GPS for touring
 

Hi there,
My latest buy was a Garmin Explore 820. Honestly I hate it : the display is really small, the accuracy really perfectible. And the unit is totally glued : it's almost impossible to replace the battery or the screen.
I'm looking for an alternative Touring self serviceable GPS : is there something available somewhere reliable enough ?
I just need a good mapping and a reliable itinerary planner, possibly with a correct battery.

I'm ageing, so do my bike : it's a Santos TravelMaster 2.8 with Magura rim brakes, a Rohloff with an outdated Gates belt drive. The wheels are a bit too thin, anyway, I'm still happy with it. Changing for something more "modern" is out of question, money wise at 65. Plus my wife would be horrified to see another new bike...

I'm not sure a fully modular GPS is on the market -- there's that "waterproof" thing that being bonded together really helps with.

Hard to say. What's your budget. Garmin Edge 1050 is the newest and has a much larger screen than the Edge 820. And also the slightly older Edge 1030 and 1040's of the different versions also have a large screen if you want NOS or used.

If you have to have a phone size screen, there there are apps you can get and put on your smartphone. Or one of the old smartphones that might be in a drawer taking up space. I tend to not be happy with the visibility of smartphones in bright daylight though.

I've used dozens of Garmin products over the many years since consumer GPS's came out. And all of them still function. I was annoyed after ten years that my Garmin Edge 500 wouldn't crap out so I could justify to myself getting something newer with more features. Finally my son gifted me a newer Edge and I no longer had my moral dilemma. I've never had a battery issue either. But I don't keep the backlighting on as some folks seem to think they have to do.

So since they never wear out, I've not had a chance or desire to use any other than Garmin. But some people do have issues with them. But with more than 2 dozen I've got. None have had a problem. Except for one chart plotter that was under water for a week after hurricane Katrina. But it still worked for 2 years after before finally crapping out from the moisture inside that I never could seem to get rid of..

As for itinerary planning, I've always thought that best done on a computer and then send that to the Garmin device.

Smartphones are simply unusable when there's a lot of rain, dripping water from the screen and hands not to add my glasses... And it's precisely when you try to find a safe place as fast as possible.
As I understand, Garmin is the only way to go. For my use : just touring, there are many unnecessary functions on a 1050. I'll take a look anyway.
The last time I tried to make a relatively long trip, I used WebRouter, sent the whole file in the Edge 820. 1300 km (800 miles) with intersecting routes. It was way too big for the device. I don't know how to split GPX in segments.

I have heard of people that use Garmin Etrex models for biking, a few riders this year used an Etrex for the Great Divide Tour race. I also know a couple of randonneurs that have used an Etrex or 64ST for riding brevets instead of the cycling specific models.

Etrex 22X or 32X uses AA batteries, not too expensive.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/669244

I have never owned a Garmin cycling specific GPS. I have been using a Garmin 64 since 2017, that model has been replaced by the 65 series. The screen on that is a little larger than on the Etrex 32X. It also runs on AA batteries.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/715072

I use this handlebar mount for my 64, that also works on the 32X. I have a couple times not got my GPS in it quite right and it fell out, I blame myself (user error), but I always use a cord tether on the handlebar so the GPS never hit the pavement.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/11411/pn/010-11023-00

The Etrex models do not use this battery pack, the 64 and 65 series do, with this you can charge the batteries while using them if you do not want to use AA batteries. So, if you got the Etrex model, you would be changing out the AA batteries.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/11648...74-00/#devices

The above battery pack is essentially a pair of AA NiMH rechargeable batteries. I use regular NiMH AA batteries (either Eneloop or Ikea 2450 Ladda) for touring and using a work around (that I can explain if you are interested) I charge them while using the GPS with a mini (not micro) USB cable. My bike tours since 2017 have been self sufficient for electric needs with a Dynohub, a USB charger powered by that hub, and a pass through cache battery. But I have to be pretty obsessive to minimize my electric usage. GPS is on while rolling but phone is off, etc. I usually use a taillight flasher powered by a couple AAA batteries while rolling, charge the AAA batteries in the campsite from the pass through cache battery.

Bike maps are available for free from:
https://extract.bbbike.org

There is a bit of a learning curve on how to download and install maps, get the best format for your needs, etc.

I thought someone else might list this as an option, so I did not mention this earlier. But looks like nobody else did. I prefer this over cycling models as I also use this type of GPS for kayaking, canoeing, backpacking, etc. I have had a few people on this forum or in person tell me to buy a "real" GPS, meaning a cycling specific one, but that would not meet my needs on a backpacking trip or canoe trip.

