[Closed] Garmin v Element. Where to compare?

Best first place to look is DC Rainmaker for a lot of comparison and reviews, honest and up front about stuff

Thanks. I've looked there. But he doesn't know how I will use it, so all he says is what it does. I went to know what it does for me.

I'd like to try them out before I buy. Too much PIA ordering online and then returning if I don't like it.

Buy a telly and you see it in the shop. Buy a car and you get a test drive. New bike? Go to a demo day.

Only here to recommend DC Rainmaker as well - you won’t find more detailed info (doubt it’d even be possible)

Well Evans stocked the garmins, I've seen elements in other stores but not many demo's

 But he doesn’t know how I will use it, so all he says is what it does. I went to know what it does for me.

Unless your not planning on strapping it to a bike etc. then they probably do have it covered, what do you plan to do with it?

I want to see how easy it is to set the display up to my preferences. None of the sites tell me about anything simple. They all concentrate on how fantastic everything is and how many features they have. I'm not bothered how many calories I've burnt off or which particular Strava segment I am on. But that's what the blurb concentrates on.

I'm not bothered about knowing that my phone is ringing or that a text has come in. I'm out for a ride and that sort of stuff can wait. Also I'd like to see just how to import routes etc and download data.

Some guy on a website saying that it can be done doesn't give any idea about how easy or complicated it might be.

Reading threads on here everyone complains about interface to computer or phone. Or use with gloves on. Or colour.  If I took at face value all the negative comments on here I wouldn't buy anything.

Is just like to see what I'm expected to shell out £200+ on.

edge you scroll through some screens, select the page and select the number of fields you want to what you want in each field, I think the element you do it via the app.

I've set up screens on my garmin when riding on flat roads before but it takes about 15 mins to do 2 or 3 profiles on the sofa. They say it's easy because it is

Also I’d like to see just how to import routes etc and download data.

Garmin, add the route to Garmin connect and sync, or copy and paste when it's plugged in.

Sync? Connect it to the phone via bluetooth, hit save and it uploads to connect which can then sync to strava

It's basically the easiest things going on and something once you have one you won't pay any attention to.

As I said above Evans had garmins in, plenty of shops do

How are you planning to use it? I had a garmin 820 and hated it, replaced it with a bolt which is vastly better.

If you tell us what you want from it specifically, i'm sure people will give the pluses and minuses of each.

Maybe try Cotswold or one of the other large "outdoor" retailers.

OK, something positive 🙂

For off-road use I've a Garmin Oregon. The benefits (to me) are: large colour screen; the touch screen interface works with most cycling gloves; AA batteries (much easier to source if you're on holiday or in the sticks and the set in use goes flat).

Downsides are that if you scroll the map then the software assumes you want to put a waypoint somewhere and takes you out of tracking mode - the only clue is that the 'X' in the corner that closes the map changes to a "back" arrow. If you plug in an external battery then the unit thinks it's something like a car or boat powering it and ignores all the power saving settings.

Uploading/downloading is a simple drag and drop between it and my computer (Mac). Plug in via USB and it appears as another disk drive, navigate to the GPX folder and do your stuff. It does have bluetooth capabilities but I'm not interested in those.

OK long version....

I have an IGPSport unit. Unit works well. Lots of features but I principally have my screen set to show speed, distance covered and time out. Time of day is also shown. Other pages show performance data etc., but if I look at that at all it's when I get home. Downloads from unit to phone via Bluetooth.

I know most of my local roads so can ride 50/60/70 miles on memory. I download when I've finished to my phone app which uploads automatically to Strava.

So far so good. The two thingies in the woodpile.

1) The phone app is just abysmal. Every time I use it I have to uninstall then reinstall before I can use it again. It wants to download every stored ride, every time. Sometimes it just doesn't recognise today's ride. Sometimes it just wipes all the data on the unit & phone leaving me with just historical info on Strava. I can't delete historical data so I think that when a "buffer" gets full it throws a wobbly. I'm fed up with it. It is simply too much hassle. I've had long email discussions with our oriental friends and all they promise are improvements in the next update. Sometime.

2) I do ride away from home on roads that I don't know. I create routes in GPX format(note I said routes, not tracks) on OS software. I upload these to what is principally a hillwalking GPS unit - Garmin E trex. This allows me to navigate and gives me turn by turn directions . But the track it creates when I'm riding is no use for uploading to Strava which is my principal log book for my activity. And I finish up carrying two separate units on front of my bike.

Uploading routes to the Garmin is PIA because I have to connect to my PC and mess around with files and folders. And the same for downloads. And it is so slooooow.

So, the time has come to combine both units into one so that I can do my local rides and record data, transfer to Strava and ride away from home on routes I create and record useful data for use when I get back.

Watching a tutorial of someone saying "it's easyto set up" doesn't really help.

I understand that Wahoo works by Bluetooth and Garmin via Garmin Connect. I've downloaded Connect but can see little other than how to set up training targets and Facebook style interactions with the world at large. Nowhere can I see how to create/store routes or other data. Again it appears to be pandering to the social media brigade.

Wahoo apparently works by talking direct to my phone but there are negative reports on here that iPhones are OK but Android is not much good. I'm on Android.

