Bike SatNav for Holland Holiday

[Fred A-M]

I don't feel compelled to get a GPS, I have completed many a road tour without the need for one, and can only think of one occasion when I wished I had one - I backed out of doing an off-road circuit whilst in the Sierra Morena  (Spain) simply because the route provided in a book-route simply didn't add up, and if anyone knows the Sierra Morena, it is a true wilderness. 

Paper maps have otherwise always been sufficient and my sense of direction and intuition is pretty good - I have never cycled more than a couple of km before realising a route error, even in the most remote of locations.

However - the thought of being able to enjoy rides on unfamiliar countryside circuits without the need to stop is a v strong incentive - the thought of being able to capture data and not have to record it at the end of a strenuous day while touring equally so.  Am assuming that above mentioned satnavs will store the cumulative detail of say a two week tour which can then be downloaded to computer with related performance stats?

[Jack.anywhere]

Hi
I use iPhone running GPS motion X, Son dynamo, charging through Zzing.  Always keeps phone fully charged even on stop start through town sort of ride.  software let's you download city maps and will upload gps routes via email.  I would say it knocks spots of Garmin which we previously used.

[Fred A-M]

Hi
I use iPhone running GPS motion X, Son dynamo, charging through Zzing.  Always keeps phone fully charged even on stop start through town sort of ride.  software let's you download city maps and will upload gps routes via email.  I would say it knocks spots of Garmin which we previously used.

Sounds like a plug from an employee?  Iphone wouldn't be much use in Holland unless you want to pay £50 a day download charges (at a guess, Dutch contract holders excepted)?

Thanks also Blair for the tip about the E-Werk Charger, looks useful and waterproof too, something which the Zzing isn't.

[Jack.anywhere]

Hi Fred
No not a plug from an employee, just a keen RST rider who spent just as long finding the right navigation tool, as he did his bike.  Iphone uses GPS same as Garmin did, so no download charges.  But maps are much clearer and scroll, zoom a lot faster.  It works for us, even though I still enjoy sitting at home planning a ride on a good old fashioned map.

[Fred A-M]

Apologies for my misjudgement Jack, and welcome to the forum.  Do you have to have internet on with Iphone for the satnav to work?  Would seriously consider this if it worked abroad without incurring the charges.

[Jack.anywhere]

Hi Fred
No you don't need Internet, but you need IPhone 3GS or later, which has GPS.  I mentioned the Zzing because without charging, phone battery lasts under 2hours making it a pretty useless solution.
Jack

[Fred A-M]

Cheers Jack, I have 3GS, Dynohub and RST, so am happy to part with £0.59 on the basis that if it's as good as you suggest (opinion divided according to reviews, but some like you suggest that this is even better than having a Garmin), this really would be a solution worthy of the ultimate investment of a Dynohub charger.

Thanks

fred

[geocycle]

 The smartphone gps route looks to be a good one providing you can get a good power supply and ensure it stays dry. I'm still dithering about buying a new gps or using a phone but leaning toward a phone with offline maps. 

Does anyone have experience of the dahon reecharge?  It looks half the price of the B+M eworks and gives a usb output via a battery buffer.

[Fred A-M]

Seemingly some disappointing reviews ref Recharge - the E-Werks definitely seems to set the standard in terms of performance and, unfortunately, price.

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-642039.html

[steveb]

I have an IPhone with various apps that allow sat nav with the phone. Also have an e-werk which I use to charge whilst on the bike. The iPhone needs a constant charge to work so you will need the battery that attaches to the e-werk so the e-werk charges the battery and at the same time the battery provides a constant charge to the iPhone. My understanding is that when using the iPhone abroad if it uses Googlemaps or the equivalent, then you do incur quite high charges - certainly on my trip to Spain I did!
You need a waterproof cover for the phone as it won't last long without one. Also without dynamo power the phone gives up aft a few hours.

