What GPS Cycle computer for MTB navigation?

[rootsmanoeuver]

Hi all, I'm looking for the right GPS computer for trail navigation, ride data will be useful but not really bothered about all the fitness info etc. these devices can provide.
Essentially I would like to download good routes/trails as GPX files etc. and upload them to the GPS/computer and ride the route. I've looked at a few YouTube vids for Garmin and Wahoo, but nearly all videos focus on ride/fitness stats and road navigation - not trail/bridleway/footpath navigation.
Does anyone have any experience of using Garmin 530/830 or Wahoo Elemnt Roam for following preloaded mtb trails. Specifically what happens when the device does not recognise where you are, ie no road or track shown on the device map - does it still carry on navigating you on your chosen route?
Someone please enlighten me!

 

[rootsmanoeuver]

Just to add... I like to features of the Garmin devices, but when reading the Garmin forum, there seem to be a lot of minor problems with them. The Wahoo system, seems reliable and much slicker/easier to use, but not quite as good on the mapping and nav side. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[dochabanero]

Well, If your using it for navigation I’d prefer a touch screen, (830). Easier to zoom in/out on the map. Not sure if there are any other major differences.


I got the 830 for that very reason. Both support Trailforks, gpx files, etc

 

[TheBikePilot]

Hi Mate,

I've used a Garmin Edge 1000 for Nav. You can download TrailForks and download GPX etc. The newer Garmins are smaller and more compact and fit almost on top of the stem. Also, there are Garmin IQ apps which will show you Battery Percentage etc. You can probably get an Edge 1000 for a good price nowadays. I barely use it now, just grab my phone for TrailForks when I want to get to a trail.

All I will say about downloading GPX routes and TrailForks is it's nothing like your Waze or Google Maps. It will get you in the ballpark but you will still be scratching your head a bit with regards to finding a trail head and downloading other people's loops off the internet can sometimes leave you unsure which is the up or down portion of their loop.

The Edge 1000 is too large and vulnerable in a crash IMHO but it's great if you want something just to navigate but for trail riding I would go with one of the newer smaller units. They also measure your jump distance

 

[ottoshape]

for trail riding I would go with one of the newer smaller units. They also measure your jump distance

I'll have to see if my Edge 520+ will measure jumps!

For the OP, I haven't used the 520 for nav but the screen is so small I would say it's pretty useless for turn by turn. When on the dirt bike, I use a 62st which is good enough to get back to the pit area. I don't use turn by turn on that either, I just select a waypoint and then go to the compass screen. A big red arrow points in the direction you need to travel. Gets us back every time.

 

[cat1]

You can use your phone with a good case and mount and install AlpineQuest Off-Road Explorer. You can use OS maps with it.

 

[TheBikePilot]

I'll have to see if my Edge 520+ will measure jumps!

For the OP, I haven't used the 520 for nav but the screen is so small I would say it's pretty useless for turn by turn. When on the dirt bike, I use a 62st which is good enough to get back to the pit area. I don't use turn by turn on that either, I just select a waypoint and then go to the compass screen. A big red arrow points in the direction you need to travel. Gets us back every time.

Totally agree. If your getting it thinking it will give you a turn by turn account of every trail in a riding area you'll be disappointed and frustrated. They are pretty good at getting you in the ballpark or back home but the screen is simply too small to navigate directly from so expect to stop, a lot, to find your bearings..

I got mine when I first started MTB and rode Swiney with every trail easily marked and still struggled.

I just don't use mine anymore for that reason. I used mine mainly to record Strava, not because I really care too much about times more like a diary of rides and see how im progressing against my old segment times. I use a Garmin Forerunner 235 for that and it has Bike Battery precentage on it. If I get totally stuck I use my phone to nav home

 

[Evolution Stu]

I find most stuff too small. (Mates use the Garmins mentioned here)

Cheapest and still (IMO) the best way is a cheap used phone running ViewRanger.

Nothing really compares to ViewRangers features, useability reliable turn by turn navigation or indeed cost and you can pick up an IPhone 5S as per mine below for about £40.

(Wish it was black admittedly...)

 

[aarfeldt]

For a minimalistic approach, I use my watch Garmin Fenix 5 Plus.
And I actually use it

 

[rootsmanoeuver]

I find most stuff too small. (Mates use the Garmins mentioned here)

Cheapest and still (IMO) the best way is a cheap used phone running ViewRanger.

