Garmin 500 + 200km TCX, need to split?

[SoreTween]

Do I need to split a TCX for a 200km route on an edge 500 or will it cope all in one?  I ask because it will not cope with recording a track that long all in one unless I periodically hit the lap button.

[wajcgac]

I have a Edge 500 and usually plan my routes with ridewithgps.com

I don't have any particular issue with a single TCX route file for a 200k and have ridden a few DIY Audax events using it like this, but like many others I have found that the Edge 500 can be slow to update the bread crumb trail at times. Sometimes it can take a minute or so to reappear - not great if you're relying on it. Sods law dictates this will happen at critical times as well.

ridewithgps.com also gives you cue sheet instructions to follow on the Edge 500. It will show the next 3 route instructions which sometimes can be better than following the bread crumb trail. (Apologies if you already know this)

On a recent 300K I split the route in two, an out route, and a return route file. Based purely on thinking that it might be easier for the Edge 500 to process a smaller file and hence not be so slow to update the bread crumb trail. I have no evidence that this did make a difference though.

I've never had a problem with it recording a 200K route in one go (I use it with the recording interval set to 1sec).

When you say you periodically hit the lap button, do you press the 'stop recording' button and then the 'lap' button and see the Edge 500 count down from 3 to reset. This would mean that you'd have to press 'start recording' again and then join the two 'rides' later? Or do you just momentarily press the 'lap' button to start a new lap?

[SoreTween]

Thanks for that.  I have a total experience of just 3 rides following a course out of I don't know how many hundred recorded rides so all info appreciated.

On recording, no I don't need to reset it just hit the lap button.  I've got into the habit of doing this at the start and end of breaks so I can see my average speed for the current segment and for the whole day.  It just stops recording after a while if I don't, several hours but I don't recall exactly.  I don't have the option to change the recording interval as mine is on 2.60 formware.  There's nothing obvious in the updates about the recording problem I have so I've not bothered to update it.  Perhaps I should.

[wajcgac]

I'm on the latest firmware which is version 3.3

Your old firmware may be the reason you have to hit the lap button and have problems with it stopping recording after a while.

Edge 500 firmware history

As you say there is nothing specific relating to your problem but it might be included in the 'Fixed various other issues' category in the 2.80 to 3.30 update.

I was going to advise that you be careful before updating the firmware as I've read that in later updates people have reported issues with the bread crumb trail disappearing that didn't exist in earlier versions.

Firmware update discussion

There is some conflicting info on there, but one poster says that the problems started when the firmware was updated from 2.40 to 2.60 (ironically in the firmware update list for 2.40 to 2.60, Garmin state the firmware update •Improved course performance and corrected an issue that could cause some courses to stop processing). The cynics claim that Garmin messed it up so that people were forced to buy the 800.

2.60 is the version you already have though. Have you had any issues with the bread crumb trail disappearing. If so, you may have nothing to lose by updating to 3.30

[frankly frankie]

I don't have the option to change the recording interval as mine is on 2.60 formware.

Recording interval of 1 sec is very data-intensive anyway.  Your default setting, whatever it is, is going to be a lot less frequent than that, generating fewer points, which is a good thing.