GPS for tight short sighted luddite ?

DeVlaeminck

I'm a little short sighted - at my age with my glasses on the screen is a little blurred so I'd like a biggish screen.

I don't need turn by turn navigation, buzzers, live strava segments etc. All I want is a clear map that I can follow on and preferably off road so when I plot a route on strava I can download and follow it by seeing there is a turn coming up and if I want to take a short cut or something I can zoom out and get some idea of where I am an alternative routes. Basically just a decent sized map in front of me with a route downloaded is what I'm after.

I've got a Wahoo Element Bolt that does me for 95% of my riding so I'm happy to go second hand rather than fork out too much on a unit I only need for occasional rides - I don't need all the bells and whistles you get on modern units anyway - even happy to connect it to a PC via a USB like my old Garmin 705. I know the Wahoo can be used for navigation and I do use it as such I'd just prefer something more along the lines of the 705 but with a bit bigger screen.

Is there anything either new or from the last few years that fits the bill - may even be a walking rather than a cycling GPS if I can get a decent mount.

Darius_Jedburgh

ETrex?

keef66

Garmin Edge Touring off Ebay? Mine's utterly rubbish at turn by turn directions or calculating a route on the fly, but it seems OK if I upload a route and just follow the line on the map. None of your wireless / bluetooth nonsense either; good old USB 1.0 cable with map updates measured in days...

Must be plenty of similarly disillusioned owners dumping them in favour of the Edge 530 now?

DeVlaeminck

Thanks - yes the Touring or even the Explore look interesting

surfercyclist

Just do what I do, wear sunglasses with bi-focals in. Sorted.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

You can customise the number of data fields on at least some Lezyne GPS models, less fields mean bigger numbers. Applies to at least the Super GPS (which can be had for under £100 these days), I expect it's a feature of the newer models like the Mega XL (~£150) too.

keef66

He doesn't want multiple fields or numbers, just one field with a map / route...

ibr17xvii

Elemnt or the new Roam?

Appreciate you might not want all the metrics but as I'm sure you do with your Bolt you can have as much or as little on the screen as you want.

DeVlaeminck

Yeah it's really a big screen and a decent map in colour I want I suppose. I think the touring / explorer Garmin's might be the way to go or look at a hiking GPS with a bike mount.

I find the Wahoo ok for data if I stick it on 3-4 data fields - I guess that may change as I get older - the map I find less clear and being black and white doesn't help.

StillGoing

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I'm a little short sighted - at my age with my glasses on the screen is a little blurred so I'd like a biggish screen.

I don't need turn by turn navigation, buzzers, live strava segments etc. All I want is a clear map that I can follow on and preferably off road so when I plot a route on strava I can download and follow it by seeing there is a turn coming up and if I want to take a short cut or something I can zoom out and get some idea of where I am an alternative routes. Basically just a decent sized map in front of me with a route downloaded is what I'm after.

I've got a Wahoo Element Bolt that does me for 95% of my riding so I'm happy to go second hand rather than fork out too much on a unit I only need for occasional rides - I don't need all the bells and whistles you get on modern units anyway - even happy to connect it to a PC via a USB like my old Garmin 705. I know the Wahoo can be used for navigation and I do use it as such I'd just prefer something more along the lines of the 705 but with a bit bigger screen.

Is there anything either new or from the last few years that fits the bill - may even be a walking rather than a cycling GPS if I can get a decent mount.

Use disposable contacts whenever you're riding and stick with the Bolt. I only have to wear the right side one to enable me to see the Wahoo even on maximum data fields setting.

handful

philthy3 wrote:

Use disposable contacts whenever you're riding and stick with the Bolt. I only have to wear the right side one to enable me to see the Wahoo even on maximum data fields setting.

+1 for the single contact lens. I never wear 2 because they can dry out an affect your vision on a long descent so best to leave one eye to see where you're going!

DeVlaeminck

Each to their own, I think I'd prefer to wear specs, be able to see out of both eyes and just get a gps with a slightly bigger screen and clearer map than the wahoo if I can find one for reasonable money.

Matthewfalle

binoculars on a flip up/flip down mechanism on your helmet.

#frikkin'hellthatsbig

DeVlaeminck

Matthewfalle wrote:

binoculars on a flip up/flip down mechanism on your helmet.

#frikkin'hellthatsbig

That would be the obvious solution but on these kind of rides I don't always wear a helmet.

StillGoing

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Each to their own, I think I'd prefer to wear specs, be able to see out of both eyes and just get a gps with a slightly bigger screen and clearer map than the wahoo if I can find one for reasonable money.

Depends whether you need corrective vision in both eyes. I'm long sighted, so can't see the GPS device when displaying a number of fields. One lens in the defective eye and I can still see long distance, but can also read the GPS device. If doing cafe stops, I can remove the cycling glasses and still read the menu or any phone messages if I need to.