not really clued up on how to get the best out of my aldi discount garmin..

Not really fussed about strava, but would like to see OS maps with a GPX route overlay when exploring…
I have some OS maps with unused “digital map codes” kicking around, in the past I have paid a ~£20 per annum subscription for access to the whole UK OS maps….

How best to get this working or as close as possible for my garmin?

any tricks and tips welcome!

Many find the free OSM maps better. Especially the talkytoaster ones with contours on. Easy instructions and download files on his site.

ridewithgps.com has an excellent overview of using each Garmin
I use talkytoaster for OSM maps. Pretty sure I have a paid version from there.

Agreed. I got an 810 with the OS mapping, when you zoom right in it’s all grainy and unreadable.

OSM ones are all vectors and real text so you can go in as far as you like and it’s all clear and nice. The talkytoaster ones as mentioned have all the contours and other features you’d want from an OS map but they work much better on these devices.

off to google talky toaster i go 🙂

I’m waiting for mine to replace the geriatric 705. DCRainmaker has a good how to guide on loading maps etc. too.

Was out with a friend with one last night, looks like quite an upgrade so I’m quite excited, it’s been dispatched apparently but no sign of it yet.

I love that it knew not just where we were but that we were on Barry Knows Best

I’ve also got one on the way from Aldi. Will also look into the map options mentioned. I’m mainly planning to use it for navigation when on the road bike.

My recommendations based on about 4 years of ownership would be.

1) Never fully rely on it for navigation. I have lost count how many times mine has crashed/frozen and taken anything from 5 mins to an hour to come back on or find satellites. Sometimes you just have to leave it on until the battery dies.

2) If the ride is important to you then back up by tracking it on your phone as well. Mine regularly crashes when i come to save it at the end of a ride losing all the data.

3) If you find it all working well and not crashing etc then don’t update the software and turn off auto update on your phone so the connect software doesn’t update. Garmin are well known for adding new features but in the process breaking the most basic of existing features.

4) Buy a silicon cover and loop a lanyard through the back. It doesn’t take much to knock the unit and rotate it out of the mount.

Garmin make great devices but their software and updates are the worst I have ever experienced. Even when they break something it seems to take them months to fix. Mine sat unusable for about 3 months at one period because they broke the upload function on one update.

Garmin make great devices but their software and updates are the worst I have ever experienced. Even when they break something it seems to take them months to fix.

This is completely true

thats a fairly damming review!

my 500 is battered, and on it’s last legs, but it works pretty much perfectly, always has. really don’t want to replace it with one of the newer touch screen ones, i bet they won’t last 5 years, like my 500 has

Garmin make great devices but their software and updates are the worst I have ever experienced. Even when they break something it seems to take them months to fix. Mine sat unusable for about 3 months at one period because they broke the upload function on one update.

Are you talking about the 810 specifically? I have heard that a few times about Garmins, but my personal experience having used a 200 and then an 800 for years and now an 820 for a few months is that I’ve never had a single problem with any of them!

I’ve had a 810 for a few years and I’ve read a lot about the problems people are having over on the Garmin forum. I found the current Ver 5.10 firmware one of the most reliable and haven’t experience any of the crashes others talk about.
It appears that some of the problems are memory card related, so don’t skimp on the micro SD card.

warton – Member

thats a fairly damming review!

my 500 is battered, and on it’s last legs, but it works pretty much perfectly, always has. really don’t want to replace it with one of the newer touch screen ones, i bet they won’t last 5 years, like my 500 has

Whereas my 500 has been a piece of crap….
The breadcrumb trail worked kind of most of the time (in a crossed fingers type of way), until they did an update to add power meter functionality. That completely ruined the breadcrumb trail thing……as in, it just doesn’t work at all. Which was the main reason for buying the device.

Talking to Garmin Connect is always a bit hit and miss – whereas uploading to Strava takes seconds.

One of the switches failed and I had to get it repaired by a friend with access to surface mount soldering kit & the trained monkey with enough skill to do it.

And now the case has a hole in it where one of the buttons is, so I need to sort that out….

I have been looking at the new offerings from Lezyne & others for when the time comes to replace it….no way I want to give Garmin any more of my money….and while I’m at it……..they are such a rip-off when you compare the cost to their car sat nav options…..

It is damning but true from my experience. I am specifically referring to the 810 which is far more advanced than the basic 200 and has a lot more features for garmin to get wrong. Whilst I find the garmin great when its working properly I couldn’t recommend one to anyone. I still don’t think there is a better alternative to Garmin though.

I’ve had an 800 for at least 4 years and I’ve never had a problem with it.

If it works, do not under any circumstances update the firmware!

Crashes galore and a frequent inability to upload/download courses and activities to your phone will follow.

Personally, I could not imagine spending £180 on a Garmin 180 and not using it for Strava.

Surely there are cheaper devices that do the navigation bit just as well as a G180?

Are there other functions on the G180 that are “the bee’s knees?”

The GPS system in my Nexus is a bit iffy, as I discovered this week on Strava (some interesting routes it think I took over buildings on my bike), but for now it does the job well enough for some very light-hearted segment attacks. 😆

Both my old 800 and newer 810 have been hassle
Free

Yeah my 510 has had loads of issues. I lost count of the number of times either an Apple software update or a Garmin update broke Bluetooth file transfers, and then I. Probably 10+ times this happened, very frustrating.
It still has the odd freeze when it tries to upload a ride (via bluetooth) and my phone has poor reception – I’ll come back into the garage the next day and it’ll still be stuck on the spinning wheel thing and need a hard reset before I can ride.

My main frustration is that Garmin never seemed to fix it! I could accept teething problems with a new product, but both my phone and the Garmin are 3+ years old and they STILL don’t play nicely.

Reading that back it does seem like a poor product review. I’ve enjoyed having the thing though – It’s a nice gadget if you ride a lot. Maybe there are some better options these days which don’t have horrible flaky software.

Is it right that you have to be a strava premium member to use the live segments on the 810? Don’t suppose that’s likely to change any time soon

Triple post nnnng.

Yes, well worth it IMO. A quid a week.