used Garmin?

[Claire]

I have a friend who's caught the bug and really should upgrade from his phone app to a proper Garmin. Anyone have an older one they've upgraded from and could pass along? His birthday's coming up soon, so sooner is better. Thanks!

[Ann]

I have a Garmin Edge 500 I'm not using anymore.

[Claire]

Garmins for all my friends! Now it's my dad who needs something better than his microscopic, archaic Cateye (with cumbersome wires and sensors, no less!).

I'm looking for any satellite-enabled unit with a decently large readout. Need not be Garmin brand (or even Strava-friendly, although he does have a younger brother who's on Strava so chances are he'll quickly get hooked, given the opportunity).

Thanks!

[Rolf]

Hi Claire: you imply a bike-mounted GPS device is superior to using the Strava smartphone app, and I'm sure that's the case. But can you briefly explain why?

I think they're more accurate, particularly for altitude changes. And I know having data on one's handlebars offers a wealth of real-time information—which I understand can help if one is "training". But unless one is creating art and needs to keep hitting stop and start, what does a Garmin offer a duffer recreational cyclist that the phone app doesn't?

[Robgrant]

Not the witty retort you were hoping from Claire.

My uses, not in any particular order:
-autolap, so for the SSS or cross race you know how many laps you have done (being hypoxic, you forgot to look at the lap board)
-cadence- need speed cadence sensor or power meter to remind you to keep your cadence up
-barometric pressure based altitude is much more accurate in case you mountain bike or are trying to Everest
-heart rate monitor so you can monitor how hard you are actually working, rather than how hard you think you're working (see also power meter if you are training seriously)
-leave your phone at home so you don't break it when you crash/ get it wet/ have some doofus calling you at 6.14AM
-trailforks mapping for off road adventures to show you were to go
-geek out on numbers during and after your ride
-live Strava segments (ok, that needs your phone connected to your Garmin)
-speed; say for a Beacon Hill lap, we need to be going ~45km/h just after the cross walks for a >40km/h lap pace

[Rolf]

Thanks, Rob! Though bereft of chuckles, that was exactly the sort of detailed answer I was looking for—and confirmation that a Garmin wouldn't make much difference for this amateur.

Anything to add, Clarie?

[Claire]

I used my smartphone app for a good year before caving and scrounging (my first!) used Garmin.

The benefits are as Rob detailed, but I'll highlight my priorities for using the bar-mounted device rather than the in-the-pocket app.

- #1 is that everything is readily visible - including the all-important time of day (essential for squeezing the last second out of the riding window), but also total distance (for mileage junkies, or just those who prefer round numbers attached to their rides)

- Slightly less essential but interesting is that the elevation data does seem to be more accurate with the Garmin. I've run both the app and the device concurrently and found wide variation in data - not the least important of which is a lower average speed (gasp!) with the app due largely (I think) to its less on-the-ball "auto pause" function.

- I've also noticed that satellite reception seems to be more consistent with the Garmin (I was riding through but not recording segments with some regularity using my phone - super annoying!).

- Finally, keep in mind the purpose of my latest quest is to furnish my elderly father with a "bike computer" - this is a guy who barely owns a functional cell phone, and certainly would be flummoxed by the vagaries of something as techy and hip as a "Strava app" - also one hamstrung by a lack of both memory (on the phone!) and data plan. I also hate to see him sweating and cursing as he tries to "calibrate" his old-skool cyclometer while also stringing up its cumbersome wiring system in such a way that still permits his pedals and wheels to turn.

[JohnT]

I can help! Tell your dad to run a string (you reminded me of this when you wrote about stringing wires) around his tire, then measure the length of the string with a tape measure. Next, plug that value into the odometer... isn't that how all of you do it?

[Greg F]

I can help! Tell your dad to run a string (you reminded me of this when you wrote about stringing wires) around his tire, then measure the length of the string with a tape measure. Next, plug that value into the odometer... isn't that how all of you do it?

Yes, that and a sextant and compass. A little harder on the rainy days, but that's where one's dead reckoning skills get put to the test.

[AJ Neale]

This is why my handlebar is adorned with a simple bell ..... and only on Thursday.

To each his own