What GPS that isn't a Garmin?

What GPS that isn't a Garmin?

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Discussion

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,634 posts

212 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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I've got an Edge 800.

It was fine when it worked, but then the power button stopped working, a few months after the end of the warranty period.

Garmin stuck their hands out and demanded £70 for a refurbished unit in exchange. Doubtless they will've fixed my old one for pennies, and sold it to someone else for £70. irked

Now the replacement unit is dying - with what seems to be a pretty common problem of corrosion on the USB connector, caused by moisture getting past the utterly crap seal - and surprise, surprise, Garmin want £70+ to replace that too! furious

When I spent over £300 on a piece of kit, I didn't do so on the understanding that I'd also be spending £70 every couple of years just to keep the bloody thing working!!! banghead

So, I've had enough with Garmin. What alternatives would people recommend? If it works with my ANT+ HR and cadence sensors that would be a bonus, but not worth sticking with Garmin for. Likewise, I wouldn't mind being able to transfer over the Ordnance Survey maps of the UK I've got on the 800, but it's not enough of a feature that not being able to do so would be a show stopper.

Something which would auto-upload to Strava would also be nice. smile

nammynake

2,587 posts

172 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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Lezyne are bringing out a range shortly which look good and are reasonably priced.

fromage

537 posts

202 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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Complain and quote the sales of good act and how the product even though failed outside of the warranty did'nt last as long as it should and therefore not fit for purpose. Unless they are designed to be replaced every 18 months?

I have had 2 Garmin 500 menu buttons fail outside of warranty and they replaced the first one with a new 500 and the second time I demanded a 510 as there is obviously an issue with the buttons on the 500 and they swapped it out for a brand new boxed 510.

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,634 posts

212 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
fromage said:
Complain and quote the sales of good act and how the product even though failed outside of the warranty did'nt last as long as it should and therefore not fit for purpose. Unless they are designed to be replaced every 18 months?

I have had 2 Garmin 500 menu buttons fail outside of warranty and they replaced the first one with a new 500 and the second time I demanded a 510 as there is obviously an issue with the buttons on the 500 and they swapped it out for a brand new boxed 510.
Tried that, and now about to start a small claims court action on it. Petty, maybe, especially as I can only claim for the £80 or so the replacement cost me, not the original device, but I'm just that fked off with them!

I think the problem is that there wasn't anywhere they were willing to go on an upgrade that was worthwhile, as both the points of failure on my 800 have the same hardware on the 810.

Steve vRS

4,836 posts

240 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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I'm on my third 510 since Jan 2014. To be fair, each one has been replaced with no fuss and plenty of free bits as every time, Garmin send an Edge bundle back. I now have 3 spare HRMs, 2 spare cadence sensors and 2 out in front mounts!

Steve

Herman Toothrot

6,702 posts

197 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Surprised at the longevity complaints about garmins, had my 800 for years of serious MTB abouse and crashes where it's been rammed into the dirt taking gouges out of the casing and it still works perfectly. I find it interesting as well how people expect to upgrade smart phones every 18months as the old ones shagged yet have a problem with a similar electronic device expiring after 2 or 3 years.

Still obviously great if another manufacturer comes long and builds a cheaper better alternative :-)

Black can man

31,816 posts

167 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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Steve vRS said:
I'm on my third 510 since Jan 2014. To be fair, each one has been replaced with no fuss and plenty of free bits as every time, Garmin send an Edge bundle back. I now have 3 spare HRMs, 2 spare cadence sensors and 2 out in front mounts!

Steve
3 HRM's ? I'm looking to buy one of these, fancy selling one to a very poor chap ?



Steve vRS

4,836 posts

240 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Black can man said:
3 HRM's ? I'm looking to buy one of these, fancy selling one to a very poor chap ?
No, just to a very rich man.

Pot Odds

287 posts

235 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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If you don't want another Garmin then options could include:

Similar to Edge 800/810 ie Mapping, Lots of Data Options and Large Colour Screen:

Mio Cyclo 505 - About £270 at Halfords but can be had for closer to £200 if you can stack up a Halfords discount with 10% off for British Cycling membership and garnish by buying with Halfords Vouchers (bought at 10% off). Its a bit bigger than the 800/810.

Bryton Rider 60 - About £250. Similar in size to an 800/810

Similar to Edge 500/510 ie lots of data options but no mapping:

Mio Cyclo 105 - similar to a 500 and if you are lucky and ask at the counter you may find one for £50 at Halfords ATM as it appears they are no longer stocking them. I picked one up a couple of weeks ago for £50 to test but have yet to give it a spin.

Polar V650 - only just available in the UK and appears broadly similar to the 510 in spec - doesnt appear to have mapping atm. Hopefully got one coming soon. Colour screen but does not support Ant+ (uses Bluetooth smart) so your old sensors wont work. Again bigger than the 800/810.

Bryton Rider - 210 or 40

Entry level - just in case anyone is interested Bike Radar are reporting that Aldi have some cycle deals starting on 12th April which will include Edge 200's for £70 which is a pretty good price.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/aldi-lau...

My personal favourite is the Edge 1000. If I was looking outside of Garmin then I quite liked the Mio 505 out of the others i've had a play with.

All Cycle GPS will require a charging connection and will therefore have the potential for moisture ingress if the cover flap is not properly re-seated.

Out of interest how long did you have unit 2 before you started to experience problems and have Garmin only offered to replace at a fee ?


Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,634 posts

212 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Herman Toothrot said:
Surprised at the longevity complaints about garmins, had my 800 for years of serious MTB abouse and crashes where it's been rammed into the dirt taking gouges out of the casing and it still works perfectly. I find it interesting as well how people expect to upgrade smart phones every 18months as the old ones shagged yet have a problem with a similar electronic device expiring after 2 or 3 years.
My phone is a three year old Galaxy S3. It has worked perfectly despite being either in my pocket or in use for 16 hours per day. The kids play Angry Birds on it. It's my satnav, my music player, my portable Netflix streamer and loads of other things besides.

The Edge 800, on the other hand? Two in four years, despite only getting used maybe three times per week for a couple of hours, and spends the rest of the time sat on the desk in my study.

Hardly a like for like comparison, and that's before considering that unlike the phone, the Garmin is actually supposed to be designed for use in adverse conditions...

Daveyraveygravey

2,018 posts

183 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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There were some reviews of the Lezyne products on Roadcc (I think) and lots of the comments were related to the functions - I can't remember exactly what they were but mainly unfavourable and I don't think you get full turn by turn navigation. Would be worth going through the specs completely to make sure you get all the functions you need.

richardxjr

7,561 posts

209 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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Don't worry about the maps. The free download talkytoaster ones are better than OS for small screen viewing.



Ponk

1,380 posts

191 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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My 500 seems to be bombproof. I know it's another Garmin but I'd be seriously considering one of them. Perhaps second hand so you don't have to give any more money to Garmin. biggrin

Steve vRS

4,836 posts

240 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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I thought mine was dead again! It refused to turn on past the 'Loading Profile' message. When I tried a master reset, it just kept on turning on again!

I have a sportive tomorrow so was not best pleased. Anyway, I managed to reset it, had to restore all my settings and pair all the sensors.

I think the problem is that the Cheshire Cat route I downloaded was crashing it. So either the device is buggered or the file is corrupt.

Steve