GPS recommendation for biking
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So, I'm looking for a lightweight, handheld GPS to take along for long bike rides, rather than a pocket full of maps. I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations? Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithGarmin Vista Cx[^] or the Garmin Quest[^]. I use the Quest on my bike (and in the car, and on foot) but the Vista seems kinda cool too - especially since it's portrait mode. It's also easily expandable whereas the Quest is 110Mb only (still pretty good). I'm very happy with mine so far.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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So, I'm looking for a lightweight, handheld GPS to take along for long bike rides, rather than a pocket full of maps. I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations? Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithAhh.. a question I have a *lot* of personal experience with. I used to have a lightweight handheld GPS with bike mount, it received very poorly, it was an Etrex Vista which is a top of the line (at the time) compact GPS, however it suffered from the same problem almost any small gps with a "patch" antenna suffers from and that's poor reception. In addition they aren't designed to handle the stress of being bounced around on handlebars and you *do* need to mount it on a handlebar if you want to be able to keep your tracks saved and be able to backtrack etc. Without the tracking feature (aka "bread crumbs") you would never know if you are really only a few hundred feet away from a place you've been before which is very important if you get lost, the ones that only let you punch in waypoints and see how far you are from them are far less useful in practice. The problem with the small patch antenna ones is that they work poorly in mountainous or dense forested terrain because of blocked signals from the trees and weird bouncing signals off the rocks and in narrow valleys etc. They are truly designed to be used on open flat ground while hand held in such a position that they get the best reception. If you want something that works in the forest and won't let you down and you don't want to break the bank, get an older model spiral antenna gps with a bike handlebar mount, I use a Garmin GPSMap76, it's an older model, get's excellent reception in even our 200 foot trees out west here and has yet to break no matter how crazy a mountain bike ride I subject it to up to and including crashing my bike into trees onto the gps, pouring rain etc etc. This is a great site for seeing all the models at a glance http://www.gpscentral.ca[^], good pricing and service too, they are really good at answering questions and their site is easy to navigate and find everything about just about every model of gps out there including accessories. Here's the model I have with a bike mount: http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/garmin/76map.htm[^] it's probably getting a little long in the tooth, but there are newer models in the same line. See the other pages on that site. But bottom line don't get a model with a patch antenna they are not serious tool
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Garmin Vista Cx[^] or the Garmin Quest[^]. I use the Quest on my bike (and in the car, and on foot) but the Vista seems kinda cool too - especially since it's portrait mode. It's also easily expandable whereas the Quest is 110Mb only (still pretty good). I'm very happy with mine so far.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Sorry Chris the vista looks cool, but is garbage for anything but road use on an open highway. I had an vista and the patch antenna in them is terrible at reception other than in the wide open and it's pretty fragile. For road riding I can see it being adequate but the second you get into some trees or mountains or really rough trails it doesn't stand up. The much bigger and uglier models with the proper antenna are far tougher, receive in all sorts of bad conditions and won't break when they fall off the bike or even hit a tree.
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Sorry Chris the vista looks cool, but is garbage for anything but road use on an open highway. I had an vista and the patch antenna in them is terrible at reception other than in the wide open and it's pretty fragile. For road riding I can see it being adequate but the second you get into some trees or mountains or really rough trails it doesn't stand up. The much bigger and uglier models with the proper antenna are far tougher, receive in all sorts of bad conditions and won't break when they fall off the bike or even hit a tree.
Fair comments, but my Quest has been excellent to me, and has endured many a bumpy, screaming descent down mountain highways. It definitely drops the signal in dense trees and buildings but when it does I can just take a look at the GPS map itself (if I'm lost) and work out where to get to. Drop outs for me have usually only been for 10-20m in stretches at most. Yet another case of having a produect that could be oh-so-good if they just went that extra step.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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So, I'm looking for a lightweight, handheld GPS to take along for long bike rides, rather than a pocket full of maps. I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations? Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithMarc Clifton wrote:
I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations?
I only have one, and it is probably too expensive. But I use my Garmin 60C constantly to get lost and return from the back country. Of course I do it hiking and driving dirt roads in a car no one else would ever attempt to drive on the roads, but the process is the same. I use off-road when hiking, and on-road when driving. The process is easy, the maps plentiful, reception is great, not sure about the bike mount though since I use a belt clip or car-mount.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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So, I'm looking for a lightweight, handheld GPS to take along for long bike rides, rather than a pocket full of maps. I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations? Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithCheck out the Garmin Edge 305. It is a GPS and personal trainer. It is designed for cycling. Apart from it's GPS capabilities, it maps your rides along with Avg/Max Speed, Cadence, and Heart Rate. I have the 302 model and it is great. The only difference is it lacks the cadence sensor. I've been using it for over a year now and it does great. I have a road bike, but I ride in some heavily covered areas and in some inclimate weather. The signal is very good and should be okay for you off-road as well. Good luck. Jonathan Burris
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So, I'm looking for a lightweight, handheld GPS to take along for long bike rides, rather than a pocket full of maps. I'd like to get lost in the back country but be able to find my way out again. That kind of thing. Any recommendations? Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithAstral Navigation and a compass. I have yet to have ever been lost in the woods. Lost while driving, that is another story but nature is easy.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
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Ahh.. a question I have a *lot* of personal experience with. I used to have a lightweight handheld GPS with bike mount, it received very poorly, it was an Etrex Vista which is a top of the line (at the time) compact GPS, however it suffered from the same problem almost any small gps with a "patch" antenna suffers from and that's poor reception. In addition they aren't designed to handle the stress of being bounced around on handlebars and you *do* need to mount it on a handlebar if you want to be able to keep your tracks saved and be able to backtrack etc. Without the tracking feature (aka "bread crumbs") you would never know if you are really only a few hundred feet away from a place you've been before which is very important if you get lost, the ones that only let you punch in waypoints and see how far you are from them are far less useful in practice. The problem with the small patch antenna ones is that they work poorly in mountainous or dense forested terrain because of blocked signals from the trees and weird bouncing signals off the rocks and in narrow valleys etc. They are truly designed to be used on open flat ground while hand held in such a position that they get the best reception. If you want something that works in the forest and won't let you down and you don't want to break the bank, get an older model spiral antenna gps with a bike handlebar mount, I use a Garmin GPSMap76, it's an older model, get's excellent reception in even our 200 foot trees out west here and has yet to break no matter how crazy a mountain bike ride I subject it to up to and including crashing my bike into trees onto the gps, pouring rain etc etc. This is a great site for seeing all the models at a glance http://www.gpscentral.ca[^], good pricing and service too, they are really good at answering questions and their site is easy to navigate and find everything about just about every model of gps out there including accessories. Here's the model I have with a bike mount: http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/garmin/76map.htm[^] it's probably getting a little long in the tooth, but there are newer models in the same line. See the other pages on that site. But bottom line don't get a model with a patch antenna they are not serious tool
John Cardinal wrote:
Ahh.. a question I have a *lot* of personal experience with.
Indeed! Thank you for all the excellent advice! Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith -
Fair comments, but my Quest has been excellent to me, and has endured many a bumpy, screaming descent down mountain highways. It definitely drops the signal in dense trees and buildings but when it does I can just take a look at the GPS map itself (if I'm lost) and work out where to get to. Drop outs for me have usually only been for 10-20m in stretches at most. Yet another case of having a produect that could be oh-so-good if they just went that extra step.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Astral Navigation and a compass. I have yet to have ever been lost in the woods. Lost while driving, that is another story but nature is easy.
On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage