Contemplating buying the above, I just want a device that I can download rides to and it will tell me which way to go, like a car sat nav! Does anyone know if the etrex is ok for this?

I have an Etrex 20 and a bike mount, I find it more suited to hiking than biking. I was looking at getting a Garmin Touring, more like a car satnav for a bike, there was a 30% off cOde for the garmin website, garmin30 I think.

Thanks winston, had a look but a bit too expensive even with a 30% off, etrex20 is £85 at mo on amazon……i never knew i actually wanted one, still dont, so even 85 might be a bit of a waste on a v lazy boxing day!

The bike mounts are extra as well.
If you want to use it for over stuff it’s a bargain at that price but not the best for biking IMO.
A lot of people use them for audax and there is a lot of info on setting them up on the audax websites. They know better than me, so it may be good for you!

I’ve got an etrex 20 which I use mainly for hiking but it works ok for biking. Probably not as good as a specific cycling gps but it will do.
I doubt you’re local to Pembrokeshire but if so you’re welcome to give it a try.
Rich.

I’ve used an etrex 30 on the bike for just over a year.

The bar mounts are crap and I’ve almost lost it 3 times after it decided to make a bid for freedom on roughish terrain. Have put a camera lanyard on it and around the stem now as extra security given the cost of the thing.

With the talky toaster maps and some software on the PC for plotting routes its pretty good for navigating and the track recording is great for endomondo.

There are probably better gps for dedicated bike use, but its good enough for what I need and has been pretty reliable, especially when you think the poor bar mount has left it bouncing down the trail…

Just grabbed one of these to compliment my 200.. can anyone recommend a decent bar / stem mount for it?

Etrex 20 is great for navigation in my opinion. Exactly what you need. It’s a steal if you can get it for £85 too. Last time I looked cheapest was Amazon for £130. Most places sell it for about £150. But you have the new ranges of Edge units out now, so perhaps they’ve dropped a bit.

Got myself an Edge 500 in the black Friday sales recently, and what a pain in the arse it is to use. I know it’s not meant to have proper mapping functionality, but the breadcrumb trail keeps disappearing. I found it very difficult to navigate a route I mostly knew already (obviously there were bits I was unsure about). That and the initial setup is a bit of a learning curve, with things like average speed missing from the default settings.

Etrex works pretty well out of the box. I have mine setup with a few custom settings, but all the basic stuff you need is there. Only fiddly bit is the joystick when you’re on the move.

The Garmin mount works fine for me. Clips in solidy. But…I have lost one! Don;t know how. It was a very cold day. Had it at cafe stop. Definitely walk out with it. May or may not have left it on the wall outside. May or may not have clipped it in properly (which to be fair would be easy to do – especially when your fingers are numb). So I join the ranks of lanyard user with Etrex numero 2 (which thankfully I got for a good price in the black Friday sales last year).

there are only 2 bar/stem mounts; the official one, which is brutally overpriced for what it is, but unlike unklebuck I find them to be rock-solid (unit needs to slide back til the ridge engages in the indent), and a cheaper knock-off which gets really poor reviews. I’d suck it up and pay the extra 8 quid, given its securing a 90 quid device…

As the OP for the lightning deal, and having had one a year, I’m surprised how bike-friendly it is (it has a “dashboard” which shows all the readings a cycle unit would do, and is customisable), and it is ideal for following routes.