Practical advice on buying a GPS

[mrodders]

I am a Luddite when it comes to cycle technology as mainly ride local routes. However, Mrs Rod has recently taken up cycling with much enthusiasm and to counter her numerous positive attributes  , she is not blessed with a natural sense of direction.

She often rides alone with me suggesting quiet lanes and back roads for enjoyment/safety but it does mean she can lose confidence of her route.  So I am looking to buy a gps unit that we can *quickly* load a route in that she can follow.  For example, (bike in car) she recently rode home from family day out, incl extra detour miles.  It would have been helpful if we could have picked route from start point to home although in practice she would only need to get within say, 15m of home and she'll know the route anyway.

I scanned this Forum for buying advice and it seems to be mostly technical discussion on various Garmin units crashing. 
We don't need extended battery life.  We do need a reliable unit we can quickly & easily draw up a route* and set her on her way.
* I assume the best way to do this is on a PC & routeplanner that is downloaded to GPS unit?  In which case we need one that is easily connected etc

Can any of you kind, experienced folk point me in the direction of simple unit/buyers guide?  My LBS doesn't sell them, I looked online and we won't spend £300+ for the top models.  But there are so many options, I am 'lost' as to where to start.

Many thanks in advance

[Samuel D]

I scanned this Forum for buying advice and it seems to be mostly technical discussion on various Garmin units crashing.

Sounds about right!

No cycling-specific GPS units are especially easy to use. If ease of use is of truly paramount importance, using a smartphone with Google Maps may actually be the best choice. However, there are many downsides to that (e.g. screen not visible without backlight on, fast battery drain as a result, often a lack of waterproofness, often difficulties with mounting it securely on the handlebars, high cost, overly large size, poor physical robustness, etc.).

A Garmin, on the other hand, has a significant learning curve. The software, both on the devices and the support software on your computer, is kludgy and often buggy. However, it’s far from impossible to use and there’s a large support community online. Just expect to spend a few hours figuring out how to get started, followed by ongoing learning ‘on the job’.

For the device, I think it would be hard to beat Halfords £140 deal on the Garmin Edge Touring, which comes with an out-front mount (useful to improve readability on a road bike) and a silicone case. The Edge Touring has almost identical hardware to the previously top-of-the-line Edge 800 and Edge 810 models but lacks some hardcore training features (e.g. power-meter compatibility). It comes preloaded with maps.

[Dibdib]

For the device, I think it would be hard to beat Halfords £140 deal on the Garmin Edge Touring, which comes with an out-front mount (useful to improve readability on a road bike) and a silicone case. The Edge Touring has almost identical hardware to the previously top-of-the-line Edge 800 and Edge 810 models but lacks some hardcore training features (e.g. power-meter compatibility). It comes preloaded with maps.

I'd agree with that. If I had the spare cash I'd be replacing my Etrex 20 with one of those.

For route-plotting, my favourite is mapmyride but it's really personal choice I guess.

[cycleman]

I am no expert but I find the Garmin edge touring is easy to use and the round trip routing is very useful in a strange area .

[freeflow]

A smartphone with a mapping/routing app using off line maps is the way to go. If you have a fairly recent smartphone you can essentally ignore negative comments on screen visibility and battety life. I use locus maps. You have a one off setup to do then its just a case of loading a gpx track onto the phone then following it. I speak from nearly 4 years of using my smartphone for navigating Audax upto 300km withot issues.

[frankly frankie]

For the case you describe - an ad hoc ride home on unfamiliar roads - you don't need to load a planned route, provided the GPS has routable maps on board (ie is not a rock-bottom model) you just 'Go To' your home location.  Or do the same thing but in 2 or 3 hops if its more than 20 miles or if you need to avoid a large town or a motorway for example.  You don't have to blindly follow it (like a car driver ending up in the river) and whenever you choose a better road it will just recalculate the route it's offering.

As to which model to choose, well maybe a smartphone is a viable option these days, but I would say:
* Buy a Garmin, but don't limit your choice to their cycle-specific models, because other models can have bike mounts.
* Choose between 'big screen' or 'small cycle-computer-like box' (but the very smallest ones won't have maps).
* Choose between touch screen or button-driven (IMO fiddling with a touch screen while cycling in traffic is not a very good idea).
* Choose between USB recharging before each use, or easy-to-change AA battery.  For ad hoc use the AA type is much the better option.
That pretty much narrows down Garmin's huge selection of models to just a couple.
You may need to budget to buy maps as well, although most new-model Garmins seem to come bundled with maps these days.  Something to check - just a 'base map' is not good enough - there are compatible maps freely downloadable.

[andrew_s]

I'd recommend a Garmin Etrex 20.
AA batteries, buttons, comes with a version of OpenStreetmap maps.
£130, plus £9 for the bike mount.

General points...
Garmins are tough and waterproof - my previous one went bouncing down the road at 20+ mph on several occasions without more than minor scarring, before it died of unrelated causes.
Built-in lithium batteries have a finite life. After two or three years, you'll find the battery doesn't last as long as it used to, and life will continue to get shorter until it's no longer long enough for all your rides. At that point, it will be buy a new GPS - they aren't swappable.

The main advantage of Garmins over other brands (eg Bryton, Magellan) is that they are much commoner, so there are lots of people who can offer advice or help with the supply of different maps.

Route guidance on a GPS will be along the lines of a beep, with on-screen instructions.
Phones can also do voice guidance (depending on what software you are using).
Personally, I'd prefer on-screen guidance - I figure the chances of me missing the start of a voice instruction are too high, and I don't like earbuds on a bike due to the extra wind noise.

[mrodders]

Thank you everybody who commented - really appreciate your help, advice & time spent on replies.

Hadn't really considered phone as guidance but we have basic, not flashy smartphones, so we might not get the best performance.  Also the lovely Mrs R has considerable difficulty in remembering to charge hers, so I can imagine she'd drain the battery before getting home.....

I will investigate the Edge Touring & Etrex options over the weekend.  One of the expected uses is for her to plan from point A to home, so rather than her be directed on main roads, the night before I could plan & upload a detoured route along various roads/lanes that she would enjoy cycling, not just following the sat navs chosen route home.

Anyway thanks again,
MR