Nothing really compares to ViewRangers features, useability reliable turn by turn navigation or indeed cost and you can pick up an IPhone 5S as per mine below for about £40.

(Wish it was black admittedly...)
View attachment 22454

Cheers Stu, do you use standard OS maps on Viewranger? What scale 25, or 50,000:1?? I guess you have bought these? I have some limited knowledge of Viewranger, may be a more cost effective option.

 

[Evolution Stu]

Morning,
Yes, I use OS25k as a general rule, but viewranger also uses open Cycle map and open street map, both of which are excellent for bike planning.

The Viewranger Terrain map is also free and excellent for simple on the ground planning without all the complexities associated with some of the better 25K maps like Harvey and OS.

The joy of viewranger for me over the other apps I use is its live map that rotates around you so that the direction you are pointing is always correct on the map and the zoom level you can get to, alongside having your own markers saved such as maybe a right turn arrow placed at a point you think may be complex, or indeed on every turn you do just to make it very clear what’s coming up next (ok, next junction I come to is a right turn by a river...)

Also, the ability to buy a new map tile for that days ride live straight from the app very cheaply is excellent.

It has every feature from every other App I am sure, and I quite like it’s buddy beacon feature that will ping your location back to a loved one periodically if you are out riding alone. (My wife can load up viewranger and look at where I’ve been and was last seen for example (needs data connection and yes, it can be disabled)

It’s as accurate as the two standalone GPS units I own for sure, but then why wouldn’t it be? People do tend to forget that phones are £500-£1000 pieces of hardware and their GPS sets are normally very decent indeed, utilising not just the old GPS systems but also GLONASS and of course assisted locate which is I believe unique to smartphones, allowing them to use cell transmitter triangulation to obtain a location fix.

The screen resolution is normally far superior on the phone too. But of course phones are far more fragile and have worse battery life. (Airplane mode often rectifies - remember, GPS does NOT need a data connection or even a sim, and phones without social media apps and email are actually very power efficient!.)

I use a Suunto Ambit 3 Peak on my wrist during all big hikes and rides and love it for its exceptional fitness data collection ability, but for following a map at cycling speeds... hate it. The screen is just too small to differentiate at a Junction with a few options, or even when side roads / paths are within say 20 meters.

I bought a handheld unit too about 8 years ago after a really bad whiteout in a blizzard up on Scafell Pike got me quite scared because I couldn’t orientate my map and compass to a feature (Whiteout...can’t see) and I knew I was close to big cliffs Which scared me and made me very close to Cragg fast for a while.

That spur of the moment waterproof, temperature proof and expensive purchase was a regret for some time and I always found myself referring to my phone for guidance. It’s maps were crazy expensive too!

Eventually I conceded that a phone was a generally a better option and I just used the wife’s old iPhone 5S as a dedicated Nav unit and never looked back.

I must add you should be able to use a map and compass and carry one with you if your are going anywhere remote. It can save your life when the technology fails.

Image of a better day up up at 3000ft on the Pike just to brighten the topic. There is a good reason that stretcher box lives up there. Lol

 

[Evolution Stu]

Just for reference value...
This is a whiteout with the wife for anyone who hasn’t been in one as it’s one of the times a good GPS can save you over a map due to your loss of visibility b

It’s where the dense sky and ground turn the same colour. At that point you can no longer orientate horizontally or vertically and will often start to feel like you are falling over because the air is moving around you and it gives you motion sickness.

Often you will feel like you are sliding around when you are in fact stationary.

in this image, my wife is stood on the edge of a cliff just south of Blencathras sharp edge. Two footsteps forward would have her plummet vertically down to her Death.

This image was taken just as it stated to clear And the terrain started coming back into view. Exhilarating. ??

 

[OldBean]

OS maps or ViewRanger on GPS abled phone works well for me .
OS giving me a bit of problems since they “updated” the system. So have switched to ViewRanger ..still learning their system. But works well off line.
Dont get lost chaps

 

[johnc]

I find most stuff too small. (Mates use the Garmins mentioned here)

Cheapest and still (IMO) the best way is a cheap used phone running ViewRanger.

Nothing really compares to ViewRangers features, useability reliable turn by turn navigation or indeed cost and you can pick up an IPhone 5S as per mine below for about £40.

(Wish it was black admittedly...)
View attachment 22454

Brilliant idea for a cheap gps. I have a question about portrait and landscape views. On the portrait view there is a direction arrow top left. This disappeared when I rotate to landscape. Might be a silly question but how do I know what direction I’m going in landscape view. Also dose it have a audio signal if you leave the route?

