Best GPS Unit for Navigation

eeimcaw

Hi,
My father in law is taking on a audax type cycle this summer down in Kerry, its 3000km and 12000 metres of climbing over 4 days.
He's being told that you need to be able to plot your own way around as you can become isolated from groups as people are starting and stopping at different times etc.

So he's asked me to look into a gps unit where can preload the 4 routes for the 4 days. He wouldn't be that handy with tech so the less features and need to use touch screens the better. I'm used to the garmin myself so from looking at it the garmin edge 820 would suit him but it has alot of features(looked at the edge touring also but you can't transfer routes from the phone and doesn't have cadence sensor integration so ruled that one out and think he needs more than the bread crumb trail so that rules out the edge 500)

So was just wondering if there other options out there that would suit?

Thanks
Mick

Plastik

That's some cycle. 750km per day at over 31avg without breaks for 4 days?

Hopelessone1

Its 1200 km.

Mefistofelino

Before you head down the road of picking specific GPS features, there are a couple of bigger issues to address.

Firstly, a GPS isn't strictly necessary. The organiser will provide a routesheet which will allow riders to follow the correct route using nothing more than a simple bike computer. The routesheet will show all relevant turns and how far they are, both from the start and from the previous turn. This was the standard method of navigating for decades before the arrival of GPS units. It does require the user to be alert and pay attention to the routesheet but is probably the most reliable.

The second issue is that the days on the Mile Failte are looooong. It would be very common for riders to be on the road around 6am and not return until after midnight, then rinse and repeat the following day. On the last MF,some riders didn't even make it back to base on the third day, opting to overnight maybe 50km from home. So any GPS unit will either need to be recharged on the move OR be something like a Garmin Etrex, which uses AA batteries that typically last 20-24 hours and can be changed out on-the-fly.

eeimcaw

Just checked with him there so its the MILE FAILTE 1200 alright in june....

He's cycled around france and spain without needing a gps unit(used maps and google maps on the phone when in trouble) but a member of his cycling club who has done the event before reckoned it was a must(sounds like he had on edge 500 or similar as he said it beeped when a turn came up).
I did the Birr 200 earlier myself this year and to be honest only that one of the lads in my group had on edge 1000 we probably would have spent alot of the day on google maps, was brilliant event but were alot of turns!)

I'll have a chat with him again and see has he any idea on how he's going to tackle it and then decide whether he needs a unit like the etrex or bring power banks or just go without!

Thanks for the replies.....

Mefistofelino

Bear in mind he'll also need a lighting system capable of running for a few hours each day. If its a dynamo-based system, it will be possible to charge the GPS using that, though some additional gubbins will be necessary.

The Etrex is good and robust (its a general-purpose / hiking unit) but is a bit finicky about the type of GPS file loaded. For something like the Mile Failte with days of 300km+, usual practice is to break each day's route into two "chunks" of 150 -200km and have a separate file for each. At the last MF, one participant did this beforehand and made the files available to everyone.

The 820 is great for navigating - when it works. I've already returned one as it froze too frequently and the replacement is starting to misbehave too. However it has a very good battery saving mode which means that the screen is switched off and only turns on as you approach a junction, gives the direction instruction and shuts down again. I rode a 300 using only around 55% of battery life, so it should last 400km on a single charge.