Originally Posted by bemoore
GPS Cons:
May require several minutes to acquire satellites.
Usually not the case unless you haven't used the unit in a while. I almost always acquire a signal in under a minute.
No odometer function. (It does have a trip odo).
All of the Garmin handheld mapping units have this function. Both a trip odometer and a total odometer.
No auto start/stop function based on wheel motion.
The Garmin handheld mapping units know when you have stopped or are moving. It will also give you an moving average speed and a total trip average speed. And a moving time, stopped time, and total time.
Now there are places where a GPS isn't always going to be the best & a cyclometer is preferred. In dense forest, downtown environments and deep canyons, reception can be spotty. Also if you go into a long tunnel. But if you are on a road, 99.99 percent a GPS will give you a good signal.
If you ever download a ride into a mapping program from a handheld GPS, you'll never ride without one again. I merge all my rides together and I can view a map to see what roads I have never ridden on.
One other reason to use the Garmin mapping units is they have a computer screen that will show up to 8 different data at one time. I can view my MPH, avg speed, current time, odometer, trip odometer, distance to next, elevation speed and sunset.
Now a downside is if you buy a mapping unit, it will only come with a very basic basemap... Basic meaning only US highways, interstates, and major state routes. If you want specific streets for your area, you've got to buy their mapping software... usually around $100 more....
Since cyclometers are cheap, I would suggest perhaps using both.