Computer recommendations

[jabberwocky]

No issues with either of my Garmins (Edge 305 from 2007 till 2010, then Edge 800 from then to now). My mileage on my commutes has always been extremely consistent.

[americancyclo]

I’ve never used cyclemeter, but I have used the following apps for my Android Phone (most recent last):
Sportypal – bleh, pretty lousy support team
Runkeeper – ok
MapMyRide – too many ads on page
Strava – BEST!
Endomondo – using mostly for National Bike Challenge. Has nice “10 sec countdown” feature.

Never really had GPS issues with them that I can recall. sometimes the data interpretation wasn’t so spot on, but that was cleaned up by the software folks. I also got some funk data once in a while riding on K/Water St. under the Whitehurst freeway, which I am assuming was due to some weird bouncing of the GPS signal off the metal structure.

My Garmin Edge 705 has held up really well with GPS over the past six months, although sometimes it takes a bit longer to acquire a signal than the phones, since it relies on true GPS and not AGPS (cellular assisted location detection) like the phones. I do have elevation issues sometimes, but to correct that, you can input elevation way point that the Garmin will detect and adjust accordingly as long as you begin the ride within 30 meters of that point.

Also, just saw this on DCRainmaker.com:
(Quick Heads Up: REI has the Garmin FR610 down to $299 (with the heart rate strap, usually $399) on some sort of temporary sale. Thanks to all that sent this in. And, that particular REI link helps out the site as well. You have to add it to your cart to see the cheaper price.)

If you haven’t read up on your shortlist of devices there, I’d highly recommend his reviews.

Let us know what you decide!

[vvill]

I have a Garmin 500 with cadence sensor/HRM and I have to say it’s been my best bike-related purchase for a while. I enjoy having the ride data a LOT and it’s motivating and rewarding. There are things I don’t like about how the device works but the overall utility far outweighs those niggles.

I was actually running it in parallel with a Cateye wired cyclemeter (I think an Astrale for months and compared mileages every trip for a while. The Garmin would always be slightly less because it records based on GPS/hitting start (not exactly sure how) as opposed to a wheel magnet but the difference could usually be expressed as a small fraction of a mile. The longer your ride, the less significant that difference. IMO it’s not significant enough to worry about. Ideally you have to make sure it finds the GPS satellite location before you start riding.

I have heard if you run a cadence / speed sensor with the 500 it is more accurate than pure GPS mileage (can’t verify this because both my main bikes have the sensor).

The only time the 500 let me down was a solo ride in NC when I put in a course to follow and at some point the device froze, and I didn’t realize, so I rode maybe 3-5 miles before realizing that happened, and I ended up missing a turn. You can see the straight line in the map where the Garmin was frozen.

[rcannon100]

I am an old geocacher. I have a Garmin 550. Its big. Not a bike GPS. BUT!!!! It has a full, lit, color screen. If you are going touring, you can have a map, you can have your route, you can have mileposts, and points of interest. The screen is fully customizable. One screen can be the map, another screen has 6 statistics – any statistics. Current speed. Average speed. Max speed. Distance traveled. Time traveled. Distance until arrival. Elevation. Flight patter of an African Swallow. Its great.

It took this thing on a C&O trip. There is a handle bar attachment. It was great! Showed where we were, where we were going, how long till we got there. I just loved it.

You create and download all your trip route data. Many people before you have already created it. You can also buy and install maps. Just like a car GPS, you can have a GPS on your handlebar giving you directions.

Final plug. I am an idiot. After hiking at Occoquan, I left the garmin on my roof. Reaching 45 mph, I heard clunk clunk clunk. I knew what that was. Did a U turn, found the GPS in the middle of the road — and it is working fine!

This is not a tiny cyclists GPS; but if you like going on long rides and want a map, its great.

[consularrider]

I’ve been using my Garmin Edge 500 for almost two years now and prefer it over my old wired/wireless bike computers. Of course, I spent a whole bunch more for it. I really like that I can use the same device for each of my bikes without a lot of fuss. The milage seems to be spot on for every ride, but while the elevations are generally within the same ball park, they can also vary quite a bit. It doesn’t seem to get my starting elevation right every time. Also, if I take it inside, or turn it off during a stop on a ride, the elevation seems to jump up. I haven’t spent any time researching the fixes for this.

[americancyclo]

@rcannon100 20592 wrote:

You can also buy and install maps. Just like a car GPS, you can have a GPS on your handlebar giving you directions.

For any of the garmin devices that display maps with an SD Card slot you can download a basemap from Open Street Maps for Garmin for FREE. This works great on my Edge 705, and I even downloaded the map of Bermuda for a recent vacation. It was really nice being able to look at the street map while on the bus to know how close we were to the beach, and to verify that we were going the right direction.

[jabberwocky]

@consularrider 20605 wrote:

Also, if I take it inside, or turn it off during a stop on a ride, the elevation seems to jump up. I haven’t spent any time researching the fixes for this.