 

[Marke]

+1 for an old phone. I use a galaxy s7 and various apps and a quad lock. Google maps seems to meet most of my requirements.

 

[Kingfisher]

I use a Garmin 1000 on multiday bikepacking hikes thourgh the Balkan.

1. use a dedicated unit, not a smart phone. Smart phones arent rugged enough, their screen isn't retroflective (viewable in hard sunlight). I still have my smartphone in my backpack: with a GPS you need to preplan your route (GPX file, I use GPsies), if you need to deviate from your route, it's easier to plan on a cell phone

2. Mio sucks, I prefer my garmin, no experience with Wahoo

3. If you follow trailes, an 800-series can be fine. But for cross country navigation, I prefer the bigger screen of the 1000- series. Just create a route, download the GPX file and route it on the map in 80m scale. Garmin uses opencyclemap which shows quite a bit of trails.

 

[paquo]

Hi all, I'm looking for the right GPS computer for trail navigation, ride data will be useful but not really bothered about all the fitness info etc. these devices can provide.

I use a garmin 64 with the map turned off and follow the gpx breadcrumb, i have found for me at least simple is best. I think being able to easily download gpx files and put them on the device is most important.

 

[rootsmanoeuver]

Morning,
Yes, I use OS25k as a general rule, but viewranger also uses open Cycle map and open street map, both of which are excellent for bike planning.

The Viewranger Terrain map is also free and excellent for simple on the ground planning without all the complexities associated with some of the better 25K maps like Harvey and OS.

The joy of viewranger for me over the other apps I use is its live map that rotates around you so that the direction you are pointing is always correct on the map and the zoom level you can get to, alongside having your own markers saved such as maybe a right turn arrow placed at a point you think may be complex, or indeed on every turn you do just to make it very clear what’s coming up next (ok, next junction I come to is a right turn by a river...)

Also, the ability to buy a new map tile for that days ride live straight from the app very cheaply is excellent.

It has every feature from every other App I am sure, and I quite like it’s buddy beacon feature that will ping your location back to a loved one periodically if you are out riding alone. (My wife can load up viewranger and look at where I’ve been and was last seen for example (needs data connection and yes, it can be disabled)

It’s as accurate as the two standalone GPS units I own for sure, but then why wouldn’t it be? People do tend to forget that phones are £500-£1000 pieces of hardware and their GPS sets are normally very decent indeed, utilising not just the old GPS systems but also GLONASS and of course assisted locate which is I believe unique to smartphones, allowing them to use cell transmitter triangulation to obtain a location fix.

The screen resolution is normally far superior on the phone too. But of course phones are far more fragile and have worse battery life. (Airplane mode often rectifies - remember, GPS does NOT need a data connection or even a sim, and phones without social media apps and email are actually very power efficient!.)

I use a Suunto Ambit 3 Peak on my wrist during all big hikes and rides and love it for its exceptional fitness data collection ability, but for following a map at cycling speeds... hate it. The screen is just too small to differentiate at a Junction with a few options, or even when side roads / paths are within say 20 meters.

I bought a handheld unit too about 8 years ago after a really bad whiteout in a blizzard up on Scafell Pike got me quite scared because I couldn’t orientate my map and compass to a feature (Whiteout...can’t see) and I knew I was close to big cliffs Which scared me and made me very close to Cragg fast for a while.

That spur of the moment waterproof, temperature proof and expensive purchase was a regret for some time and I always found myself referring to my phone for guidance. It’s maps were crazy expensive too!

Eventually I conceded that a phone was a generally a better option and I just used the wife’s old iPhone 5S as a dedicated Nav unit and never looked back.

I must add you should be able to use a map and compass and carry one with you if your are going anywhere remote. It can save your life when the technology fails.

Image of a better day up up at 3000ft on the Pike just to brighten the topic. There is a good reason that stretcher box lives up there. Lol

View attachment 22563

Many Thanks Stu, appreciate the detail info, very useful. I've a spare Iphone 6S which I'm going to try before I make any decisions.

 

[Evolution Stu]

Brilliant idea for a cheap gps. I have a question about portrait and landscape views. On the portrait view there is a direction arrow top left. This disappeared when I rotate to landscape. Might be a silly question but how do I know what direction I’m going in landscape view. Also dose it have a audio signal if you leave the route? View attachment 22571View attachment 22570

Morning, if you tap that compass bottom centre you can scroll between freeze, north up and live. In live, the map will always keep your map orientated to the bars, it will make sense when you try it.

