Biketouringhobo

Anyone Using Garmin Edge Touring GPS Unit???

How do you like it and is it easy to use and how is the
Battery life and how long does it take to charge up when
the battery is low???

I am thinking of buying one ASAP and I would have to save
$62.50 in Money order or REI gift card for 4 months so I can
buy it for my bike touring trips

festus2

You would have to charge it every night. Too much of a pain for me as I camp a lot during tours. I use a hiking GPS that uses AA batteries. On all day, lasts about 3 days. Then just throw in 2 new batteries.

I deal with my iPhone by putting it in airplane mode, switch when I want to check it. Charge can easily last a few days that way.

mantelclock

I've used a Garmin Edge Touring for the last two years. It is pretty good, but tends to take me on back roads when a two lane highway with great shoulders would be faster, safer, and less hilly. Battery life is not great for touring. In my experience it is good for about 4-6 hours, but I have a solar charger with a battery pack, and could go for weeks. I wouldn't rely on the unit's internal battery on a tour, unless I had backup paper maps or cue sheets.

punkinevil

It's mostly ok. I have gotten about 8 hours of battery life out of it, and carry a powerbank. I also don't camp out, so I can't speak about how I would handle more than 2 days away from power. It does charge fairly quickly...may a couple of hours. There are some poer-saving settings you can use (backlight auto shutdown, backlight level, etc.)

As for reliability, I have had it crash on occasion and require a restart. I have also had it have a nervous breakdown and tell me that no route exists (after it had calculated one) and force me to restart it.

I agree that it does favor back road routes over more direct highways that it deems too busy. Sometimes those choices are just plain weird. I always have my smartphone with Googlemaps as a backup.

I have also had it direct me into a railroad depot and then insisted I turn onto the tracks. It was very Wyle E Coyote: oncoming train and all. When I turned around to go back the way I came, it kept beeping and insisting I do what it said. It was unfortunate timing because it was about half an hour after dusk and I was in some very unfamiliar rural territory about 100 miles into my ride that day.

That being said, it works out ok if you have it plot you a relatively short course (less than 50 miles) and then put in your next major waypoint after you get to the first. I tend to plot my whole route first and use the Garmin mounted on my bike to keep track of where I am.

One more sidenote that bugs the crap out of me: The needle on the compass screen always point straight ahead and the small compass points rotate around it. It can be a little hard to see. Of course I don't need a big red needle to always point straight ahead. I can figure that part out myself.

punkinevil

Not to hijack this thread, but have you found a solar charger you like? I am looking for one that I would strap to my regular trunkbag, but most reviews I find always end up saying that solar charging is for emergencies only. I would love to find one that with at least 5000-6000mAh that would charge itself nicely over the course of a day-long ride, but I haven't seen one that I am convinced would do that.

mantelclock

I use the Goal Zero solar charger, with their Guide 10 battery pack. In 2013, I used it with a Garmin map 60csx, and it kept it going for 2 weeks. Same in 2014 with a Garmin edge touring.

Marcus_Ti

I know a guy who got one...inside of a year he "upgraded" to a less feature-bricked Edge ala 510 IIRC.

rifraf

Not sure if it helps, but I have the earlier Edge 800 unit.
I have no problems keeping on top of its power consumption with my dynohub/E-werk/cache battery.
I've just ordered the Edge 1000 and hope to do the same with that.

I'm a bit of a technophobe, and haven't learnt all the functions of the 800 properly but have arranged some "lessons" from another Edge 1000 user to show me how to download different maps and plan routes.
I've bought the 1000 as my eye sight is starting to deteriorate and I'm struggling to read the maps on my 800 unit.

The functions I do understand and use I love and they help keep my rides interesting.
I like to see my heart rate so as not to over exert and my cadence (rpm) so I know I'm looking after my worn knees.
I'm able to whine about the outdoor temperatures and can see how close to dinner it is.

Be forewarned, it possible to be a little overwhelmed at first by them until you can spend some time learning their functions whilst in a relaxed state.

I don't remember how long mine takes to charge as the dynohub tends to keep it topped up.
I find one of my two dynohubs can keep on top of the power consumption of my smartphone, my Edge unit and my Petzl Tikka 2XP headlight torch with Core rechargeable battery.

I've yet to finalise what the dynamo hub on my trailer will be charging but its likely to be my iPad or storage battery. Longer term it will charge a camera, likely a Sony, either a RX100 or A6000.

My 800 is just too small a screen for me to read comfortably when looking at the maps.
The "Touring" or 810 units are the same or similar screen size so really you want to test ride a bike with one on it to determine if you can read the maps which is the function your paying the big bucks for.

It would be a pain without the dynamo hub as the 15 hours run time is a load of BS and as posted above, expect a much shorter run time.

