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Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling Do you enjoy centuries, double centuries, brevets, randonnees, and 24-hour time trials? Share ride reports, and exchange training, equipment, and nutrition information specific to long distance cycling. This isn't for tours, this is for endurance events cycling

What GPS do you use?

Old 08-06-18, 10:00 AM
  #51  
antimonysarah
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
I saw the problem on the Touring of not being able to to restart routes. I sold it and bought a used 800.

Another problem with the Touring is that it doesn't support "course points" and "off course" warnings (when using turn guidance). Things that would have helped with the "restarting route" problem.

The Touring removed some useful navigation features to make the device easier to use (doing that made the device less useful).

It's possible that the more-popular (or important) units get more attention to fixing bugs. (One reason, maybe, to avoided the Touring/Explore models.)
My older Touring did all that just fine, which was partly why I bought the same thing rather than upgrading. Unfortunately, they "fixed" something in a software upgrade somewhere, alas. (They did seem to fix the "make a u turn" bug where it would frequently get CONVINCED you missed a turn and needed to go back and do it, but that one was just annoying rather than show-stopping, because since restarting a route worked I'd just save and restart....)

Tax-free weekend this weekend, time to go shopping. And that means my husband can have the Touring for D2R2.
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Old 08-06-18, 10:11 AM
  #52  
njkayaker
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Originally Posted by antimonysarah
My older Touring did all that just fine, which was partly why I bought the same thing rather than upgrading. Unfortunately, they "fixed" something in a software upgrade somewhere, alas.
I had the problem with firmware 2.9. I had hoped it would be fixed in the latest firmware (4.2) but it wasn't'. I dumped it after that. (It was actually my GF's unit; I didn't want her to have problems that I wasn't having.)
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Old 08-07-18, 09:45 AM
  #53  
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Got an Wahoo Elmnt Bolt this year and it works perfect for me. The smaller screen can make it a bit harder to follow especially when there is many roads nearby. Works well with ridewithgps, absolutely a good purchase!
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Old 08-09-18, 12:26 AM
  #54  
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I'm thinking of getting a garmin explore. The newest one. I just wish there was more reviews out on it. I have a bolt and really like it a lot but the screen is too small for me. I need larger. I was thinking of trying the regular element also but it's kind of dumb to buy it when it does the exact same thing as the bolt but for 80 dollars more
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Old 08-09-18, 09:18 AM
  #55  
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I think it would be smart to pay $80 more for something you could read, but that's just MHO.

I can't understand why bike electronics manufacturers seem to ignore the aging rider population. Older riders generally have more discretionary income, but we often have limited focus adjustments, which is why you also see discussions about bifocal cycling glasses. Instead, we see more fields displayed in ever smaller displays in newer products. I almost bought the one exception I know of, the Cateye Padrone, except it didn't have the cadence feature I wanted.

And get off my grass, you darn kids...
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Old 08-09-18, 01:31 PM
  #56  
njkayaker
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
I think it would be smart to pay $80 more for something you could read, but that's just MHO.
In the long run, $80 isn't a big deal (people should worry less about price than suitability).

Originally Posted by pdlamb
I can't understand why bike electronics manufacturers seem to ignore the aging rider population. Older riders generally have more discretionary income, but we often have limited focus adjustments, which is why you also see discussions about bifocal cycling glasses. Instead, we see more fields displayed in ever smaller displays in newer products. I almost bought the one exception I know of, the Cateye Padrone, except it didn't have the cadence feature I wanted.
Many people complained that the Garmin 1000 is too big. It appears that small is easier to sell than large. (Isn't "padrone" Spanish for "old fart"?)
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Old 08-12-18, 09:07 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
I just got the 1030 last week for The DAMn (240-mile gravel race across Minnesota). I'm gonna test it's battery life the week prior at the PH24.

So far I've been liking the 1030, my only concern is the battery life. Additionally, I'm interested to hear the touch screen doesn't work with winter gloves. My old 510 touch screen works with my winter gloves... might be the choice of gloves or the screen design. I'll find out soon, winter in MN comes early.
While I have not been doing any testing, I've observed that the 1030 lasts a whole lot longer than the 520. Usually the 520 already complains about low battery before I'm done with 300k but the 1030 still keeps going.

I don't wear full fingered gloves so no idea about touchscreen performance with those. But in the rain, the 1030's touchscreen performance is... umm... decent.
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Old 08-17-18, 11:51 AM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by friday1970
My opinion of my Bryton Rider 330 mirrors yours. The OP asked about weather hardy GPSs. The Bryton Rider does kick butt in the rain. I've been in downpours and it kept ticking with no problems.

Pros: Battery life is very good. Easy to sync via Bluetooth to my smartphone and the auto-upload to Strava. Accessories like HRM, cadence, and speed sensors work great. As stated, when in heavy rain, it performs perfectly.

Cons: Any trees along the route, the reported speed jumps all over the place. And when following a route and if you have several miles of a straight road ahead of you, the GPS directions will show zig-zags coming up. Gets confusing in cities where there are plenty of places to turn. This caused me to get off-course several times during my last populaire.

