So I want a GPS device for the bike.
To be honest it will probably get used more on the road bike than off road due to the lack of mapping here in Northern Ireland but I would like it to be useful for both.

I want it to be able to tell me which direction to at a given junction when out on the road bike without me having to worry too much about where I am etc.

Can the cheap monochrome non mapping garmins do that? The edge 205 etc?

Though as its my birthday right around the corner I can reasonably expect to be allowed to buy this if I wanted, but not sure if it is overkill for what I want/need:
Garmin Edge 705

Get the 705 with the topo package its not bad at all.

You can map routes on google maps, using mapmyride.com or similar, and it will make you gpx files that follow the roads, so you can get a display showing you which direction to go at any particular junction.

It isn’t as good as a proper sat nav, you’ll be more looking at a wiggly line and working out the corners from that.

Having a gps with a decent road map is great for road riding, although I’ve not seen anything that combines a good road atlas (like nokia phones / g-phone / iphones have) with a good ability to follow pre-planned routes (like pretty much any off road gps has)

Joe

The Garmin units have a limit to the number of routes, waypoints and legs per route. If you get a cheap one make sure it will support the number and size of routes that you intend to do.

If you get one with mapping you also have to buy the Garmin mapsource product to go in it and then you will need to make sure the map will fit in its memory. You will get a base map included if you buy a European model but it only shows main roads.

I would go for a Garmin Legend HCX and budget for a handlebar mount at about £20. If you want to be able to record heart rate and cadence for fitness training get an Edge.

H = High sensitivity receiver
C = Colour Display
X = memory on a micro SD card

Topo GB doesn’t appear to cover NI, so it seems that your only option is City Navigator Europe. Which still isn’t a lot of use for off-road but better than the base map. The whole of the UK on City Nav is only about 350mb and as the Edge will take up to a 2gb micro SD card, memory shouldn’t be a problem.