GPS for road bike

Yum said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I have two of the low-end eTrex and am constantly entertained by
them in breadcrumb-dropping display (different scales).

I have two because a temporary repair of one with electrical tape and
a balled-up packing peanut is surprisingly permanent, as a button
replacement.

Breadcrumb-dropping makes its own local map, which changes constantly,
if you repeat a route.

One of them has waypoints dropped at intersections, and that has to be
the local scale display; the other has only major waypoints like home
and common destinations, on the large-area display scale.

It's always amazing to come up on an unbreadcrumbed waypoint in the
middle of nowhere, crossing some route that has long since disappeared.
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I think it depends on how you tour. I tend to plan my tours in advance
fairly carefully using topo maps. For that I use a small basic hiking
type GPS without basemaps. I plan waypoints and routes using OziExplorer
and topo maps on the PC, then use that package to send the routes and
waypoints to the GPS. If you want more flexibility enroute, then you
need to take a PDA loaded with maps with a GPS attached, or take a GPS
loaded with maps (I'm a bit out of date, but I'm not aware of any GPS
units with altitude data built in, which I feel is almost essential for a
cycle tour, hence the suggestion of the PDA with topo maps and attached
GPS. That is my next project, a HP 2210 with OziExplorer CE for a moving
map topo display. I will attach my existing small Garmin GPS so that I
don't need to run the PDA all the time - no power socket on the bike!)

Bruce Graham

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

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I use Magellan Meridian Platinum but many will do the job just fine.

Yum said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

Garmin 60C 0r 60CS are worth a look. They have a handlebar mount
available. The level of detail and working with the available memory and
how Garmin has you select the segments will determine if they will work
for you. If you have support, a PC traveling along, easy way to recharge
batteries; then 60C/CS is great.

--

"Ron Hardin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yum said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I have two of the low-end eTrex and am constantly entertained by
them in breadcrumb-dropping display (different scales).

I have two because a temporary repair of one with electrical tape and
a balled-up packing peanut is surprisingly permanent, as a button
replacement.

Breadcrumb-dropping makes its own local map, which changes constantly,
if you repeat a route.

One of them has waypoints dropped at intersections, and that has to be
the local scale display; the other has only major waypoints like home
and common destinations, on the large-area display scale.

It's always amazing to come up on an unbreadcrumbed waypoint in the
middle of nowhere, crossing some route that has long since disappeared.

I don't get it. Can you please explain "breadcrumb-dropping"?

Thanks,

Kyle

Quoted message said:

I don't get it. Can you please explain "breadcrumb-dropping"?

Thanks,

Kyle

It's a tracklog. The gps automatically records where you been. You can also
save tracklogs and use them to navigate with.

--
Pete Rissler
http://web1.greatbasin.net/~rissler/
http://www.tccycling.com

Bruce Graham <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I think it depends on how you tour. I tend to plan my tours in advance
fairly carefully using topo maps. For that I use a small basic hiking
type GPS without basemaps. I plan waypoints and routes using OziExplorer
and topo maps on the PC, then use that package to send the routes and
waypoints to the GPS. If you want more flexibility enroute, then you
need to take a PDA loaded with maps with a GPS attached, or take a GPS
loaded with maps (I'm a bit out of date, but I'm not aware of any GPS
units with altitude data built in, which I feel is almost essential for a
cycle tour, hence the suggestion of the PDA with topo maps and attached
GPS. That is my next project, a HP 2210 with OziExplorer CE for a moving
map topo display. I will attach my existing small Garmin GPS so that I
don't need to run the PDA all the time - no power socket on the bike!)

Your experience/information is at least a few years out of date.
There have been small GPS units with built-in compensating barometric
altimeters for at least 3-4 years now. And they can accept
downloadable topographic maps. I have a Garmin eTrex Vista and it has
these features and that model has been around for over 3 years. There
are newer models with more memory, larger displays, color displays,
etc. available with the same features. And they are much more rugged
and waterproof than your PDA. My Vista has been through torrential
downpours without even a hiccup. My Legend, essentially the same but
less memory and no altimeter, survive a hit-and-run that left me with
two broken arms and much of the left side of my face and both knees
scraped off on the pavement. I used the Legend for touring Italy
two years ago, and for the Pacific coast last fall. The Vista will be
with me in the Dolomites, Alps, and lakes of Lombardia starting next
week; the map set for that region and routes are already downloaded
into the unit. BTW, some balk at the cost of the downloadable Garmin
mapsets, but it is no more than the registration cost for the
full-feature version of OziExplorer so I do not buy the argument.

- rick

Michael Pearlma said:

"Yum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<iZOdndnSGOpsYlrdRVn-
[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I use Magellan Meridian Platinum but many will do the job just fine.