Ref the off track alarm, yes, go into settings/navigation and tell it how many meters you wish to be off route before warning and it will sound an audible warning when you hit that distance.

you can also configure your waypoint arrow and tell it how close you need to be before it changes to the next direction. For example, 5m is great walking, but you need more like 40m on a bike due to speed of approach.

The heading vector (long red arrow on your locator beacon) can be configured to give you an idea of distance covered in next (x) mins at current rate of speed. That helps you to determine time to summit and time to car etc And also gives a visual as the crow flies idea of direction across the terrain on your current heading.

 

[johnc]

Cool!

 

[Master Link]

OS maps or ViewRanger on GPS abled phone works well for me .
OS giving me a bit of problems since they “updated” the system. So have switched to ViewRanger ..still learning their system. But works well off line.
Dont get lost chaps

I also had problems with OS maps on my iPhone. I could not use my OS Leisure Map, but the latest release fixes that problem. Is there a way to make OS Maps auto rotate to the direction of travel, as mine always just points North?

 

[papab]

I'm also using an old phone. The app I usually use is Locus Map. There are cheap silicone mounts on Amazon. You can download maps from openandromaps, and GPX tracks from trailforks, or whatever source you want, and install. To be clear, OS maps (open street maps), is a database, not an app. The apps us OSM. Locus, Osmand, Oruxmaps, are some of the ones I've used.

 

[Couchy]

I draw my routes on ViewRanger and save as a gpx, then upload to a garmin edge explore. I upload by using the edge as storage and not with the garmin program. It’s then a case of selecting route and tap follow.
Use it on mtb and motorbike and it’s clear enough for both and reacts quick enough on road sections with the motorbike too.

 

[Giff]

Nobody mentioned Cyclemeter which shows the route / trail and emails to a given address so your whereabouts is known ! I think it's brilliant. G.

 

[Akiwi]

I am surprised noone has mentioned Komoot. I have a Garmin Etrex 30 that I have used for years, however over the last year or so I have also started mostly using my smartphone and Komoot, which has pretty good maps, is Phenominal for planning routes, and you can download gpx trails to it, and it will convert them to give you vocal guidance.
When I did the transalp I used this and just had a bluetooth earphone. Before any intersection you get a warning.. "Turn right onto single track in 100m" or so, you can then look at your screen to get more precise instructions. There is also a setting to turn the screen off between intersections which saves battery.
We never went more than a 100 m or so wrong on our tour.
I mostly mounted my phone in a bag on my toptube which is better protected than on the handlebars.... however as it is under a layer of plastic can be a little more difficult to read.

 

[Mcharza]

I am surprised noone has mentioned Komoot. I have a Garmin Etrex 30 that I have used for years, however over the last year or so I have also started mostly using my smartphone and Komoot, which has pretty good maps, is Phenominal for planning routes, and you can download gpx trails to it, and it will convert them to give you vocal guidance.
When I did the transalp I used this and just had a bluetooth earphone. Before any intersection you get a warning.. "Turn right onto single track in 100m" or so, you can then look at your screen to get more precise instructions. There is also a setting to turn the screen off between intersections which saves battery.
We never went more than a 100 m or so wrong on our tour.
I mostly mounted my phone in a bag on my toptube which is better protected than on the handlebars.... however as it is under a layer of plastic can be a little more difficult to read.

I agree and Komoot makes it easy to see the routes of the place where you are or plan to go

 

[Evolution Stu]

Sounds good, thanks guys will be installing that and trying it soon based on that recommendation. ??

 

[Akiwi]

If you are talking about Komoot, There is a free version that gives you access to 2 regions.
The paid version is I think about €29 (One time payment) and you can download high quality maps of the entire world. Before a tour, just say download for offline use..
In my opinion it is well worth it.
There is an extra Premium mode with more features. I have no idea about that.. Costs monthly but in my opinion is not necessary.

 

[Mcharza]

Sounds good, thanks guys will be installing that and trying it soon based on that recommendation. ??

I was using Komoot last summer at the Alps, when roadtrippin 5 weeks. New places and never miss a trail. Just do some home works and load or mark some interesting trails.

 

[TheBikePilot]

What app or resource do you use for loading trails to Komoot?