First GPS computer... what to buy

[Savior]

Hi Arie

 

Try Xoss GP+ very inexpensive and gives you what you looking for

[ChrisF]

9 minutes ago, MORNE said:

I aim to please?

😅

In that case ....

 

Could I do that with a Garmin strap and app?  

 

OR ... is it possible to export such a ride from the Polar app (I still have my Polar strap) to Garmin Connect ... purely to keep all my records in one spot

[mecheng89]

12 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

jip ... that horid hard plastic .....  Getting the watch on was a mission.  Getting it off felt like I was going to break the strap ....

 

The Garmin one looks like nice rubber type product  (?)

Like a West German power lifter - not pretty, but does the job well. 

[Spy007]

Looked and cant find anything in our market that compares price for features.

 

add 48 battery life.

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Spy007

[guidodg]

if you don't need navigation..[99% of us probably don't and the few times you need it use your phone] then the Garmin 130 or 130 plus is excellent.

 

The screen is WAY more legible than the 520 or 530 , it has everything you can possibly need [mine shows my AXS gearing and also turns on-off my Bontrager lights and shows me battery and function status)

 

Battery life is not bad but I charge it every 2 rides...

[The Ouzo]

14 hours ago, Frosty said:

I remember the Polar ones, horrible.

 

I'll try and find a pic of the one I had, was much nicer than that

[The Ouzo]

13 hours ago, MORNE said:

my phone does the job. get a polar H10 HR monitor (the gold standard in the medical industry btw)...link it with polar flow app, get the other sensors too if you must...and it connects to all and everything (including discovery if thats your thing).  A lot of people don't realise  you can ride a phone in airplane mode and the GPS will still operate and tracks your location if you have offline maps.

Anyway..it works for me, why i just don't see the point of spending R8 million on a garmin device when you are most probably riding with your phone in you back pocket already.  And if you have anything circa iphone XR (or Samsung equivalent)...your battery will outlast a puny bike computers on airplane mode anyway. We used one purely for offline GPS/google maps when abroad and it lasts a week on a charge when it's not constantly looking for signal. If you can ride that long in one go...well here's to your awesomeness.  

I rode with a phone in my pocket doing the recording for years. Before Strava was even a thing.

But I like having a visual indication of whats going on, and there is no way I'm strapping a cellphone to my bars.

[The Ouzo]

11 minutes ago, guidodg said:

if you don't need navigation..[99% of us probably don't and the few times you need it use your phone] then the Garmin 130 or 130 plus is excellent.

 

The screen is WAY more legible than the 520 or 530 , it has everything you can possibly need [mine shows my AXS gearing and also turns on-off my Bontrager lights and shows me battery and function status)

 

Battery life is not bad but I charge it every 2 rides...

you can do navigation on the 130. Its a bread crumb style so doesnt show you anything else but directions (i.e. there are no maps showing you the side streets, it only shows you the path you need to take)

I use it often when I've plotted a new route to somewhere.

[guidodg]

yup...for that kind of navigation it works...but you need to plot the route beforehand as you say

[Arie Harris]

1 hour ago, Spy007 said:

Looked and cant find anything in our market that compares price for features.

 

add 48 battery life.

How do you think this compares to the Garmin 130 plus?

[Arie Harris]

10 minutes ago, ouzo said:

I rode with a phone in my pocket doing the recording for years. Before Strava was even a thing.

But I like having a visual indication of whats going on, and there is no way I'm strapping a cellphone to my bars.

I have done the same until last week when it picked up some water damage and I had to replace the screen. Also this samsung a32 gps is up to ****. It jumped around so much on a walk the other day that the walked showed 3 times further then it was. 

[Spy007]

11 minutes ago, Arie Harris said:

1 hour ago, Spy007 said:

Looked and cant find anything in our market that compares price for features.

 

add 48 battery life.

How do you think this compares to the Garmin 130 plus?

For me Lezyne by far.

Lezyne can go portrait or landscape depends on you

but below might help

 

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/11/best-cycling-gps-computers-recommendations.html

 

My two picks here are the Lezyne Mega-XL & Garmin Edge 130 Plus

There were almost no new launches in this category this past year, only removals. Previously I included the Stages Dash L10 in here, but that’s been discontinued, leaving previously just Lezyne. But the Edge 130 series prices have crept down while Lezyne’s have mostly stayed the same (fair enough).

