scarleton

I am looking to get a GPS for randonneuring. I am currently using my iPhone, Cyclometer, and a Wahoo RFLKT+. I love the app, but have two concerns:

• Using it when it is wet
• Over heating in the summer sun

So I looking for other options. There are four that I know might be good options:

1. Garmin Edge 1000
2. Garmin Edge 810
3. Garmin Edge Touring Plus
4. Magellan 505

I am NOT considering the Edge 800 or non plus version of the Edge touring.

I have lots of questions. I want to keep using Cyclometer as my main database/system to track all my rides. So... I am 99.9% sure all the GPS's listed will allow me to export the ride in such a way I can import them into Cyclometer. Does anyone know any different?

Another option I am entertaining is to still use Cyclometer, but keep the phone in my bag and only use the RFLKT+ to control it so that it still is the main record of the ride and only used the GPS for routing. I think I prefer this option the best because it also gives me a backup on my computer if one of the two fails. I am also thinking that this would be the least expensive option because I am thinking the Garmin Edge Touring Plus would be the perfect candidate for this, since all the stats are being recorded via Cyclometer. The only drawback would be having two devices to charge on the longer rides.

So, can folks find any wholes in this whole idea of using both the Cyclometer and Edge Touring Plus? Are there other, less expensive GPS's that will gave me the same functionality as the Edge Touring Plus?

What will the Magellan 505, Edge 1000, or Edge 810 give me that the Edge Touring Plus & Cyclometer/Wahoo RFLKT+ won't give me?

znomit

You might consider the garmin Etrex 20 or 30. 2xAA batteries get you over 24hrs so no charging hassles.

Carbonfiberboy 

I use an 800. For LD rides I plug it into an auxiliary battery pack. Nothing to it except that one shouldn't leave it plugged in when it's raining. I love that it's sealed and rechargeable. What do I get that's better than an iphone with auxiliary devices? Well for starters, no iphone! Simplicity. I also have a wired computer that serves as a backup for distance, etc.

scarleton

Interesting, I had not considered a none dedicated bicycle GPS before, but I am very much intrigued with the idea. I am more interested in the 20 then the 30, because of cost. Am I reading it correctly that the only difference in the two units is that the 30 have these features:

• Barometric altimeter
• Electronic compass
• Unit-to-unit transfer

All in all, it doesn't seem to be all that important to randonneuring.

What else would I be gaining and giving up going with the Garmin Etrex 20 over the Garmin Edge Touring Plus?

thrllskr

Op, I use:
Wahoo HRM BT
Wahoo Rflkt+
Iphone 5
Cyclemeter App
Cateye Ant+ Speed/Cadence
Anker Batter Charger

I run my iphone with cellularff Wififf bluetoothn
If I need a map I pull out my phone and look at cyclemeter map, easy enough. I preload the .gpx file to cyclemeter before I ride and if I am off course I can look and know where I am off course. I have a total of 4 full charges of battery life on iphone with 4.5oz Anker. That is minimum 48 hours of running time long enough for most rides.
My phone is out of the sun, out of the rain, and everything else is weather/water proof. Works for me and is much cheaper than a Garmin.

scarleton

So... correct me if I am mistaken, but Cyclometer doesn't download the map, it needs cellular or WiFi to get the map, correct? Do you simply turn on Cellular when you look at the map or am I missing a feature of Cyclometer?

ray.garza

How about a water proof case for iPhone?

thrllskr

Ziplock baggies work just fine and your fingers will still control the touch screen through the baggie.

scarleton

So... Do you have any recommendations for the iPhone 6 Plus? I am not seeing any

Let me clarify a bit, I am looking for quality options. I am currently using the Rokform which is a wonderful case in general and equally good bike mounting system, but it isn't waterproof. There is the Quad Lock system, but they only make it for the iPhone6, not the Plus. I see other options that are waterproof but not with real bike mount systems.

thrllskr

95% of the time you do not need cellular or wifi on the map feature in Cyclemeter. I have had a few occasions when I had to turn on cellular to load a map when there was no GPS signal. Cyclemeter uses GPS signals for mapping, not cellular data. If you preload the map (i use .gpx) to cyclemeter you don't need cellular data.

scarleton

I guess I am not understanding things well. It was my understanding that when you load a .gpx, you are only getting a route, you are NOT getting the actual map, such as names of streets, other streets around the route, etc. So it would seem to me that all you get is a blank screen with the purple line which is your route and the blue dot that is your location. But by turning on the Cellular you get the actual 'map' part, all the streets, their names and everything else. Am I off base here?

thrllskr

I will test this out tonight because I might be wrong. I will post after some testing.