As you have stated, not exactly displeased with it, and no buyers remorse either. It does what I need it to. And not much else.
Pretty much agree with Friday1970, but I have the Bryton 310. Only difference between the two is the 310 has no GPS directions. But for the amount I paid for it, I have no remorse over it.
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Old 08-17-18, 06:56 PM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by Cpinn3r
Pretty much agree with Friday1970, but I have the Bryton 310. Only difference between the two is the 310 has no GPS directions. But for the amount I paid for it, I have no remorse over it.
I finally got around the reported speed fluctuations by buying a smart speed sensor. Once I figured how to get the bike to use it as a primary source (somewhere buried in the profiles section), it has worked flawlessly. I somehow lost the cadence meter that come with the Bryton 330, so I might get their smart cadence sensor offering.
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Old 08-20-18, 07:55 AM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
I just got the 1030 last week for The DAMn (240-mile gravel race across Minnesota). I'm gonna test it's battery life the week prior at the PH24.

So far I've been liking the 1030, my only concern is the battery life. Additionally, I'm interested to hear the touch screen doesn't work with winter gloves. My old 510 touch screen works with my winter gloves... might be the choice of gloves or the screen design. I'll find out soon, winter in MN comes early.
Saturday was The DAMn - I turned on my Garmin right before the start line at midnight, put my 1030 in 'power save' mode, and after 21 hours it still has 38% battery left.

Reference info: Battery save mode adjusts the settings automatically to extend the battery life for longer rides. During an activity, the screen turns off. You can enable automatic alerts and tap the screen to wake it up. Battery save mode records GPS track points and sensor data less frequently. Speed, distance, and track data accuracy are reduced.

Power save is great for this kind of ride, the first 7 hours were so dark you couldn't see the display without waking it up anyway. I still got text and call alerts on my head unit from my support team - which was really helpful to let Lisa know when we were approaching the checkpoints. With a ride that's so straight, the lower accuracy was never an issue.

Overall, I did great with battery-management, my one dumb was thinking we were making better time to the finish line and failing to save enough battery for my head lights. Both front lights were dead for the 30 minutes of dusk riding to the finish. Thankfully I rode with a group of 3 other riders and was able to follow them with headlights.
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Old 09-17-18, 10:58 AM
  #61  
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I use the Garmin Etrex 20 on all by Brevets. It uses replaceable batteries (2AA) that you can find anywhere, but usually I carry 2 extra batteries with me. This way, I don't have to worry about the battery life or battery packs..
I'll use a separate simple HR monitor with the above setup.
I only use my Edge 810 on training rides or races less than 100K.
Recently, I purchased the Varia RTL510 that drains my battery life on the Edge down to about 4-5 hrs
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Old 01-07-19, 04:04 PM
  #62  
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I've been using the Edge 1000 the last three years. The route I've loaded each year is rather larger (2700 miles) so a bit of zooming in is required. I just found out it has an auto mode that might reduce a bit of that. Its been buggy! But OTOH I just found out my firmware is really old. So I'm going to update and see if they fixed any of the bugs or simply enshrined them.

Its other main problem is a bit of water on the display can cause it to do things. Most of the time I just want it to show me the trail and be zoomed in enough that I don't miss a turn. Because of the water thing, a lot of racers on the TDR prefer the Etrex 30 since it can handle the same gpx files but doesn't have the touch screen. The downside is that it uses AA's but they are usually available almost anywhere; I'm really wondering if I can run it on a set of rechargable batteries and thus recharge from my solar battery. The Etrex is also inexpensive and is proven water/dust/vibration reliable.
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Old 01-07-19, 04:26 PM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by Salubrious
... Because of the water thing, a lot of racers on the TDR prefer the Etrex 30 since it can handle the same gpx files but doesn't have the touch screen. The downside is that it uses AA's but they are usually available almost anywhere; I'm really wondering if I can run it on a set of rechargable batteries and thus recharge from my solar battery. The Etrex is also inexpensive and is proven water/dust/vibration reliable.
I use eneloop rechargeable AAs in my etrex. A pair lasts a full 24 hour day or longer if you are judicious with the back light. You can get a USB AA charger to connect to your solar panel or dynamo hub. I still haven't found anything better than the etrex for basic navigation and unlimited run time.
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Old 01-10-19, 05:03 AM
  #64  
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I've done DK200 the last 3 years, 2016 with a 510, 2017 with an 820, and 2018 with a 1030. Got off track with the 510 once and had to backtrack a mile or 2 to get back on the course where I went off it due to me not noticing the off course prompt. 820 worked better for navigating I thought, but both had to use an external USB battery in my top tube bag to have enough to finish the race.

