As above just ordered the Trail edition of the 800, decided that the extra premium of the 810 wasn’t worth it.

So while I wait for it to be delivered what should I do/order/know.

I’ve signed up with Garmin Connect,
I need another couple of bar mounts – any cheap deals?
Some people seem to recommend a screen protector, Zagg gets rave reviews but is pricey, is it worth it over a cheap eBay one or something in between?

anything else?

Strava 😈

i use cheap ebay screen protectors from germany – work great, and i highly reccomend them as the inevitable gritty muddy fingers will scratch the screen otherwise.. still on the original one from a pack of 5 after 18 months.

bar mounts come in a pack of two from Wiggle for 7.50 posted. choose the right one!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/garmin-edge-bike-mount/

I’d recommend downloading the openstreemaps (OSM) Garmin versions. Off road OS maps rule, but for on the road they can be hard to follow. The OSM are much better for road navigation. The UK maps should fit on the micro SD card that came with the device, and you can switch between them in one of the menus.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download

And if you go skiing you can get free resort maps here:
http://skidea.com/

For tips:
http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/category/cycling/garmin-edge-800/
For plotting:
http://ridewithgps.com/

From 18 months experience of an 800 I would say don’t expect it to be wet weather proof, don’t expect the altitude gain to be accurate, don’t expect any help from Garmin support and don’t be surprised when you decide its not worth the bother. The 1:50,000 OS mapping is pretty useful when in a featureless FC plantation or cloud covered moors but that’s it. A free Strava app is better in many ways.

From 2 years experience of an 8oo I’ve used it practically every day including in torrential rain many a time, and it’s still working perfectly. I wouldn’t be without mine 😀

turn off auto recalculate route

If you plan to build workouts and a training schedule you should also download Garmin Training Centre. You can build these in Garmin Connect but the drag and drop implementation will drive you mad so you’ll quickly get frustrated with it.

I use bikeroutetoaster.com for off-road route planning. Pick the Open Street Map option and check the cycling option and it will generate a GPX file of your route and download it to the 800.

Some people find that OSM maps on the device are good enough for them. I’ve tried that but prefer the detail and accuracy I get from the paid Garmin maps. They have a few pricing options including just paying for a certain number of square miles to a subscription which gives you all of the UK. It’s more money but not a fortune. The birds eye imagery is a gimmick – looks great on paper but I nevernuse it in practice.

When I brought mine it came with three bar mounts which is great if you’ve got several bikes.

Get the silicone case, protects the device is you drop it but also stops water and dirt blocking the barometric sensor which is what causes most of the elevation errors people see. The case now comes in different colours so you can colour coordinate with your bike if that’s your kind of thing.

If you’re going to use it on the road bike the out front mount is great as it puts the device in a much better position than on the stem or bars.

I’ve had mine for two years now, use it pretty much every ride and never had a problem, wouldn’t be without one now.

Silicone case is a good call actually. Very reliable and no water.issues with mine despite biblical rain and mud use.

Edit – silicone doesn’t help with waterproofness, just impact and scratch protection. My unit still looks new when removed form silicone and screen protector.

I use this with my garmin edge 705, and have all my routes on the sd card. Get yourself on strava, google the area and gpx for your routes, plenty on the tinternets.

http://openmtbmap.org/

Are there any tips for transferring routes to it from Memory Map 2004 without being on the internet?

The base camp mapping route software tha comes free with the garmin is very good I use that, base camp.

some great tips people, many thanks

With memory map, I’ll design a route, generate a gpx file then copy it to my garmin, I have problems using the osm with mem map.

Also look for a strava to gpx converter, unless your subscribed to strava.

turn off auto recalculate route
+1

Navigation is pretty useless with it turned on
Also, you need to set ‘route guidance’ (tells you when to turn 50-100m before the turn) per route on the device (or at least, that’s what I’ve been told, and it works a treat)

I’ve had mine about 4 months – still learning. I tried the ‘workouts’ feature for an interval session yesterday – really great. Set up the workout on garmin connect and was all very easy.
Nick

Dummies Guide to the Garmin Edge 800

Have a read of that. As others have said above, I wouldn’t be without mine now.

only get the official out front mount, as the aftermarket alloy ones chew the slots on the back of the unit.

if going out for full day rides turn the back light off to get the max out of the battery

great bit of kit enjoy !

Silicon case and screen protector.

I would recommend Strava not for chasing KOM’s; but it’s now the world’s biggest knowledge base of trails and you can download them to the 800 🙂

Also http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/ is great for creating road rides, it’s a bit more time consuming for off road.

Put a length of nylon webbing though the silicon case and tie it to a brake gear cable, if you a barreling down a rough trail and the garmin becomes dislodged, the strap will help save it bouncing away into the forest.
Actually garmin should design their shells with a securing hole for this purpose.

Put a length of nylon webbing though the silicon case and tie it to a brake gear cable, if you a barreling down a rough trail and the garmin becomes dislodged, the strap will help save it bouncing away into the forest.
Actually garmin should design their shells with a securing hole for this purpose.

I was thinking about this as I currently use an old eTrex and always fasten it to the bike using the lanyard as I’d had one fall off in the past.