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  • Garmin Edge 800 Owners – Some Advice Please
  • hitman
    Free Member

    Seriously thinking of getting one but have read some negative comments about the screen – too reflective, waterproofing – if it rains too hard it dies, it’s usefulness for navigating by map – not very practical.

    Any thoughts or comments on the above plus the general value for money of one would be great. Also should I buy with maps or without?

    Cheers

    large418
    Free Member

    I bought one with 50k OS mapping from Halfords last October. I really like it – the screen is clear and mine is very waterproof (although it hasn’t had a swim yet). I put a screen protector on, and that hasn’t really affected the reflectiveness. The menu system is pretty good – it takes a bit of playing with to get it set up how you may want it, but when it is set up it seems to work.

    The biggest downside I have found is getting routes (or “courses”) into the 800. You need to use a third party software like bikeroutetoaster or something to create routes and get them into the unit. I was able to do it early this year but have now forgotten and am struggling.

    I used to have a Magellan GPS – and compared to that it is fantastic, however you need to have an idea of how you are going to use the 800. Do you want it as a training aid (with HRM and Cadence), or as a route planner/satnav, or as a way of recording your rides?

    There’s a couple of help websites (Frank Kinlen – google him) that are really useful.

    Oh yes – I paid £250 with OS mapping. Plus another £30 for a HRM strap. If you can find a similar deal snap it up, but the cost should be coming down as it is now 1-2 year old design and probably in another 6-12 months will be upgraded/replaced.

    MSP
    Full Member

    The biggest downside I have found is getting routes (or “courses”) into the 800. You need to use a third party software like bikeroutetoaster or something to create routes and get them into the unit. I was able to do it early this year but have now forgotten and am struggling.

    You can just copy gpx files directly onto it.

    You can then go into saved routes, select to navigate them, which i always found a pain the the proverbial, or just display on map.

    hitman
    Free Member

    large, this might help with creating routes:

    I want for training and for exploring by bike – would like to be able to have some pre-installed maps as I don’t always plan exactly my route before venturing out..

    Andyhilton
    Free Member

    I have one albeit for road biking. Easy to set up. Very water resistant. I’ve had no problems looking at the screen. GPX file wise just drag and drop whilst it’s connected to your pc. Really pleased with mine so far.

    jonk
    Free Member

    I love mine however it has been killed by a single ride in the peaks despite having the rubber protector on it. Grit found its way under the lap and start / stop button and killed it. It also let water in so its back to Garmin. It also has a tendency to reset itself loosing all your miles for no reason. Maybe i bought a dud we’ll see when i get my new one back in two weeks.

    theroadwarrior
    Free Member

    I really love mine, it’s great for rides in new areas like when I went to the peaks recently- I don’t know the area well but my riding buddy and me were able to follow a fairly complex half day route without any trouble. I also have a custom map for swinley loaded which shows all the single track- makes it much easier! I also use it to track my commuting road miles and training.

    That said I am on my second one, same as jonk- one wet gritty ride in Wales and both the physical buttons stopped working, also the power button for some reason. From now on if I’m offroad and it’s raining hard the edge is going in my pack. IMO the design is not as weatherproof as it should be. The rubber protector is ok, but the design isn’t tight enough to actually prevent grit laden water from washing down around the buttons.

    DT78
    Free Member

    Had mine for a couple of years now, got one of the first. Screen cracked on the edge but Garmin sorted under warranty no quibbles. Screen is starting to go in pretty much the same place, but no where near as bad so I haven’t contacted them yet. I use mine every ride, some 100 miles per week so it gets alot of use.

    Definitely get a screen protector if you are mountain biking, otherwise mud will get on the screen and when you wipe it you risk scratching the screen. Mine has been in pretty torrential weather at times and I’ve had no issues with waterproofing.

    On the mapping front, you don’t have to purchase OS maps, you can use Openstreetmap. Bit of a fiddle but instructions are out there on the web.

    1:50k mappping is fine for road riding, but for offroad navigation not good enough (imo).

    Screen is small so can be hard to orientate yourself and can be hard to see in bright sun. If you want a bigger screen worth looking at satmap.

