denada

after my 30-something year old act that came with my craigslist bike went on the fritz, i picked an edge 830. about a half hour ago -- still charging. went with it over the cheaper 820 because reviews said the 820 could be problematically sluggish. while biking is quickly teaching me the city in a way driving never would, i still end up lost from time to time. pulling out a cellphone while riding is a hassle. hopefully this fixes that. in addition, i'm interested in the different training features.

came with two different mounts that are both nice, but i wish it came with the third mount. the mountain bike mount. you can attach to right of center on your handlebar and then fold in so it's centered without getting in the way of your headlight. like so ...

an extremely minor gripe that could be fixed with a few bucks if i ever decide so. (edit: actually, never mind. looks like i can do something extremely similar with one of the provided mounts.)

cost more than my bike, but it appears to be very easy to move from one bike to the next. also rei has a dope return policy. usually one year, but 90 days for outdoor electronics. that's generous and more than enough time to determine if i made a good purchase. and i got $40 bucks credit ($40 back + $20 gift card - $20 onetime signup fee with no dues) for becoming a lifetime member.

excited!

Seattle Forrest

REI is a great place to buy something like this.

I had an 800 for almost a decade. The only reason I don't still have it is it got stolen, with the bike. I hope you get as much use out of your 830.

Steve B.

You can use an out front mount and reverse it so the device mount is over the stem. There's also a bunch of different designs available on Amazon, some install to the top 2 stem face bolts, some of those have the ability to adjust tilt. Others mount directly on top of the stem cap, a different model of that extends forward (or rearward) from the stem cap.

This is one design

https://www.amazon.com/Thinvik-Alumi...ateway&sr=8-16

denada

sorry to hear about the stolen bike, seattle.

yup, steve. reversing the out-front mount that came with it is exactly what i did. rolled some electrical tape around the area first as my handlebars were not thick enough for even the larger spacer. seems to be working well.


like so ...



electrical tape to the right of the mount was added in addition to the tape under the mount because it's hot enough the adhesive melts and it was sliding to the right. i'm sure there's something better to add to keep it in place -- maybe a zip tie -- but that's working for now.

Steve B.

I use the rubber shims that a lot of front lighting units come supplied with. They almost always provide spares. I'm sure you could fund something similar in a hardware store. I too hate wrapping e-tape.

dmanthree

K-Edge makes a nice mount that sets the computer up top and hangs the headlight below. Not cheap but makes a nice clean install.

denada

used it last night and the round trip route planner is cool.

but i returned it and ordered the bundle version instead. for $100 more, it comes with a hrt sensor, cadence sensor, and spoke mounted speed sensor. while speed sensor seems silly, the hrt and cadence sensor were more than the additional $100. they're necessary for a lot of the 830's training features. the hrt sensor will connect to my forerunner 220 for running as well.

unfortunately they didn't have it in the store so i gotta wait a week.

yes, i imagine something at the local hardware store would be a nicer fix than electrical tape.

Seattle Forrest

GPS is amazing and having a map of where you rode it's really cool. But a speed sensor has value even with GPS. It's more accurate especially when you don't have a clear view of the sky.

bladehack

Garmin 830 in a 3T Integra LTD stem

denada

glad to hear i’m not just throwing money away, Seattle.

that looks like a really nice mount, blade. through my current setup works perfect for me. right distance and angle. it’s not catching my attention while i’m trying to pay attention to road but is right there and angled up for easy viewing when i want it.

comes with two mounts, so i’ll use the other on my road bike if i ever move it from my parents’ garage in cinci to chicago.

off topic, but i got doored for the first time yesterday. as in first time i couldn’t brake or swerve out of the way. because people open their door into your lane on the regular here, but i usually have space and time to avoid collision. haven’t kept perfect track of my miles, but probably had 600 commuter miles before it happened. was going down the lane between parallel parked cars on the right on traffic jammed cars on the left. girl opened her passenger front door to get out. i slammed both breaks but still hit. there was no where to swerve, so if it was my fault i don’t know what i could have done different. she was mortified. i didn’t have anything but crushed, not broken fingers, so i told her learn from this and be careful in the future. she profusely apologized and said she’d never be so careless again.

shelbyfv

Were you in a bike lane or illegally/ inappropriately passing cars on the right?

denada

there was no bike lane. does that mean i was illegally passing? everything ive read says you have the option of taking the lane or riding to the side. i’ve never seen someone just sitting behind a stopped car in traffic, unless waiting to turn left. but just cause everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it’s right.

