My wife and I would like to get a cheap GPS, not to keep mounted on the handlebars or anything, but to use when we get lost. (Easy in Massachusetts, since there is a strong tradition here that street signs identify the side streets but not the main street you're on, etc.) Regional bike maps don't have fine enough street-level detail, and street atlasses are too heavy...

So we want a GPS we can keep in the rack trunk and take out when necessary.

I'm basically looking for thoughts from people who have used GPS-es that are not specifically designed for cycling. The TomTom ONE is being widely advertised at $129 and seems to be generally well liked. Is there any cycling-specific gotchas we need to know? Does it have a "bicycle" mode and how, exactly, does it differ from car mode?

Also, do car-street-map-oriented GPS units have the capability of giving you your raw GPS coordinates if you want or need one?

If you want something in the $125 range, do a web search. You'll find many previous models for that price. Get a handheld version more for hiking and not an auto version. The automobile designed ones have larger screens but only last an hour so so without a power adaptor.

Regardless of the type, they aren't light weight. That's why Garmin is able to get $500+ dollars for their 705.

I have a Garmin Quest (about 5 years old) that would work well for this. It is pocket sized and will last several hours on a charge. If you kept it turned off except when you need it to figure out where you have gotten to it would be good for a multi-day trip. You could probably get one cheap on ebay - if so make sure you get the map software with it. The chip isn't large enough to hold the entire continent so you need to download the maps you need for a given area. I have had about 1/4 of the country in it at any given time.

I have the Delorme PN-20 which I use primarily for hiking but also for cycling. There's a rebate offer now that brings it down to $299. There's no need to buy any maps for it because it comes with topographical and street maps of the US that you can load as needed. It also has Delorme's TopoUSA software for the PC which is real nice. http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=27626&section=10048

Garmin makes several nice ones that'll work as well, including lower priced models like the Venture, but you'll need to buy the topo maps and/or street maps separate which are like $100 each. You could also jump up to the Edge 705 which is made for the bike, but it's very expensive plus you'll still need the maps.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-eTrex-Venture-HC-High-Intensity/dp/B000PDR230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1209696262&sr=8-2

The GPSRs for hiking/outdoor are built more rugged than a car model. I have a Garmin Nuvi for the car but I don't think it would last long in a rack trunk. Also the units made for hiking/outdoor use can get rained on with no issues. Try that with the car units. With the Delorme, the maps have a lot more info than just the roads, it includes elevation data, many trails (mostly hiking from what I can tell), rivers and even fairly small streams. So if you're on a MUP by a small river or stream, the map may not have the MUP but you'll likely have the river. The software will even let you create your own trails and routes using the PC then download them to the gpsr. These features are great for hiking and nice for cycling too.

Michael

Your cell phone may have GPS capilbilities as well.

We have a Garmin i5 for our car. It is small enough that you could pack it. Life for the 2 AA batteries is not real long. Amazon.com has some for $150 to $175. It has worked well for us. (The dirty little secret: buying update maps when they are available, if you so choose, costs about 1/2 or more of the purchase price.)

To add to what st0ut said, I use google maps with my cellphone that has worked well for me. It not a GPS, but it's pretty accurate.