I second the Magellan. I don't have a platinum tho, the standard
meridian does just fine for me and I've loaded the topo maps and
download the tracks to both mapsend topo and delorme topo 4 for post
ride analysis of terrain. ( I use it to calculate the total climbing
distance and total elevation climbed during my ride.)

--

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Bruce Graham <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I think it depends on how you tour. I tend to plan my tours in advance
fairly carefully using topo maps. For that I use a small basic hiking
type GPS without basemaps. I plan waypoints and routes using OziExplorer
and topo maps on the PC, then use that package to send the routes and
waypoints to the GPS. If you want more flexibility enroute, then you
need to take a PDA loaded with maps with a GPS attached, or take a GPS
loaded with maps (I'm a bit out of date, but I'm not aware of any GPS
units with altitude data built in, which I feel is almost essential for a
cycle tour, hence the suggestion of the PDA with topo maps and attached
GPS. That is my next project, a HP 2210 with OziExplorer CE for a moving
map topo display. I will attach my existing small Garmin GPS so that I
don't need to run the PDA all the time - no power socket on the bike!)

Your experience/information is at least a few years out of date.
There have been small GPS units with built-in compensating barometric
altimeters for at least 3-4 years now. And they can accept
downloadable topographic maps. I have a Garmin eTrex Vista and it has
these features and that model has been around for over 3 years. There
are newer models with more memory, larger displays, color displays,
etc. available with the same features. And they are much more rugged
and waterproof than your PDA. My Vista has been through torrential
downpours without even a hiccup. My Legend, essentially the same but
less memory and no altimeter, survive a hit-and-run that left me with
two broken arms and much of the left side of my face and both knees
scraped off on the pavement. I used the Legend for touring Italy
two years ago, and for the Pacific coast last fall. The Vista will be
with me in the Dolomites, Alps, and lakes of Lombardia starting next
week; the map set for that region and routes are already downloaded
into the unit. BTW, some balk at the cost of the downloadable Garmin
mapsets, but it is no more than the registration cost for the
full-feature version of OziExplorer so I do not buy the argument.

- rick

I should have mentioned that I'm in Australia and the last time I looked
I could not get topo maps for a Garmin (such as your Vista) for this
area. When they are available I will go that way (and I had forgotten
they have been available for the US for a long time).

My current set up is about five years old. A Garmin GPS12 (heavy and
limited by today's standards) and an early version of OziExplorer with
free upgrades and the Auslig or other raster topo maps.

Sounds like you have a great trip coming up. Only time I had a French
tour (2001) I had to use scanned Michelin maps. The only topo
information was little chevrons showing the steep grades.

Bruce

I use a Garmin ETrex, buttttttt I just put a wireless bike computer on
my bike and if I turn on my GPS the bike computer will show 0 and does
not work. As soon as I turn the GPS off the bike computer starts to work
again. Does anyone else have this problem?

I had that problem if I placed the bike computer right next to the
Garmin Etrex Venture. But when I placed them on opposite sides of the
stem it went away.
BTW, I love my GPS.
Gary

Mark said:

I use a Garmin ETrex, buttttttt I just put a wireless bike computer on
my bike and if I turn on my GPS the bike computer will show 0 and does
not work. As soon as I turn the GPS off the bike computer starts to work
again. Does anyone else have this problem?

Yum said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I started a thread on this awhile back in rec.bicycles.misc. This URL
should have it:

http://tinyurl.com/ywayf

Is GPS without map still useful for the purpose of navigation ? Can it
replace cue sheet ?
Yes, I realize the map feature is very attractive, but a GPS unit, map
software, handle bar mount add up to almost $400. I just wonder how useful
are GPS units like Foretrex or Geko that don't support map.
Another questions is how detail are those maps you can use on handheld unit
? Are the comparable to MS S&T ?
I am new to GPS and never owned myself.

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

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I've used GPS on significant bike tours for many years. Mainly for fun and
technical interest, but there are some real advantages to using one.

Started with a Garmin 12CX, went to an ETrex when the 12CX got lost, now I'm
using an ETrex Legend. I don't think there's a better model for cycling than
one of the versions of ETrex.

I think having the base map is a useful feature, but they're never at a
scale that has been really useful for finding roads.

Knowing which direction you're heading is very useful, but you can get the
same effect with a good compass.

Having an accurate speedometer is a nice feature. Not dependent on wheel
size or tyre wear. Something you can't set wrongly.

Being able to make a waypoint and collect them is like mentally marking our
your territory, but you can also do that with a map and some coloured pins
if you really want to.

Personally, I collect tracks and fragment them so that I can stitch a ride
together out of the fragments and know how far and its profile exactly.

Together with an accurate map, knowing where you are, and really knowing
where you are, makes it all worthwhile for the comfort factor on a long and
possibly remote ride. When the day's ride distance is near your comfort
maximum, taking an unexpected detour can be the different between arriving
in good time, or struggling in late and tired.

