Advice very much welcome.

With two little Udderlets, I’m now very time-poor, and have to get rides in as and when I can. That includes a commute into work (~50 mile round trip) when I get the chance, using a combination of bridleways, byways and roads. I’d also like to have a pop at longer off road rides like the South Downs Way.

Obviously, a GPS would be dead handy for this sort of thing. I don’t have a ton of cash to throw around (see aforementioned Udderlets), and while something like a Garmin Edge 810 would be lovely, I can’t justify splashing that amount.

I see the Garmin Edge 200 does breadcrumbs, and you can upload .gpx files to it. Does anyone have experience of whether this is any good for following a route, either on- or offroad?

Any suggestions welcome. I’ve got previous use experience with GPS – Gulf War 1 -era MoD equipment used for offshore racing in the early 90s, through to B&G keelboat tactics and telemetry packages from a couple of years back. As a result, I’m familiar with the concept, but also familiar with, uh, *usability* issues. 😉

My twopence worth but as this is not based from personal experience or use feel free to ignore 8)

Whilst the edge 500 & 800 are nice looking and bike specific they are very pricey (although the 500 can be had cheap now as its been superceeded).

It might be worth looking at general outdoor GPS such as the Garmin Etrex 10/20/30, which are cheaper. Okay so they’re more bulky but you can get bike mounts and the screen offers full colour mapping.

Got an iphone? GPX navigator app is 1.49 and lets you follow GPX tracks. Works really well too.I’d imagine there is a similar android one too.

Thanks all. I’ve a smartphone, but wanted something waterproof I could mount on my handlebars. 🙂

Look for an older Edge 205 or 305. They have much better navigation functions than the current low-end models.

Garmin Dakota 20. It has most of the features of the 800 but is a lot cheaper.

My Edge 200 is fine for following routes. The only times it can get wrong-footed is where there are forks in the road or trail (so it’s not entirely clear which one you want). On the road, an 800 would tell you when it wants you to turn off the road you’re on – sometimes I get caught out where the road turns but a junction goes straight on and I don’t notice.

Worst case, it beeps at you and retrace your steps a short way to get back. It will usually realise within 50m or so depending on how fast you’re going.

An 800 is also useful when you want to deviate from a route (to extend or shorten, or just to bail because you’re tired) as you actually have some mapping to follow – the 200 will just keep zooming out as your arrow goes further and further off track.

Smartphone in a waterproof case?

Vote for the non-cycling garmins, but check out Bryton as an alternative or my DIY phone gps!

Ah – really helpful!
I’ll likely be carrying my phone (or my work phone), both of which support mapping, so cutting a route short would be doable, and I’ll likely be carrying paper OS maps if I’m somewhere I don’t know offroad.
205 and 305 don’t seem to be available as NOS, from a quick Google, so I’ll look for second hand ones.
Once again, thanks all.

A smartphone in a waterproof case is actually pretty bulky – and for a variety of reasons I’d rather not use one on my bike.
I’ve looked at the Brytons, and they’re excellent. At the moment I’m trying to distinguish between devices used primarily for measurement – Bryton Rider 20, Garmin Edge 200) and ones that can be used for navigating.

got the Etrex 20 as an Xmas pressy from a PSA here. Really impressed with it. Its relatively bulky as its designed to be useable hand-held and takes AA batteries (idea being they are ubiquitous). Has a cycle computer-style dashboard with all the info I want and that looks very similar to a mates Edge, and I’m running a free OSM pseudo-OS map (Garmin map prices are offensive), and you can find them for pretty much everywhere (downloaded one of the Alps for holiday trip). Etrex 10 doesnt display a map, just a route, but the 20 has a colour map screen.

As its not “cycle specific” it wont talk to HRM or cadence metres or update Strava automatically, and bizarrely runs on a totally different Garmin software/site, Basecamp rather than Connect but for navigation its the business.

I’ve got a Bryton rider 50. Used it on the road and for off road. For off road its a gpx install of the ride. Then when riding its a follow the line affair. Works really well. Got me round a 20 odd mile ride in the NY moors no problem.
Think they do a more expensive one than mine that has OS mapping.

Dakota 20 – if it’s good enough for Aiden Harding…

I use an Edge 305. The breadcrumb trail is excellent, and will beep to say you’re off course within a few feet. Part of the joy of trail scouting is looking at the route on any of the mapping software sites in satellite view so you get a good idea of what the path/trail/track looks like for real. I also use an A4 printout in 1:25000 OS from getamap as backup. Great though they are, you don’t really need the basemapping of the more expensive units. There are still some Edge 305s/ 205s out there in auctionland.

for following routes I prefer the big clear screen and usability of the SatMap.

It is bulkier though and I also have the Garmin 800, which is good for recording and navigating when I kind of know where I’m going but need back up.