iTrod

I understand there are some issues regarding route recalculation on the Garmin Edge Touring in that it departs from pre-programed routes at times. I was thinking of buying a GPS to supplement cue cards for brevets. Is there a reliable dedicated GPS unit for brevets? I am not interested in using a smart phone for this purpose. Thanks for your input!

znomit

Garmin Etrex 20 or 30 is the best bet.

unterhausen

I use an Edge 800 for brevets, and it has been pretty successful. I think you can still buy new ones. I think I would skip the 1000, but I know randos are using the 810 successfully. I could see using a 500, but I would want to save maps on my phone. And lots of people report problems with charging while riding, although I think that can be solved.

I almost never display the maps on my 800. But if you enable turn warnings, the device shows a map of the turn. It's pretty handy

eta: just noticed your location. I was thinking about riding my 200k to Lewisburg tomorrow, but it looks like that is going to be rained out. I have 8 approved permanents starting in Boalsburg and State College with more on the way.

mibike

I like my Garmin GPSMAP 64s. You can set it so it won't recalculate. It uses AA batteries and has good battery life. I use eneloop rechargeable batteries and can carry spares if I think I'll need them and can also buy a set of alkaline batteries at a store. It has buttons not touch screen which I like better as they work good in the rain and with gloves on.

If you would rather have a touch screen I think Garmin has touch screen units that also use AA batteries and the ability to disable recalculation.

I also have an eTrex 20 and don't like it for brevets as it will recalculate and there is no way to disable it. If you go off route say on a side street or even do a U turn to stop at a store or restaurant it will recalculate. Then when you are back on route it will recalculate again and this may or may not be the route you started with. Also if it's recalculating and you make another turn or U turn it will sometimes freeze up. You then need to power it down and sometimes if it's a bad freeze up remove the batteries.

iTrod

Thanks for the information! I would like to check out your permanents once my left ankle fracture heals. Central PA is a great place to ride!

njkayaker

You typically turn "Recalculation" off. Recalculation is done when you go off course. You don't need it. It's easy enough to ride back to the course. Most of the units (as far as I know) let you turn this off.

Note that the "Turn Guidance" (what unterhausen mentioned) is the result of an initial calculation. The Touring doesn't let you turn that off (there should be an option to turn it off).

The "ancient" 800 works very well. The newer units don't appear to work better for navigation. You can use free openstreetmap maps on it.

I tend to mostly use the map screen. Among other things, it makes it easy to recover from wrong turns without having to backtrack.

The 800 (and the newer units) can be charged while in use with an external battery.

It's something you need some practice/experience to use.

Garmin labels this "Turn Guidance".

That's good to know. That would be enough for me to not consider it. The recalculation isn't necessary anyway.

znomit

I just use a gpx track file with no turn by turn navigation. It uses less battery life than turn by turn and if you're familiar with the route it should be all you need.

njkayaker

If you are familiar with the route, you don't need the GPS.

(Track following is OK to do.)

mibike

I have done that and it will work. However most of the brevets I ride are out of town so i'm not that familiar with the route. I find I don't need to look at the screen as much and I'm less likely to miss a turn using a Route instead of a Track.

Some of the advantages I find using a Route and not a Track are.

It will beep when a turn is close and a second beep at the turn.

It has a large arrow for the turn that's hard to miss if you glance at the screen.

I have one of the fields set to "Distance to Next" so I know how far the next turn is. If I glance at it and the next turn is several miles away I don't need to pay attention for a while if it's close I keep a better eye on it.

I find I get better battery life because I can keep the backlight off and it will turn on when a turn is announced. I have it set to 15 second timeout. With a track you need to have the backlight on to see the line,You can also set it to battery saver mode that will turn off the screen when the backlight is off. I don't do this as I find I get good enough battery life as long as the backlight is off. With a track you need to have the backlight on at night to see the line.