I’m considering investing in a pre-loaded Edge 800, but I just wanted some opinions on whether they are really a useful tool for trail riding or not. We are going on some trips to Scotland and the Lakes this year to ride whatever we can find. Will the Edge 800 be useful. Do they open up riding potential or are they just a pointless gadget that a quick glimpse on a map can do just as well?

I mainly use my GPS to record where I’ve been rather than guide me places, it is useful to know exactly where you are sometimes though.

That’s what I thought. A few people have told me they are great to navigate when you’re off into the wilderness so to speak. But most have told me that they are mainly useful for recording where you have been rather than where you are going.

I find it very useful although i mostly use it for recording rides because 90% of the rides i do are in places i know pretty well already.

However if im riding in an area i dont know then i’ll plan out a route the night before and put it on the device then follow that route rather than just riding out without any plans and doing some random exploring. If you want to do that it will be easier and cheaper just using a map i suppose but being able to follow a route on the device makes things easier…also really good knowing the route profile ahead so i can use a more measured effort up unknown climbs!

btw you’ll need to get the OS map package though the road one wont have any coverage off road.

It was the trail package I was going to opt for. I assume that will have all I need, for now at least?

Any good places where you can download others trails that they have been kind enough to share?

There is loads of good sites to share ride, gpsies is one, I can never remember them all.

I love my edge 800 though.

I have one bike set up with the speed an cadence sensor, and the other with just HR monitor, you can have quite a few bike profiles.

I’ve done a few peaks rides that others have out on the Internet. I’ve also be lost in the peaks and moors and worked my way back to the marked start point with the gps.

Then there is all the information that is recorded which I just find bloody interesting lol

Great bit of kit

You can find loads of routes on the garmin connect site.

I have a Dakota 20 attached to my bars whenever I am off “into the wilds”. The 800 should do as good a job.

The garmin 800 is about as user friendly as a bulldog with a fresh wasp sting on its tackle when it comes to setting up and route planning. Mrs Stumpy was not impressed with it as it doesnt work like a tom tom 😀

I have just bought one from Winstanleys, who have a Edge 800, cadence, hr stuff and OS 1:50k topo as a well priced bundle. I reckon the 1:25k with the size of screen would be too detailed but cant actually comment from use. Winstanley’s price better than Chain R or Wiggle and Evans wont price match or discount despite having vouchers from the store opening in Edinburgh. Despite some others concerns, their delivery was excellent.

Found it easy to set up and use once I had actually read the instructions…… just putting it on the bike and expecting it to do stuff was actually ignorance on my part. It does need a few things doing each ride, but no more than the VDO 1.0+ that it was replacing.

Before I bought it I was mindful of the battery life but its just about getting into the routine. My old computer had a battery change every 18 months…I bought a ciggy usb thing so I can charge it in the car. Druidh has a valid point about the Dakota using AA/AAA batteries you can have in your pocket…. multi day trips, I will need to work something out with charging if not b&b, could spend a bit of time eating cake/pies in a village getting a sneaky charge….

The mounts are excellent too. It sits on the stem and is easily transferred from bike to bike. Being GPS, if you have a 26″ and a 29’r, just swap it over no problem. Works with gloved fingers so again, faff reduction.

I am looking forward to our rides out with mates and being able to re trace the ride. Especially night rides where we have zipped round some great trails but I would struggle to find them again.

The screen is smallish compared with a Satmap but its ok. I cant see it replacing a map on wild trips up north. It has saved a lot of micro-faffing by being able to quickly see where I was in relation to a path junction or feature I was expecting, rather than getting the map out. I could imaging somewhere like the Lakes it would be good getting out of the valley bottom and all those walls and small fields.

The connectivity feature is pretty amazing. I have yet to download a route to follow but I’m only a week in…

The only downside I can see as a first impression is it has created a bit more computer time. However this is helping me get the best from the unit and the Garmin site is excellent and interesting to use.

Lastly, its not proven Mrs Rickmeister friendly but she works with computers so may be ok… Also its not been properly crash tested yet but having it on the stem will hopefully help here!

Overall, very happy, HTH

Have found it very good for training and use to track my rides. And it will show you where you are anywhere in the uk

Just don’t try looking at ye screen to navigate while riding
It’s my first garmin but I’m now converted

I was considering one but realised that I have a GPS I can bar mount if needed and what I really wanted was a bike computer to track my rides, heart rate etc at a price that wouldn’t destroy me if I broke it. So the 800 was out. I got a cheap 500 tho.

