recommendation for gps please

[mrodders]

As a new adopter, unfortunately there is no way to avoid a steep learning curve with these things.  Almost everyone struggles at first, and Garmin's own documentation is not very helpful.

Yes, I gathered that much. It did strike me as ironic that I was asking on a cycling forum (when I want to walk)  But having seen the GPS threads on here + the level of knowledge it seemed a Good thing.  And I gathered it would take me a while to get to grips with - I need to be proficient by Jan.

Though reading FF's website & trawling through the GPS threads on here as prep really helps.

Can you give me a route to this please?
Thanks again

[stu1102]

http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lwg_0.htm

http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lw3_0.htm

saved me a few times....well a lot...many thanks FF

[frankly frankie]

My pleasure.
The index is just (surprise)
http://www.aukadia.net/gps/

Most of the pages refer to what is now rather old tech, so they are general guidance of principle, rather than detailed advice.
If I ever buy a new-style Garmin, there will be new pages.

[Ham]

for multi usage GPS, the Oregon takes a lot of beating. I've used it for cycling, hiking, driving. It's rugged, waterproof and takes the proverbial AAs. The touch screen is not a phone style touch screen, and works with loves, too.

The biggest problem I find with it is that after moving location substantially it can take 20 mins to find itself, which is annoying.

Hmmm. looks to me that the new Oregon series is changed, and for reasons best known to Mr Min, they have de-ruggedised it (screen is near flush) and left the top end Montana as the only one with a recessed screen. And of course, that uses a different mount.

[Ian H]

I use an Etrex (formerly HCX, now E20) with  OSM, usually just with tracks, for cycling. I have an android phone with Google, OSM and OS maps in different apps which I use for walking (on a bike I have stuck it in a pocket and relied on voice command to get somewhere quickly).

[frankly frankie]

I have stuck it in a pocket and relied on voice command to get somewhere quickly

That opens up whole new vistas of in-the-bunch anarchy ...

[GraemeMcC]

A friend of mine (early-retired American, resident in Germany) demo'd a useful looking bit of kit, a Teasi - http://www.teasi.eu/en/teasi-one/. Cost him ~180euros in Saarbrucken.

Looks more intuitive than my eTrex30 and has loads of options for statistics of rides done, etc.
But on its larger-than-my-garmin-screen, from maps, it can load route profiles, zoom into town details, switch to t'interweb details. etc.
Don't know how robust/waterproof it is yet, but worth a look.
It fits on handlebars easily and I think he bluetooths to/form his netbook to upload maps, etc.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Which of the post-HCx bike mountable Garmins is best in terms of screen legibility and ease of following route / track / directions?

[freeflow]

I've been using a Sony Xperia phone for nearly a year now as a navigation cum cycling computer. I now use a top tube tri bag for external battery for distances over 100km/5 hours. I'm a previous user of Bryton and Garmin and I wouldn't go back. My charged phone and two external battery pack allow me to do 300k Audax and still have 100% charge in my phone at the end. If you are planning being out of reach of civilisation for days at a time then maybe a Garmin otherwise a smartphone now wins every time. Just wait, the next iteration of garmin edge will very likely have a phone built in. They've already moved to android in some of their high end devices.

[Kim]

Which of the post-HCx bike mountable Garmins is best in terms of screen legibility and ease of following route / track / directions?

Screen legibility is improved by the absence of a touchscreen, which would be a point in favour of the eTrex or Edge rather than the Oregon.  OTOH, the Oregon has a larger display.  I'm not sure which wins in practice.

I don't think there's a lot in it software-wise?  Edges do behave differently to the outdoor models with regard to how they handle things like track logging, but I'm not sure the navigation stuff is all that different.

[Sergeant Pluck]

I've been using a Sony Xperia phone for nearly a year now as a navigation cum cycling computer.

Are you starting with a .gpx file (e.g. from Audax org) and using that on the Xperia? What software do you use? It is true that the Navigation App, using Google Maps routing I presume, does produce a lovely cuesheet and a clear map. I'm just not sure how well a phone can be made to follow a pre-planned route that might include cycle paths andf non-road shortcuts etc.

I'm not sure what my resistance to using a phone for navigation stems from. Weather resistance is an issue - while the Xperia is IPX7 that is compromised when you plug in an external battery.

I'm considering acquiring something of more recent design than my Etrex HCx. Reading the forums, it does seem as if the software and the integration with online route creation software hasn't really moved on all that much. That I can accept. What I could be doing with is a more legible screen.

[frankly frankie]

Well I don't think legibility has moved on much either - unless you go for something noticeably larger, which personally I wouldn't find acceptable on the handlebars.  In particular newer models all have smoothed fonts (which makes them look blurry to me) and over-rendered maps (increased clutter).

