GPS Bike Computer Recommendations

March Hare

March Hare

Joined
Jul 14, 2019
Posts
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Location
UK
Funster No
62,410
MH
Hymer MLT 570
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Our 1st Motorhome
I'm looking at getting a GPS Bike Computer to help with route planning and navigation, and I just wondered if anyone could recommend one please?

I have been using my phone, but it's not great, and keeps turning the screen off as there's no option to leave the screen on. We've moved to a new area and there's a maze of tiny country lanes and it's easy to get lost!

One model I've been looking at is the Garmin 830 (around £300) as the mapping looks nice and clear.

Any suggestions gratefully received! 🚴‍♀️
 
I looked at garmin units, but in the end went for phone mount and altering iPhone so I stayed on.
 
Landy Andy said:
I looked at garmin units, but in the end went for phone mount and altering iPhone so I stayed on.
Click to expand...
Thanks LA! I've got a handlebar mounted waterproof phone mount which works ok'ish. It's really just my phone - the battery's not brilliant now and it's maximum time for the screen saver is 30 mins (although I think there's a way to bypass this). I think I'd prefer to have a GPS unit and keep my phone in the trunk bag. Thanks though for your reply! :)
 
I have the Garmin 530, mainly for mountainbiking and it works very well. The mapping is good and clear enough to show you where you are in relation to other roads, tracks, paths, bridleways woodland, stream etc etc. Tried my sons 830 and just couldn't get along with the touchscreen. If I'm following a downloaded route I use an Edge Remote to change screens on the 530. If I know an area reasonably well, and in the UK can back up with offline OS on the phone, the much smaller Garmin 130 is also excellent using breadcrumb routing but no background maps.

In France at the moment and using Komoot to plan rides out from where we are staying - a brilliant app. Downloaded the maps for Normandy and Brittany before we left. Now I just look at the area we are in, eg Le Tréport or currently Eterat and it brings up a dozen or more local suggestions of varying lengths, in some cases starting from the site we are currently on. Highly recommended and buying lifetime worldwide maps are often on special offer for around £20 or so.
 
I use a Garmin Oregon 600 series (an older 660T model) on the bike and it’s been great for loading .gpx files - we used it on La Vélodyssée and it didn’t miss a beat. Powered by 2x rechargeable AA batteries which will last 24 hours plus.

Also have a Garmin Montana 700i which I use on motorcycles and quads mainly for the bigger screen and 12v power option.

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I've just brought a S/H Garmin edge touring and am quite disappointed tbh.

I tried to find two locations Clitheroe and verwood which are pertinent to me....

Neither come up when you search for them.

No where to put in postcodes either.....

The map is not detailed at all.

Have I brought a pup of a system.

Garmin satnav for cars of simalar era were fine I used them every day for work?!!

Disappointing for a birthday present!
 
Jamesh said:
I've just brought a S/H Garmin edge touring and am quite disappointed tbh.

I tried to find two locations Clitheroe and verwood which are pertinent to me....

Neither come up when you search for them.

No where to put in postcodes either.....

The map is not detailed at all.

Have I brought a pup of a system.

Garmin satnav for cars of simalar era were fine I used them every day for work?!!

Disappointing for a birthday present!
Click to expand...
In answer to your question, yes.

I have the 1000 and 1040 and they are much better than the Touring versions. The 800 series (840?) is good if you don't want such a large screen.
 
I like a mixture of my Karoo Hammerhead for my planned routes which has a brilliant screen or my Garmin Touring when I am in Europe and want an auto generated circular route
 
I've used Garmin's Oregon range for years on push bikes, hiking, sight seeing and as an emergency satnav*.

At home I've created the routes and waypoints for the trip and copied them to the Oregon. The waypoints are often dupes of those found in mapping on the unit but mine are auto favourited 🤷‍♂️

If you want a more bike specific unit, then Garmin Edge are well thought of. A couple of my mates have that range for their bikes.

*-Mounted in a landscape position the Oregon quite accurately mimics a Garmin Satnav! Except: no postcode address find (can find city or street as text entry tho) and there are beeps for turn left or right!

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Garmin 520 Plus, 820 Plus and as from tomorrow 1030....we trail ride everywhere, having a GPS enables you to pre-plan or record your route, or both...However further assistance is required, software like Komoot and Wikiloc, make sure your purchase allows these...your planning would be made on a Smartphone, Tablet or PC....then transferred to the GPS to navigate you on your route using Maps or Turn by Turn
Most units have a find me a course enabled, so...you arrive somewhere and haven't planned a route, the unit will plan you something of your chosen distance, we have had mixed results with this function...now, I plan and check our routes for suitability.
Without doubt a GPS provides an added Must for any active biker...The last thing I want is a smartphone sat on my handlebars, however I sometime have one working in my pack on talk mode, trusting this method to tell me of my next turn....only used while road riding....
 
EDGE Family....the 5 and 8 models 520 and 820 are quite compact and suit us when riding off road often sustaining the occasional fall..bashing through trees etc......the 1000 series are bigger, for some of our gravel riding on different bikes the larger screen is useful...
Currently good offers available on Garmin Edge 1030....I've just ordered one....

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I’ve used a Garmin 810 for a few years now. It’s good but is a bit slow and the screen is quite small if youre using the map view. The Garmin integration to Strava and Komoot is now very good . Downloading stand alone routes (gpx files) from a tablet or phone can be a bit difficult over Bluetooth, though easier from a laptop with a usb lead.

Anyway, as my Garmin is now getting a bit outdated I’ve jut upgraded to a Hammerhead Karoo 2. Cheaper than the Garmin 1030 but very similar functionality. Excellent large screen, very fast response. Very pleased with it so far.

Btw if you’re riding on the road a lot I can recommend getting one of the Garmin Varia rear view radars. Great piece of kit that warns you of any traffic approaching from behind - the number of cars , how close they are and how fast they are approaching. Expensive, but a great safety aid especially in windy conditions when you can’t hear cars approaching.
 
Have had an edge 810 for years but the screen was getting a bit small so updated to the 830 which seems pretty good. You do need to consider planning routes in advance using Strava, Komoot or OS Maps and have them loaded onto the device makes life much easier.

There is a search function for places/postcodes but tricky to find.

If anybody has life or health insurance through Vitality you get big discounts on Polar/Garmin devices once a year.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies and recommendations, they’re all very much appreciated! 😊

I‘ll do some more research based on your recommendations - there’s so much choice and it’s probably overkill to go for the Garmin 1030 Plus, but I do like the sound of the larger screen. I’ll also take a look at the Hammerhead Karoo II, and will check out screen sizes.

Thanks again for your replies - I’ll come back on with an update! 🚴‍♀️
 

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