    Even despite the above I think it is a brilliant bit of kit

    large418
    Free Member

    Thanks, just had another crack at loading routes and I have remembered how to do it.

    hitman
    Free Member

    Cheers everyone for the replies. Interesting to hear the issues re:dirt and water getting into the buttons. Will probably use mine more for road biking when I want all the exercise data and being able to follow routes is an extra bonus. Off road I like to be free of data so will probably stay with the tried and tested map and compass!!
    Anyone know if there’s an edge 900 on the horizon?

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    So, having had an Edge 605 for the last 2 years and had a good play with an 800 my conclusion was that the best solution was-
    An Etrex 20 (£137) – can actually properly navigate tracks on it – used on the Dunwich Dynamo and a revelation after 2 years of struggling with courses. NO touchscreen so can use physical buttons whilst wearing gloves. Long life off rechargeable AAs.
    Full OS mapping ( new and wrapped from eBay for £100 – an edge 800 owner selling it off I think)
    An Edge 200 £73 after cash back deal. Used for rides where i don’t need to navigate to track distance and where I’ve been.

    The 800 is a brilliant bike computer but navigation is crippled on the Edge models. I defy you to find anyone who has had an Etrex and thinks its an improvement. No need for it either – its just software.

    MSP
    Full Member

    There is no problem with navigation on the edge’s, its just this crap advice that keeps getting repeated to use courses that starts everyone off doing the wrong thing.

    hitman
    Free Member

    There is no problem with navigation on the edge’s, its just this crap advice that keeps getting repeated to use courses that starts everyone off doing the wrong thing.

    what do you mean by this? – would be good to hear more

    simons – do you think an etrex 20 plus garmin 500 is an alternative then?

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    MSP. Interested to hear differently but ‘navigate’ sure as hell doesn’t work (joins seemingly random points, dumps whole sections) and courses are fine as long as you don’t lose accuracy (say, under trees) when it continually bleats “off -course” or have a route that crosses over itself (when it can’t tell you which way to go). Courses the advice from Tracklogs and from Garmin.

    Good, old fashioned, tracklog – Track/navigate/arrow/off-course figure in metres so you know if you’re going the right way. Worked for me when we took a 5 km detour in the middle of the night on the way to Dunwich.

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    500 if you need HRM etc. 200 is great as a basic unit.

    Works for me. The Etrex is a bit thicker and heavier than the 800 but not by much. 200/500 small and light enough not to worry about carrying

    mooman
    Free Member

    Its one cycling buy I dont regret buying.
    Only once I have had an issue with moisture getting into it, and that was because i had not closed the rubber flap properly on it.
    I put heli tape on screen so no sctatches.
    Routes are simple to load.
    And back last year I bonked & got dropped about 40miles from home in a maze of lanes I had never ridden before.
    The garmin earnt every penny it cost that day.

    mooman
    Free Member

    MSP
    Full Member

    Copy gpx file to device, go to saved route select setup and select display on map, follow line on map, its that simple.

    foxyrider
    Free Member

    The only ting I grumble about my 800 is the screen quality/brightness/transrefelctiveness – bit hard to see – apart from that ace 🙂

    cp
    Full Member

    The screens are great i think. They aren’t a huge resolution, but they become more visible the brighter it gets, as opposed to say a smartphone screen which is difficult to read outside at the best of times, but impossible in the sun. Direct sun on the 800 and the screen is great.

    Navigation is great. I used the turn by turn on a road sportive once and that was ace. Offroad i don’t partcularly want that – mainly as there is usually a slight discrepancy between maps and where the track actually is on the ground. Offroad I just upload a basic gpx file and follow the line overlaid on the map. Dead easy and far less intrusion than ‘sat nav’.

    I use the garmin silicon condom for protection and have a screen protector on to protect against the inevitable, no matter what screen it is, scratches from grit when used off road. No water ingress, and the buttons are protected under the silicone. helps it bounce when you drop it off the bike too 🙂

    As for route planning, you can use garmin basecamp, a free download, to read the maps on the device and plot your routes through that. I’m used to memory maps so use that and plan the route then save a gpx and copy it to the device.

