GPS for long distance cycling to be run on USB

[Panoramix]

I am looking (on behalf of somebody) for a GPS to do long distance. The plan is to keep it charged with a Luxos IQ2 while doing long distance stuff without assistance nor batteries in the bag.

He also needs heartrate.

So that rules out all GPS with batteries such as the Dakota or the various etrex.

In the list, I can see

• Edge800 : good price as it is the end of the line but is the 400km bug ironed out?
• Edge 810 : the position thing is a bit of a gimmick but is it less buggy than the 810?
• the twonav Sportiva2+ : I've met just one person using it who liked it but I don't know if it can be run on USB power
• the mio : ISTR that the software is glitchy but not too sure about this

Any comments ?

Ideally, the person wants something that is intuitive and just works without too much tweaking.

[fuaran]

I am looking (on behalf of somebody) for a GPS to do long distance. The plan is to keep it charged with a Luxos IQ2 while doing long distance stuff without assistance nor batteries in the bag.

He also needs heartrate.

So that rules out all GPS with batteries such as the Dakota or the various etrex.

The Etrex or Dakota etc will run on a USB supply, just plug it in to the USB port. Though it won't charge the batteries. They will even run without any batteries installed, though probably a good idea to use them just in case the external power is lost or cable unplugged.

The Etrex 30 or Dakota 20 or Oregon 600 etc will work with an ANT+ heart rate monitor.

[bikey-mikey]

810 has probably the best intrinsic battery life...

I did a 200 today and still had 40% battery remaining - rode just over 10 hours including stop for CAIK

It's pretty near the 17 hour claim..... (60%  = 10 hours 90%=15 hours, 100% = 16.66 hours) YBLMV

I can top up its charge using a technet iep570 which allows at least 30 further hours operation, and it's a USB from the technet, and a garmin micro USB at the 810 end

Not sure what you mean by 'the position thing' but the original 'upload via iPhone and allow people to see where you are and your course etc' failed for me, largely cos the iPhone ran through its battery in a matter of five hours, and once the iPhone lost connection to its network all hell broke loose... It would not reconnect no matter what I did....

Mind you the screens are amazingly configurable, the number of screens available, ability to track power, heart rate etcetera is without peer....

It had some bugs early in the 2.9 firmware update, but all seems well now...



(I still run my 800 in parallel on the DIYxGPS rides, though, and it doesn't struggle over 400 kms now...)

[Panoramix]

I am looking (on behalf of somebody) for a GPS to do long distance. The plan is to keep it charged with a Luxos IQ2 while doing long distance stuff without assistance nor batteries in the bag.

He also needs heartrate.

So that rules out all GPS with batteries such as the Dakota or the various etrex.

The Etrex or Dakota etc will run on a USB supply, just plug it in to the USB port. Though it won't charge the batteries. They will even run without any batteries installed, though probably a good idea to use them just in case the external power is lost or cable unplugged.

The Etrex 30 or Dakota 20 or Oregon 600 etc will work with an ANT+ heart rate monitor.

Yes but if you go on a long tour, the batteries will discharge gradually as the dynamo won't charge uphill at night, when you stop or can't connect the USB due to pouring rain etc...

[Panoramix]

810 has probably the best intrinsic battery life...

I did a 200 today and still had 40% battery remaining - rode just over 10 hours including stop for CAIK

It's pretty near the 17 hour claim..... (60%  = 10 hours 90%=15 hours, 100% = 16.66 hours) YBLMV

I can top up its charge using a technet iep570 which allows at least 30 further hours operation, and it's a USB from the technet, and a garmin micro USB at the 810 end

Not sure what you mean by 'the position thing' but the original 'upload via iPhone and allow people to see where you are and your course etc' failed for me, largely cos the iPhone ran through its battery in a matter of five hours, and once the iPhone lost connection to its network all hell broke loose... It would not reconnect no matter what I did....

Mind you the screens are amazingly configurable, the number of screens available, ability to track power, heart rate etcetera is without peer....

It had some bugs early in the 2.9 firmware update, but all seems well now...



(I still run my 800 in parallel on the DIYxGPS rides, though, and it doesn't struggle over 400 kms now...)

By "position thing" I meant the tracking.

Thank you so the 800 is a good option then.

Is the 810 more user friendly than the 800?

[fuaran]

Yes but if you go on a long tour, the batteries will discharge gradually as the dynamo won't charge uphill at night, when you stop or can't connect the USB due to pouring rain etc...

The Luxos U has a built in buffer battery, so that should continue providing power if you stop or slow down for a few minutes. I'm not sure what sort of capacity this is, so don't know how long it could actually power an Etrex for.
But still, a pair of AAs last about 25 hours in the Etrex. So if you allow a hour without dynamo power per day, that could be enough for several weeks touring.

[bikey-mikey]

810 has probably the best intrinsic battery life...

I did a 200 today and still had 40% battery remaining - rode just over 10 hours including stop for CAIK

It's pretty near the 17 hour claim..... (60%  = 10 hours 90%=15 hours, 100% = 16.66 hours) YBLMV

I can top up its charge using a technet iep570 which allows at least 30 further hours operation, and it's a USB from the technet, and a garmin micro USB at the 810 end

Not sure what you mean by 'the position thing' but the original 'upload via iPhone and allow people to see where you are and your course etc' failed for me, largely cos the iPhone ran through its battery in a matter of five hours, and once the iPhone lost connection to its network all hell broke loose... It would not reconnect no matter what I did....

