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Which GPS do you use and why?

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Which GPS do you use and why?

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Old 11-09-15 | 03:42 PM
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Best Buy has the Garmin Edge 200 listed as a deal of the day for $99.99. If your looking for something basic and just want to track you route.
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Old 11-09-15 | 04:22 PM
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Do any of the Garmin users use the Livetrack function? I have an 810 and while I'm happy with it for the most part the Livetrack function has stopped working. The recipient gets the e mail inviting them to the activity but when it's opened there is no info there. I have tried uninstalling and re installing Garmin Connect from the phone (Galaxy Edge 6) but no dice. Garmin support was really no help and I've thrown in the towel and stopped trying to get it to work. Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem and if so how have you dealt with it.
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Old 11-09-15 | 05:10 PM
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I use Live Track all the time. It was still working as of this weekend on my Fenix 3 (with an Android phone). So it's probably not a sever issue.

Have you tried removing your Edge in GCM and re-adding it, re-doing the pairing?
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Old 11-09-15 | 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
I use Live Track all the time. It was still working as of this weekend on my Fenix 3 (with an Android phone). So it's probably not a sever issue.

Have you tried removing your Edge in GCM and re-adding it, re-doing the pairing?

Yes I have un-paired/re-paired the Edge from the phone to no avail.
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Old 11-09-15 | 09:09 PM
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I use Garmi Edge 1000 coz of its got bigger screen
& for txt/ missed calls notification.
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Old 11-10-15 | 02:56 AM
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Originally Posted by GuitarBob
I have a few dedicated GPS devices, all of which contradict most everything in this post. Simpler bike-specific GPSs get 15-20 hours on a charge. All of the GPSs I have get 5-meter accuracy unless I'm in an area of heavy forest cover, and they have been accurate and reliable for me.

That said, for navigating in the backcountry, I think it's essential to know how to use a map and compass. On a road bike, not so much.
Less than a day compared to months on non-gps cyclocomputer is anything but good.
You get 5 meters if and only if there is no heavy cloud cover, forests or if you are riding in canyon or among tall buildings.
GPS altitude is mostly off without barometer. Altitude gained is usually wrong and tends to vary wildly among devices and apps.
Max speed is sometimes ridiculous, distance covered often inaccurate.

Meh.
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Old 11-10-15 | 09:39 AM
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Distance and speed are wrong with a wheel sensor, too; do a roll out, wear your tires down, wrong data. But it's pretty close. So is GPS. You make it sound like rolling dice.
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Old 11-10-15 | 11:09 AM
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I bought an 800 a couple years back when they were on sale and had a huge rebate from garmin. got it for like $220ish, no intention of getting rid of it until it flat out dies.
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Old 11-10-15 | 11:30 AM
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I've thought about upgrading my 500 unit to something with live strava segments but the unit still keeps on keeping on fine.
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Old 11-10-15 | 12:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Ice41000
Less than a day compared to months on non-gps cyclocomputer is anything but good.
You get 5 meters if and only if there is no heavy cloud cover, forests or if you are riding in canyon or among tall buildings.
GPS altitude is mostly off without barometer. Altitude gained is usually wrong and tends to vary wildly among devices and apps.
Max speed is sometimes ridiculous, distance covered often inaccurate.
The only thing correct about this is the need for the barometer and the much-lower battery life of GPS units.

The rest of it doesn't appear to be related to anything real.

If you don't want to record your track (or use navigation), GPS is overkill (and it would generally be more resonable to use a cheaper cyclometer).

Though, being able to not need a wheel sensor is sometimes convenient (when renting a bike, for example).

================

The accuracy is usually much better than 5 meters.

GPS doesn't really work for elevation (a barometer is considered the best option).

I have both a GPS and a non-GPS cyclecomputer. The results I get from both (speed, max-speed, distance, elevation-from-barometer) match very closely. I've never seen a max speed that was ever "ridiculous" (typically, it's a bit lower than that reported by my cyclometer).