Actually the best Garmin screen I've seen is the Edge 800 (which is also touchscreen) - it's just unfortunate that model has several drawbacks, because it's very likeable at first (and second) glance.  The 810 reportedly fixes some of the problems, but you still have the fundamental difficulty of the on-board battery (which is a total non-issue for some people, and a total deal-breaker for others).

[numbnuts]

I've just used OsmAnd for the first time, it was very good apart form trying to send me down an overgrown bridle path is was fine.

[fuaran]

Apparently the screen on the Oregon 600 or 650 is much better than the previous Oregon models. ie much brighter, and easier to read outside, and the touchscreen is more responsive. Though I've not used one myself.

[Kim]

Well I don't think legibility has moved on much either - unless you go for something noticeably larger, which personally I wouldn't find acceptable on the handlebars.  In particular newer models all have smoothed fonts (which makes them look blurry to me) and over-rendered maps (increased clutter).

Agreed.  No substantial improvement in the physical display between the Vista HCx and the eTrex 30, and the change in fonts and map rendering^[1] - combined with the loss of the turn popup display (it just draws turn arrows on the map) - is a retrograde step for readability.


_{[1] This is more of a problem with OSM than with the City Navigator maps, due to the greater level of detail in some places.}

[freeflow]

Are you starting with a .gpx file (e.g. from Audax org) and using that on the Xperia? What software do you use?

The applications I use can take gpx files from the audax web site or ones I create myself.  I tend to use map my ride if I am pre-planning a route.

Software is generally ipbike in the foreground for cycling stats and route following BUT because ipbike is not a navigation application I now also run osmand in the background for voice navigation instructions. 

I use the same phone a lot for google navigation in the car but in this case I'm just saying get me there so follow the route it proposes.

Pre-planned routes are a doddle and with map my ride the main issue is stopping the application from wandering off up bridle paths and anything else it thinks is a viable road.  To do a preplanned off road (i.e. not following footpath, bridle ways or farm tracks ) is easy though, you just turn off road following and draw the lines on the map where you want to go by placing waypoints, then when you get back to a road, just tuen on road following again.  I've easily navigated 300k Audax using gpx from the Audax web site and ones  I've recreated on map my ride.

I now start with a battery pack plugged in because this means if I have to unplug due to rain I always have a phone with 100% charge which is good for 4-5 hours with the screen at full brightness.  I could now very likely get much longer run time as my use of osmand means I'm willing to turn off the screen if there are issues and just follow the voice instructions.

I carry my battery packs in a top tube bag which is also convenient for stuffing a few gels or easily accessible sweets.

I have two external battery packs.  One lets me do a 200k Audax with just the phone charged and itself. That has to be recharged at the mains.  I have a second external battery pack that takes two 18650 lithium batteries.  As I have a number of these batteries  for torches this offers great flexibility, particularly as you can also charge batteries from the mains in the battery pack.

I use a sony xperia z ultra which has a 6.4 inch screen and I always get comment when anyone sees it.  But at 57 I am very shortsighted and wear varifocals so the larger screen I find helpful.  This phone can now be had for around £250.  Ipbike has a facility to lock the screen which I normally do when riding so that drops of water on the screen are not interpreted as finger pressess.  The phone is waterproof but not when charging, so making sure you have a full charge is helpful for when the rain does start.  I have filled the phone with water on at least two occasions due to failing to close the usb port properly, but each time the phone has come back to life following a few days drying in the airing cupboard with all ports open.

The handlebar mount is quick relase which means it is easy to move from bike to bike (about £10 from ebay) but releasing the phone from the mount is even quicker.  In the 9 months + that I've used the phone it has never come adrift whilst riding and that includes some scarily (almost 50 mph) descents and some offroad sportives.

When I had a Bryton I found that on sunny days it was necessary to have the screen backlight on at full brightness to get good visibility through cycling glasses. In this case I only got about 7 hours run time.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Thanks - osmand and ipbike look really good. I might play around with this a bit.

What brand of mount are you using? The ones available for the Xperia Z don't look that great.

[freeflow]

I'm using this type

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dedicated-Quick-Fix-Motorcycle-Bike-Handlebar-Mount-for-Sony-Xperia-Z-Ultra-/380800337023?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item58a978047f

but I found the same elsewhere on ebay much cheaper.  You have to do a slight mod to stop rattling but is relatively easy to do.  It looks like the retention mechanism for the phone isn't secure but I've not had any issues, even doing fairly rough off road downhills on a cyclosportive.