GPS for a mountain bike

[CIS121]

I was out at teh weekend for my first trek since last October and got pretty lost.

Has anyone got any experience of these? Do they have just roads or tracks as well and how user friendly are they? I was looking at soemthing like:

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=13337

[Fourmotion]

That model doesn't have any paths or routes on it. What it does is give you a blank background and show a breadcrumb style trail showing where you have been, which allows you to find your way back. I have the running version and it proved very useful when we got lost in the Lake District and fog set in.

If you're after routes you need either the 605 or 705. They were only released on the 29th Feb, so it's hard to find somewhere with stock. I think it is worth waiting a month or so for some reviews to come out. I'm probably going to get the 705, but I'm a sucker for a bit of bling, and do a lot of walking/biking it different places in the country, and like the idea of buying the OS style maps.

ETA: If you do go for the 205, they have it at Halfords online for £90. Damn I feel dirty advertising that place.

Edited by Fourmotion on Monday 3rd March 21:20

[atom111]

I have a Garmin it's yellow!!, I use it with Memory Maps it's ok, to plan some routes and cool seeing where you've been and how far you've climbed. It is not as sophisticated as a Tom Tom and you may need mapping software to go with it

[Moose.]

I have an Edge 305 which is pretty much identical but has a heart-rate sensor and more accurate altimeter. Anyway, I digress.

For navigation it does work and it works very well, but you need to purchase Memory Map. Using MM you can plan your route on an OS map and upload it to the GPS before you go out. Here's a route I did the other weekend:


(some of you might recognise it )

On the trail, it'll give you step by step instructions (a bit like a TomTom but without the talking) at each point you've created in MM. It bleeps and draws the corner/section leading into and out of the point along with where you are on that bit. It then goes back to whatever screen you were last looking at. The main map page will show the whole route on screen including any other points of interest (pub, trail centre etc) you've elected to add with either MM or the Garmin mapsource software.

It's also excellent as a training tool (and is in-fact was it was mainly designed for). The Training Center (sic) software is very good and allows you to analise your last ride(s) in as much detail as you want.

I've even used it to create some b-road routes for blating about on unfamilar roads in my kit car, which work surprisingly well All in all a great bit of kit and at £90 a bargin

Edited by Moose. on Monday 3rd March 21:50

[Moreymach]

Ive got the 205 Edge and to honest once the novelty of GPS on a bike ran out its little more than a flash bike computer. If you

The 705 will be a lot better ( and at around £300 a lot more expensive ) as you can download the garmin UK topo maps to it which are close to OS quality. Thing is that they cost £120 or so on top of the cost of the unit. Without the extra maps you will just see a basemap with will have towns and major roads.

[CIS121]

Thansk for the insight guys - the plot on the OS maps looks really great, but the maps seem very pricey. I'd need the SOuth map at £110.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Map-Version-Standar...

Much as I hate Halfords, I'll pop down there at teh weekend for a closer look.

[vincenz]

If you have a Nokia N series GPS equipped phone (long one, i know!) you can download:

http://research.nokia.com/research/projects/Sports...

Which is just as good, you can append you route to google maps and it logs your data as you ride.
Can also be used for other activites as well like skiing, running, etc

[Moose.]

CIS121 said:

Thansk for the insight guys - the plot on the OS maps looks really great, but the maps seem very pricey. I'd need the SOuth map at £110.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Map-Version-Standar...

eBay is your friend:

http://tinyurl.com/2hu54t

[Parrot of Doom]

I have a Nokia N73 which runs Symbian. I use a bit of software called Viewranger for OS GPS mapping. Its very good, you can download huge chunks of OS maps from their website for a small charge. I use a bluetooth GPS mouse, keep it in my saddlebag.

Its very spiffy, and you can view the recorded trails in Google Earth when you get home.