[firem2]

are gps units like the garmin 500 things that you can turn on and go or do you have to stop and push buttons to get them to map along the way?
also it seems like having the gps on the handlebars would be a distraction, how well do they work if you put them in a camel pack?

 

[yellowducman]

I'm not sure how well it would pick up the gps signal in a pack. For mountain biking I use a Forerunner watch on my arm. I also use the optional wheel sensor as it looses signal quite often in the woods.

On a another note, I also run a cateye computer on my bars and it is not distracting at all. On the mountain bike, I hardly have time to look down as I'm always focusing on the trail.

 

[firem2]

as far as the forerunner does it work well for mapping?
as for the wheel sensor does it loose the gps signal or just the speed that you are traveling.

 

[yellowducman]

Wheel sensor give the GPS Speed and distance when the unit loses Signal. I've used the fore runner and a 205 on a mountain bike and with the mapping really doesn't work that well as if you do a lot of switch backs and the gps gets confused.

I'm not sure how well the 705 / 805 works but I wouldn't want to use any GPS in the woods without the speed sensor. In fact I usually turn the GPS off on my forunner and just use the speed sensor as I don't care about maps when I look at the data.

On another note, I've use my forerunner and my 500 on my road bike and the forerunner will loose signal under trees where the 500 doesn't so the 500 picks up the signal better.

I'd carry my 500 on the mountain bike but I've had enough crashes that toasted bicycling computers that I don't want to brake it. I figured have one strapped to my are might be safer.

 

[firem2]

yeah I am more interested in the mapping than the data. I just go for the fun not necessarily the exercise/fitness. i have only been riding a year but i am hooked on the thrill of it.

 

[Harold]

1. Generally yes, turn it on and let it run. Sport models have a start/stop button you have to hit. Sometimes you may want to clear the tracklog before you start so you have lots of memory available, especially with a handheld.

2. I ride with an Oregon 450 on my stem. I do not find it distracting. I leave the trip computer screen up most of the time and will occasionally glance at it to see how far I've gone/how long I've been out. I only switch to the map screen when I need to know where I am, which is not terribly often. I only do that when stopped, of course.

3. Wheel sensor - meh. I find that using 1sec recording intervals works pretty well to keep the GPS honest (enough). Using auto record introduces some interesting errors on occasion with the map. I have no idea whether it's part of the gps's processing that introduces them, or if the accuracy of the signal is somehow reduced. I'll use auto record on long trips, but I use 1sec for rides up to, say 2 hours. If you're into the fitness aspect more, the wheel sensor would be more important, I suspect.