These might have too small of a screen for your needs or preferences, only you can decide on that. I would like a bigger screen than I have with the 64, but I can live with it.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5c09cd8158.jpg

Photo above from my bike tour a year ago. You do not need a separate bike computer like I have above, but often near home I skip the GPS and use the computer instead.

There are several ways to break up a route into smaller segments. If you know approximately how far you'll be riding each day, you can name each segment of the route as Day1, Day2, etc. Route planning can be easily done with Garmin Connect. Upload the segments to your unit and ride each one on that day,

Almost all diving wristwatches are much more waterproof than these gadgets AND uses screws. I really think glued bonds is a matter of cost reduction more than anything else.

Most any GPS/cyclometer is going to have a lot of features that aren't wanted or will ever be used by it's owner. The better and more expensive the device the more of that stuff you'll have. Just use the parts you want to use. They all do the basic stuff that most everyone wants.

Making a 800 mile route is foolish, IMO. You can't ride that 800 miles in one day. Break up the route into what you can do in one day and you probably can get them all on the device. If not, then you can easily swap them out and send them to the device as needed. With RideWithGPS.com it's a very simple thing. I'm sure it's easy with the Garmin Connect website too, but I haven't used it for mapping routes in many years.

Many devices are pretty waterproof. I have an iphone 12, and it's rated IP68 which means it can withstand submersion in water up to 6 meters (about 19.6 feet) for a maximum of 30 minutes. While this rating indicates strong water and dust resistance. No guaranty, however. I notice that when the screen is very wet, I can't operate it. I took a ride in heavy rain, and I had nothing to dry my hands and screen with so the phone became nearly useless but that was temporary. I'm not saying it's as good as a GPS unit, only that rain probably won't ruin it. Smartphones have come a long way. They test them by spraying water at high pressure.

Using the free ridewithgps: (you need a free login). Use a computer, not a phone to make these routes.
Route Planner tab.
It starts a new route page.

Click the Import Routes ---> Import file. Select your 800 mile GPX.

Now you can drag a section of the red elevation chart at the bottom to select it.
On the right side toolbar, click Crop. That deletes everything not selected.
Click the Save button.
Give it a name, like 2025 Tour Day 1.
Click View Route.
Export FIT file if you are using a Garmin. Or TCX Course or GPX Route for other devices -- you'll need to test which one works.


Repeat for each day's route: import the 800 mile route again. Select the next day's section. I'd make them overlap quite a bit, to allow flexibility in overnight locations.

Thanks for these explanations.
Of course I didn't planned to ride the whole 800 miles in a day !
I finally used my smartphone with google map and the KML I imported.
On this trip I also broke the screen of my "baby" laptop.

I usually split a tour into segments of a couple hundred miles, usually split them at some key point like a bridge or ferry that I know with certainty that I will cross. I often leave my planned route and take different roads or trails. My last tour I was probably off of my planned route for 30 percent of it. Tour before that was off of it for more than half of my total distance. But, by splitting it at key points that I know I will use, it simplifies things.

Like most people suggested, Garmin is the way to go. Look for the largest screen version.

Regarding the mapping/navigation issues, this tends to be limited by the map file. In the UK, you can purchase additional OS maps (big files and expensive) and I believe you can get the IGN map in France. But, I found that the maps from Talkytoaster are better than standard Garmin maps and are equally good compared to OS maps. the Talky toaster maps are a lot cheaper though. I found the French map very good in Brittany and Pas de Calais.
https://talkytoaster.me.uk/

While I understand your concern regarding smartphones and rain, consider a "quad lock" case and mount; they are made for bikes and motorbikes. It is not rare to see ultra-distance racers with both garmin and smartphone on their handlebar (Garmin tends to be at the front between clip-on Tri bars, while the smartphone is right behind between the tri bar elbow pads.

I have been experimenting with this budget Fossibot F101 Android phone


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2e6fdbf464.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8bf019e433.jpg

I chose it because it is weather resistant, has a large 10,000 mAH battery, and also has a speaker so I can listen to music on lonely stretches of road/trail.

I use the OsmAnd app for routing. I have no data plan on this phone, but when I am on WiFi, I can download routes that I've created on my computer. Or I can create my day's route right in OsmAnd.

The results have been good but not great.

Pluses

• Big battery can last several days without needing a charge if I am careful about screen time and app usage
• Speaker is great. I have playlists downloaded to the phone so I don't need a signal.
• USB-C charging with port cover so I've never received the dreaded, "Cannot charge because the port is wet" warning

Minuses

• It's a big boy. No flat spot for QuadLock mount so I had to source a different mounting method.
• SOC is slow and already starting to show its age. I should have gotten a faster SOC.
• Without a data plan, I still rely on my regular phone for Google Maps to find restaurants and stuff (I am more confident that places still exist and are open and good)

I'm trying to recall if I've had trouble with the touchscreen in the rain. I've ridden in the rain a lot with it; I don't recall ever cursing at it. And I haven't gotten too lost with it, so I guess it's working out ok. When I get to towns with a lot of turns and stuff, I often run Google Maps navigation on my main phone with spoken turn by turn directions while my main phone is in my pocket or elsewhere. That way, I get the audible cues and can look at this phone to confirm. But doing this, I've got the more recent Google Map data but am not draining my regular phone's battery by navigating all day with it.

