Garmin Edge 200 - worth a buy at £59?

[Kell]

I've seen these online for just under £60 and as I'm getting conscious that having an iPhone6 lit up on my bars in London might well make me a target, I wondered if it's a good alternative. Most importantly for me is if it connects to Strava like I know some of the Garmins do.

Anyone got any opinions good or bad? And is the price OK? Or is this the type of thing that regularly gets discounted?

[towser44]

It's regularly at or around that price as it's been out a few years. Aldi had them for £60 late last year. It will work with Strava at the end of the ride when you upload it, but it won't do the live segments like the later models now do.

[Your Dad]

I had a 200 as my first Garmin (now using an 800 after also using a 500).

Fine for recording rides and then connecting to PC/laptop to upload to Strava, no cadence or HRM options and only a breadcrumb trail if you're wanting to follow routes.

[jamiebae]

The Lezyne stuff looks better value than Garmin now, and the 200 is very basic so if you want to add external sensors you won't be able to. A bit more expensive but a lot more features: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne-macro-cycle-gps-wit...

As a side note, I wouldn't be tempted by the new Garmin 20 or 25 - they have a dedicated charging cradle which is annoying if you want to plug in at home and at work.

[donfisher]

I’ve just got my second one for about £60. The last one I had managed over 4 years and 11,000 miles before the battery got to the point where it wouldn’t last for more than 3 hours. When new they’ll last for ages.
I’ve never ran mine out even when doing a couple of slow 100+ milers.

The last one was mainly trouble free, even when used in very wet conditions. The latest one has created a corrupted file once but hasn’t since. Both occasionally really struggle to locate the GPS signal after being switched on but are fine once the signal has been found and the ride has started. No idea why.

They’re very basic compared to the latest stuff and if I was going for something that works with sensors or proper navigation I’d probably avoid the latest Garmins and look elsewhere. It seems to me, based on what mates and threads on here have said that the sweet spot really was the 200,500 & 800 and since then the newer devices have been really hit and miss on quality and reliability.

The 200 is absolutely fine for just logging rides. Much better and more consistent than the various apps I was using before I got it and if all you need to see is current speed, average speed and distance then it does the job really well. My only complaint is a minor one; on the display the clock is there on the menu screen but not on the recording screen. As I say, minor.

Live segments and so on isn’t of much interest to me but I quite like the idea of something that will pair with my phone alert me to a message or call as my phone is often in a bag or back pocket.

[The_Jackal]

As above really.
The sweet spot for the Garmin range now is the 520, you can find this for around 180 if you wait or shop around (BC discount at Halfords helps)
Although the Lezynes are getting rave reviews and do seem good value for money like the one above.
I used to have the 200 for about a year and a half and it is great and very reliable for basic recording of rides. But last year I upgraded to the 520 as a birthday present as I want cadence and heart rate. Again I am very impressed with it, reliable easy to use and very configurable. The complete opposite of the 810 and 820 range though, which is where I think 90% of Garmin's complaints come from.

[Kell]

That Lezyne looks pretty good as it goes.

A few friends and I are thinking about doing a coast-to-coast later in the year and I don't think my phone would be up to logging the trip.

Something small with better battery life would be better all round.

[Pot Odds]

It really depends what you want the GPS for - If it's just for logging rides and providing basic in ride data such as speed and distance etc then the Edge 200 will be fine. It is however rather basic and has been replaced in the Garmin line up by the Edge 20/25 (which has a few additional features but is still basic - its main USP is its pretty damn tiny).

If you want to use a GPS for navigating a c2c then you're best off getting one with built in maps and the ability to do turn by turn navigation. GPS designed to do this include the Garmin Edge 1000, 820, 800, Touring, Mio Cycle 505 & Bryton Rider 60 (i've only listed those I've got or used as i've not been hands on with Lezyne). My personal favourites are the Edge 820 (currently use) and the Edge 1000. Ive left the 810 off as its the only one i didn't really get along with straight out of the box. You are however getting into price points in the £2-300 region for most of these devices (touring can be picked up for around £150)

You can use other devices such as the Edge 200, 500 etc to follow breadcrumb trails and devices such as the Edge520 and Polar V650 can import sections of open streetmaps (breadcrumb trail is then overlaid on map) but they are not as good as a device with designed in course navigation.

I'm planning a c2c later this year too and will be taking my 820 whilst sticking the 1000 on someone elses bike as a backup. I will also be using a portable plugin battery as I like to keep the 820's backlight on and the inbuilt battery won't last a c2c at my pace. Personally I wouldn't want to do a c2c without at least one person with a GPS with dedicated course navigation.

If you want to see most of the above GPS in action (inc navigation) then I might just have a selection of videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfvwMRyMTecPVnsX...

I would also strongly recommend DC Rainmakers website for some seriously in depth reviews of bike GPS and technology

[Pot Odds]

Just re-read your original post and if you just want something to log rides that is cheap incase some scrote nicks it then the 200 is ideal. You will have to physically plug it in to download your rides to strava as it doesn't have bluetooth or wireless but it isn't really a faff as I tend to plug my GPS in after a ride to keep the battery topped up..

Edited by Pot Odds on Thursday 23 February 08:02

[SixtySpeedTwin]

ive had a 200 for years and its great.
I log my rides on it and use the breadcrumbs on new routes, which is good enough.
No sensors mean no caence, HRM or wheel speed, but if basic you want then job done.
Because its basic the battery lasts for aaaaages.
cheers
Clive

[dontlookdown]

I have an old Garmin 200 donated by my BIL after he upgraded. He is much more into the latest gadgets than I am.

It's the Nokia 3300 of bike computers. Simple quality product, does speed and distance well, easy to use and battery lasts ages (even on my old and we'll used specimen). You can upload to eg strava with USB cable. I don't bother.

For 60 quid it's good value provided that you don't want any more functionality.

[Kell]

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm not a good enough cyclist to warrant logging my heartrate and I do already have a relatively simplistic Cat-eye wired computer that does cadence on my roadbike.

I really just want something to log my mileage and speed etc and display the stuff that matters as you're moving - current speed, average speed, distance covered etc.

Though I have to say I am tempted by the Lezyne version - which goes against everything I've just said.