My guess is that, since the 500 has a barometric altimeter, the GPS signal is used to get a starting elevation and then the barometric is used for relative changes for the duration of the ride (since the barometric is more accurate for relative changes than consumer GPS receivers are). If you turn it off and turn it back on (or take it inside where it loses signal), it recalibrates its absolute elevation again.

I’ve definitely found absolute GPS elevation to be a bit spotty. Outside my townhouse (actual elevation ~400 feet above sea level), it will calibrate to anything from -50 to 550 at the start of a ride. With the barometric altimeter though, it does tend to get relative elevation reasonably consistent (meaning that while it may say the foot of a hill is anywhere from 100 feet to 500 feet above sea level on different rides, it will still have the height of the hill as right around 200 feet each time). I’ve found that riding over the same route several times, elevation change will vary 10-15% or so. Which is acceptable for my purposes. And distance varies very little (less than 1%).

[vvill]

For elevation: since it is based on barometric pressure, it’s sensitive to temperature changes. I *think* (based on anecdotal evidence) if it gets warmer as you ride it will underestimate the gain, and if it gets cooler, it will overestimate… someone else can consult Boyle’s Law… in any case, this could also explain why if you stop for a while your elevation will change – it is unlikely that the air pressure will stay constant while you are stopped.

The temperature sensor on the 500 also consistently overestimates the temperature in my experience.

I have an elevation point set near my house to try to get the elevation correct but I still end up with negative elevations a lot.

[ronwalf]

@jabberwocky 20609 wrote:

Outside my townhouse (actual elevation ~400 feet above sea level), it will calibrate to anything from -50 to 550 at the start of a ride.

You can save a number of known elevation points (~10 IIRC). I just have two locations set (home and work). The downside is that it only calibrates against the new location at the start of an activity (you have to start within 30 meters or so of a saved location).

[Certifried]

Awesome thread. I wish I had all of this info before I spent the foolish money I did on a bontrager node. The thing is practically useless, and doesn’t even connect with my sensors 1/2 the time. If it does, it usually ends up losing it 1/2 thru the ride. I tried to use Runkeeper on my Galaxy Nexus for a while, but the phone is such crap that’s unreliable too. I ended up taking a hint from someone on Runkeeper who uses and old Droid Incredible (super solid GPS, never loses signal). I use my old D-Inc which still tracks the GPS even though it’s “disabled” on my Verizon account, then I wi-fi up my results when I get home. This doesn’t give me any advanced features (cadence, directions if I’m lost, etc), so all the info here will be great when I finally decide that I need a Garmin.

[americancyclo]

For those that use your phones, there are a few ANT+ enabled phones on the market (and more coming, I think). They will hook up to a Heart Rate Monitor and Speed/Cadence sensor.

Android: http://www.thisisant.com/pages/developer-zone/android-api

iPhone has the wahoo fitness ANT+ sensor for under $100.

Maybe good options for those that don’t want to shell out for a dedicated device, but personally, I love having all the realtime info plus navigation capability on my 705. Someday when that one eats it, I’ll spring for an 800, but by then, I’m sure Garmin will have released the 900.

[rcannon100]

Old thread – revised question. I had an Oregon. I loved my Garmin Oregon (for geocaching and whatever). But it has gone to the great unknown. It took its last ride in last Sunday’s fog.

I would like a device I can use for Cycling and Hiking – where I am looking for simple things like distance, average speed, time and Strava connect. I am thinking of getting a Forerunner – like the 410 – as a one device that does both. And the Forerunner 410 seems to be on sale. Its almost the same price as the 200s.

Does this make sense – or do I have to get a GPS for every damn activity I do?

[TwoWheelsDC]

The Edge series work fine for tracking your hikes/walks and such, at least the few times I’ve used mine for that purpose, but I’m not sure if the Forerunners are somehow “optimized” for slower speeds or whatever. If that was the case, the Forerunner might be the better option. Like I said, the Edge series works fine for hiking, and it can give you rudimentary route guidance (key word is rudimentary), which may or may not be a desirable feature for you…I think it’s very helpful, at least for cycling.

[jabberwocky]

I think the main difference is form factor. The watch-style ones are more portable, but have smaller screens that display less info. The Edges (bike ones) have larger screens, but aren’t as easy to use running or walking. I’ve used my edge 800 for running; it works, but you need to be careful how you hold it (wrapping your hand around it seems to cause it to drop satellite connections sometimes).

For basic tracking, pretty much anything will work fine.

[Tim Kelley]

Does the 410 have a cycling mode? If not, instead of MPH, you’ll be getting min/mi as your pacing on the bike.

The 305 if you can find one, or the 310 do both biking and running/hiking well for pretty cheap.

Some reading for you. These article are a bit older, but much of the info is still relevant:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/my-2010-athletic-gps-device.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/11/my-2011-sports-technology.html

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