Mind you the screens are amazingly configurable, the number of screens available, ability to track power, heart rate etcetera is without peer....

It had some bugs early in the 2.9 firmware update, but all seems well now...



(I still run my 800 in parallel on the DIYxGPS rides, though, and it doesn't struggle over 400 kms now...)

By "position thing" I meant the tracking.

Thank you so the 800 is a good option then.

Is the 810 more user friendly than the 800?

810 far superior

Better longer battery life

More screens more info

Very easy to use

[Aushiker]

I now tour with a Garmin Edge 810 which I keep powered up with a dynamo but previously I toured with a Garmin Edge 800 including doing a 3,000 km tour. It worked fine for the tour and the 810 works fine now. Personally I am happy with either and only went with the 810 because my 800 died one last time. So far the 810 has proved to be more reliable.

Andrew

[Panoramix]

Thank you, that was extremely useful.

[chrisbainbridge]

Look at the new Mio on DC Rainmakers blog.  Some really interesting things coming which would probably sway me away from a Garmin if I was buying new.

[frankenthorn]

In the list, I can see

• Edge800 : good price as it is the end of the line but is the 400km bug ironed out?
• Edge 810 : the position thing is a bit of a gimmick but is it less buggy than the 810?
• the twonav Sportiva2+ : I've met just one person using it who liked it but I don't know if it can be run on USB power
• the mio : ISTR that the software is glitchy but not too sure about this

There's the Teasi Pro?  Which I don't know anything about other than what's one that page, which is where I randomly discovered it whilst trying to cost something else entirely on Bike24!  Google'ing suggests that whilst it didn't come with UK maps initially, they've now been added as a downloadable option.

Something that interests me about this device is that it appears the optional speed/cadence sensor may be two units joined by a data cable, giving the tantalising option of replacing the cable with a longer one for recumbent riders.   (Or it may just one lump with a permanently attached cable?)  I've emailed the makers in the hope of a definitive answer ...  (If I get one, hopefully I will remember to post a reply to this message with it!)

[Dave_C]

The Etrex takes standard AAs. Use Lithium batts and it will last an 800 km audax easy (or 3 days of cycling). Plus when ypu swap old for new batteries the recording track log doesn't stop. AAs are available in every village shop and garage forecourt. Seriously unless you ride sportives or less than 12 hour rides, I don't know why anyone doesn't use AAs.

I thought the Edge series are for racing?

[fuaran]

Something that interests me about this device is that it appears the optional speed/cadence sensor may be two units joined by a data cable, giving the tantalising option of replacing the cable with a longer one for recumbent riders.   (Or it may just one lump with a permanently attached cable?)  I've emailed the makers in the hope of a definitive answer ...  (If I get one, hopefully I will remember to post a reply to this message with it!)

There are ANT+ sensors with a cable in between the speed and cadence parts. eg from Decathlon for £17. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/ant-speed-rate-sensor-cycle-computer-id_8181211.html
So you could use that with the Edge 800/810 or Etrex 30 etc. I don't know how easy it would be to extend the cable.

Or you can get separate ANT+ speed/cadence sensors, so you could put them where you like (or just use a cadence only sensor, GPS is good enough for speed most of the time). eg from Bontrager. http://www.bontrager.com/node/sensors/
These would work with the Edge 800/810, but won't actually work with the Etrex or Dakota etc.

[Aushiker]

Something that interests me about this device is that it appears the optional speed/cadence sensor may be two units joined by a data cable, giving the tantalising option of replacing the cable with a longer one for recumbent riders.   (Or it may just one lump with a permanently attached cable?)  I've emailed the makers in the hope of a definitive answer ...  (If I get one, hopefully I will remember to post a reply to this message with it!)

Another option for ANT+ devices is a separate cadence and speed sensors On my LoGo P-38 I have Bontager sensors but for my Giro 20 ATT I have just ordered from Bike24 a set of Sigma Sports sensors. Hopefully they work as well as the Bontager ones.

Andrew

[frankenthorn]

Something that interests me about this device is that it appears the optional speed/cadence sensor may be two units joined by a data cable, giving the tantalising option of replacing the cable with a longer one for recumbent riders.   (Or it may just one lump with a permanently attached cable?)  I've emailed the makers in the hope of a definitive answer ...  (If I get one, hopefully I will remember to post a reply to this message with it!)

There are ANT+ sensors with a cable in between the speed and cadence parts. eg from Decathlon for £17. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/ant-speed-rate-sensor-cycle-computer-id_8181211.html
So you could use that with the Edge 800/810 or Etrex 30 etc. I don't know how easy it would be to extend the cable.

That looks remarkably similar to the speed/candence sensor for the Teasi!    And it looks like the cable is permanently attached at both ends?  Oh well, speed & cadence is definitely in the "nice to have" rather than "must have" category.  And if I'm honest, I don't even have the recumbent yet!

Having considered the various options (Edge 800, Edge 810, Edge Touring Plus, Teasi Pro) I'm starting to think that maybe the eTrex 30 might turn out to be the way to go!  Or I might just load up some tracks to follow on the Edge 500 for the difficult parts of my tour and just use roads signs and paper.

[dasmi]

Slightly off topic......Rose.de have an AXA 70 plus Steady Auto front light with USB charging for  69.95 euro's.

my luxos cost £120 ......similar spec.

cheers

dave