Normally I ride local and know where I’m going but on yesterday’s ride I had to rely on a paper map as I was in pastures new.
There was so many tracks I had no idea where I was. No phone signal either.
With a Garmin can I download a route from somewhere and just follow the arrow on a screen? How accurate are they as on yesterday’s ride I would be happily riding along at 12 o’clock and then the trail split with tracks at 11 and 1 o’clock . Would it know which one for me to take?
Would my Samsung s4 phone be able to fulfil the same role?

Depends a bit what garmin you get, but on (for example) an edge 810 you can have OS maps, and when you load up your route it overlays a line on top of them, so you can ride along and follow the line in situations like you describe.
It’ll also cheep at you if you go off course – although that does throw up some false positives due to the trail on the ground not being exactly where the map thinks it is.

Not tried one myself, but if you aren’t interested in any of the other cycling specific stuff (HR, Power, Cadence, Workouts, etc) then you may be better off with a hiking one (eTrex?).

Learn to read a map and how to relate what’s on it to what’s on the ground? Going to be a lot cheaper and more useful than blindly following a line on a screen.

Accurate enough that you wouldn’t get too far down the 11 or 1 track before it bleeped at you!

Yes, your phone could do some of the same. However, for me, the waterproofing, battery life, mounts etc make a Garmin a better option. Also leaves my phone free as a phone and/or camera.

With a Garmin can I download a route from somewhere and just follow the arrow on a screen? How accurate are they as on yesterday’s ride I would be happily riding along at 12 o’clock and then the trail split with tracks at 11 and 1 o’clock . Would it know which one for me to take?

800, 810, 820 or 1000 can show you a map, where you are and tell you where to go. You will still have the same problem at times of not being sure which track you should be following but the Garmin will soon tell you if you start heading down the wrong one. They are excellent for this in my opinion

Your phone could perform the same function until it’s battery dies.

But…depending on just where you are going getting a little better with the map would be a good idea. You should really have a map as a backup if going anywhere vaguely remote or potentially inhospitable

whitestone – Member
Learn to read a map and how to relate what’s on it to what’s on the ground? Going to be a lot cheaper and more useful than blindly following a line on a screen.

Cheaper maybe, useful? Depends what your priority is. Getting from A to B with the minimum of fuss than faffing with a map isn’t anywhere as near useful as a gps.

Something like the os maps app or backcountry navigator or osmand+ will turn your samsung into a gps that will show your position on a map and record your track (not sure about os maps), the only issues are waterproofing the phone, mounting ot and battery life. This is where something like a garmin wins.

Personally I’ve had enough of my edge 810 as updates have rendered it flaky. My wahoo elemnt is (so far) an improvement in most ways. Something like a garmin dakota 20 that is more of a hiking device won’t be subject to half arsed updates and patches and so is a safer bet imho. Official garmin os maps are expensive but openstreet map alternatives are free and arguably as good.

Occasionally I’ll still take papermaps as obviously they are reliable and don’t need batteries but it’s rare I actually need them. I usually just use a bar mounted gps and have one of the above apps for when I want to see the bigger picture.

Yes, you can use a phone but GPS consumes your battery charge fast, plus most phones don’t like getting wet.
The biggest benefit is having the map right in front of you – following the arrow on the screen, seeing what’s coming-up. No need to stop, checking position and directions can get pretty tiresome on a longer ride in unfamiliar territory – I spend more time looking up and around rather than worrying where I’m going.
I find the 800/810 screen a bit small / low resolution – I prefer a bigger screen like Oregon or Edge 1000. Did a 5-day race in the arctic where you were having to navigate across frozen rivers, lakes and through deserted forests – to know exactly where you are, planned control points and shelters etc – in theory it would have been possible with a map and compass, but navigation would have taken much, much longer and hanging around at -20C and below isn’t much fun.
For navigation only, Etrex is also good – takes AA batteries so you can extend life as needed.

johnnystorm – Member

whitestone – Member
Learn to read a map and how to relate what’s on it to what’s on the ground? Going to be a lot cheaper and more useful than blindly following a line on a screen.

Cheaper maybe, useful? Depends what your priority is. Getting from A to B with the minimum of fuss than faffing with a map isn’t anywhere as near useful as a gps.[/quote]

Nah, a map is a map whether it’s on paper or on a device and map reading is still required for the latter, particularly where there are choices to be made or when needing to deviate from a pre-planned route. There’s a real danger that folk have to change plans and, not being able to read a map, make the wrong route choice.

I find the main advantage of GPS Garmin over a map is I don’t need to stop and get a map out. Also you can have multiple routes on your device. Ideal for pre downloading trail onto your map. Its easy to follow them and if you go off route you can see the route on the GPS. I’ve got 800 1000 and 650 Garmin. If your looking for a recommendation Id go for the 1000. I had OS mapping for 800 but now only use 1000, maps better, display size and detail also much better. Maps are updated via web and cover whole of Europe. Ive not had any issues with my 3 Garmins they have endured full emersions and are still going strong 🙂 I use the 650 with double aa battery’s abroad on long distance stuff where charging facilities are suspect.

I bought an 820 for the exact same reasons, and it’s been really good.

If anything, a little too feature-laden – there are many options to get your head around. But once you’ve worked out which ones you don’t want to use, and and which you do, it’s great.

I don’t bother with OS maps, so far I’ve found the free OpenStreetMaps to be fine, they seem to cover all the bridleways, at least (although sometimes does send me down a footpath).

Well if you are on Strava, that link is magical to get some gpx tracks:

gpx me

Last week end I realized that if my GPS broke down in a middle of a ride I wouldn’t have a clue where I would have been even if i had a map. I’m thinking that my mobile phone could be a good backup as long as i got a signal but i was not really reassured.

I have an 800 and it’s decent enough for following routes in open country, but woods with dense trail networks are still a ballache.

It’s cheaper to just make friends with someone who can show you round.

I know nothing about Garmin type things

Don’t worry I often think Garmin haven’t much of a clue themselves! 🙂

If I bought an 820 it would be useful for navigating in rental cars on holiday and when I go exploring in the hills on foot.
Does the Garmin have to be loaded up with info for Majorca or does it know everywhere on the planet?
Also I have started buying all my local OS maps again to get the digital download will they load onto the Garmin?

You can get OSM maps for most places. Not sure how it works on the 8xx series but on the Oregon I just go to “Maps->Configure” and disable the one I’ve currently got on view and enable the one I want. You just need the space on the SD card to hold the map file.