is it any good?

keef66

Paul_Smith SRCC wrote:

I wanted one for the same reason you do, I'd now get the Garmin edge touring.

The advantage of the touring, is not only price, I do like that you can use it to generate it's own suggestions "with round-trip routing, you can tell Edge Touring how far you'd like to ride and then choose from three ride options that will bring you back to where you started", my 810 does not have that feature.

As a Touring Plus owner of 3 years now I can say that this was also appealing to me. I'd tell it how far to go, and then choose the route that would mean I had a tailwind on the way home. Often it's come up with interesting routes that took me to places and down roads I'd never considered. On the other hand, it has on a number of occasions also taken me well off-piste, sometimes down farm tracks with no way out, sometimes suggesting overgrown footpaths which would have troubled a determined walker with a machete. No amount of faffing with the settings would stop it doing this; it seems to have a liking for choosing NCN routes and any off-road detours it can find. It seems that Garmin's implemetation of the routing information is different from the Open Streetmap on which it's based. I've checked the impassable suggestions on OSM, and it clearly tags them as unsuitable for cycling, but the demented Garmin still routes me along them. So all I'd say is check it's suggested routes against a map or your local knowledge.

And if you're doing a circular route,turn off Recalculate. If it loses sight of the satellites it will then replot the route to your destination, which is usually back the way you've just come.

And if you do get lost and ask it to find the quickest way home it will plot a straight line. OK if you're a crow, not so useful for a road cyclist...

Don't get me wrong, I still think it's the best choice for me. Love the included maps for the whole of Europe, with free lifetime updates. Battery life seems pretty good too, and it's survived many drenchings and a few bounces. Just don't blindly follow it's routing suggestions. At one point I did about 2.5 miles of CX down some very badly rutted farm tracks on my CR1-SL, and ended up in a farmyard with no way out but another 2.5 miles uphill back the way I'd come.

I did find out how well I'd put the bike together though!

flasher

greasedscotsman wrote:

What's the base map like that comes with the Garmin Edge 1000? Is it any good?

If you buy the EU version it comes with full EU mapping, no need to buy other maps.

Garmin wrote:

Along with in-ride challenges and connected features, Edge 1000 offers advanced bike-specific navigation and mapping capabilities. The preloaded Garmin Cycle Map includes OSM (Open Street Map) content with routable road and cycle paths, elevation data, points of interest and address search. Mapping data is stored onboard the Edge, so your access to navigation and performance capabilities isn’t dependent on mobile phone coverage, and map updates are free.

greasedscotsman

OK. Cool, thanks for that.

niblue

I followed the DC Rainmaker advice for putting free maps onto my Garmin 810 and that works well.