Garmin Edge Touring / 800
Discussion
1st off a quick confession - I seem to be collecting garmins.
I started with a 200 then blagged a 500 (£25 quid with HRM/Cadence
).
I have now just purchased the new edge touring as on paper I suspect this was what i really wanted. I was after a GPS that gave key in ride data (all the usual stuff - i havnt used the 500's HRM or cadence for anyting more than curiosity) as well as course mapping. Bread crumb course routes with turn by turn were possible on the 200 and better on the 500 with its additional cue screens and countdowns to turns etc. However a GPS with on screen maps was what i really wanted but without the cost of the 800/810.
So ~£140 later I have an edge touring (£199 rrp - i did some fancy footwork).
Unfortunately due to poor weather ive only had chance to take it on a quick 3 mile test spin against a course i uploaded as a tcx file with turn by turn directions (bikeroutetoaster is great).
However.....I did notice that the screen appeared less legible than my 500 once the backlight turned off (this might have been due to fading light). I was wondering whether this was due to it being a colour screen and therefore a potentially (?) poorer contrast (the 500 allows you to set contrast wheras the touring doesnt appear to). As the touring is new to market there isnt much user experience posted yet. I therefore wondered what the experience of 800 users was as they are effectively the same harware just different software. Do you run the units with the backlight permanently on ?
On the plus side i liked seeing actual turns displayed on a map as well as its ability to tell you the name of the road you were turning onto.
Feedback from 800 users v much appreciated - i'll happily post up my further thoughts on the touring (after a bit of use) if anyone is interseted.
Cheers
Pot Odds
I started with a 200 then blagged a 500 (£25 quid with HRM/Cadence
).I have now just purchased the new edge touring as on paper I suspect this was what i really wanted. I was after a GPS that gave key in ride data (all the usual stuff - i havnt used the 500's HRM or cadence for anyting more than curiosity) as well as course mapping. Bread crumb course routes with turn by turn were possible on the 200 and better on the 500 with its additional cue screens and countdowns to turns etc. However a GPS with on screen maps was what i really wanted but without the cost of the 800/810.
So ~£140 later I have an edge touring (£199 rrp - i did some fancy footwork).
Unfortunately due to poor weather ive only had chance to take it on a quick 3 mile test spin against a course i uploaded as a tcx file with turn by turn directions (bikeroutetoaster is great).
However.....I did notice that the screen appeared less legible than my 500 once the backlight turned off (this might have been due to fading light). I was wondering whether this was due to it being a colour screen and therefore a potentially (?) poorer contrast (the 500 allows you to set contrast wheras the touring doesnt appear to). As the touring is new to market there isnt much user experience posted yet. I therefore wondered what the experience of 800 users was as they are effectively the same harware just different software. Do you run the units with the backlight permanently on ?
On the plus side i liked seeing actual turns displayed on a map as well as its ability to tell you the name of the road you were turning onto.
Feedback from 800 users v much appreciated - i'll happily post up my further thoughts on the touring (after a bit of use) if anyone is interseted.
Cheers
Pot Odds
Edited by Pot Odds on Sunday 20th October 23:18
I have my 800 set to dim the backlight after about 20 seconds. In fading light I switch to night mode which makes it more legible. If you use the course point warnings in BRT it will automatically put the backlight on when it flicks up the course point warning as a turn is approaching
800 arrived this morning and first quick ten mile tryout this evening.
First impressions, its bloody brilliant. How I ever lived without it I don't know. Unfortunately it says I have the heart rate of a startled hamster on crack.... (185 peak, 72 resting).
The customisable screens are great, the "chase" mode looks to be a brilliant training tool.still haven't touched the nav yet or used the speed / cadence sensor.
(Got the bundle on eBay)
I think this is the tool I needed to push me further and faster - not stopping at a junction, fishing my phone out and working out where to go is a bonus! :-)
Still need a rubber case and an ahead mount.
First impressions, its bloody brilliant. How I ever lived without it I don't know. Unfortunately it says I have the heart rate of a startled hamster on crack.... (185 peak, 72 resting).
The customisable screens are great, the "chase" mode looks to be a brilliant training tool.still haven't touched the nav yet or used the speed / cadence sensor.
(Got the bundle on eBay)
I think this is the tool I needed to push me further and faster - not stopping at a junction, fishing my phone out and working out where to go is a bonus! :-)
Still need a rubber case and an ahead mount.
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