The only time a GPS saved me was on the '99 PBP. I marked the 200km during
the night on the way out of Paris. On the way back in I was so dead and
disorientated, that I lost my way along with a number of other people.
Because of the GPS trackback feature, I could see quickly I'd diverged from
the track and could get back on my way with little incident. Without it, I
might still be riding around lost in rural France, not that that's a bad
thing in itself.

Phillip

This is a good info.
Is here any unique feature you like about eTrex ?
I was inclined to get one of Magellan Meridian models, because I felt Gamn's
map CD is overpriced.
Thanks.

"Phillip Stevens" <Phillip_Stevens(NOSPAM)@BTOpenworld.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I've used GPS on significant bike tours for many years. Mainly for fun and
technical interest, but there are some real advantages to using one.

Started with a Garmin 12CX, went to an ETrex when the 12CX got lost, now

I'm

Quoted message said:

using an ETrex Legend. I don't think there's a better model for cycling

than

Quoted message said:

one of the versions of ETrex.

I think having the base map is a useful feature, but they're never at a
scale that has been really useful for finding roads.

Knowing which direction you're heading is very useful, but you can get the
same effect with a good compass.

Having an accurate speedometer is a nice feature. Not dependent on wheel
size or tyre wear. Something you can't set wrongly.

Being able to make a waypoint and collect them is like mentally marking

our

Quoted message said:

your territory, but you can also do that with a map and some coloured pins
if you really want to.

Personally, I collect tracks and fragment them so that I can stitch a ride
together out of the fragments and know how far and its profile exactly.

Together with an accurate map, knowing where you are, and really knowing
where you are, makes it all worthwhile for the comfort factor on a long

and

Quoted message said:

possibly remote ride. When the day's ride distance is near your comfort
maximum, taking an unexpected detour can be the different between arriving
in good time, or struggling in late and tired.

The only time a GPS saved me was on the '99 PBP. I marked the 200km during
the night on the way out of Paris. On the way back in I was so dead and
disorientated, that I lost my way along with a number of other people.
Because of the GPS trackback feature, I could see quickly I'd diverged

from

Quoted message said:

the track and could get back on my way with little incident. Without it, I
might still be riding around lost in rural France, not that that's a bad
thing in itself.

Phillip

I've used eTrex for years, daily; it stands up very well. The failure
mode (on one, resulting in getting the other; so now I have two on the
handlebars) is that the page button falls off from wearing out.

A temporary repair - that turns out to be permanent and works great -
is ball up a packing peanut and secure it in the hole with high
quality (very important - use 3M) electrical tape. A fake button
magically appears and works perfectly.

The trouble with this advice is that there are various kinds of
packing peanuts and they don't all work. You need to use one that
is springy and doesn't break when balled up. Keep checking those
incoming mail-order boxes until you get one that works. About
half a peanut fills the hole.
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Ron Hardin said:

I've used eTrex for years, daily; it stands up very well. The failure
mode (on one, resulting in getting the other; so now I have two on the
handlebars) is that the page button falls off from wearing out.

_ I've tried using an eTrex summit on my bike as an replacement
cyclocomputer and I find that it doesn't fair well in heavy
forest cover or steep ravines. On flat or open ground it
does fairly well, but on any ride that involves a lot of climbing
it often tracks less than 50% of the ride.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Phillip Stevens said:

I don't think there's a better model for cycling than
one of the versions of ETrex.

Before you say that, you should take a look at the Garmin GPSMAP 60CS.
If you install the right maps (City Select USA, in my case), it does
auto-routing. Just give it a destination and it figures out the whole
route for you from your present location, including telling you the
distance. It gives you turn-by-turn instructions as you ride (beeps as
you approach a junction and tells you which way to turn). It
recalculates the route automatically if you miss a turn. It'll even
tell you where convenience stores and restaurants are along the way!
In addition to bike and hiking use, it's a very decent car navigation
device.

The 60CS has a better antenna/receiver than the eTrex models and much
more memory for maps (55MB!). The large colour display is pretty nice,
also.

Battery life is exemplary (way over 20 hours out of 2 AAs).

The only weakness of the 60CS is that the battery contacts are poorly
designed, but you can fix that with a couple of bits of foam. Oh, and
the cumulative elevation gain seems to be screwy.

--
Peter Headland

Yum said:

Which GPS do you recommend for bike touring ?

I recently bought a Garmin Geko 301 with handlebar attachment, and used
it on a tour of the Czech Republic, from Prague to Vienna. I was
delighted with it's compact size, the fact that it works all day
continuously on 2 AAA batteries (with compass off - the compass drains
power significantly), and has masses of information available,
uploadable to a PC. With the direction of travel display, it made
getting out of major towns easy - we always find this the hardest part
of navigation on touring holidays! Ok, it doesn't show maps, but I
prefer to use maps in holders on the bars any way. They are much easier
to interpret compared with on screen displays John Fontana

--