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Looking for Turn by Turn navigation device

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Looking for Turn by Turn navigation device

Old 11-27-20, 10:16 PM
  #1  
panchothepug
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Looking for Turn by Turn navigation device

I'd like to purchase a turn-by-turn navigation system to explore new areas in the New York, NJersey and Connecticut tristate area.

I bought an Edge 530, which I'm evaluating but so far I'm not crazy about it and would like to have other options.

Need:
- navigation, turn by turn instructions
- loading routes, etc

Would like:
- link to phone to show messages
- local maps (display only)

Don't Want:
- dependency on smartphone in order to use, as it kills my phone battery. Plus, what is the point of depending on my iphone if I could instead use my iphone and NOT buy a separate device.

Which bike computer or device should I buy? ELEMNT BOLT? ROAM? Garmin 530? ?
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Old 11-28-20, 07:28 AM
  #2  
njkayaker
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Originally Posted by panchothepug
I bought an Edge 530, which I'm evaluating but so far I'm not crazy about it and would like to have other options.
You might get more useful help if you described what you are not crazy about it.

The navigation on the Wahoos is more basic than the 530.

Navigation is more reliable when you also look at the map. It's easy enough to miss ​​​​​ announcements and the map provides a backup. It takes some practice/experience to add looking at the map as a normal part of riding.

The screens on the 530/830 and the Wahoos are kind of small.
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Old 11-28-20, 08:18 AM
  #3  
Steve B.
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Originally Posted by panchothepug
I'd like to purchase a turn-by-turn navigation system to explore new areas in the New York, NJersey and Connecticut tristate area.

I bought an Edge 530, which I'm evaluating but so far I'm not crazy about it and would like to have other options.

Need:
- navigation, turn by turn instructions
- loading routes, etc

Would like:
- link to phone to show messages
- local maps (display only)

Don't Want:
- dependency on smartphone in order to use, as it kills my phone battery. Plus, what is the point of depending on my iphone if I could instead use my iphone and NOT buy a separate device.

Which bike computer or device should I buy? ELEMNT BOLT? ROAM? Garmin 530? ?
The larger the screen, the easier to view the map. Thus the Edge Explore or 1030, or the Roam are the better choices to use for navigation. I prefer a device with a touch screen where I can easily zoom and pan, the Wahoo units and the 530 do not do that. The Explore will not get you text messages, but does everything else well but it does not give you a lot of the "performance" features - Structured Workouts, Power Meter, etc.... it's designed for touring and navigation.
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Old 11-28-20, 01:58 PM
  #4  
panchothepug
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
You might get more useful help if you described what you are not crazy about it. .
Thank you NJKayaker, great suggestion. I used the 530 once a couple of days ago and could not find the following functions:

Back on Track (On-Demand Rerouting)
Take Me To (On-Demand Route Generation)
Retrace Route (Breadcrumb Trails)

I copied these function descriptions from Wahoo's website so I understand that Garmin may call them something else. I've been tinkering with it and watching tutorial videos, but have not been able to find these functions in the 530. If the consensus is that the Garmin 530 is better, then I'm willing to give it a shot and used on other rides before returning it.
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Old 11-28-20, 02:15 PM
  #5  
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FWIW, I'm very happy with my Wahoo ELEMNT. I've traveled with it domestically and abroad, using it plus RideWithGPS to guide me on short, day-long, and multi-day routes. It's ~easy to follow, and also fairly easy to find, create, revise and sync routes in advance and even while traveling.
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Old 11-28-20, 07:30 PM
  #6  
panchothepug
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Originally Posted by scubaman
FWIW, I'm very happy with my Wahoo ELEMNT. I've traveled with it domestically and abroad, using it plus RideWithGPS to guide me on short, day-long, and multi-day routes. It's ~easy to follow, and also fairly easy to find, create, revise and sync routes in advance and even while traveling.
Thanks ScubaMan. I'm thinking of ordering the Wahoo Elemnt Roam and try it and then compare it to the 530.
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Old 11-28-20, 08:38 PM
  #7  
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I don't know ... I wanted to like a Wahoo or Garmin solution but my phone is just so dang efficient at doing the job I can't (ever?) justify what a Wahoo or Garmin device would cost. Especially when you still need a phone to get the best use out of them. FWIW.
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Old 11-29-20, 07:13 AM
  #8  
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Originally Posted by panchothepug
Thank you NJKayaker, great suggestion. I used the 530 once a couple of days ago and could not find the following functions:

Back on Track (On-Demand Rerouting)
Take Me To (On-Demand Route Generation)
Retrace Route (Breadcrumb Trails)

I copied these function descriptions from Wahoo's website so I understand that Garmin may call them something else. I've been tinkering with it and watching tutorial videos, but have not been able to find these functions in the 530. If the consensus is that the Garmin 530 is better, then I'm willing to give it a shot and used on other rides before returning it.
DCRainmaker has fairly comprehensive reviews and descriptions of features.