i do try to be courteous and safe. i'm certainly not one of those riders blowing red lights. but even reading chicago's guide on biking rules not everything is clear. no where did it say i cant pass stopped cars on the right. and trying to learn from observation is futile, because a lot of bikers a daring and discourteous to the extreme.

shelbyfv

Actually, I don't know and it may vary from place to place. Certainly it's common, but if bikes are considered to be vehicles, maybe not right. I expect there would be plenty of opinions in A&S!

denada

thanks. i'll look into it. safety and courteous are pretty high on my priority list. though i don't think cars would appreciate me stopping in front of them in a traffic jam. and a rear end would be it for my cardio career.

back when i had a car, if a motorcycle was stopped in front of me i gave them half-a-dozen plus car lengths of space. so if i got rear ended, all the would need replaced is bumpers and crumple zones -- instead of killing the rider in front of me. cars usually do not give me the same courtesy on my bicycle.

Steve B.

I think legally it’s called lane splitting. It’s legal in some states for motorcycles, not sure if that includes bikes. Not legal in NY.

I’ll pass stopped cars if I have a marked shoulder, not if I have to squeeze between the curb and stopped cars. Between parked cars and stopped cars is really dangerous as you are in the door zone, as you found out. Legally the driver and any person opening a car door in traffic is usually required to look and determine it’s safe to do so. If they cause an accident due to opening a door they are usually at fault. Doesn’t help much when your on a bike and end up in the hospital, or dead.

FML123

I also just got an Edge 830, mostly because my smartphone’s battery dies after 4-5 hours or so if I’m using Google Maps. The computer came with Komoot and TrailForks pre-loaded, but it looks like it has to be Bluetooth-connected to my smartphone to use those features. Doesn’t that drain the smartphone’s battery just as quickly as if I weren't using a computer? Or am I missing something?
Thanks!

njkayaker

No.

The device needs the smartphone to start (set up) these things but not when they are being used.

FML123

Thanks, NJKayaker. So the phone's just used as a dataflow conduit, but not using much processing power? Or can I turn off Bluetooth on my phone once I have a route downloaded to the Garmin?

denada

i've only used it one night but i didn't even have my phone on me and it worked perfectly.

njkayaker

Yes. (Though, I'm not quite sure what a "dataflow conduent" is.)

The trailforks uses an internet database for the trail info but the Garmin downloads the info to use (so you don't need the phone while navigating). More or less, how you might use rwgps.

But it might not matter much if you keep BT on.

Seattle Forrest

The #1 drain on a phone battery is the screen.

You can ride without your phone and pay much everything will work. Using BT will use more battery than not using it, but not by a lot. Your Garmin can tell you about calls and texts and emails using BT, many people find this very convenient. If you have Android, you can use your Garmin as a key to unlock your phone.

Seattle Forrest

Sorry to hear about the door prize. If I can't see inside a parked car, I assume there's someone inside. But even if you do everything right, sometimes the day just has it in for you, luck can be a *****. I hope your fingers are better.

FML123

I was assuming the phone had to be passing data between the Garmin and the Trailforks website at all times, but wasn't using any other processor power, so I invented the BS term "data conduit."
But I see from what you and Seattle Forest said, I can just download a TrailForks route from my home computer to the Garmin and not even bring a cellphone.
I wish the interface was as easy as Google Maps - just type in "I'm here, and I wanna go here." Oh well.

denada

thanks for the sympathy -- or probably empathy --@Seattle Forrest. my fingers will be just fine. it was more scary than painful.

my 830 bundle shipped today! expected to be at the store on friday. must be coming by hot air ballon from china. hopefully they're being conservative and it's really there tomorrow or thursday.

you like it, @FML123? and unless i'm misunderstanding what you're saying, you can just type in where you want to go. you do have to click a bunch of buttons to get to that option, which might be what you mean. and yeah, that's silly for a navigation system.

FML123

Hi Denada,
Yeah, I'm getting better at using it every day. The street navigation part is as intuitive as any other Garmin unit you'd have in your car. The 830 has the full address and POI database, so you can just type in where you want to go. It's using the specialized cycling apps that I'm having to familiarize myself with. Last night I was able to plan a ride in Komoot (Germany's version of RWGPS) and download to the Garmin.

I guess I'm now the middle-aged technician who can't figure out how to program my VCR!
When I say that to 30-somethings they always say "VCR?! Just how old are you, dude?" LOL.