Garmin durability on trails?

[Miranda]

This is a gear question, but really specifically trail related, so I'll try posting here...

I'm considering a Garmin. While a lot of the funtions I can see being more suited to road riding, I was wondering if it would hold up on the trail? One negative I have read about Garmins (and seen the item first hand) is the mounting. It consists of a plastic base the unit snaps into, secured to bars or stem with zip ties. I've read the mounting breaks easily. Cheap to replace--like $10, but the unit if lost is not!

I would mount it on the stem of either of my bikes. The mtb stem is short, but just enough room the unit takes up the stem. One of my guy bike pals said he has not used his Garmin on the trail because he "is afraid it will be too hard on it, and tear it up". I can see a crash over, or maybe with some hard front end impact, the unit might break off the base.

I have gotten lost before both on the road and trail. I carry a small compass in my CamelBak to try and figure out which turn to take, with a trail map (lots of maps and trails I ride are not marked so great, or at all). At least being able to determine N-S-E-W helps in getting out of the woods. And being able to know how many miles you have ridden with a computer is nice (no pc on mtb now).

My guy pal uses a hard wired Shimano Flight Deck on his trail bike. Somehow he has the wires wound down the front fork, and up the brake cable to not get tangled up. I swear I always leave the woods with some of Mother Nature's greens wrapped in parts of my mtb. The Garmin being totally one piece wire free just on the stem would be a nice plus for the brush/grass etc.

Maybe adding extra mounting somehow would help (dunno what though)?

TYIA!

[sundial]

Miranda, have you considered carrying it in your Camelbak? You can still get the info without putting your Garmin at risk on the handlebars. You won't be able to get cadence but you'll get the other info.

There are apps for some cell phones that will give you coordinates with a compass as another suggestion.

[OakLeaf]

Another alternative might be to get a Forerunner 305 instead of an Edge. I don't know for sure about that model, but with my 301 (which doesn't have a cadence option), the wrist strap doesn't need to be removed from the unit for it to snap into the handlebar mount. Then I could just fasten the wrist strap loosely around the handlebar as a backup in case it fell out of the mount (which it never did).

The drawback is the display - monochrome and smaller versus the Edge's large color display. You also wouldn't have the option to import topo maps as I think you can with the Edge 705 (or street maps, but that wouldn't matter for the trail).

[SadieKate]

I mtbike with my Edge 305 mounted on my stem. Not a problem but I'm not super aggressive. Some table top jumps with a bit of air when I'm feeling frisky, but that's it. I also have a Forerunner 305. Neither is going to get you un-lost. These are not mapping GPS but recording units, as in they record the coordinates you've ridden. If you can match up your coordinates with a good map, they can help. But if you are standing at the intersection of 5 unmarked forest service roads/trails and the map only shows 3, and you want to map a route to another set of coordinates, good luck.

If you want a true mapping GPS with topo map updates, you need to look at something like a DeLorme PN-40. From what I've read, DeLorme does a much better job with topo maps than the Garmin 705. And the 705 is not built for trail riding.
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELi...?section=10461

If all you care about is recording where you've been with a bit of idea where you are, the Edge 305 works fine. But don't expect it to get you home if you're lost. And carry a compass anyway. Don't depend on an electronic gadget out in the wild.

[OakLeaf]

They can't get you un-lost in the sense of taking you the best or shortest way to someplace you know, but the Return to Start function works just fine for re-tracing your steps.

[SadieKate]

Well, yeah, but when you're mountainbiking that could be a pretty durn nasty option.

[Aggie_Ama]

I see at least one at every race pop off someone bars. Granted these are people racing but since I can't afford such a piece of equipment I wouldn't dare take it on the trail. My husband's coach DNFd a race because his came off and he had to go off trail down the side of a hill looking for it, losing 10 minutes. If you are only worried about being lost I guess putting it in the pack is a viable option?

[PscyclePath]

Miranda:

I have one of the Garmin Vista HCx units that I ride with from time to time when i'm going to be way out in the piney woods. I've got the Garmin handlebar mount you were talking about, and haven't had much trouble with the unit working loose. But as a little extra measure, most of the Garmin handheld units come with a short "dummy cord" that you can wrap around your wrist; I take a couple of loops with mine around the handlebars before I snap my "varmint" into the bar mount. If it does work loose, the dummy cord should keep it from hitting the ground and being left behind.