I have resorted to using the Strava app on my phone to record routes, but not navigate by, but again that is using two devices and complicating matters.

So. I want one unit that will do what I want. I don't want a unit that will do what marketing men want to sell me. So I want to have a look at them. A not unreasonable stance, especially given the negative comments - on both systems - on here.

OK to address your points (WRT to mostly garmin)

I assume this is the one you are looking at

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/07/garmin-edge-explore-review.html

Both run via bluetooth to their phone apps, garmin uses connect to do this. As soon as my garmin (520 here but had 810 before) it connects via bluetooth to my phone/connect. At this point in data range it will sync any data I've changed such as live segments (not available on the edge explore) maps or routes i've shared.

Connect on the web/app is a cloud space, similar to strava but holds heaps of data you don't need a device to get in and have a look at that.

To create a route I make a GPX file or download one and either sync in via the connect web page or app, or plug it in and copy it over. It's that simple. Then nav to it in the menu and hit follow.

So. I want one unit that will do what I want. I don’t want a unit that will do what marketing men want to sell me.

What does that actually mean?

From the link above

What you see above is one of the two main custom pages.  These pages can be customized with up to 10 data fields per page, and all the variants you’d expect (like lap distance, total ascent, heart rate % max, max speed, etc…).  Probably 35-50 data fields…without typing them all out here.  So you get two of these pages for whatever you want.

But you also get a handful of other pages that are ‘stock’. These include the map page, elevation page, compass page, and the GroupTrack page – if you have a friend (aka ‘Connection’) within range.  Otherwise that page disappears.  The compass and elevation pages can have the two lower data fields fully customized. Here’s a look at a few of those (elevation is blank on this photo since I was standing in a field and hadn’t moved yet):

You can set it up to show just about anything with as many fields as you can read on one page and loads of pages, you can also turn all that off.

It will do turn by turn nav on roads and line follows/off route notifications off road.

Yes, that is the Garmin I was looking at.

So that connects his Bluetooth? To a phone app?

All I've read implies that the unit needs connecting to my PC. And there are lots of complaints about it.

I'll download an app and see what that does.

Yep it's got bluetooth - Garmin just calls both the Web and Phone app connect.

The App does very little without being connected to something, take a look at the web page first

File transfer via USB will be faster than via Bluetooth so you are wanting to go to a slower method? Personally I find it much less hassle than the so-called easy methods where invariably the two devices have conveniently forgotten their pairing keys so you have to go through that rigmarole time and again.

I don't understand why files created on the Etrex can't be uploaded to Strava, they will be GPX files and Strava accepts them - it's how I upload files from the Oregon (which is basically a super Etrex).

To get Garmin Connect to talk to Strava you have to give Connect permission to do so but you do it from Strava as that's the app giving permission. See this link -  https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918057-Garmin-and-Strava

File transfer via USB will be faster than via Bluetooth so you are wanting to go to a slower method? Personally I find it much less hassle than the so-called easy methods where invariably the two devices have conveniently forgotten their pairing keys so you have to go through that rigmarole time and again.

Your average GPX is kb transfer time via bluetooth is about 10x faster than finding the cable and plugging it in.

Various android phones and tablets and it's never really forgotten the pairing, if it misses then I just do and off and on again

Just downloaded the app for both Garmin and Elemnt. Not many positive comments on either in the play store!

Please keep the comments coming. They are very useful. I'm starting from zero so every comment is helpful.

@mikenewsmith - does your device charge via Bluetooth? 🙂

USB cable permanently in computer with free end in front of monitor. Get home, plug device in, transfer files. I've done the bluetooth transfer to phone app, much faffage in changing all the fields to match what I've used, giving the activity a name, etc.

Nah the same usb hub everything else does. It's uploaded before the keys go in the front door,

Excuse my ignorance but does that mean there is the option to upload either via Bluetooth or via cable?

Yep, Bluetooth is easy when connected and automatic, plug it in and you can connect with Garmin Sync, finally when plugged in it's just a USB device so you can drag and drop to and from it.

My 510 can do either. I've paired it with the Strava app on my iPhone but as above it's a pain to edit things via the app which is why I upload via cable to my computer.

I'm not fussed if I upload an activity five minutes after completing it or two days later, in fact when I tried the French Divide it was nearly three weeks before we got home and I uploaded everything.

Thanks again. That's very interesting.

The "handbook" that came with my present unit gives the impression that it was orininally written in Chinese, translated into Russian, then Serbo Croat and possibly Mexican before the English version was produced.

I've just had a brainwave and searched for a webpage for the company, and bingo, there it is with all my data on it. No mention at all in the booklet.

It looks like I can download via a cable which will save all the hair tearing that comes with using the app. Of course, I've no data to upload at present, so I'll have another play tomorrow and see what i can do via a cable.

If, and it's a big if, that works then I'm happy to stick with it, especially if it saves me £200. Of course I lose the Bluetooth adaptibilty, but if that saves me tearing what bit of hair I have left then that's a price worth paying.

Glad I asked the question, and many, many thanks for your help and forbearance.

Oh well. That didn't work.

PC doesn't recognise the unit as a drive to download from

IGPSport webpage indicates that the only way to get data onto the web page is via the app. App doesn't work!

Back to plan A!