I’m after something for the road bike. I’m not too fussed about bells and whistles, but I’d like a good, clear, navigation interface, so I can follow a route as easily as I follow (Google maps) satnav in the car. Ideally that would be on an OS 1:50k map.

Does such a thing exist? I’ve read very mixed reviews about Garmins and Wahoo, what else is around?

Funnily enough I went through this on the weekend!

I went for a Garmin 820 Explore which doesn’t have loads of training functions but does have navigation. I used it for the first time yesterday and it did a great job of navigating me around the Derbyshire Dales. I would probably be still out there now if I hadn’t used it!

I imported a GPX file onto it, but it will search out routes as a stand alone unit too.

I have seen them for £225 on the Cycle Republic website.

Hmm, the reviews I’ve seen of the 820 are mixed to say the least, not least on here

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/garmin-edge-820-explore-users-reviews

I use a Polar V650. It’s rubbish, really, for navigation.

I use a Garmin Oregon. For road use I find the OSM maps clearer and less cluttered than OS. You can have multiple maps installed though.

Thats all very interesting!

I had not considered a Wahoo bolt. Like I say My 820 did a good job but I will investigate the Wahoo too.

Colin, have you been able to load tcx files to get turn by turn navigation? I’ve the Oregon 600 and it doesn’t see tcx files at all.

If it’s for the road and following a pre determined or app generated gpx and sticking to it…..Wahoo all the way.

Whoops – just saw this.

Answer over there ===>

(It’s a no)

Garmin 820 user here. I agree with some of the comments on the other thread. The touchscreen can be frustrating to use at times, especially in the rain. But for sticking gpx files in it and following routes on and off road I think it works great and to be honest once the routes in and I hit go I don’t really need to touch the screen again.

Hmmm, the Wahoo Elemnt is tempting

The other half has just got a Wahoo and although not used in anger yet re. following a route, it absolutely pee’s all over Garmin when it comes to setting it up and understanding the ui. It is so easy to link to your phone, your wifi and strava, plus setting it all up on the phone app is easy peasy. It just works in much the same way a new phone does once you turn it on and do a couple of very basic things.

Garmin should be very afraid once more people see how much better it can be done.

*sheepishly wheels out slightly dissenting wahoo opinion yet again*

Wahoo: Navigation Nailed or Failed?

Still Garmin here. Still amazed no-one can do better. (To be fair, Wahoo do most of it quite a lot better. But not a couple of IMO very important bits. YMMV.)

I received an Oregon 700 for Christmas which is much nicer than my old Etrex 3. It’s a general purpose handheld and can be used for much more than just cycling.

The only downside I’ve found at present is battery life which seems pretty poor compared to the Etrex.

Still Garmin here. Still amazed no-one can do better.

The Garmin still needs to pair with a smartphone for all features. I reckon there’s a massive gap in the market for a rugged android smartphone designed to take the place of a GPS. With a data connection via 4G you could report your position back, access live data etc. etc. Either that or Garmin need to start putting sim slots in their units.

@P-Jay – have a look at this page I get 20hrs or so out of the batteries in my Oregon 600.

Also you don’t need to buy the expensive Garmin rechargeable battery pack – a piece of thin foil (a couple of layers of toothpaste tube will do) to sit across the back of the battery compartment and push the button down is what’s needed to trick the unit into thinking it’s got the battery pack in it.

Thanks Whitestone, I’ve have a look at that. My Etrex lasted forever but I’ve been getting just about 4 hours out of the Oregon 700. I’ve now turned off Wi-Fi & Bluetooth as well as GLONASS & Egnos and we’ll see if that helps. It’s paired with temp. & cadence sensors so ANT+ needs to stay on. I’ve got a new pair of 2500mAh rechargeables fitted.

I’ve got the bolt, simple to use and what it does it does very well. My riding mate had the Garmin edge 1000 and the Bolt is better in every way, so much so that he has now sold his Edge and bought a Bolt.

Best bit about it for me is stealing routes off riders on Strava to find new stuff. It’s as simple as;

Find Route
Save Route
Press Sync

PJay – it’s just a case of going through the things on that page and turning everything off that you don’t need – compass? That sort of thing. I’ve a Tempe sensor so ANT+ is on for me as well. It’s such a generic device, unlike the Edge series, that it’s hard to see the wood for the trees.

Have the power settings turn the screen off as soon as you stop using it – I think 15 seconds is the minimum you can set it to. By default on the 6xx series a quick tap on the power button turns the screen on/off so it’s easy to get it back.

Aaaah, so the Wahoo uses your phone at the same time, so you’re limited by your phone battery too? Hmmmm…

The Garmin still needs to pair with a smartphone for all features

Hm? Mine won’t pair with anything, it doesn’t have Bluetooth or wifi.

Aaaah, so the Wahoo uses your phone at the same time

No. It only uses the phone for configuring screens and getting routes onto it. (And you needn’t use it for the latter.) Once you’ve got the unit set up you can switch your phone off if you want, it’ll still work.

I just found it ate my phone battery anyway, regardless of whether I used the app or the Elemnt.

The Garmin still needs to pair with a smartphone for all features

Hm? Mine won’t pair with anything, it doesn’t have Bluetooth or wifi.[/quote]

It’s a feature of some of the newer Garmins and allows the GPS to feed data to Garmin Connect running on the phone (the GPS will also display notifications of text messages delivered to the phone). There’s also the option for live weather updates and live Geocaching although these functions will work without a phone if you can get a WiFi connection (not very likely out on the trail).

I think that Garmin (and the other GPS manufacturers) are missing a trick not providing sim sockets on their units to allow 4G internet connections (SIM only data packages are pretty affordable); not only could you have live data but would be able to update your location (and potentially buddy up and message if someone wrote the software). Of course you could just use a smartphone and dispense with the GPS altogether but currently smartphones might be a bit delicate for outdoor sporting environments (as with an earlier post I do think that there’s a gap in the market for a rugged outdoor smartphone with good mounting options).

Yeah, I know. Sorry, I was being semi-facetious 😉 I just use an older Garmin because the newer ones don’t offer anything I want. If they made an 800 with a better screen and a Bluetooth connection to allow me to send routes from my phone, and if their claims of battery life weren’t such works of fiction, I’d be happy.

I did a load of research on bike navigation last year. In the end I went with trail of bread crumbs on a watch as I wanted to be able to log open water swimming as well

If the OP really just wants to log and navigate then the Edge Touring is an option. I think the main thing you loose is ante+ for connecting sensors and some training features

I enjoyed the article about the Wahoo. It was condemned for orientation the map as you turn. For me that is what I want. It is clearly a matter of preference

No. It only uses the phone for configuring screens and getting routes onto it. (And you needn’t use it for the latter.) Once you’ve got the unit set up you can switch your phone off if you want, it’ll still work.

I just found it ate my phone battery anyway, regardless of whether I used the app or the Elemnt.

Ah, gotcha.

I think that Garmin (and the other GPS manufacturers) are missing a trick not providing sim sockets on their units to allow 4G internet connections

That’s exactly what the new Hammerhead Karoo will have, when it appears…

https://www.hammerhead.io/

I enjoyed the article about the Wahoo. It was condemned for orientation the map as you turn. For me that is what I want.

Me too. Like you say, personal preference.