I just upgraded my main phone, so I may convert my old phone (a Google Pixel with a faster processor) to nav duties. I'll get a Punk Case for it to protect the port and see how it goes. But I'll lose the speaker and big battery. Or maybe I'll look for another budget phone with all the features that I want - larger battery (but maybe not so large this time), speaker, and faster SOC.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce1695cc62.jpg

reminded me of rugged phones / toughphone like JCB android phones or hummer phone

Thanks for the link. an interesting resource §

You wanted serviceable.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/09/...e-battery.html

As far as I know Apple products are absolutely non self serviceable. Many friends are happy with them. Except when you are in the middle of nowhere, real problem arises.

That's a really nice setup ! Using an Orttlieb on my handle bar, the magnets are interfering with any simple compass.
I'm kayaking also, but in places where security buddies are much more important than electronic devices.
This Etrex is puzzling me. I'ts probably one of the best units from Garmin. Are there maps available for world touring ? How do you recharge batteries ?
My latest tour was so slow that I had to find places to recharge my buffer battery. The Son wasn't able to provide enough current...

For bike touring I use the link in my previous post. I select Garmin Openfiets Latin 1. For some reason my notes say I use Ascii, but I do not see that as an option. Instead of typing a lot, I laid out an area to download, this covers most of Wisc and part of Minn, down to include Chicago, Ill. Then I took a screenshot on my computer.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...53681911e0.png

I typed in test as a name. When I have multiple maps on my GPS SD card, the name I type is the name of the map if my memory is correct. (I have not done this for months, I might have that wrong.) I click extract. Then it sends me an e-mail telling me when my map is ready. When it is, I put the IMG file onto my GPS. I think this website is limited to half a GB per map, I might have too much area on that map in the example, if that happens, make it a bit smaller.

They have other formats, I have not played too much with various formats, I found I liked this format for biking so that is what I have used for years.

Since the GPS I use takes AA batteries and I saw some Etrex models do too, you can either buy disposable or NiMH or Li Ion rechargeable. I have not bought disposable AA or AAA for over a decade and a half. I use Ladda 2450 NiMH rechargable from Ikea or if not near an Ikea, Eneloop batteries. I mentioned in my previous post I can charge them in my GPS, but I think you can't with the Etrex.

I mentioned you can also buy AA or AAA that are Lithium Ion. I recently bought some of them too, have not tried them on a bike yet. They put out a constant 1.5v until they are empty. So, they very suddenly will be empty and you need to swap batteries. Thus, they might not be the best choice for bike touring as you may look at your GPS and suddenly realize it is off, time to pull over and swap batteries, which could be an inconvenient time. But if you want to try those, they can be charged by plugging a USB-C or Micro USB cable into the battery. You might find some of these on amazon if you are interested. I am using these at home on some electronics that work best at 1.5v, like my kitchen scale, etc.

Over the years I have bought three or four different AA/AAA chargers that run on a USB cable. The Powerchimp I used on my 2019 tour is below:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f18fc868e9.jpg

In the above example, three batteries are still charging, one is full. Same device below not plugged in. I am charging AAA in this example, can also charge AA.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c0c2c29c0d.jpg

Or a different AA charger. Photo below has the Eneloop chargers that can charge two AA and a camera batter charger, not sure if these Eneloop chargers are still made, photo is nine years old so the chargers are older than that. I was charging up two sets of batteries from a wall charger in Iceland.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...189aa73ff3.jpg

I have a dynohub on my front wheel. I use a Cycle2Charge to convert my electric output from that to USB. I put that power into a powerbank when I am rolling with my lights off. (My taillight flasher is battery powered, not powered from dynohub.)

I suspect you can't buy Cycle2Charge chargers any more, they are made and shipped from Germany and I think nobody in Germany is shipping stuff to USA due to the tariff uncertainty. That said, I used to use a Sinewave Revolution, they are still available because that company is in USA. And there are several other options to convert dyhohub output to USB power.

I use a Voltaic powerbank, I can charge it and discharge it simultaneously. In other words, I can plug my dynohub charger in to charge it while I am using the powerbank to charge other devices like my phone.

But kayaking or canoeing or backpacking, I bring a lot of batteries, do not try to charge them during a trip. I brought a solar panel on one trip but decided that the batteries were lighter than the panel was for the amount of power that I actually got out of the panel.

