Originally Posted by
canam73
Have you ever used a GPS in a car or on a smart phone? That's maps, and what you would want an 800/810 for.
The 200/500/510 function more along the lines of a traditional bike computer, but they can function without magnets and sensors if you don't need heart rate, cadence and speed indoors. And in addition, they record your ride for viewing on a computer.
Yup. And the mapping ones have the ability to download a route off the web (a site like ride with GPS) and give you a line on the moving map to follow, and turn-by-turn. So you can discover routes in areas you don't know, without getting lost. Finally, they allow you to navigate back to a specific point (like "back to start") so you can ride routes you know, then leave them to explore without fear of getting lost.
They are very cool. Because of my Garmin (a 605), I've found and downloaded dozens of new favorites.