I have used a Garmin csx60 in the past as it can run on aa batteries and is good for navigating but now my preferred sat nav is the Garmin edge 800.
It gives a wealth of cycle specific data but is also very good from a navigation point of view. I already had a micro sd card with European maps on (used in my gsx60) so I got the bundle with OS maps, but have put the Euro map sd in it. It gives turn by turn navigation and recalculates if you go off route. I have used Tom Tom, Co-Pilot and Garmin routing in the past and do prefer the Garmin for poi and finding hotels etc..
The size of the Edge 800 is great off the bike the touch screen (works well) is big enough for navigating.
The battery life is good - I get about 10 hours but haven't tweaked the settings to maximise this.
It charges via the E-werk and with the new firmware enables to charge and use at the same time - unbelievably the original unit didn't allow this until the new firmware.
On tour I use the e-werk so battery life is not an issue anyway and it is simple to plug in a destination and go - you only need to download a route if you want to follow a specific plan. I normally leave it to find the best cycle friendly route. I do also get maps of where I'm cycling as I like looking at them to give an overall impression of the route but, in truth, I am hopeless at navigating with them once I have gone wrong at a turning etc.. hence the sat navs!

[Fred A-M]

Steve, presumably you are happy with the E-werks by the sounds of things?  Ref the Iphone, I'm inclined to agree with Jack that the Sat Nav function for 3GS and beyond, depending on which app you get, circumvents the need to have internet downloads which incurr the costs abroad.  In any case, I'm about to put it to the test and will report back.

I'm thinking I'll almost certainly invest in E-Werks regardless of which route I go - the freedom of being untethered from the demands and practicalities of recharging equipment on tour sounds great though I'd agree with comments about paper maps.  I wouldn't go without them and sitting down and just looking at them at the outset to anticipate and plan the adventure ahead, is IMO, has always been one of life's more gratifying experiences. 

[steveb]

Yes, I'm very happy with the E-werk. There are more wires coming from the hub but it's a small price to pay. The black o-ring bands that
hold it on the bike were lost within a few weeks but normal rubber bands work just as well. As long as you know, or can find out, the V and amp rating of your device (and remember to change it on the E-werk) it's very simple. My Garmin csx60 was ok without the cache battery but did give the message 'lost external power' as soon as I stopped, which dissappeared when I started cycling again (if the AA batteries were low). What I like about the cache battery is that it keeps the gps running whilst on the bike but can also use the power built up on it to charge another device (iphone, ipod etc.. ) when off the bike or in the tent.

Re the iphone, I do have a 3gs version. I think that abroad, as I was using the map app to find out where I was etc.. it treats this as data - each new view of the area of the map is transferred to the phone as it is not stored internally. If the app you may be using comes with maps maybe the charges will be different - hope so.

[olekje]

I use a Garmin GPSMap 60. 2 cheap AA-batteries last 12 hours.
I've got a Garmin topo-map of Denmark when touring. Topo maps are very detailed with contours and even the smallest footpaths.
I think there are topo-maps for most EU-countries now, but they are around £70.
I've heard that hacked Garmin maps have been found floating in the Pirate Bay, but I'd never even consider that. 

[Fred A-M]

Re the iphone, I do have a 3gs version. I think that abroad, as I was using the map app to find out where I was etc.. it treats this as data - each new view of the area of the map is transferred to the phone as it is not stored internally. If the app you may be using comes with maps maybe the charges will be different - hope so.

Can you rig the E-Werk and lights simultaneously?  I'm guessing not.

I think Jack's suggestion of the Motion GPS X gets around this by allowing you to dowload maps first so you don't have to have this as download data abroad - from what I can tell the level of detail is pretty impressive, certainly with urban maps, you can even see house numbers if you care to zoom in sufficiently, having selected sufficient detail in the first instance - and whilst strolling around Cambridge at the w/end, it kept track of our route pretty well.  I appreciate that it probably doesn't have O/S standard maps or the same level of functionality as a Garmin but does track altiltude and seems to do the basics well, but have yet to test on the bike or in countryside.   

[steveb]

Yes you can run the E-werk and lights together. I currently have a Schmidt Edelux with a B&M Rear dynamo light. The Edelux is connected to the hub with piggy back spade connectors (Maplin). From these piggy back connectors you can connect the E-werk - there is enough power to run both lights and E-werk. When not using the E-werk, I tried connecting a Supernova E3 Triple (upgrade) to the hub so that 3 lights were being run from the hub (2 front, 1 rear). This kinda worked - the Edelux and rear were fine but the Supernova only powered up 1 of the 3 LEDs. It might be that I wasn't going fast enough but peering over to see how many LEDs are on is precarious at the best of times!

I wouldn't normally run with this setup at the Edelux is powerful enough on it's own but couldn't resist to see if it worked.