GPS BIKE COMPUTERS
THE LATEST GARMINS TAKE ON ALL-COMERS
With as many as 170+ functions on some units, it becomes a case of thinking hard about what you need
There are many questions to be asked before you purchase a bike GPS. Do you opt for pure data collection? Do you need full mapping? Route planning? Turn-byturn navigation or a breadcrumb trail? Multiple satellites? Strava live, training plans? Bluetooth, Ant+ ? With as many as 170+ functions to be found on some units, it really becomes a case of thinking hard about what you need and, crucially, how much should you spend?
We’re pretty sure what we want: reliable information, a good user interface and, above all, a GPS should enhance your ride not spoil it with bad functionality.
We tested each unit in exactly the same way – creating the same three routes on each unit’s app or desktop software, uploading them and riding the routes multiple times using the unit’s navigation capabilities, consciously going off route to see how they cope with putting you back on track. We also used three separate bikes, one equipped with SRAM Red eTap and a Quarq power meter (Ant+), another SRAM-equipped bike with the more up to date SRAM Force AXS group. Both of these groups transmit gearing data, power and cadence to compatible units. The third bike is Shimano Di2-equipped with the WU111 Bluetooth antenna to do the same. Alongside this we checked compatibility with a Shimano Power meter, used them with one of the most popular heart rate straps (Wahoo Tickr) and a wrist-based, heart-rate monitor and health tracker (Garmin Vivosmart in HR transmit mode). All units were run until the battery was drained, and our routes incorporated smooth roads and a few tracks to check the stability of the included mounts.