We’ve got the Lezyne Mega-XL at $199.  Lezyne has like 38 different models between $100 and $200, I tried to explain it all here a few years ago, and then they added more. They’ve all got minor nuances.  These units can do basic mapping, and pull in routes from sources like Komoot, as well as legit turn by turn navigation in terms of things like saying ‘Left on Maple Street’. The Lezyne units support both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. And as I write this, the Lezyne Mega-XL Yellow Submarine Edition is 35% off at $129.

Meanwhile, the Edge 130 Plus sits at $199 normally, but is $149 right now. Most notably, it’s tiny. A fraction the size of the Lezyne. Of course, it doesn’t have the full mapping like the Lezyne, but does have breadcrumb routing and Strava Live Segments. It also has Garmin’s ClimbPro in it, which shows the details about the current climb you’re on. The Edge 130 Plus also has mountain bike metrics (such as grit/flow/jumps), as well as LiveTrack showing your planned course/route. Probably the biggest difference aside from mapping between this unit and the Lezyne is the app/ecosystem polish, where Garmin is a fair bit ahead of Lezyne. But figuring out which feature is most valuable to you is key.

Finally, it’s worthwhile noting that the Sigma ROX 2.0 & ROX 4.0 at least deserve an honorable mention in here, at $90 and under (and a bit less in Europe), they include turn by turn routing from Komoot, as well as ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart sensor integration for the 4.0 edition. Seriously, it’s pretty impressive. I just haven’t spent as much time as I’d love to with them to root out any quirks.

[Arie Harris]

23 minutes ago, Spy007 said:

For me Lezyne by far.

Lezyne can go portrait or landscape depends on you

but below might help

 

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/11/best-cycling-gps-computers-recommendations.html

 

My two picks here are the Lezyne Mega-XL & Garmin Edge 130 Plus

There were almost no new launches in this category this past year, only removals. Previously I included the Stages Dash L10 in here, but that’s been discontinued, leaving previously just Lezyne. But the Edge 130 series prices have crept down while Lezyne’s have mostly stayed the same (fair enough).

We’ve got the Lezyne Mega-XL at $199.  Lezyne has like 38 different models between $100 and $200, I tried to explain it all here a few years ago, and then they added more. They’ve all got minor nuances.  These units can do basic mapping, and pull in routes from sources like Komoot, as well as legit turn by turn navigation in terms of things like saying ‘Left on Maple Street’. The Lezyne units support both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. And as I write this, the Lezyne Mega-XL Yellow Submarine Edition is 35% off at $129.

Meanwhile, the Edge 130 Plus sits at $199 normally, but is $149 right now. Most notably, it’s tiny. A fraction the size of the Lezyne. Of course, it doesn’t have the full mapping like the Lezyne, but does have breadcrumb routing and Strava Live Segments. It also has Garmin’s ClimbPro in it, which shows the details about the current climb you’re on. The Edge 130 Plus also has mountain bike metrics (such as grit/flow/jumps), as well as LiveTrack showing your planned course/route. Probably the biggest difference aside from mapping between this unit and the Lezyne is the app/ecosystem polish, where Garmin is a fair bit ahead of Lezyne. But figuring out which feature is most valuable to you is key.

Finally, it’s worthwhile noting that the Sigma ROX 2.0 & ROX 4.0 at least deserve an honorable mention in here, at $90 and under (and a bit less in Europe), they include turn by turn routing from Komoot, as well as ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart sensor integration for the 4.0 edition. Seriously, it’s pretty impressive. I just haven’t spent as much time as I’d love to with them to root out any 

Thank you

[Arie Harris]

Same price as the Lezyne.🤔

[Frosty]

13 hours ago, ChrisF said:

In that case ....

 

Could I do that with a Garmin strap and app?  

 

OR ... is it possible to export such a ride from the Polar app (I still have my Polar strap) to Garmin Connect ... purely to keep all my records in one spot

The Dual Band strap should work, as BLE is more reliable than Ant+, but I’m not sure if it works with any Apps like the Polar flow.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Frosty

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, ouzo said:

I rode with a phone in my pocket doing the recording for years. Before Strava was even a thing.

But I like having a visual indication of whats going on, and there is no way I'm strapping a cellphone to my bars.

There are definitely ways to do that.

You can get a garmin ears stick on the the back of a secure case, you can use https://sp-connect.com/ SP connect and there are a few other options.

Realistically as phones get better, apps get more integrates and accessories universally interactive, specific bike computers become more and more redundant.