[Closed] GPS devices, do you use them?

I suppose it depends on what your aim is? If it's to download routes other people have made available, then it's defo an easy way to do things i.e. download, follow.

If there aren't any routes for your area then you're going to have to plan a route from maps (paper or electronic) which can then be loaded on the GPS to follow. If you're going to need to plan a route then you might as well use a paper map and take it with you, in which case you won't need a GPS.

But I can tell you where a GPS can be helpful and that is recording where you've been. I've been on ride in a new area and taken out by locals, recording the route with a GPS is great as I can then load onto my maps (tracklogs) and see the route, from there plan further routes.

Having said all that, I use my phone GPS to do the above.

I use mine everytime I'm on my road bike - partly for recording and adding to Strava but mainly for planning and following routes.

I just bought the Bryton 50e to replace my Edge 205 - following a black line on the Edge was ok for nav but I find the maps on the Bryton good enough to allow detours and get me home again if/when I get lost.

I've not used it on my MTB yet but that's because I've got lazy and ride trail centres so I don't need to worry about getting lost.

I use mine when I go exploring or riding natural stuff. I either download a route, plan one on my laptop or just go unplanned and use the GPS as a live map. I use my phone as it I've got it anyway, it's easy to upload stuff and the screen is pretty good and it's much cheaper than buying a dedicated unit.

I was looking for a new cycle computer last summer, mainly to keep tabs on speed for a SDW in a day ride. Looking at spending 40 ish. With a couple of deals going round, the Garmin edge 200 was only £70.

£30 extra for the GPS tracking was worth it for me. I can swap it from bike to bike without fiddling with inputting wheel diameters and wheel magnets.

It was great on the SDW ride, being able to leave the map in the bag, and keep the pedals turning with the confidence that we hadn't missed a turning was great. And being given an off-course chirrup when we did miss one by 20 feet probably saved a fair bit of time and effort too.

Very happy with mine. Don't feel the need to upgrade to one with maps. If I'm going out in the wilds, I'll have a map too.

And from this very site, I've just taken someone else's route, swapped it round a bit and got myself a road ride for Sunday. 5 mins work in Garmin connect. [url] http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/cambridge-to-london-road-ride-route-advice-please [/url]

I use mine all the time.

Two things it is great for:

1. Uploading your ride to Strava. Not only does it give you a whole load of interesting information, it's a great motivator to tackle the climbs that little bit faster, and descend that little bit braver. It's always in your mind. Can't look like a pussy on Strava.

2. Planning rides. They do take a bit of planning still. A GPS isn't great for planning as you go. It will however help you rectify mistakes on your planned route, you'll not have to stop and think for ten minutes, and if necessary you can of course find alternatives on the fly. If you have a ride mapped out already you should have a trouble free ride. But the planning process can become quite interesting in itself. Do it the night before at the latest in a program like bikehike.co.uk.

I imagine something like the Bryton 50 offers a whole host of training features too, if that interests you.

Having recently moved to Israel my Garmin has given me the confidence to explore the trails and got me out of trouble on several occasions either by providing an exact lat/long for rescue post major mechanical or for just pointing the way home when my sense of direction has been scrambled by a particularly long and twisty trail.

Garmin 605 here.... One of the best bits of biking related 'stuff' I've ever bought......

Allows me to:
Record my rides for 'mile logging'
Train by riding the same route faster
Retrace routes I've ridden with local guides
Download and follow routes from 'net
make up road/MTB routes on memory map, then follow.....

Quite simply, it's the bumbles patellar.....

DrP

Great for recording and excellent for planning routes. Get one with OS mapping on it if you can.

Seems rude not to use the GPS system given all the investment that went into it!

Use mine all the time, whether it's as a basic computer that also shows where I've been, or using a route I've found or pre-planned. It's especially good for the road, saves a lot of faffing about and "how far to the next turn?" uncertainty. And when you inevitably miss one, it beeps at you to get back on track. Sites like mapmyride and garmin connect make it really easy to just click around some interesting-looking roads or trails, then it's just there on the device to follow.

No interest in HRM, cadence, or any of that stuff, or even one of the fancier colour-screened mapping ones.

Great feedback, thanks. The main reason I want it is to to plan routes. The idea being I sit in the house the night before and plan exactly where I want to go, upload in onto the computer, and then just follow the route in real time. Would be good to be able to upload to strava as well. Any other extra features are a bonus and I am not really sure if and when I would use much more than that. Regarding my phone, I could download an app I am sure but my battery seems to die very quickly and if I am out all day I doubt it is up to it.

So the byron 50E might be a bit overkill for what I want? Anyone else use a computer for same thing as what I am planning and can recommend me one? Also, are all computers "off road" capable so to speak?

