I’m looking at buying a bike mounted GPS so I’m after some advice please.

I’ll be doing the SDW in a day so want point by point navigation as I don’t want to stop a lot to check nav.

A unit that displays OS maps and can have GPX routes overlaid for other times.

I’ve never looked into them before as I’ve always been a map and compass person, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Not overly keen on apps for my phone as battery life is woeful!

Etrex or dakota, but run them of an external battery pack i find works best.(i have a cheapy 10mah pack i use in my frame bag.

I use it for exactly as you describe,

They are a bit shit for actual ride tracking (strava) and can flake out if you try and scroll around a big waymarked route, but following a dot on a map. They are ace.

I still use my edge500 along side for ride stats , hr an such like – plus easier to use for commuting etc.

I would check out the Garmin Edge Touring Plus which you can find for less than £175.

I allows you to download maps and has a 17 hour battery life.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/accessories/gadgets/gps-devices/product/review-garmin-touring-plus-14-48190/

GPS maps are a little small – or the screen is

However the cheapest option is to just use your phone with an external battery pack and add something like MMtracker and Memory maps to it

I tend to use my GPS for following routes and my phone for working out routes when i go exploring as the screen is to small to explore on the GPS and does not zoom easily or quickly

I have a Etrex 20 and the bike mount is utter shit and your unit will fall off it if not secured.

Phone will require either a waterproof one – can get cheapish Sony xperia and runs the risk of breaking said phone!]

Did you buy a fake bike mount? Or are earlier ones shit.

Mines has not fallen off ever even over very rough terrain on a rigid bike.

Phones on the bars are shit , take up too much room , are fragile. Wouldnt do that again ,

If you have an os map – with your route drawn on and a dot for where you are . You dont need to see more on screen than 500 m that shows you where you need to turn,

its a common problem with the etrex as the wee clip at the back can bounce out and then you lose the GPS

It has been mentioned on here

Mine snaps in with a satisfying clunk. It aint “bouncing” out,

If it did become baggy- all you do is when the garmins on in it – you bend it up.

May i suggest if your gps is jumping out that your bracket is perhaps worn out,

Not at all helpful, but there were two cyclist stopped in our village yesterday. Bikes full of panniers, clearly cycling a long way. They had stopped to consult a map. A real paper map, looked like one of those A4 maps you get in service stations, not even an OS sheet. Even I, who loves maps, use GPS.

May i suggest if your gps is jumping out that your bracket is perhaps worn out,

You can suggest it but i have a mate with the same unit and all with the same problem and i have three brackets all on different bikes and all did it from new

Either we all got unlucky or you got very lucky

I got a RAM mount on the end.

Sounds awesome.

Well it can be noted that recently (as in a year ago) new genuine ones from an approved reseller dont jump out.

Should think SDW is pretty easy to follow without much map need. I just check my phone occasionally if I’m not sure. Or old school, photocopy of a bit of an OS map. I have a pile of them in plastic wrappers.

If you really want to avoid any stops though then I can understand. Bar mounted paper map holder and a compass perhaps? 😀

Thanks folks, couple of questions?

Is the garmin edge able to have OS maps downloaded on to it?

The etrex looks quite bulky. Apart from some mounting issues is it quite big on the handle bars?

I always buy the OS map for an area and will plan my route using it. I could stare at them all day! I’d then use whichever unit I choose for quick reference on the move and I want audible alerts if I stray off an uploaded route.

Not really big smaller in size than a phone but thicker – not that you notice that when riding

It takes AA batteries and personally I prefer that as easier to swap them over so you cannot “die” on you.

Edge 500 left etrex 30 right.

The etrex is not as bulky as the touring edge or the 1000 series or the dakota. But all have bigger screens. Depends whats important to you.

I only want to see 500m ahead where the next junction is as i move and where i am. Anything further ill get the map out.

I just bought my first gps and bought the Garmin 64s which I’ll also use for hill walking. Bought mainly because it has buttons and is not touch screen.

I just stuck a 705 up on the classifieds, that allows you to add opensource mapping on a memory card. I’ll confess, I’ve never really used it much for mapping, but on a pretty well sorted route like the NDW where you only need occasional guidance for a few turns it’ll be good.

Battery life is pretty decent and you can run an external battery off a USB cable.

I can confirm the Garmin mount is pap having lost my gps today and wandering up and down the Doethie valley looking for it (found in the bog I had and otb in – been under a foot of water for a couple of hours and still working fine!)

I have a Etrex 20 and the bike mount is utter shit and your unit will fall off it if not secured.

This. I lost mine this way, out on its first ride as well. Replacement gets tied around the bars with the lanyard. You can also drill a hole in the mount and secure it to the unit with a zip tie.

The Garmin mount is a bit of an anomaly. It’s certainly the case that some folk have suffered premature ejection
However this seems to be exacerbated by wear – you have two plastic surfaces and sufficient gritty paste and time will loosen it off. The Oregon series uses the same mount but it’s a metal component on the device and this seems less affected. Either way, attach a lanyard to it and loop it round the bars for assurance.

I have a Etrex 20 and the bike mount is utter shit and your unit will fall off it if not secured.

Same here also! Which RAM mount are you using?

I’m using a The RAM-HOL-GA48U cradle with my Etrex 20. It sits a bit high and was going to set it on a low T bar, but i have got used to it now and is very secure.

Cheers Wheelie, what mount do you use with that cradle?

Craig
This is what i use http://www.rammount.com/part/RAP-274-1U

There is a a video show different positions. Most secure system i have used, if a little more expensive than Garmin offering.