Garmin or Smartphone

[in10sive]

Get the 200, 500 is not worth the xstra cash. Garmin is waaaaaay better than a phone. Battery wise and size wise, and crooks trying to steal your **** wise.

 

I had a quick look at reviews for the 200, seems like a perfect fit for me and at half the cost of the 500

 

[chrone]

definitely garmin, got the 510 bundle 6 months ago, awesome little gadget

[JCA12]

Can the garmin 200 be used for races that are self-navigation, e.g. The dusi2C?

[Featherbrew]

I also recently went from iPhone to Garmin Edge 500 (I think the GPS, HR monitor and cadence / speed sensor bundle might still be on takelot.com for R2999). I was also doubtful how useful HR monitoring really is but now that I've used it for a while I can strongly recommend.

 

Use case -> On climbs I try to keep my cadence at 80 RPM and control my HR with the bikes gearing. That way I'm not nearly as tired at the top of the climb, I can climb much longer / further and I don't need to rest at places where I needed to in the past. You can only do that with a device on the bars and all the info immediately at hand.

[Maxrider]

Can the garmin 200 be used for races that are self-navigation, e.g. The dusi2C?

No it can't. The Edge 200 doesn't have a maps function.

[TK-Sp3cialiSt]

I have a 500(upgraded from the 305 due to battery issue) and also have the 705,would not consider any other deice as a substitute

[CrimsonWolf]

No it can't. The Edge 200 doesn't have a maps function.

 

I have the Garmin 200 and I import maps with it. Great and you can import from Garmin into strava, mapmyride ect

[JCA12]

No it can't. The Edge 200 doesn't have a maps function.

 

Ok thanks. Then to answer OP - if he is considering doing races where a map is needed - rather go 500 or 510 in case.

 

Edit: it seems you can actually import maps (according to crimson wolf).

Edited May 24, 2014 by JCA12

[in10sive]

Seems like you can import maps according to youtube vids - Yebo Yes

[GrantRH]

I have wahoo HR monitor and cadence monitor. Both Bluetooth to my phone with Strava running. I find it perfect. I see wahoo also now has a reflector, which is basically a little monitor that displays all your reading from your phone. So you can keep your phone in a pocket or camelback (waterproof and safe) but still be able to read the data. Think that is the ideal setup for me. All the wahoo kit costs about R3k though.

[Robrider]

I've been using my phone in my pocket for a while, and have recently got a garmin. Here's my take on it.

 

Phone

Pro's:

No extra cost if you already have one - ie cheaper

Big screen (if its on your bars, which mine wasn't)

You will probably take a phone with you anyway

Good apps

 

Cons:

Fragile

Not built for purpose - apps are good, but not as good as garmin

I don't like having it on the bars because of bike jackings, as well as falling and damaging it. so it becomes only useful for post ride analysis.

I dont know how good the HR belts are, I've heard mixed things

 

Garmin:

Pro

Built for the job - good data, battery, works seamlessly.

con connect HR, Power, Cadence, speed sensors seamlessly.

doesn't look as bling on the handle bars (for theft)

more rugged.

 

Cons

Expensive

Extra unit.

[North Shore]

 

 

Na, cause then GPS doesn't work, put a pin on your SIM card and then restart the phone, when it starts and asks you to put in pin to unblock SIM card say cancel, phone then still works but only GPS. Basically the same as running the phone without a sim.

 

A much simpler solution would be to turn mobile data off under settings. Then turn off wifi, gps will remain active and you will get the extended battery life.

 

I use an old iPhone 4S as my dedicated cycling device, and you can pick a new one up for around 4k. The 4S uses GPS and GLONASS, which results in super fast and reliable gps. As great as the garmin devices are for dedicated cycling computers, the fact that the iPhone has dozens of very useful cycling apps that far outstrip the Garmin in terms of functionality; Bluetooth low energy (for heart rate and Bluetooth headphones- uses much less battery); phone functionality in case of emergency; music player and apple will support the device with software updates for significantly longer than garmin will, which future-proofs the device. Sync over wifi is seamless, something that can't be said for the garmin- and that means you will use those features more often.

 

You will of course need to invest in a bike mount, but waterproof ones for the older iPhone shape can be picked up for pretty cheap, also consider the cost of the cycling apps you may wish to buy (although you will own these and if you get newer ios devices will be able to download them for free).

[TK-Sp3cialiSt]

....ERM.....4k for phone, 1.5k for bluetooth HRM, not sure if you can get a bluetooth Cadence sensor...but i would estimate another 1.5k....so you spending 7k for a device that is big and nulky, that you need a bar mount that will look like the boot spoiler from a Le Mans car....

 

Garmin 500 kits all in for R3500....better deal in my idea, and you still have battery life on your phone....

[North Shore]

If you assume that most of the hub users have smartphones already, and when you upgrade you will have a spare phone the total price becomes significantly less. Wahoo Bluetooth HR monitor comes in at 1000.

 

If you don't want to bar mount it (and really it isn't Le Mans ugly- this isn't a samsung phablet) then the wahoo Reflector is a good option. I wouldn't want to cycle with a garmin AND have to bring my new 5S in case I need to call, at the risk of theft and damage. A dedicated GPS device simply cannot compete with the range of capabilities on a smartphone, as the apps available dwarf the potential of a garmin.

[North Shore]

Bluetooth cadence and speed sensor together R950. For me personally, it's a better solution, specifically because of how simple it becomes to upload workouts to the cloud. Bar mounts also allow you to use the phone as a navigation device, to follow previous routes which the garmin doesn't do as well.

[Raydek]

Bluetooth cadence and speed sensor together R950. For me personally, it's a better solution, specifically because of how simple it becomes to upload workouts to the cloud. Bar mounts also allow you to use the phone as a navigation device, to follow previous routes which the garmin doesn't do as well.

 

R950??? Not bad, from where pray tell..