If you want navigation, you need a GPS.

Last edited by njkayaker; 11-10-15 at 12:37 PM.
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Old 11-10-15 | 12:46 PM
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A barometric altimeter isn't necessarily better than GPS for altitude. It's better when it's been calibrated for the conditions it's being used in, when the elevation gain isn't huge, and especially in warm weather. For large gains and particularly in cold weather, GPS gives better results. At least a modern GPS with a good antenna and a good fix.

You can test this yourself by setting up a field for baro elevation and another field for GPS elevation. Calibrate the barometer then view them side by side next time you're on your bike.
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Old 11-10-15 | 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
A barometric altimeter isn't necessarily better than GPS for altitude.
Not according to all the stuff I've read (and linked to before).

GPS was designed more for horizontal positioning.

https://gpsinformation.net/main/altitude.htm

https://www.xcmag.com/2011/07/gps-ver...nitive-answer/

https://weather.gladstonefamily.net/gps_elevation.html

https://support.garmin.com/support/s...00000000000%7D
Once the vertical datum is taken into account, the accuracy permitted by geometry considerations remains less than that of horizontal positions. It is not uncommon for satellite heights to be off from map elevations by +/- 400 ft. Use these values with caution when navigating.
And, it's really elevation gain that cyclists care about. (I should have said elevation gain rather than altitude.)

And cyclists are, maybe, more interested in elevation gain than really makes sense. It's used as a measurement of ride effort but it misses accounting for grade.

Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Calibrate the barometer then view them side by side next time you're on your bike.
Calibration doesn't change the measurement of elevation gain or loss.

If GPS was better than a barometer, Garmin likely wouldn't be adding them to more expensive units.

(Keep in mind that we are talking about GPS units on bicycles.)

Last edited by njkayaker; 11-10-15 at 03:51 PM.
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Old 11-10-15 | 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Ice41000
You get 5 meters if and only if there is no heavy cloud cover, forests or if you are riding in canyon or among tall buildings.
Nope, I usually get 3-m accuracy. And water vapor (cloud cover) has virtually no effect on GPS signals. Solid obstructions between the GPS and the sky do, so if you cycle frequently in slot canyons or in big cities with a high density of skyscrapers, you'll have trouble. GPSs that use both the US and Russian satellites do pretty well in all but the densest of forest cover.

Originally Posted by Ice41000
GPS altitude is mostly off without barometer. Altitude gained is usually wrong and tends to vary wildly among devices and apps.
As others have mentioned, elevation is at best so-so with GPSs (+/- ~10%), so the better ones come with barometric altimeters. Of course, if the barometric pressure changes during a ride, those become less useful too. If you upload your rides to most any of the more popular sites, they will correct elevation based on your route.

Originally Posted by Ice41000
Max speed is sometimes ridiculous, distance covered often inaccurate.
Mine have been so consistent with wheel-based approaches that I don't even bother with those anymore -- I just stick the thing on any bike and go. Sounds to me like your unit has an issue or doesn't do its task all that well.

Use whatever makes you happy.
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Old 11-11-15 | 05:27 AM
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Originally Posted by GuitarBob
Nope, I usually get 3-m accuracy. And water vapor (cloud cover) has virtually no effect on GPS signals. Solid obstructions between the GPS and the sky do, so if you cycle frequently in slot canyons or in big cities with a high density of skyscrapers, you'll have trouble. GPSs that use both the US and Russian satellites do pretty well in all but the densest of forest cover.



As others have mentioned, elevation is at best so-so with GPSs (+/- ~10%), so the better ones come with barometric altimeters. Of course, if the barometric pressure changes during a ride, those become less useful too. If you upload your rides to most any of the more popular sites, they will correct elevation based on your route.



Mine have been so consistent with wheel-based approaches that I don't even bother with those anymore -- I just stick the thing on any bike and go. Sounds to me like your unit has an issue or doesn't do its task all that well.

Use whatever makes you happy.
During my rides I will usually reach max speed in a canyon. Of course, road is at the bottom, with cliffs and a lot of tall trees around. This is exactly where my phone app (tried iPhone and Android) would lose a signal for a short time which would result in wrong position and speed. Since it is exactly the place I like my max speed recorded this is not working for me.

I don't use Strava at all, and only Ride with GPS or Bikemap occasionly so uploading is unimportant.

So, yes, whatever works.
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Old 11-11-15 | 05:52 AM
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Originally Posted by dr_lha
iPhone 6 in back pocket, Wahoo RFLKT on the handlebars, iPhone running Cyclemeter. The RFLKT shows me all the stats I need (speed, cadence, HR, time, distance on the main page, others at a click), and the phone loads my ride to Strava the minute I finish. In this configuration GPS drains my iPhone 6 about 5-7% of battery per hour (used to be 10% but in iOS9.1 Apple have been really pushing on battery life improvements), i.e. less than if I was sitting on my butt in my office where I'd be using my phone periodically to check Facebook and the like.
Speaking of battery life, and maybe you already know this, but you can put your up-to-date iPhone in airplane mode and still track your ride (this doesn't work on all phones - evidently iOS 8.2 and some other devices also shut off GPS in airplane mode). I discovered this when riding around the countryside, and realized that the phone's search for signal was draining the battery. I wanted to still have some power when I got to stopping points, so I put it in airplane mode, but didn't bother to stop Strava. To my surprise and delight, when I got to the end of the ride and switched airplane mode off for the last time, I found that when I hit the finish button on Strava, it had traced the whole ride - I had expected it to just jump straight to the end.
Unfortunately in your case, if you put it in airplane mode, your Wahoo (bluetooth) device won't get anything.

Last edited by kbarch; 11-11-15 at 06:02 AM. Reason: add disclaimer about certain phones
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Old 11-11-15 | 06:05 AM
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Originally Posted by kbarch
Speaking of battery life, and maybe you already know this, but you can put your up-to-date iPhone in airplane mode and still track your ride (this doesn't work on all phones - evidently iOS 8.2 and some other devices also shut off GPS in airplane mode). I discovered this when riding around the countryside, and realized that the phone's search for signal was draining the battery. I wanted to still have some power when I got to stopping points, so I put it in airplane mode, but didn't bother to stop Strava. To my surprise and delight, when I got to the end of the ride and switched airplane mode off for the last time, I found that when I hit the finish button on Strava, it had traced the whole ride - I had expected it to just jump straight to the end.
Unfortunately in your case, if you put it in airplane mode, your Wahoo (bluetooth) device won't get anything.
Switching wifi off also helps significantly.
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Old 11-11-15 | 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by GuitarBob
As others have mentioned, elevation is at best so-so with GPSs (+/- ~10%), so the better ones come with barometric altimeters. Of course, if the barometric pressure changes during a ride, those become less useful too. If you upload your rides to most any of the more popular sites, they will correct elevation based on your route.
This is less accurate than the barometer. Garmin, for example, says to use it only if you don't have a barometer.
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Old 11-11-15 | 07:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Ice41000
During my rides I will usually reach max speed in a canyon. Of course, road is at the bottom, with cliffs and a lot of tall trees around. This is exactly where my phone app (tried iPhone and Android) would lose a signal for a short time which would result in wrong position and speed. Since it is exactly the place I like my max speed recorded this is not working for me.

I don't use Strava at all, and only Ride with GPS or Bikemap occasionly so uploading is unimportant.

So, yes, whatever works.
If you are interested in max speed personal records, a wheel sensor is the best choice since they react faster and are more sensitive.

If you aren't navigating or recording your ride, GPS is overkill.

For your interests, a GPS isn't really the right tool.

Nothing is perfect but GPS works well. And for navigation and recording rides, GPS is the only option.

