MTB GPS - Help me navigate the tech...

[The Ghost]

If I had to buy today .... decent watch, with a hary rate strap.

 

 

I have a Fenix 5x Plus, not a bad watch, but I took it off completely for MTB riding and I still prefer the info from my old Edge 520 (pre-plus) for riding, also the mapping.

[Darko]

I see Polar have a GPS unit as well that pairs with my strap. But fuuuuuuck it's R6k??? 

[Benna]

Lots of usefull information thus far! Thank you all!!

[sirmoun10goat]

The Garmin edge series are great. I like the bundles for first timers.

Personally I would avoid the touch screens though, the 520 plus is good value and I suspect the 530 will get an upgrade in 2021.

 

the 830 touch screen is great, dont let the bad rep of the 820 put you off.

 

it works with most gloves and even if it get water on it there is no impact on how it works

[sirmoun10goat]

The normal soft strap that comes as part of the Garmin bundles, it looks like this - https://buy.garmin.com/en-ZA/ZA/p/38069

 

I think I read somewhere on the hub that people pair their Garmins with different heart rate straps, can't find the thread now, but if I recall correctly the Wahoo strap was one of them.

 

any hr strap with ant+ (which is basically every hr strap made other than polar) will work with garmin.

 

the older polar straps had some other wireless communication not supported by other devices, but that is no longer the case - new polar straps support ant+ or bluetooth

[TCTG]

Just stay as you are.

 

There is a black hole ahead.

Therefore budget is important if you want to go down this road. All advice may be relevant but if the budget doesnt allow for it then stay where you are until you are able to afford what you want for your needs. If you do have an open budget then the world is your oyster.

[PhilipV]

You can choose now.

The red pill or the blue pill.

 

One pill will make you addicted to data, and you can choose how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. (Or how deep your pockets allow you to go.)

 

The other pill will allow you to realise that you don't need any data and can ride for the fun of it.

 

I can't tell you which is which, as I hats having a unit on the handlebar, but I like using strava to log rides afterwards. So I use a watch (polar) but I've ditched the heart rate strap.

My next GPS will be one of the mid range Garmin watches with wrist based heart rate reading and the ability to store maps for navigation.

Edited November 8, 2020 by PhilipV

[ChrisF]

You can choose now.

The red pill or the blue pill.

 

One pill will make you addicted to data, and you can choose how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. (Or how deep your pockets allow you to go.)

 

The other pill will allow you to realise that you don't need any data and can ride for the fun of it.

 

I can't tell you which is which, as I hats having a unit on the handlebar, but I like using strava to log rides afterwards. So I use a watch (polar) but I've ditched the heart rate strap.

My next GPS will be one of the mid range Garmin watches with wrist based heart rate reading and the ability to store maps for navigation.

Philip your post echos what I tried to say in my earlier post.

 

 

When I started I used a Polar watch ... and it certainly is good enough for "data RECORDING" ... And it IS nice to look back ovet months and years, both to track fitness and bike wear and tear.

 

 

And then I went down the rabit hole !! Seeing data while cycling opened a new world for me ... gaining an understanding of hart rate vs cadence vs climbing vs burning matches .... for a while I deliberately experimented with the variables, and it certainly helped me.

 

And gradually I migrated back to not looking at the screen .... yes, the 520 is still used for all MTB rides, but I hardly read the screen during a ride.

 

For commutes I record the ride with my Garmin watch. I dont need data while riding, but my recordings stay up to date.

 

Chest vs wrist hart rate .... comparing these during a ride I find there is about 6 bpm difference during steady sessions. There is a definate difference between how thesr react to changes in hart rate .... for serious athletes this may be an issue, less so for the rest of us. I still prefer the chest strap data, easy enough to use this with most watches.

 

As I now use a watch for tracking other data it makes sense to stay with this technology .... when my 520 retires. Until then, it is nice to have the data available ....

 

 

HOWEVER .... for those using routing, or similar, which requires you to keep an eye on the screen while riding .... then a bar mounted computer is the way to go.

[dasilvarsa]

Garmin Watch With Optional Cadence Sensor.

Most Versatile (Running, Walking, Biking, Cardio)

Swimming on Some Models.

[ChrisF]

Garmin Watch With Optional Cadence Sensor.

Most Versatile (Running, Walking, Biking, Cardio)

Swimming on Some Models.

And even Garmin Pay on some models ... for FNB clients

 

Reasonable smart watch functions as well

[WaynejG]

I started with a TomTom watch type thing. Came with a HR chest strap and cadence sensor. At the time I thought a cadence sensor was a total gimmick and I would never use it.

 

For me, the cadence rate has become my most viewed reading while riding. I have figured out my happy cadence for long rides and how to manage my cadence on the hills.

 

The watch became to small and I could not read the screen, so now I have a Lezyne Mega XL so that I can at least see the stats while riding. Just transferred the TomTom cadence sensor and set it up on the Lezyne.0

[The Ghost]

On the road the mapping, cadence, HR zones are the things I a look at most, and I’m starting to use the elevation graph now.

On MTB it’s the cadence on non technical climbs especially, and the HR that I look at, the rest I look at after the ride.

 

If I had a power meter I imagine I’d be looking at that a bit.