The 1030 is much better, love the bigger screen and longer battery life, but I had to use the Garmin external battery to have enough life to finish (had screen max brightness, no battery saving on etc). The external battery worked fine eventually, the head unit lost awareness it was there and didn't keep it charged which I found out when the low battery alert showed up. Pushing the button on the battery pack didn't help, I had to remove the battery pack then put it back on and push the button to get it to charge the head unit which it did quite quickly, plenty left at the end of the race of course. I was a little worried the battery mount etc might not be designed for the beating from the course, but it did fine. If i make it through the lottery I'll use it again this year for sure, it's the cat's meow for distances like this for me.
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Old 01-16-19, 06:26 PM
  #65  
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I was recently in the market for a GPS (good riddance RFLKT) and battery life was a prime consideration (double centuries) so I went with the Lezyne Mega XL. Their spec on the battery life is 48 hours which I think is the most of any bike GPS. From what I've seen so far in real world use I think I'm getting a pretty good fraction of that, certainly more than enough for my purposes. I got the Lezyne mount that bolts to the stem and I run it in landscape mode, which is a feature I like. Overall I'm very pleased with it at least for basic functionality but I can't say I've really messed much with things like live segments and the navigation.
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Old 01-16-19, 06:33 PM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by 77Eric
I was recently in the market for a GPS (good riddance RFLKT) and battery life was a prime consideration (double centuries) so I went with the Lezyne Mega XL. Their spec on the battery life is 48 hours which I think is the most of any bike GPS. From what I've seen so far in real world use I think I'm getting a pretty good fraction of that, certainly more than enough for my purposes. I got the Lezyne mount that bolts to the stem and I run it in landscape mode, which is a feature I like. Overall I'm very pleased with it at least for basic functionality but I can't say I've really messed much with things like live segments and the navigation.
I've had my eye on that one. Can you report back what you are actually getting in battery life? If it'll run 40 hours I'll get one when my etrex dies.
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Old 01-17-19, 01:08 PM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by 77Eric
I was recently in the market for a GPS (good riddance RFLKT) and battery life was a prime consideration (double centuries) so I went with the Lezyne Mega XL. Their spec on the battery life is 48 hours which I think is the most of any bike GPS. From what I've seen so far in real world use I think I'm getting a pretty good fraction of that, certainly more than enough for my purposes. I got the Lezyne mount that bolts to the stem and I run it in landscape mode, which is a feature I like. Overall I'm very pleased with it at least for basic functionality but I can't say I've really messed much with things like live segments and the navigation.
Can it display maps and the route without a cell phone?
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Old 01-17-19, 01:52 PM
  #68  
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Just the other day I looked at my garmin 800 and it was at the "delete route?" point, so a magic drop of sweat would have been a problem. That was pretty impressive given that it was in the low 30F degree range. I wish the touch screen controls were not at the bottom of the screen.

I hate to admit that the gps I'm most interested in right now is the garmin 1030.
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Old 01-17-19, 02:33 PM
  #69  
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Is no one else using an Edge Touring? It's great for keeping track of where I've been. Not always reliable for following a loaded route, especially an out-and back. But it's what I have so it's what I'll keep using.

I started with a Quest back around 2006. It was terrible. The tech was still too primitive. Waste of a lot of money.
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Old 01-17-19, 08:29 PM
  #70  
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Regarding my Lezyne Mega XL...

Battery life: I’ve been keeping track of it but frankly it’s been a bit difficult to accurately measure, partly because I’m just doing little rides these days along with time spent configuring it and partly because the device doesn’t give very good info on that as far as I can tell. If it just told me what percent the battery was at instead of a partially filled battery icon I could say better. That said, I think it will do 30 hours of riding time (which doesn’t include any time it’s on when not moving or recording) at least. Next charge I will do a better measurement and report back.

Mapping w/o phone: Yeah, that works. I tried it today. You have to load a map into it first. There are online reviews that go into more detail. I’m still working on the mapping stuff which isn’t too important for me.

I’ll also say that I got mine for <$150 online. Some place in the UK I think it was...
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Old 01-28-19, 09:11 PM
  #71  
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OK, I did a first good measurement on the battery life of my Lezyne Mega XL:

9 rides
26:29 elapsed time (includes stoplights, rests, flats, etc.)
I'd say 5 min/ride extra for setup before and uploading after
15% battery warning about an hour before finishing last ride

I'd say maybe you could milk 30 hours out of it. I did nothing to try to optimize battery life, nor did I use nav much at all so perhaps settings could be optimized for longer battery life but this is certainly plenty for my purposes...

Last edited by 77Eric; 01-28-19 at 11:29 PM. Reason: post came out bad and typo
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Old 01-28-19, 11:08 PM
  #72  
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As others have mentioned - following a .gpx track on the etrex 20, with replacement or external batteries as necessary, is optimal for brevets.
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Old 01-29-19, 01:11 AM
  #73  
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I live in a year-round good weather area and I use a Garmin Edge 1000 set to both GPS and GLONASS.
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Old 01-29-19, 11:41 AM
  #74  
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I just updated my Edge 1000. My OS was about 8.01; the new version is 14.80.

It works a lot better. Since its so easy to recharge with my solar battery, I'm going to skip the eTrex this year.
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Old 01-30-19, 10:29 AM
  #75  
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I realize I'm late to the party here, but I just use my Garmin 520. Does everything I need it to and the price seems right. Plus I have a lot of my life in Garmin connect, so it's nice to have everything centralized.
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