best GPS for cycling

"Bill Wright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I would like to buy a GPS and need some feedback on your likes and dislikes of the different
units. What should I look for? It will be used for Canada and USA.

There was a thread on this subject over in sci.geo.satellite-nav, though the post was asking about
off-road use.

I use a Garmin E-Trex Vista and have been very happy with it. The Garmin bicycle mount works very
well and I don't lose track, even though my body (theoretically) can block some view of the
available satellites.

Can't say about different units as they're too damned expensive to own more then one !.

Not sure what the application is, but I found that any GPS is going to be no more and no less
accurate then a $20 bike computer, mostly in the way a GPS tracks a route, essentially rounding off
the corners of a winding road as it creates a track, thus I've noticed distances to be slightly
short - 1/5 mile in 20 as avg.. I also found myself watching the moving map display a bit much and
not paying as much attention to the road.

OTOH, it does a terrific job of keeping you from getting lost !. And you can upload tracklogs to
various programs that create bike cue sheets (see below)

I've started using Lithium batteries, which are expensive, but allow greater usage time without
worrying about having to swap batteries. Note that I could get 4 or so hrs. of steady usage on a set
of standard AA's.

A couple of websites:

joe.mehaffey.comjoe.mehaffey.comOpen ↗

mywebpages.comcast.netnavigatingbygps.htmOpen ↗

SB

Bill Wright said:

I would like to buy a GPS and need some feedback on your likes and dislikes of the different
units. What should I look for? It will be used for Canada and USA.

Garmin Etrex Vista, Europe (Switzerland, France, Germany)

+s: barometric altitude (once calibrated) routes quite up-to-date and detailed tracking works great
(detailed, precise, configurable) configurable display works also in narrow valleys and mountain
tracks handy handlebar clip can be used also for walking and for driving differential mode
(optional) powersave mode (can be disabled for faster re-lock)

-s: "slow" serial link to PC limited battery autonomy Garmin SW not very good for cycling (tracking
analysis & routing information) (other packages exist but I did not try them) takes time to get the
first lock when moved to a new location not the best for cars (small screen, limited routing options
& features)

Personally, I rate it 4.5 stars out of five.

Ciao,
--
Roberto Divia` Love at first sight is one of the greatest
============= labour-saving devices the world has ever seen.
Mailbox: C02110 CERN-European Organization for Nuclear Research E-mail: [email hidden] CH-
1211 GENEVE 23, Switzerland

Steve said:

I use a Garmin E-Trex Vista and have been very happy with it. The Garmin bicycle mount works very
well and I don't lose track, even though my body (theoretically) can block some view of the
available satellites.

It's more than theoretical, your body definitely does block reception of the satellites that are
behind it as seen from the GPS receiver - if you cover the antenna with your hand the unit will
quickly lose all reception.

Fortunately there are enough other satellites in the sky that the unit can still determine your
position when it's positioned in the usual spot on your handlebars.

Quoted message said:

I've started using Lithium batteries, which are expensive, but allow greater usage time without
worrying about having to swap batteries. Note that I could get 4 or so hrs. of steady usage on a
set of standard AA's.

This seems like very short battery life and expensive operation. Are you setting the Vista to have
the backlight and electronic compass off at least most of the time? The compass is not needed
normally for cycling since you're moving fast enough for the GPS to figure out your direction of
motion, but it does use significant battery power. I use a Garmin eMap which is rated for similar
battery life as the Vista and get about 12 hours continuous use per set of either alkaline or
rechargeable NiMH cells. I almost exclusively use the latter to cut costs (they're about $2.50 per
cell but last for hundreds of charge cycles so the cost per cycle is very low).

Bill Wright said:

I would like to buy a GPS and need some feedback on your likes and dislikes of the different units.
What should I look for? It will be used for Canada and USA.

I've used a Magellan Sport Trak Pro - and would recommend the equivalent Garmin (can't remember
exactly why now, but the Garmin's have some slightly better features). Creating track and profile
maps is not a simple matter and requires research and hours at the computer figuring it out (a pain
in the @ss, if you ask me.).

I quickly became bored with mine and it now sits in a drawer. I am very happy and satisfied using my
cycle computer and maps. In my opinion, it is a rather expensive toy. ($250 and it can tell me -
"you are here." That's an exaggeration, but that's how I feel about it.)

