I'm keen on a newer unit with better phone based planning/connectivity than the one I have.
I have an older Garmin Oregon at the moment, and I tend to map routes at home, or pinch someone else's. Some might have short bits of cheeky on them. On the Oregon, I can just display the route on the map (or even 2 routes, different colours, e.g. one as a bail-out loop). I press start and record the ride, but I'm following the line on the map, rather then being given arrows and instructions and directions and distances to turnings.
I quite like this approach: if you want to have route as a suggestion and explore either side of one or several routes, you can do that without being shouted at/turned around. Or you can cut the corner, take the road for a bit...
If you're knackered at the end of long ride and just want to follow exactly the route you planned, because you did it carefully and you know it's the best one (as per Tom's thread a few months back), you can do that without being told off and sent a different way because your Garmin thinks you're being naughty.
Can you do this on any Edge computers? Just have a route or two displayed on the map without "following" it?
Mine allows me to pause navigation - it keeps the route on screen and it still records what I'm doing but without shouting at me to "make a U-turn" or constantly asking me if I want to re-route.
You can only select that option when you actually go off route though. Say you go left at a junction rather than right as the unit says. It'll think for a few seconds after you've turned then say "off route" and at that point it gives you the option to re-route or to pause navigation.
You do have to make sure the unit settings are not set to auto-reroute otherwise it won't give you the pause option.
Mine is a Garmin Edge Explore 2 but I think they all have that same basic software.
I have an old Garmin that just displays of route and leaves the map up.
I've bought a new one and it is full of beeps when I've gone off route.
Very helpful to know it can be changed to stop trying to reroute me
I think I've got Trailforks running in the background of my Garmin Edge 830. I generally just ride with the stats showing, distance. metres climbed and beers earned etc, but when I change to the map screen it'll happily tell me if I'm on 'My neighbour's Mama' and show the rest of the local trail network.
However, I don't think it's any good for actual navigation. The screen was designed by the same folks who orchestrated Tantalus' torture. No matter how close or how far you are from the screen, it's never in focus. When I complain about this to Mrs B, she just rolls her eyes and tells me to go to Specsavers, but what are they going to know about fixing a Garmin screen??
If I was going to rely on my Garmin alone for navigation, I'd be tempted to drag out my old Garmin Oregon, and it's much bigger screen, but the Edge 830 has many more useful features, like the ability to sync with Trailforks and Komoot. It's just the screen is tiny and the navigation buttons are awful.
In answer though, yes. As far as I'm aware, you can have a route up on screen and just not click the navigate button.
Memory map? On a robust phone for riding and a laptop for planning?
The new Garmin MTB is good at this, shows navigation hints even when not navigating (climb lenght, next junction etc) and when you are following a route and go off it will tell you and then reroute via alternatives, so if you decide to explore off track it will suggest ways to get back on route. For example the other day I didn't fancy a hike a bike section of a route I was following and set off along a road, firstly it showed a map when off course then it found an alternative bridleway and rerouted, it all just worked automatically.
I assume most will do that? On the Edge 1040 you just tap "pause navigation" when it starts screaming at you that you're off course. I'm 90% sure there's an option (it's not one I use) when selecting courses to navigate them or not. I always have the navigation on though as I'm liable to either be in my own little world when passing the turning, or be on the wrong screen.
I tend to plan bailouts as a separate route if I need one then use the "navigate to start" feature.
You can do it on a modern Garmin still.
Go to Courses, select the course you want to follow, don't click navigate, just click the three dots top right hand side, scroll down to Always Display, turn that and and the course will always be displayed on the Map. The box underneath lets you select the colour for the route.
FWIW the newer Oregon (700) has Bluetooth/Phone connectivity but otherwise operates the same as the 600. There is also a Komoot IQ App for it. Perhaps one of those would suit your requirements without requiring many other changes?
Go to Courses, select the course you want to follow, don't click navigate, just click the three dots top right hand side, scroll down to Always Display, turn that and and the course will always be displayed on the Map.
Thats what i do a lot of the time. Works well
THANK YOU paul_m!! and leffeboy - precise and concise, and exactly what I want I wanted. 10/10. Take a pound out of the till.
Now I can go back to deliberating over which one's going to work best for me. might take me another year! 🤪