I'm crap at navigating on the road so often plot and follow routes for that. I'm equally crap at following routes off-road and dislike stopping with a map all the time so also plot and follow routes for that to.
Some of the phone mounts for bikes have additional battery pack options (pretty sure the Topeak one does for example) so might be an option, they aren't cheap either though.

The idea being I sit in the house the night before and plan exactly where I want to go, upload in onto the computer, and then just follow the route in real time

Thats pretty much what I use my Bryton 50e for and I think its spot on to be honest. Ok the website is a bit slow and takes some getting used to but for the saving over Garmin (I bought mine from Merlincycles) it was a price I was willing to pay. It then gives me either a map to follow or turn by turn instructions so that I can navigate on the way.

sounds good Mintman and FuzzyWuzzy. The turn by turn instructions in particular are what I want, just nice to have that reassurance I think. I suppose I am just reluctant since it is a reasonably big expense when I have just bought a new bike. But I think it will make things more enjoyable and will be worth while. Cheers for the input

Hi mesteph, what sort of trails are you after? I'm an Alford-Dyce commuter so I pass 2 'trail centres' on my way to work and have loads of local forests to explore.
I use a Samsung Note and the Android unofficial Memory Map app all wrapped up in a large Pelicase that I strap to a sawn-off aero-bar. A gps is good for exploring the huge forests in Scotland so that you can reassemble the exploration route into a nice rideable one for future use. In Scotland you can ride almost anywhere and the forests are particularly free.
PM me and maybe we can meet up at Pitfichie or Kirkhill.

So the byron 50E might be a bit overkill for what I want? Anyone else use a computer for same thing as what I am planning and can recommend me one? Also, are all computers "off road" capable so to speak?

The Bryton 50 I think is a top end unit, like the Garmin Edge 800. So will do more than just navigate and record routes.

I use a Garmin eTrex 20. AA batteries power it up for around 25 hours. It's very accurate. Great for navigation. Costs about £140 on Amazon. It also has your basic computer functions, distance, speed, average speed, etc.

You'll have to get maps too (the base map is useless), but Open Street Maps are pretty good, and free.

Butcher, can you pre plan your route on the Garmin you have, and then it gives you turn by turn directions? That's all I am after really so if I can get that for half the price of a Bryton then I will be happy.

Deveron, e mail sent.

The Bryton with the Open Source Maps (not the OS Map version) was about £160 from Merlin.

I'm not sure what the battery life is but doubt its 20+ hours like the eTrex.

I have a garmin etrex 20 which I'm just about getting to grips with. Use it for Strava and Geocaching, very impressed as used iphone before and always ran battery down. Not uploaded maps to follow yet but it's next on the list.

as for planning a route there are loads of good sites, one of the easiest & free is the OS one - http://www.getamap.ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk/
with access to 1:25,000 as well as 1:50,000

The problem I have with GPS devices is the amount of mapping visible. If you are lost or not sure where to go the GPS can help but the limited view can be very restricting. Far better is to use it to tell you where you are (if you don't know) & then get out the (no batteries required) waterproof map.

But they are great & especially as people have said for logging & seeing where you have been, so my suggestion is get a knew phone battery & a cheaper GPS - perhaps a garmin etrex

I bought an edge800,

As a computer it's great
As a GPS/Data logger it's good
Mapping is mediochre. You can download a route and it's infinately easier than following the 'breadcrumb' on the edge 500. And if you vaguely know an area you can check where a trail is (if it's on the map) so you don't make a wrong turn, but you can't plan on it, it's just not a big enough screen, enough resolution on the map and too fiddly.

What it is good for is using in conjuction with real maps, plan a route, mark it on your big map, download it to the edge and go. Use the GPS to make quick left/right/ahead decisions at junctions, get the map out once an hour to make sure you know where you are on a larger scale incase something goes wrong.

Data's adictive though, I started with a cheep computer, then a HRM, then a computer with cadence, then an edge305 (predecesor to the 500) to do all three and download it to the PC, then the 800. Now I [b][i]NEED[/b][/i] a powertap despite my FTP opf 250.

Butcher, can you pre plan your route on the Garmin you have, and then it gives you turn by turn directions?

I normally plan routes on bikehike.co.uk using my home PC, then transfer the file onto my Garmin. You could do it on the Garmin but it would be fiddly. Check it on the GPS before you go riding though. First time I used it on an unknown and long ride (100 miles to be exact) I realised the route stopped abrupty 30 miles in... (You have to reduce the number of created track points in bikehike, otherwise the unit cuts it short!)

Not sure about turn by turn directions. What it does is periodically beep when you're on route, and of course you can see where you're at in relation to your route on the map on screen.