Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Thinking of a Nuvi

I use a Garmin Forerunner 305 for both running and riding, and don't really plan to replace it, although the 705 is tempting. I don't really want to mount that thing on my bars however.

I really only "need" the GPS maps when I'm semi lost in an area I know (like D.C.) or when I'm in an area I don't know at all, which doesn't happen too often. I'm thinking it might be nice to carry along a general-purpose GPS device like the Garmin Nuvi, in my bag or in my jersey. I would only pull it out for a few minutes just to get my bearings and plan a route on the fly, so it wouldn't need to be on all the time.

Anybody have any suggestions? It looks like there are hundreds of different models:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134

Oh, I'd also use it in my car :)

If you are looking for the bare basics, hard to beat the Nuvi 200. Amazon sells it for less than $160, preloaded with all the maps, rechargable battery, etc. Weighs 5.2 oz. Has an SD slot. For a little more money ($240 or so) you can get a Nuvi 350. It has a built in MP3 player, same weight, etc. I probably would step up to the 350 (if not the 660 for that matter) if I was shopping for a Nuvi. And then, for a little more ($315) you can step up to the Nuvi 660: wide screen, lots of trick features.

Whichever model you get, Garmin keeps rolling out new models, better features, yadda, yadda. So I would not spend too much. Models get outdated pretty fast. I am on my seventh Garmin GPS. The good news is that I have sold the prior models on ebay (for less than I paid for them of course).

Amazon has a nice comparison table of all the Nuvi models. Whether you buy from Amazon or not, I would review their table. It appears on the Nuvi 200 item page, probably appears on all of the Nuvi models (scroll down).

The thing that has kept me from buying a Nuvi is that it is not waterproof. That should not be a concern for you given how you described plan use. In my case, I use my GPS on a motorcycle, where it is exposed to weather. For that reason, I use one of the Streetpilot models. For you, those would not work, they are large, heavy, overpriced (compared to the Nuvi) and the better models are not battery powered.

Thanks, that helps!

I use a Garmin Forerunner 305 for both running and riding, and don't really plan to replace it, although the 705 is tempting. I don't really want to mount that thing on my bars however.

I really only "need" the GPS maps when I'm semi lost in an area I know (like D.C.) or when I'm in an area I don't know at all, which doesn't happen too often. I'm thinking it might be nice to carry along a general-purpose GPS device like the Garmin Nuvi, in my bag or in my jersey. I would only pull it out for a few minutes just to get my bearings and plan a route on the fly, so it wouldn't need to be on all the time.

Anybody have any suggestions? It looks like there are hundreds of different models:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134

Oh, I'd also use it in my car :)

I have a NUVI 650 mounted on my Trek 7.5fx. I tend to go on 50+ mile rides and need a little guidance. The battery lasts about 4 hours and I have an external USB battery just in case I need it. Water can be an issue but anytime I run into a rain shower I just store in my camelbak.

I also own a NUVI 360 and it has issues with direct sunlight and I would not recommend it.

darc87

I have the 760 that I received from Amazon and absolutely love it. With that being said, I can't imagine having it in my back pocket while riding. I guess if you wanted to use it for that, then it would work, but it has no weather proofing (read: sweat). The touch screen can be put on "hold" which would prevent it from being used and changing settings without you meaning too however touch screens can be easily damaged by direct, pin-point contact from house keys or other objects.

-Barry-

I went with the 350. I don't need bluetooth, traffic alerts etc. If it doesn't work out for use on occasional bike rides, I'll just keep it for use in the car.

I bought a Nuvi 200 for the car/bike and love it so far. I have it mounted on my Xtracycle and find it very useful for finding places around town when I'm running errands or out with the family for the day. I find that I only get a couple of hours out of the internal battery and was interested in this external battery pack that people have talked about.

I tried buying one at Batteries+ today, but they had no idea what I was talking about. Can anyone post a link on where to buy one? There's no way I'm going to build my own, not in my skill set, and would rather just spend the money to buy a new one.

The Nuvi doesn't have a regular sized USB port, but a smaller one that you can plug into the car, wall, or computer. I'd tell you what sized port it is, but I have no idea what it's called.

Thanks,

Jon

I ran into a guy that rigged a small solar cell for recharging car batteries to a battery pack he got from Harbor Freight Tools, he then just plugged in his GPS and it works great! He even ran a cell phone car charger to it for his cell. IF I see him again I'll get more details.

I have a NUVI 650 mounted on my Trek 7.5fx. I tend to go on 50+ mile rides and need a little guidance. The battery lasts about 4 hours and I have an external USB battery just in case I need it. Water can be an issue but anytime I run into a rain shower I just store in my camelbak.

I also own a NUVI 360 and it has issues with direct sunlight and I would not recommend it.

darc87

I have a Nuvi and wouldnt mind mounting it to my bike, may I ask what kind of mount you are using?

If you go to Costco.com they have the Nuvi 750 on sale for $199, regularly $399.

O yeah, I have a Garming Nuvi 200, the cheapest one. I use it on my car and whem I'm riding on an unexplored neighborhood I take it along, toss it on the handlebar bag. IF I get lost, It's a pretty handy tool to have. Hell of a lot better than carrying lots of street maps.

However, After trying to tweek the nuvi to my liking, I found it's a really closed system. For example, the nivi can log your ride (to use it in mapmyride and similar ites) but the software doesn't let you do it. I would say, get a Navigon, it's an open platform and it's about the same price, maybe cheaper.