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SmartPhone GPS vs Garmin Maps

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SmartPhone GPS vs Garmin Maps

Old 04-29-20, 05:24 PM
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DaveLeeNC
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SmartPhone GPS vs Garmin Maps

I am considering changing my riding habits. Previously I RARELY used GPS while riding (other than as a backup in case I got lost). I pretty much knew my riding area. I am considering changing my habits such that having realtime GPS info (primarily following a pre-set route and occasionally using it for on the fly decisions) would be more important.

I have 2 choices here. I could upgrade the maps on my aging Edge 800 (or alternatively maybe buy a Edge 1030). Or I could get a mount for my Smartphone (mid-range Motorola/Android device) and use Google Maps. FWIW, I very rarely use GPS in my car at all. It is only on the very occasional trip where I almost have to relearn how the thing works as I just don't use it but maybe once a year (in my car).

Thoughts on which is the better path. Obviously the 1030 path is the most expensive, but I would not rule it out on that basis.

Thanks.

dave
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Old 04-29-20, 06:02 PM
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The one drawback of the phone route is battery life. If you use it for extended length of time, it can drain the battery. One way to extend the life is to download the map of the area you are in to your phone before you leave. That means it doesn't have to get map data to redraw the map. Google maps allows you to do that although I think you have to be signed on with a google account, but not sure.

Before Covid, I did a fair amount of travel and would always do that before I left. Makes a big difference. You can even turn off cellular data and still have it work although the gps responds a lot slower and you risk missing turns.
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Old 04-29-20, 07:39 PM
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Smartphones are the least expensive route, maybe paired with RideWithGPS for routing and navigation. It’s a much better bike oriented system than Google maps. Issue with smartphones is battery life ( do you want to run down the battery ?), do you want an expensive phone on the h-bar (or get a cheap used phone to use) and screen brightness, which can suck.

1030 is a very good device, but an alternative is a Wahoo Bolt or a Garmin Edge Explore. Bolts are selling around $190 some places, Explore is $250. The a Wahoo is very reliable, though I don’t like the map screen which is B&W. The Explore is almost the size of a 1030, is less performance oriented but does very good navigation on a color screen, with great maps.
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Old 04-29-20, 08:57 PM
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the 1030 map is AMAZING, went from the 520 to the 1030 and its really good.
I was pleasantly surprised with it.
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Old 04-29-20, 09:42 PM
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Smartphone GPS reliability depends a lot on its make an model, as well as how aggressive its power saving schemes are and whether or not those affect GPS. Might be worth giving it a couple of test rides to see how well it performs.

As long as the battery life of your Edge 800 hasn't deteriorated significantly, always worth a try updating the maps on the device and see how well that works too. Maybe do a side-by-side with your smartphone to see which is more reliable.

Try those two free options before looking at the 1030. Though admittedly the 1030 is very nice for mapping and navigation.
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Old 04-30-20, 06:47 AM
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Thanks for all the helpful comments. My inclination right now is to start with either the RideWithGPS or MapMyRide app. Any thoughts on which is best for my primary purposes, which are (in order)

1) Planning and following a pre-determined route
2) Real time GPS-stuff like 'let's go down this road and see what happens" (maybe on a pre-planned route - maybe not).

There are some discussions on this in the 'archives' but they tend to be dated by several years - so a lot could have changed.

Thanks.

dave
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Old 04-30-20, 01:20 PM
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I went through a similar decision process a few years ago, and while phone battery life factored in the bigger thing was the precariousness of having my phone on the stem. All bets are off when it comes to crashing and whatnot, but keeping the phone as safe and as charged as possible made sense to me. Having one device handle both navigation and cycling metrics is a plus as well. I've been well pleased with the Edge 820's navigation features and Garmin has done a pretty good job at building out the off-device route planning functions. Only real downsides are that it can be S L O W when calculating and cost of entry. From reading, seems like the current 530/830 have done a lot to address the speed issues, and the lower cost 530 looks to be equally competent for navigation now.

Good news for you already having a Garmin around, you can experiment for pretty much no cost and figure out what you like better
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Old 04-30-20, 03:44 PM
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I use a small Motorola E 2014 smartphone with a garmin mount glued on the back. I concur with others that the downside is battery life (mine does 4 hrs with screen on and 10+ with extra battery). Other downside is rain makes the screen go funky and pretty much unusable and viewing the screen in bright sun can be hard. Flip side is cost - my phome was $30 new + $10 for brackets from Ebay. I use Komoot app to follow routes.
However, with the price of Garmins coming down, I would probably just get one. The Garmin Edge Explore for $250 looks good - basically the same as a 1030 without power meter & training support.
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