On my last tour a year ago, described here, there is a section on electrics. Describes some of this in more detail.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...ne-2024-a.html

For other activities I usually use topo maps from this site:
https://www.gmaptool.eu/en/content/u...-topo-routable

Your last comment, your Son did not provide enough power, what did you put the power from the Son into?

I am somewhat obsessive to make sure I am not wasting power. When the visibility is good enough to have my dyno powered lights off, I am charging my powerbank (Voltaic). But, dynohub output is only giving me roughly 2 watts on average into my power bank when you factor in hills, photo stops along the way, etc. On a hilly segment, cut that in half. And my taillight flashers are powered by AAA. Thus, most of the time my hub is only used to charge batteries.

My 2019 tour, I did not even put dyno powered lights on my bike, the dynohub was only used to charge batteries. If I needed a headlamp on my bike, I had a cheap light that is powered by USB cable that I could plug into my powerbank, but I never needed that light.

Since I am setup for charging AA and AAA batteries, my headlamp (for my head) is powered by AA too.

I bought my first GPS over two decades ago for kayaking. If I was paddlng towards an island and the fog came in, I did not want to accidently paddle past the island. The GPS I bought did not have a built in map, but I could enter waypoints with Lat and Long locations, so I put all the campsites I might want to go to into the GPS. Then I felt safe paddling in fog towards a campsite. Example below, this is on Lake Superior:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...adcf03751b.jpg

You do not see the GPS in the photo, that was sitting on top of m spray skirt, so I could look down at it and see where I am on the map. Photo below, that is exactly where I wanted to be when I got close enough to see land. I wanted to pass this island on my left.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e954dec94f.jpg

Same here. I tried a rugged phone from BangGood or somewhere on the motorbike, and for similar reasons as John, I gave it away. That said, I do have a Samsung Galaxy 8 (battery is flat, so I cannot check the model at the mo), I think, which might be worth trying. I currently use my old Garmin 1030 and my Nothing 3(a) Pro phone with Ride With GPS running. I only use the phone when I need a bigger picture of the situation (it provides much better mapping clarity than the Edge 1030 does). It might be worth a shot as I do have a Peak Design mount on the phone.

I also have a Samsung Galaxy S23+, but the USB charge port has died. Now if fixing that port was a reasonable cost ...

Of course, the ongoing issue of battery life with these Samsung phones is going to be a limitation.

I had planned on replacing the Edge 1030 with the Wahoo Ace just for the screen size and what appears to be better mapping visuals. I

One more quick comment on my non-cycling Garmin GPS that uses AA batteries and power consumption. I have done several tests where I charge up some NiMH batteries and run it until it shuts down with dead batteries. I have found that having screen time out so the screen is almost always off does not save much power compared to screen on constantly with backlight off. So, when biking, I have my screen on always so I do not have to keep touching a button to wake it up.

But, with backlight at full, that cuts my running time in half. So, I am obsessive about keeping my backlight off, or if I need it, minimize how bright it is.

Since I have not used the Garmin cycling computers, I have no clue if this is applicable to them or not.

I used handheld Garmins for years on motorcycles and hiking, both before and after the iPhone. The ultra long battery life on a pair of AAs is very handy, as is the ability to buy a fresh set at a gas station.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3a853784bc.jpg
Garmin eMap, circa 2024. This unit did not have turn-by-turn directions. Rather, you defined your destination and a simple "as-the-crow-flies" line would be drawn from your current location to the destination. It was up to you to decide which roads to take. I kind of liked this method of navigation, a mix of forward progress plus seat-of-the-pants decision-making
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...28d33ad377.jpg
A big jump up from the eMap and immediate predecessors that had dim backlighting. Color screen is no match for phones but helps discerning different things on the map.

This thread has me thinking that I should what the new Garmins are like, and if they've updated their desktop software which, last time I tried using it, was resolutely stuck in the Windows 95 era of software.

Your 60CSX could only read one map in the memory, I think that file name was GMAPSUP.IMG, but I might have that wrong. But now you can have lots of map files on the newer ones, and select which map you want to use at that time. A map file could be any name, but had to be .IMG file type.

In my settings I select map and get a screen like below, decide which map to enable. By default they are all enabled, but I want to disable all the ones I am not using so it starts up faster.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9d513ea519.jpg

That is one big change. I gave my 60CSX to a buddy since I no longer had a use for it. On some of my trips I used maps from different sources, so I needed more than one map in my memory.

This thread might also have some useful info.
https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...s-etrex30.html

That's a really good idea ! I often diverge from my planned route, mostly to find a quiet wild camp site. Which is your preferred app to split gpx ?
Thx