Tom

[SadieKate]

I think for a race or a particularly rough trail I'd just sacrifice a few zip ties.

My Forerunner and Edge don't like anything blocking the satellite reception. I've heard of people using an iPod armband to run with an Edge but I think that's a very vulnerable position for mtbiking. Having the Edge on the stem has been very safe, sort of tucked back behind the bend in the bars, the levers, etc.

[SheFly]

I actually carry mine either in my CamelBack, or in my back pocket when on the trails. That said, I am a gadget/data geek, so I already have a computer mounted on my bars, and can see that data at a glance. The Garmin is really for post-ride data/mapping.

I have also used it for racing (MTB), but in my back pocket vs on my bars. To me, it is safer there.

SheFly

[Miranda]

Thanks, those are great responses. I was not aware of the wrist dummy strap. Plus, it did not occur to me to put the unit on my person, or in the CamelBak. Thus why I need my TE friends... two heads are better than one.

After almost losing my cell phone off the top tube of my road bike before I got MacGyvr creative for security. I dug out some velcro strips from my sewing basket and stitched it on with waxed dental floss permanently (modified ladies cell purse holder). Looks a lil Fred, but that bad boy has never come off since. Btw, my kids' school RN has her own ring tone for my accident prone students--too hard to hear in the saddle bag. It's fallen out of the jersey pocket too. Thus, my Fred velcro and dental floss rig wins.

My CamelBak is the ladies Charm. It only has one small pocket. But, one bungee cord for storage (jacket or extra shirt goes nicely there under the bungee). But, I bet I could sew up some type of sealed net pocket that the Garmin could get a signal through fine if I decide to get it. My compass is staying in the CamelBak for sure too.

[Aggie_Ama]

You should just get a bigger camelbak. I were the ladies MULE or as we discovered they call it something else (LUXE?). Holds everything but the kitchen sink comfortably and I am relatively small. Never run out of water either in sweltering Texas summers.

[tzvia]

I use the Garmin Vista HCX on a RAM mount on my MTB. The RAM mount is a heavy duty cradle that mounts solidly to the handlebar; I don't worry about loosing it. I also have a Cateye cyclecomputer along with a Polar HRM watch. The combo works well together. My MTB looks like a electronics geeks heaven as I mount the watch, Cateye and Vista together on it if I a not familiar with the trails. I can use the Vista on hikes or on the Road bike with the street maps (which I added to it), or off road with the TOPO maps (more detail than the basemaps). I use the Polar HRM when exercising or hiking, and can leave the Garmin at home on familiar trails and use the Cateye. I thought about the 705, but it's not the best for offroad trails or when I use the HRM for exercising.

[OakLeaf]

+1 on the RAM mounts. DH uses them on the motorcycles (what they're actually made for IIRC). Nothing falls out of those babies!

[pinkbikes]

I must just be as lucky as all get out then. I have the Edge 705 and I use it every time I ride whether on the roadie, the MTB, the commuter or the tandem. I have a mount on each and I haven't had one break yet! And DH had the Edge 305 before that without any dramas either. We've both used them extensively to MTB.

I ride with it on single track all the time, especially when I'm racing so I can track my stats (HRM, speed, elevation, lap times etc). Despite my habit of going over the bars usually at least once per race I have yet to damage the Garmin (keeping fingers firmly crossed now)!

The race I did this last weekend was a 6hour enduro and it was VERY muddy but the Garmin was very weatherproof and I just washed it off later. The one thing I have done though is buy those PDA screen protector films and put them on both my Garmin and DH's so we don't scratch up the screens.

As for getting lost, we are pretty fortunate that some enterprising person has mapped all of our local forests and uploaded them to the net and so we have downloaded them to the Garmins. So now when I go to one of the forests that I don't know too well, instead of taking a paper map that I will disintegrate with my sweat in my back pocket, I just take the Garmin and I can find out where I am and how to get back to the car as easily as looking at the map on my screen.

Good idea about putting it in the backpack though - I will give that a whirl if the weather turns foul on me.