I’ve got an Edge 800 and a Dakota 20. Whilst both are great I tend to use the 800 daily and the Dakota for multi-day trips as I can swap out the batteries.

I do find that both have a rather weak cpu that can really struggle when browsing OS mapping on the device. They’re not so bad with the Open Street Maps that have less detail to redraw so I tend to use those unless I really need the OS level of detail (I have 50k maps). Having mapping on the screen a lot also shortens the battery life considerably, though you’re still looking at 10+ hours with the 800 in my experience.

The 800 is really effective for training with HR and/or power, much more so than the Dakota which can’t even connect to a Powertap hub. The training pages are particularly useful…I define turbo interval workouts on the device and then use it to time them. On-road guidance from the 800 is excellent (most of the time), off-road guidance is mostly useless.

Other good things about the 800…small, lightweight, excellent bike mount. It doesn’t look or feel anywhere near as tough as the Dakota, which I’ve thrown down hills & all sorts, but I suppose if you don’t crash much then the 800 shouldn’t be a worry in that regard.

Great feedback folks. Thanks very much!

I think I’m going to get one. I’m sure it will open up my riding somewhat and at the very least it will mean me and my wife won’t have to worry about delving too deep into places and getting lost (unless the battery goes of course!).

I assume the battery is built in (iPod style) so carrying a spare isn’t possible?

Mrs Stumpy was not impressed with it as it doesnt work like a tom tom

It will though, but unlike with your Tom Tom you don’t generally want to go the quickest route to a final destination. If you do want to do that, they do it very well. Periodically I’ve gone and got lost and then just told my 705 to route me to ‘home’ and followed it, does a fine job.

I assume the battery is built in (iPod style) so carrying a spare isn’t possible?

Correct, you can get piggy back ones though.

IMO the screen is a bit small on any of the Edge series for ‘proper’ navigation – in order to be able to see the detail you can only see a very small patch of map. I’d have no qualms using one to plan a route in an area I knew (use my 705 for that), but I’d not want to rely on one in the wilderness!

Is there a better alternative then for ‘off piste’ riding? Something that’s going to be better for navigating?

I use my garmin for recording where I have been and sometimes I think I am somewhere, but then the garmin tells me I was somewhere slightly different, but its great to see the route on my laptop. 🙂

Just don’t try looking at ye screen to navigate while riding

why? I do and it’s fine!

I really rate them. At first I thought the screen resolution was a bit naff compared with a smartphone, but then it’s actually visible in bright sunny conditions which I’ve always found impossible on a smartphone.

I use mine quite regularly for navigation. I tend to use memory maps and create a gpx file, then copy this to the device (very easy to do, just copy and paste into a folder on the device). Then just select that route on the device when you want to follow it. The GPX is shown as a line overlaid on the OS map, and you just follow it. It bleeps a couple of times if you stray too far off course.

Garmin also have a free software package download called basecamp, which when you have the device plugged into a computer allows you to read the maps on the device and view them on the computer. you can plot routes and transfer them to the device. I’d do this if I didn’t already have Memory Maps which I’m more familiar with.

The 800 is a good training aid and recording rides/data, small and light, but I much prefer the Satmap for following routes on (big clear screen). It also records your data has lots of stats and is easier to use.

for those that don’t know yet, and don’t have memory maps, try bikehike.co.uk
works like cp describes above . its free too

fervouredimage – Member
Is there a better alternative then for ‘off piste’ riding? Something that’s going to be better for navigating?

I don’t know if the 800 has the same Compass feature as the Dakota. With that, there’s a little arrow on the screen which points in the direction you should be travelling. When you are approaching a tun, it will deviate left or right. In theory, if you keep an eye on that it should help you out.

pedalhead – Member
The 800 is really effective for training with HR and/or power, much more so than the Dakota which can’t even connect to a Powertap hub

It will connect to a Garmin HRM and a GSC10 Cadence Sensor, though I’ve not used it for either (yet). I still have my Edge 705 for road stuff – which is the only time I’d use either of those.

As regards power supply, I do prefer the AA battery style for multi-day off-road trips. However, I’ve had a pretty good experience using a PowerMonkey/SolarMonkey charger for recharging my Edge 705.

cp – Member
Garmin also have a free software package download called basecamp,

I did this with Basecamp earlier…

BC 2012-03 by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

….handy for an overview of where future trips might go.