So, Chain reaction has Garmin 200 on clearance - £80.00
or Garmin edge 500 at £116 -£15 using BF voucher
is the 500 worth the extra £ ?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Computers, GPS, 'Smart' 'Phones
Hmmmmm....Garmin advice needed
(24 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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We mainly want it for timing/route downloads.
definitely can't justify the really pricy ones, but thinking the 'Edge Touring plus' might actually be our best bet. we don't have a smartphone, and have been wanting a GPS for ages.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/garmin-edge-touring-plus-gps-computer/rp-prod114515
Posted 10 years ago # -
I use my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx mainly for route downloads (i.e. 'where I went') but I also use it for uploads when I need to have a carefully pre-programmed route (e.g. visits to London) and for on-the-fly routing (e.g. 'tell me how to get to $random_destination'). Mine is outdoorsy rather than bikey, and a bit old hat these days with its very clunky text-input interface, but I've certainly had my money's worth from it. I have a RAM mount for it on my motorbike, too.
Might be worth checking which unit does what you most need: Edge, eTrex, Dakota or Oregon. I have to admit I'm completely baffled by the range of seemingly 28 different Edge models that Handtec lists. Twenty-eight?
Posted 10 years ago # -
i think we'll get a bike specific one, because we do want to use it on the bikes. although hopefully it will not be totally useless elsewhere.
this review quite handy for explaining the diff in the Edges - not 28 though:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/reviews/10460493/Garmin-Touring-Plus-GPS-bike-computer-review.htmlthink we're now heading towards the 'Edge touring' but not the 'plus' unless anyone can make a good case for that.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Do either of you have a smart phone? most have a GPS chip and can record using strava, and save as a GPX to upload to a non Strava site.
Posted 10 years ago # -
nope. no smart phone.
Posted 10 years ago # -
£116 is a good price for a 500. They are rarely discounted by much as they seem very popular: in fact many of the 28 Edge models are probably different colour versions of the Edge 500, further divided into with/without the HRM and speed/cadence sensor bundle.
Key additions on 500 over and above the 200 are:
- ANT+ compatible (for those HRM and other sensors)
- Has barometric altimeter and temperature sensor
- allows screens to be customised so they display what you want.If you just want to time/record your rides and download them, the 200 is probably fine. The extra features of the 500 are mainly of benefit to keen roadies wanting to display/record training statistics.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Touring is pretty good value for to navigate with. It has a few glitches, but on the whole works pretty well. I have an Edge 800 that I am happy with, but if you do't want HR stuff, I don't think you will regret getting a Touring. Wiggle now has them for £148
Posted 10 years ago # -
Thinking about it I've got an edge 705 you could have for a jar of marmalade (or equivalent value in baked goods)
Its a right sod to charge as the pins have corroded slightly, but if you're not going to use it that often then a few minutes faff to find the charger sweet spot probably isn't a big deal...
Posted 10 years ago # -
Thanks stiltskin - very good to hear form someone who has one. Chain reaction price is £132 once you use their discount code, so will probably go with them unless anything better appears tomorrow.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Before you buy anything, it's Black Friday tomorrow and amazon have had some Garmin deals all week (Cyber Monday on Monday as well).
Posted 10 years ago # -
Yeah. It was you saying something like that on FB that gave me the idea of checking out deals. That and the email from chain reaction that arrived this afternoon.
Posted 10 years ago # -
is the 500 worth the extra £ ?
It is. Cadence, HR, Power, Courses. Those alone are worth the extra cash. I'm sure there are other benefits on top which might be suitable to you too.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I would get the 500 over the 200 at those prices just because you can have multiple screens and customise what is on them - time of day, a page of lap or overall ride stats, a page for what's happening right now. It also has a barometric altimeter so produces much more accurate traces.
If you want a map, there's the Edge Touring. It's pretty decent although I reckon the smart money there would be to try and find a heavily discounted Edge 800 from the older generation.
I have too many of these and compared them here. Alas, I have been told that I'm not allowed the Edge 1000 so my complete comparison is now incomplete.
Personally I think these will converge with smartphones, although it's still not really happening that way.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Bizarrely, this comparison of their models suggests the 200 does Courses, but the 500 does not. Odd.
http://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/garmin-edge-compare.pdf
Damn you, Dave, for reminding me about the existence of the 1000 which I do not own.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I've got a 500. Not considering anything else. Really good bit of kit for measuring all your ride stats. The battery life is really good and will last a week or two of commuting.
It's not really designed to display routes/courses for you (small mono screen) to follow but it DOES do it. All you'll get is basically a line on the screen and you'll see if you've deviated from it. You won't see maps or anything like that.
Getting a heart rate strap adds a big dimension to personal training.
Getting the speed/cadence sensor is also very interesting and a side effect is that it makes your route stats much more accurate. Basically because GPS jumps about with a margin of error, any GPS device tracker uses an algorithm to smooth out your stats for distance, speed, etc. However the speed/cadence sensor tells the computer *exactly* how far/fast you are travelling and it uses this info as a priority over GPS info. Might not sound like much difference but it can remove those 'was I really doing 60mph for 5 seconds?' problems that a pure GPS trace can come up with.
Posted 10 years ago # -
For basic ride stats - distance, speed etc - I suspect the 200 is good enough. If you want to follow routes, it's probably rubbish (I say that because the 500 I have is rubbish). For routes I still use the eTrex Legend that I got years ago. Follows routes although it's an old serial connection so practically useless these days. Blah blah.
Actually, if you don't have a smart phone you're probably better getting a smart phone because they do millions of other things that a GPS unit will never do. And you'll probably get one for nothing.
Posted 10 years ago # -
If buying the 200, check Halfords before buying from CRC. 10% off cycling if buying before Mon which brings it down to £65.69.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Evans would price match CRC too and currently offering £20 voucher if you spend over £100.
Posted 10 years ago # -
It's the perfect point in the year to go into a shop and offer them hard cash for a sale.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Garmin Edge 200 on GumTree, Grassmarket, new in box £55.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Sealed in the box. That's some impressive shoplifting.
Posted 10 years ago # -
You gotta love free enterprise.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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