Garmin Edge 800 Bike Computer

I’ve been giving my new Garmin Edge 800 GPS Bike Computer quite a workout and review lately and I gotta admit, I really love this thing! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a little bit of a techno geek anyway and, of course, I love to ride. Bike GPS computers (like the Edge 800) are perfect for people with this combination of traits.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have just purchased the additional maps for my unit (City Navigator, TOPO Maps and Rails-to-Trails). Well, I have received, loaded and used all of these products now and I’ll give you my first impressions of these software products after a brief review of some of the new things that I have been discovering on the Edge 800 and some of the things that I really like about this GPS  unit.

First of all, I really like the touch-screen. I almost always swipe the screen to switch between windows and almost never use the arrows on the screen. I have also used this with gloves on it it works great (actually maybe even better than with no gloves on).

One of the other features that is also really great is the programmable screens on this unit. It is really easy to change the windows that are displayed on each screen and it’s great to be able to arrange them in almost anyway that you like (some screens have some limitations but most are pretty flexible) in addition to being able to select which screens are even displayed or not. You can include up to 10 windows on most screens (the photo above shows 8).

When you have made up your mind and decide to upgrade to a GPS enabled Bike Computer, we have included some good information and online resources Here on our Bicycle GPS page.

Today I just discovered the window that displays “Grade” and gives you the percentage up or down grade that you are on at anytime (there seems to be a very slight delay as to when the grade is displayed but that is not really a problem).

I was also paying attention to the total ascent and total decent windows. It’s nice to know how much of your ride has been uphill and how much has been downhill. They are close to the same at the end of a round trip ride (although there are some minor variances). Unfortunately, the unit does not come with both the ascent and descent windows on the same screen with the default settings. Of course, that’s not a problem because you can just program one of the screens to include both (which I am going to do before my next ride).

The upload and download features of the Edge 800 are really nice too, of course. The Training Center Software is pretty basic and it would be nice if that gave you a little more but the Garmin Connect site and software is loaded with features.

Finally, the MicroSD slot for loading additional maps is great. This is one of the reasons that you pay more for the Edge then for the lower priced models but IMO it is well worth it. The Base Map that the units come with is pretty limited (very few smaller side roads and no bikes trails (that I’ve seen)) so it is nice to be able to include additional maps.

Which brings me nicely into my last topic that I referred to above:

Garmin Bike GPS Mapping Software

I’ll start with the least expensive GPS maps that I have recently purchased which is the Rails-to-Trails maps. This is actually a nice addition to the TOPO or City Navigator maps (described below), can be used at the same time as the other maps (when you select the download) and it only costs $10. The Rails-to-Trails software is for a smaller area so you’ll need to select the correct map for your region (I have the Northeast version). These maps do not include ALL the trails in a particular area but it does have most of them (even some smaller, lesser known trails).

The next mapping package that I used was the TOPO Maps. Actually I really didn’t think that I would use this particular mapping package that much but now that I have it it just may be the primary mapping software that I use. This package does include plenty of bike trails and it also includes small side streets and subdivision streets as well as having the points-of-interest to reference.

The last mapping software package that I received was the City Navigator software. It’s actually redundant (to have both the TOPO and City Navigator software)  because you can only use either the TOPO card or City Navigator card in the unit at any one time.  It might be nice to have both once in a while but you really should probably decide which one of these mapping products suits you the best and just select one of them.

The City Navigator package includes all of North America (the version that I bought) where the TOPO software is limited to a smaller area (I have the Great Lakes version which includes the Chicago area where I live).  City Navigator has more points-of-interest than the TOPO package but the TOPO maps do include many of the important POIs. City Navigator does include some bike trails but it does not seem to be  nearly as extensive or detailed as the TOPO package.

On my ride today, I was just thinking about this vast amount of ride data that I now have (speeds, averages, distances, elevations, maps, heart-rate, lap info, ascents, descents…) and how my whole ride has been digitized for me enjoy and review later if I like (which I usually do).

That’s about it for the latest Bike GPS updates for now. These things really are a lot of fun. Check out Bicycle GPS for some good info and resources if you are considering getting one of these units.