Last edited by njkayaker; 11-11-15 at 09:08 AM.
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Old 11-11-15 | 08:26 AM
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
The only thing correct about this is the need for the barometer and the much-lower battery life of GPS units.

The rest of it doesn't appear to be related to anything real.

If you don't want to record your track (or use navigation), GPS is overkill (and it would generally be more resonable to use a cheaper cyclometer).

Though, being able to not need a wheel sensor is sometimes convenient (when renting a bike, for example).
I use the Lezyne Mini gps instead of a cheaper cyclometer mainly because I have multiple wheels and bikes (road, mtb, tt). With this thing I can just strap it on any bike and go ride without any magnets, wires or sensors. And setting up the wheel diameter was always a slight PITA. Looking at the routes and maps on the computer afterwards is a plus.

Of course the price is 7x that of a normal computer and you can't use it on the rollers. And it needs charging after every few rides.
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Old 11-11-15 | 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by kbarch
Speaking of battery life, and maybe you already know this, but you can put your up-to-date iPhone in airplane mode and still track your ride (this doesn't work on all phones - evidently iOS 8.2 and some other devices also shut off GPS in airplane mode). I discovered this when riding around the countryside, and realized that the phone's search for signal was draining the battery. I wanted to still have some power when I got to stopping points, so I put it in airplane mode, but didn't bother to stop Strava. To my surprise and delight, when I got to the end of the ride and switched airplane mode off for the last time, I found that when I hit the finish button on Strava, it had traced the whole ride - I had expected it to just jump straight to the end.
Yes, I did know this, although I admit I haven't bothered because I find that I am able to do full century rides without putting my phone in airplane mode without issues. Last century I did I finished with 45% battery left on my phone.
Unfortunately in your case, if you put it in airplane mode, your Wahoo (bluetooth) device won't get anything.
Actually you can turn Bluetooth back on after putting the phone in airplane mode.
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Old 11-11-15 | 09:19 AM
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I've had a few max speed errors on my Garmin, but they are rare. They usually happen when I'm losing my signal, which is also rare.
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Old 11-11-15 | 09:22 AM
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A GPS in a typical phone (often with the disadvantage of being stuffed in a jersey pocket) does not equal the GPS in a dedicated GPS device.

Originally Posted by Ice41000
During my rides I will usually reach max speed in a canyon. Of course, road is at the bottom, with cliffs and a lot of tall trees around. This is exactly where my phone app (tried iPhone and Android) would lose a signal for a short time which would result in wrong position and speed. Since it is exactly the place I like my max speed recorded this is not working for me.

I don't use Strava at all, and only Ride with GPS or Bikemap occasionly so uploading is unimportant.

So, yes, whatever works.
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Old 11-11-15 | 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
GPS was designed more for horizontal positioning.
That's basically correct. Also it was designed for military navigation use but it works pretty well for civilian applications too. Just like it works pretty well for elevation as long as you have a good antenna. Even if you've read some older articles.

You don't seem to understand how the stuff works so I'll leave it at that.
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Old 11-11-15 | 10:01 AM
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Originally Posted by GuitarBob
Nope, I usually get 3-m accuracy.
You can see what lane I got hit in from the GPS track.
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Old 11-11-15 | 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Ice41000
During my rides I will usually reach max speed in a canyon. Of course, road is at the bottom, with cliffs and a lot of tall trees around. This is exactly where my phone app (tried iPhone and Android) would lose a signal for a short time which would result in wrong position and speed. Since it is exactly the place I like my max speed recorded this is not working for me.

I don't use Strava at all, and only Ride with GPS or Bikemap occasionly so uploading is unimportant.

So, yes, whatever works.
Phones don't have great GPS antennas. In a city that's not a big deal because of all the location corrections available, but your phone isn't augmenting the GPS signal in a slot canyon. Also your app is only sampling the position occasionally, maybe once a second, maybe less frequently. Plus, how you carry it on the bike will affect reception. Bottom line is a phone isn't the best GPS for challenging conditions like you're describing. A dedicated unit works better.
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