Good luck

arnaguedes

For me I prefer Garmin Dakota 20, AA Batteries with 19h battery life.

Ghazmh

I use an eTrex 20 with a bicycle mount on my stem. AA batteries, long battery life and it has most of the same data that a dedicated cycling unit has.

FastJake

I've had my Edge Touring for about a year. It works, mostly. I will repeat what people said above about occasional software glitches and fits. If you setup a route to give turn-by-turn directions it will often crap out and stop giving the directions. But it will still show your route on the little map which is nice.

Overall I like it. But it will last less than a day, so you'll have to figure out how to charge it in the wild.

Cool setup! I particularly like the Scoop Away Panniers. I've often thought about hard-case panniers instead of the usual soft ones to better protect my stuff, keep it dry, etc. How do you like them?

mantelclock

You're right. I forgot to mention how the Garmin Tour leaves you cold when you're doing turn by turn. I'm not sure if it's related to "avoids" in the setup or if it's just an unpleasant feature.

I love my Scoop Away Panniers. I have about 3,000 miles on them and they do keep everything dry and protected. Plus they double as a camp seat and table. But K.L. Panniers have been discussed in other threads so...

FastJake

Apologies to the OP. I didn't mean to get off topic, I had just never seen them before. A quick Google search returns tons of hits including how to make them.

Anyway, I think the Garmin Touring's glitches are pretty common, almost a guarantee if you use the thing as intended. A couple friends have them and complain about the same things.

I hope there is a better bicycle GPS on the market in a few years or whenever I need to buy a new one.

gauvins

1. It is possible to get is to work all day (12+hrs) but you must use a static display (e.g. speed, remaining distance, etc.). In updated mapping mode -- which is what you'd normally want to do -- I'd say 6hrs.
2. I do not use the device's routing. I use the GPS to get turn-by-turn directions for routes planned on other platforms (I tend to use Strava). Turn by turn is excellent, HOWEVER I suggest that you turn off the route auto update feature. Otherwise you run the risk of being re-routed on a bizarre course as the algorithm strictly avoids highways, even those that you could use on a couple of kilometers to cut the overall distance in half (happened to me twice, until I was able to figure what was going on)

Excellent tool, cheaper than Garmin's full featured models that are geared towards the road crowd training with HRM/power meters, and more suited to the task than a typical smartphone. Will take a couple of days to learn how to use it properly.

Biketouringhobo

That's ok

Biketouringhobo

I turn off my Smartphone

njkayaker

I've found it to work pretty well.


Most people use routes created elsewhere.


Yes, turn the "recalculate route" off. That doesn't calculate a route back to your loaded route.


You don't generally need it to do that anyway. Just ride to the nearest place on the purple line.


I don't think the maps have highways as being routable.

Dahon.Steve

You can use AA batteries with this unit. There are a number of AA battery chargers that have USB ports.

I really want this device but my Garmin Legend that works great.

gregjones

violin, fiddle or mandolin??

tarwheel 

A friend of mine has the Garmin Edge Touring GPS and seems reasonably pleased, but he also had some glitches that he had to resolve through Garmin's technical support and some downloads. I am more inclined to use a GPS-Cycling app on my iPhone.

BTW, if you are considering a solar-charging system, you should also check out dynamo chargers. A big plus to the dynamo chargers is that you can couple with a light system. Eg, my B&M Luxos light has a built-in charging feature for accessories. You also are not dependent on sunlight, but you can't charge items while your headlights are running.

mantelclock

The picture was taken just before I left CT for a trip to GA. It was a violin until I reached Virginia, and it was a fiddle after that.

mtnroads

Hahaha.. that's funny!

gregjones

Sounds like the makings of a Charlie Daniels tune.

rifraf

Well my Edge 1000 arrived yesterday.
So far all I've done is take it out of the box for a quick look and update the firmware.

First impression is that the actual screen size isn't as significantly larger as I'd hoped.
I don't live anywhere near the Garmin listed outlets and was relying on reviews and their comments to make a purchase decision.
Garmin Express appears to have "added" the unit with no issues and I didn't have to delete my 800 first from the program.
Garmin Express added the latest firmware to the unit with no real issue.

Saying that, owners of 11' Macbook Airs will find a problem in that the Express screen is not really compatible with the laptops screen resolution.
There is a "Next" box that needs to be ticked that is hidden behind the bottom menu bar of the screen.
According to Garmin it couldn't be done.
I eventually found I could very carefully and slowly click and drag the Express screen to the right allowing me access to the "Next" box and completing the firmware upgrade.

It took me a long time and quite a few calls to Garmin as well as to Apple to search for a fix that I eventually worked out for myself.
I'll be giving their tech unit a ring on Monday to let them know contrary to their current belief, it can be done.

capejohn

You just saved me a lot of money. Thanks