The main difference though between the Edge 530 and Edge 830/1030 from a navigation standpoint is that the Edge 530 doesn’t support POI’s (points of interest; like monuments or hotels) nor the ability to on the device itself type in a street address. And obviously, the Edge 830/1030 is a touchscreen whereas the Edge 530 isn’t. But other than that – it’s all the same.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/...th-review.html

I'm more familiar with the 1030 but DCRainmaker says they have (mostly) the same features.

- Th 1030 (and the 530) have some form of getting back on course.

- You can have the devices create routes to arbitrary places (the 530 is a bit limited with how you can select them due to the button interface).

- You can retrace in reverse a recorded activity but it doesn't seem you can reverse the course on the device. It is very easy, if you just want to go to the start of a course IF you don't care about the exact route to that point (that is, you can get a route easily but it won't be the reverse of it).

The Garmins have on device routing. As far as I understand, routing for the Wahoo has to be (mostly) done using a smart phone.

I haven't used the Wahoo devices but people who have them like then (so, I really don't doubt they are fine). I doubt that the Garmins are any less capable.

Most people use the Garmins by planning the routes somewhere else. The automatic routing doesn't always go where you want it to or use roads that you like. It's still useful to have. It's much easier to generate routes for automobiles (drivers don't care if the route is a little longer and don't mind highways and generally want the fastest/shortest route between two points). Cyclists, on the other hand, aren't usually trying to get some where in the fastest/shortest say.

Last edited by njkayaker; 11-29-20 at 07:21 AM.
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Old 11-29-20, 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
DCRainmaker has fairly comprehensive reviews and descriptions of features.
Ha! Ray Maker's reviews are "fairly comprehensive" kind of how the Oxford English Dictionary is fairly comprehensive! So a definite +1 for consulting those.

That said, Ray reviews mainly from a training and performance perspective. For other use cases, such as touring or bikepacking, additional or alternative reviews may be useful. See, e.g., Bikepacking regarding the Wahoo Bolt Roam: https://bikepacking.com/gear/wahoo-e...-review-video/
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Old 11-29-20, 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by scubaman
That said, Ray reviews mainly from a training and performance perspective. For other use cases, such as touring or bikepacking, additional or alternative reviews may be useful. See, e.g., Bikepacking regarding the Wahoo Bolt Roam: https://bikepacking.com/gear/wahoo-e...-review-video/
It looks like the Roam has more on-device routing capabilities than the other Wahoo units.

From one of the comments there, it seems the Roam has limited memory for maps.

It also seems that the maps are separated into small regions and that's a problem if your trip crosses regions.

The Garmins have lots of memory for maps.

It's also fairly easy to get maps for arbitrary regions to use on the Garmins.

The only source for Wahoo maps is Wahoo and you are limited to how they organize them.

Last edited by njkayaker; 11-29-20 at 09:11 PM.
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Old 11-29-20, 07:18 PM
  #11  
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I’ve used my 1030 for routing. The function creating a route of a specified length works well. I use it on travel. Point A to B to shortest to start work well but I’ve had one issue with it routing to MUPs. Even if I’m looking for the shortest route to my start it will at times find the shortest route to the MUP adding miles and time. 10 to 20 miles. When this happens I just look at the map on the screen and make my way.
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Old 11-29-20, 10:19 PM
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FWIW, it's a myth that using your phone for navigation kills the batteries. I went for a 6-hour ride today, using the Ride with GPS app for navigation. When I got home, the battery was still at about 75%. This is with an iPhone 11 (so, new-ish), no power-saving measures enabled, screen mostly off.

The thing about RwGPS is that it's not like Google Maps, which recalculates your route on the fly if you go off-course. RwGPS is more like a smart cue sheet that helps you follow a planned route. It lets you know when you're off course (which takes no more than half a block to recognize), but it doesn't tell you how to get back on course, or recalculate your route.
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