    I was a bit dubious before i bought as to it’s value, but they are just so so good. 1:50 dynamic mapping in front of you is just brilliant, and perfect for me.

    h4muf
    Free Member

    I never leave home without mine.

    dalepoint
    Free Member

    Never leave home without it. Navigated the JOGLE great got a uk road card for on the road bike to keep the screen clear not neading os maps and paying for europe.

    jonba
    Free Member

    Love mine, had it for about 4 months. Made a world of difference to my riding.

    No problems with anything as of yet. Navigation is ok when you ask it to do it for you but I normally plot routes myself using bike route toaster or walkhighlands.co.uk. Software itself is fairly rubbish on the computer but I plot as above and analyse with Strava.

    I got a cheap silicone cover for mine and screen protectors – you’ll want a screen cover if you are mtbing as gritty fingers scratch it.

    On the road the screen is fine as the roads are big. Off road with bumps and the thing moving around and needing to look where I am going it is a bit harder. Still better than a map.

    Honestly the best upgrade I have ever bought by a considerable margin. Can’t believe I waited to get one.

    hitman
    Free Member

    Think I’m going to order one of these – will go for basic model plus city maps for the UK in case I don’t plan a route before going out. Then going to use bikeroutetoaster for pre-planed routes – does this sound like a good plan?
    cheers to everyone who has contributed so far 🙂

    bullandbladder
    Free Member

    I love mine. It’s been out in some horrendous rain and hasn’t leaked (yet). The 1:50k mapping is usually good enough off road, but if you’re really out there you’d have a paper map anyway if you have any sense.

    I’ve used Bikely.com for creating and downloading routes – it’s very simple, even I can do it. Copy and paste and you’re away.

    Do buy with mapping, as the OS map card is nearly 200 sheets on it’s own.

    rone
    Full Member

    6000 miles with mine. Every weather going including a memorable Icelandic week in awful weather, a whole c2c too and no problems.

    I was expecting it to crap out as an early adopter but alas it’s stayed true.

    boblo
    Free Member

    MSP – Member
    Copy gpx file to device, go to saved route select setup and select display on map, follow line on map, its that simple.

    @MSP Crap advice? Hmmm. I think you’ve been lucky if you’ve never come across an Edge’s misbehaviour!

    Has the above changed for the 800? I note MSP repeating the above advice on the recent 705 thread and unless I’m missing something, it can’t be done. When the route is selected from ->where to->saved rides the only options I can see are ‘navigate’ or ‘copy to card’… I.e. no option to ‘select display on map’.

    The only really 100% reliable way to nav against a preplanned route is to save it as a TCX file, copy to the Edge and access it via ->training->courses. I proved this to myself again last Friday by attempting a long ride against a GPX file that was a complete PIA. Back to TCX’s for me.

    DavidB
    Free Member

    Boblo, try copying a gpx file to the Garmin/newfiles directory on the Edge (not the sd card)

    The Edge then converts it to a course which can be selected for navigation. This works for me using Garmin basecamp, may work for all gpx files. Note the unit has to be power cycled after gpx copy for it to be picked up.

    eyerideit
    Free Member

    Mines great as well using it to record ride and keep me at 100rpm.

    The navigation on road is great as well. I got some anti glare screen protectors off amazon, so it’s fine in daylight now.

    Not used it to navigate off road yet, but hopefully will soon.

    boblo
    Free Member

    @DavidB There isn’t a garmin/newfiles directory on the 705.

    On the 705:

    TCX files can be copied into the garmin/courses directory to follow a course line on the onscreen map
    GPX files may be copied into the garmin/GPX directory for unreliable turn by turn nav and a route line on the onscreen map
    CRS files may be uploaded to the Edge via Training Centre. During upload, they are auto converted to TCX format and saved in garmin/courses. As above, this produces a course line on the onscreen map.

    IME (and many others it would seem), allowing an Edge to nav often results in errors and spurious ‘make a u turn’ messages. Most reliable results are obtained by following an onscreen breadcrumb trail produced via the TCX/course line method.

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