ray.garza

Quad lock has the adapter pod that you glue to your case of your choice, then you mount that on the bike mount. Do an Amazon search on iphone 6 plus waterproof and you will find many to choose from.

scarleton

As does Rokform, the thing is, though... my iPhone 6 Plus is an expensive piece of equipment, a bit too expensive to trust to some adhesive between one brand of mount and another brand of case. I am looking for a all-in-one solution.

ray.garza

It is rather big! I think you are better off with a dedicated bike computer such as Garmin or the Magellan plus an external battery pack if needed.

dual650c

The 30 allows the use of HRM and cadence sensors which the 20 does not. While not specifically randonneuring-oriented features, I find both helpful for maintaining pace and not over-exerting during extreme heat/humidity conditions. I rarely use the altimeter or unit-to-unit transfer features (unless by that you mean transferring tracks to my laptop/pc when touring).

FWIW, I moved from a 20 to a 30 (both bought used off eBay) and have no regrets, either with respect to rando or touring. Others claim 24 hour battery life, but my max has been in the 18-20 hour range. Both have been "waterproof" in half-hour long heavy downpours (though I've never submerged either in a pail of water to really test it).

bikemig 

+ 1.

bikemig 

I've pretty much made up my mind after doing some research to go with the extrex 20 for pretty much these reasons.

9606

I don't know much about all the gadgets and apps being talk about, but I would also be thinking about how the device(s) handle laps and running time, auto start, going to sleep at controls (the device/app, not the rider!), auto scroll, data fields, etc.
Does the device shut off when you change batteries? What then happens to your running time?
I just use a Joule GPS running from my hub gen, and a flip phone. And two sets of cue sheets.

znomit

Usually expect about 30hrs battery from the etrex 20 on rides where I'm not using the routing features, and have the backlight on low only. Thats with Eneloop XX batteries (~2400mAhr).

oxymoroncyclist

Etrex 30! My batteries ran out in the middle of one of my brevets. When I managed to reload them with new AAs at the next checkpoint, the etrex calculated the missing track that was missing for the last 30mins.

thrllskr

I tested out cyclemeter lastnight. I had a .gpx file loaded in. I opened the map and cycelmeter showed the map of the area surrounding the route. If I tried to zoom in too far the resolution was lost. It appears cyclemeter loads a basic map around the route and does not require use of wifi or cellular when following the route. As soon as I turned on cellular data the map was was uploaded.
My conclusion:
I can see the basic map for route navigation.
If I get lost I need to turn on cellular to update the map.

Here is the response from the email I sent to Cyclemeter:
Thanks for writing in with your question. I'm happy to help.

Our app does not currently have a turn by turn navigation feature, but it is something that we would like to add down the road. It isn't on our near term plan right today, but it is on our radar for a future release.

Some of our customers have told us that they use an app called Co-Rider for turn by turn navigation along with our app. I can't call this a "recommendation" since we haven't tested it ourselves - but we do have customers using it successfully. One word of caution about running multiple GPS-based apps is that they do require quite a bit of memory to run. You might run into low memory conditions if there isn't enough memory (RAM) available on your iPhone to support both apps running together.

I hope that information is helpful. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Best regards,

Fran Taylor
Abvio

randallr

For what it's worth, I tried to make a Garmin Edge Touring (not Touring Plus) work for rides in my side of the Denver Metro area early this year. At first I tried using it like we use our Garmin Nuvi in the car, to just tell me where to go, that didn't work. Folks on this forum pointed out that's not really how people use a bike gps, so I went with the recommendation (also recommended by Garmin tech support) to go to Garmin's site and load my route in there. The site worked great, just like "MapMyRide", I was able to get the route into the Garmin Edge Touring but on the road the Edge Touring proved to be kind of stupid. Told me to go places I hadn't set up in the map on the site, told me to turn left when I should be going right (and when the road only went to the right), etc. So I returned it.

anotherbrian

The compass in the 30 would be helpful for ascertaining which direction you are actually facing when you look at the on screen map. Otherwise the Garmin uses your movement to orient the map/your pointer, which can be a problem if you stop.

Barometric altimeter gives you accurate elevation; much more so than GPS elevation.

I get by with route sheets and street signs for the most part, though have every generation of Garmin bike computer all the same. For navigation I'd definitely pick a handheld unit over any of the Edge's (though as a basic GPS-enhanced cycle computer the Edge 500 can't be beat).

bikemig 

There are some threads over at Adventure Cycling suggesting that the extrex 20 is the best choice for long distance touring as it has long battery life. There is a bike mount for it as well. I'm considering buying the extrex 20 for the same reasons (and purposes) you are.

Apologies to the list (and the OP) for the double post!