MTB Navigation

[Speed 3]

I'm an old git infrequent MTB rider with an untreatable neck injury so not a speed & bump merchant and I'm not interested in the training/achievement data most of you will be. However I have a crap memory and increasingly poor sense of direction. Living on the North Downs there is plenty of good scope for rides but I generally struggle putting them together and waste a fair bit of time, especially when a mate comes down from Docklands to ride with me.

I'd like to be able to download other's proven rides with nav files and capture ones I do manage to put together myself. Given most of this riding is off-road, what are the best options for me ? Am I better off with a simple purpose built GPS like the Lezyne Macro or using my iPhone 6S with a suitable mount ? If the latter, what are the best apps ? I have seen things like the OS Mapfinder and GPX Viewer which I'm guessing require a certain amount of interpretation out there.

Summary of needs:

Download of .gpx files
Simple turn indications
Ride recording (currently use Runkeeper)

Not interested in:

Training functions - Power Meter etc
Bike set up
Social media willy waggling or notifications

Any suggestions / advice welcome.

[The_Jackal]

That is exactly what a Garmin Edge will be designed to do.
I would look at the 520 as a starting point. The 20 and 25 look too small and only a basic display.
I use a 520 to show a course I have planned my self or adapted from someone else's gpx file.
I use Ride with GPS to load up the gpx and amend it, then I export it as a tcx file which the garmin will then show as a course to follow while I ride.

[smn159]

Look at the Elemnt Bolt as an alternative as well. Does all the things that you need, plays well with Ride With GPS.

Very happy with mine.

[Steamer]

As said - 520 Garmin is a good starting point, although from my own personal experience I've found it a little on the small side for following directions in wooded / high speed - off road areas.

Although it's been great for following new road routes.

- get a protective cover for it, they don't like being dropped on hard surfaces!

[The_Jackal]

Although it will survive a full wash in the washing machine!
It was still lit up when I found it at the end.

[furrywoolyhatuk]

Another vote for the bolt from me. Very happy with it.

[art200380]

Had the same dilemma last week and looked at them all and bought the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt for my mtb rides in the Peak District.

Design a route on bikehike, export as a GPX file & upload in to Ride With GPS and it syncs to the Wahoo in a second.

So far been on 3 rides with it and its great.

After the ride there is a whole host of info you can view - route, cadence, speeds, heart rate etc etc

I bought the £260 bundle which includes the sensors.

Highly recommend.

[Gren]

smn159 said:

Look at the Elemnt Bolt as an alternative as well. Does all the things that you need, plays well with Ride With GPS.

Very happy with mine.

Bolt is nowhere near as good as an Edge 5xx for off roading. I wish I'd never sold my 510.

Don't get me wrong, the Bolt is great on road. Much better than the Garmins I've had before and cheaper for the same functionality BUT the GPS is a lot flakier without GLONASS (drops frequently and less accurate when in amongst the trees) and the lack of customisable auto pause is just annoying. Going under 3mph is a frequent occurrence and the constant beeping drives you mad.

[Speed 3]

Thanks for the replies so far. Looks like its a bit of a coin toss between the 520 and the Bolt given they're now similar prices. Unfortunately most of the online reviews are for road cycling so its interesting to hear what they're like in the trail world and beyond. Sounds like the Garmin still pips it for GPS accuracy and map quality. Battery life not an issue for me as I'm never out more than 2-3 hours.

I am a bit confused with the route import, some reviews saying the Garmin won't show turn indications on a .gpx import, can anyone confirm ?

[sjg]

Garmin Edge Touring will do all you want.

They give directions if they have enough map data to understand where turns/junctions are - so generally it works fine on the road (even giving "turn right into Green Lane" style directions), less so off-road. Either way if you go a little off-course it'll start beeping at you.

For MTB I tend to ride with the map/course display up, it's obvious enough where the turn are even if they're unofficial/unmarked tracks.

[jjlynn27]

sjg said:

Garmin Edge Touring will do all you want.

They give directions if they have enough map data to understand where turns/junctions are - so generally it works fine on the road (even giving "turn right into Green Lane" style directions), less so off-road. Either way if you go a little off-course it'll start beeping at you.

For MTB I tend to ride with the map/course display up, it's obvious enough where the turn are even if they're unofficial/unmarked tracks.

I'm with ^^. Plus version gets you a heart monitor if you want to scare yourself senseless.

[The_Jackal]

If the Bolt does not have GLONASS that is quite a big omission. These days nearly all phone have glonass, it really should be a run of the mill option and really does help tracking and accuracy.

[smn159]

The_Jackal said:

If the Bolt does not have GLONASS that is quite a big omission. These days nearly all phone have glonass, it really should be a run of the mill option and really does help tracking and accuracy.

Apparently it does

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/03/wahoo-elemnt-b...

[Gren]

smn159 said:

The_Jackal said:

If the Bolt does not have GLONASS that is quite a big omission. These days nearly all phone have glonass, it really should be a run of the mill option and really does help tracking and accuracy.

Apparently it does

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/03/wahoo-elemnt-b...

You're right it does. Only owned the thing for a few months now! Bad assumption on my part.

Thing is, it drops the signal more on the road than the 510 did in the middle of the woods. Speed bounces around a lot and Strava tracks are always less accurate (compared to roads/trails on the map) than the Garmin.

Hopefully that means that software can resolve things. Wahoo updates are far better and more frequent than Garmin.

Now if only someone would merge Garmin hardware to Wahoo software...

[wobert]

jjlynn27 said:

sjg said:

Garmin Edge Touring will do all you want.

They give directions if they have enough map data to understand where turns/junctions are - so generally it works fine on the road (even giving "turn right into Green Lane" style directions), less so off-road. Either way if you go a little off-course it'll start beeping at you.

For MTB I tend to ride with the map/course display up, it's obvious enough where the turn are even if they're unofficial/unmarked tracks.

I'm with ^^. Plus version gets you a heart monitor if you want to scare yourself senseless.

Me too....for the Plus.

[Usget]

Just to add another idea to the mix, I know a lot of the long-distance riders prefer to use Garmin Etrex because they're meant to be more robust and take replaceable batteries. Might be an option if you don't need the bells and whistles of the Edge.