It's of little to no real use until you buy maps for it (it appears Magellan has wised up and
brought the price down - check Amazon). Be sure it has lots of memory for loading those maps. My
Magellan's memory capacity was only enough to hold the state of Colorado at one time.

The Magellan handlebar mount is another $30.

Problems listed already I agree with:

- Body blocking satellite reception and decreasing accuracy - significantly in some cases. I neded
up putting mine in a side pouch of a rear pannier to decrease body blockage. Microwave - cell
phone towers will cause intermittent loss of signal, too.

- Battery usage. Even if you get 8 hours out of them (more common), it's still something you have to
keep up with (keep batteries charged or keep a ready supply alkalines - AA's).

The best way to use it , from reviews and accounts I have read, is only when you need it - *not*
mounted on your handlebars and constantly on. You can find hotels and points of interest with it.
And if you really are lost, it can tell you where you are and how to get to where you want to go -
if it's in the map database.

All that said, since I have one, I'll probably (*probably*) try to find maps for wherever I end up
going on a tour this summer (unless they are over $100 - then, ... forget it! I like paper maps
anyway - and I use a compass if I get confused.)

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO cycletourist.comcycletourist.comOpen ↗ Integrity is obvious. The lack of it
is common.
*****************************

"Bill Wright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I would like to buy a GPS and need some feedback on your likes and dislikes of the different
units. What should I look for? It will be used for Canada and USA.

Garmin just introduced (within the last week) the GPS 60C, which has a color display, allows for
longer tracks than other units, has 56 kB memory for importing maps, and has a 30-hr battery life.
The GPS 60CS with altimeter and compass will be released "in the first quarter of 2004". Both are
expensive but seem better suited for bicycling than anything else on the market, and so may be
worth a look.

Mike Tordoff Philadelphia

I've been using a Magellan SporTrak Topo, which I picked up on Amazon.com for $260, plus $20 for a
bicycle mounting bracket.

The Topo is basically the same as the Pro, except it also has topographic information for most of
the US built into its permanent "base map." It turns out to be much less useful than it sounds,
because the base map has only major roads and freeways; you end up having to load map data from a PC
anyway to get local roads.

The big advantage of the Topo is that it includes a copy of MapSend Topo, which lets you upload maps
from a PC to the GPS and exchange routes, waypoints and tracks. I found the track and profile
mapping functions to be very easy to use: when you come back from a ride, you start MapSend, plug in
the GPS, download your track, and click Profile. Voila, it superimposes the route you took on the
topographic/street map, and shows an elevation profile.

Compared with the Garmin GPS receivers I've used, the Magellan SporTraks seem to have better and
faster satellite reception. I consider this to be the most important feature--after all, why carry a
GPS if it can't figure out where you are? All the other features are icing on the cake. The SporTrak
Topo stayed locked onto satellites while I biked in a valley under a thick tree canopy, as well as
while I sat on my sofa in the living room. Vertical accuracy is not nearly as good as horizontal
accuracy, though. The computed elevation can vary by as much as 400 feet from the true elevation,
depending on the number and position of the satellites being tracked.

One disadvantage of the SporTrak as compared with other GPS receivers is that the bicycle
mounting bracket does not have a quick-release mechanism. You have to remove the whole thing if
you don't want the tray sitting on your handlebars. It seems to do a good job holding the
receiver in place, though.

All in all, carrying a GPS is very handy if you like to know how high is the hill you just climbed,
or where you've gone when you come home from a ride. It can also be useful for navigating unfamiliar
roads, but I wouldn't embark on a tour without old-fashioned maps.

--Ed

--
Ed Swierk [email hidden]

On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 13:21:30 GMT, "Steve" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Bill Wright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I would like to buy a GPS and need some feedback on your likes and dislikes of the different
units. What should I look for? It will be used for Canada and USA.

There was a thread on this subject over in sci.geo.satellite-nav, though the post was asking about
off-road use.

I use a Garmin E-Trex Vista and have been very happy with it. The Garmin bicycle mount works very
well and I don't lose track, even though my body (theoretically) can block some view of the
available satellites.

Same here.

I've also owned the Garmin eMap, III+, II, eTrex, and used a II+.

My eMap is now relegated to the cars, and all the others have been sold. The eTrex Vista is great
for cycling, on and off-road. When off-roading, the built-in compass makes directional choices much
easier, as you don't need to be moving for the unit to display the proper direction, a boon at trail
intersections.

On the road, I usually shut the compass off to conserve battery power.

Barry