GPS Questions

larkin42

New Member
I'm hoping Santa is going to deliver my first GPS system this year....only question is, what one to get. I have been looking at the Etrex Vista HCX or the Edge 205. The only feature I care about, is the ability to track a ride and get me back to where I started. I ride alone a lot and like to explore new places. Any opinion on these 2 models or other suggestions in $200-$300 price range?
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
I would recommend the Etrex Vista HCX for the best value. I think it is good to have base map capability, though you need to buy Mapsource Topo for that. . The best way back to point "A" may not be a straight line, for example when there is a swamp or cliff in the way. You only have that info when Topo's are loaded.
 

larkin42

New Member
Now would this track my route so that if I had been riding for an hour around Allaire and got lost, I could back track the route i had just done? Sorry for what may seem like dopey questions, but I have the sense of direction of a blind knat and I'm sick of getting lost.
 

alex_k

Well-Known Member
I'm very happy with my eTrex Legend® HCx - it is like Etrex Vista HCX but does not have a barometer.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
I agree about the eTrex. I have one also with the high sensitivity receiver and I love it. You can load maps to it if you wish.
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
You can do that with all GPS's, either follow the bread crumbs or put on navigation mode and follow the arrow pointer. But let's say the track back is 2 hours, and you want to bushwack back to the start, base maps will let you know what the topography is. The Vista has the benefit of an electronic compass which always points correctly. With a GPS based compass (Legend) , you must travel a few feet for the GPS to determine what direction you are going.


Now would this track my route so that if I had been riding for an hour around Allaire and got lost, I could back track the route i had just done? Sorry for what may seem like dopey questions, but I have the sense of direction of a blind knat and I'm sick of getting lost.
 

jkmacman

Complete Nonsense
gps's in da woods

larkin42

i agree w/mattybfat

i have a garmin edge 305, which i feel is good for hr & cadence (not so import for navigating mtb)

i did see a philly mtb guy using a delorme on a recent ride in fair hill md, and he could really use the gps to print out a topo map and figure out where he is, where we cycled, and where we wanna cycle

i can't say this about the gamin, i was in the catksills and i got off the bike to look for a path to the windham valley, i was just 10 feet from my bike and was totally lost

the garmin had a little drawing of where i cycled, but no reference to the topology, also since i dropped the garmin i can't get that feature, and am considereing other products

one caveat, the philly mtb leader had an old garmin forerunner on his wrist that he used for tagging pictures with the gps coords. ( he used a software to attach the meta data to the pics)

me i have a polar, timex 100 lap iron man, and a garmin edge 305

if you are serious mtb looking for navigation i think delorme is worth a close look
 

larkin42

New Member
Great info. I hadn't looked at the Delorme before. After reading about it, I like the features it offers. Any reason to go with the more expensive PN40 rather than the more cost conscious PN20? As usual the information here has been more than helpful. Love this place.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
I don't know if Delorme offers a similar type of service but Garmin has Motionbased.com that allows you to upload your navigated trip to their website so you can graphically see your path. You can also import your path on to Google Earth. I don't know if Motionbased.com can accept data from any GPS devices other than Garmin.
 

jkmacman

Complete Nonsense
both sides now

i dunno about all the delorne's but the philly mtb guy had the yellow one

here below is a link to a mtb ride i did in the catskills using the garmin edge

you can see i was literally cycling in circles

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6664625

the yellow delorme and the edge 305 retail about the same price, not counting maps and other online services (edge 305 no map available edge 705 maps extra, but i think mostly road maps, no topology?
 

jkmacman

Complete Nonsense
garmin stuff

hi xc62701 :

for $250 you are getting good deal, i like garmin, but i like polar too & delorme

that being said i like to buy a companys most recent products for various reasons

until recently garmin edge 305 worked okay w/motion based but not garmin's own website. they claim the edge 305 gonna work some day

for me an aspiring triathlete, i too a look at garmin forreunner 405 at $350, has mixed reviews, i am sure i can collect data from my bike rides and runs, but indoor swimmwing will be useless? and try mapping a topology on the little screen, some review complained about toggeling through the different screams was a night mere

the edge 305 is good, but i recommend leaving it on one bike,

i went crazy and bought extra cadence sensors, and tried carring it around on runs, and i ended up dropping it on cement. anoter cyclist complained to me that he had problems with his (edge 305) staying charged since day 1

now i have been using the edge 305 on my trainer to look at hr and cadence, but the guy the originated this thread was looking for advice on a gps in da woods, so my review is not favorable for naviagting with the garnin, but you can look at your ride if you make it home okay.

so what do i do, when i am cycling at night in ringwood, niterider light Minewt dual dies (on hi ) after 1.5 hours, then the helmet niterider goes blank after 3 hours, i am left with a broken garmin telling me i am going south, and its snowing , but i hope i can get to cannonball run and make it down to route 17 before dawn, but my cadence is 120 rpm and hr is 180
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
so what do i do, when i am cycling at night in ringwood, niterider light Minewt dual dies (on hi ) after 1.5 hours, then the helmet niterider goes blank after 3 hours, i am left with a broken garmin telling me i am going south, and its snowing , but i hope i can get to cannonball run and make it down to route 17 before dawn, but my cadence is 120 rpm and hr is 180

You should never assume a GPS will help you out in this situation regardless.
 

jkmacman

Complete Nonsense
$5 compass is best

You should never assume a GPS will help you out in this situation regardless.
agreed

i think a compass should be part of every mtb riders kit

even though the cheep ones out now (that have a bell built in) are not accurate, they may help you with go in one general direction, i just wish i could mount mine on the yukon handlebars, which are somewhat oblong in diameter

case in fact, i was recommended to cycle allamucy south (deer park) since the north side "would be a death march for c riders in the winter"

yet, someone asked me for gps data on a recent ride. i had my broken garmin but was not able to access the screen that shows a line of where you have been

the previous time (1st time) at allamuchy i was lost and ended up on the road cycling, then on the morris canal path, that was totally covered with downed trees, when i downled the data to motion based, i saw that i had criss crossed my tracks several times, and was trying to get back to civilization due to a minor catashtrophie at the office
 

tommyjay

Not-So-Venerable Asshat
I have the GPSMap 60Csx (Garmin) and I love it, love it, love it.

BIG color screen
Intuitive controls
Excellent reception
Added the topo maps

Built in electronic (not gps-based) compass and barometric altimeter

As an example, using the topo maps for Allamuchy together with the DEP map, I have been able to easily wander off the marked trails ----

the GPS topo matches the DEP map so closely that I can easily tell where I am in reference to the marked trails on the map. In addition, all the roads are shown on the GPS, so's if I really need to get back to civilization in a hurry, the GPS can point me to the quickest way out.

Downside: its a big, bulky handheld (about the size of a two way radio). Perfect for sticking in a camelbak, but not for bar mounting.



Don't know a lot about the Edge series. I understand the earlier models were limited in their mapping/nav functions - the newer models have added a lot of that functionality, but I've heard that the 705 (the holy grail in bike GPS, IMHO) is reportedly a bit buggy still. And its pricey. $500 is a lot of wood for a luxury accessory. Which is what a GPS for biking (especially in NJ) is.

Oh, and I hate cursive writing and I hate all of you!!!! (attempt by me and Billy to get sent to the heap).
 
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