Advice on GPS Systems

[Shelly]

Anyone have any input on a good GPS System that won't cost an arm and leg? I want it obviously for car, as well as bike (if possible). One of my friends got a Garmin but seems kinda bulky and/or I'm concerned about it's ability to adequately suction to my bike shield....Thanks.

Shel

[tommymac]

The Garmin Zumos are quite good, but are a little pricey. I think you can find the 450 model for around 4 bills. I would also suggest a ram mount to keep the unit secured.

Tom

[_Jay_]

Originally Posted by tommymac

The Garmin Zumos are quite good, but are a little pricey. I think you can find the 450 model for around 4 bills. I would also suggest a ram mount to keep the unit secured.

Tom

to what Tommy said. I was looking at the Zumo 450 myself and it's a nice unit for sure. Think the cheapest I saw it was just under $500 at Buydig.com. You can also try ebay as well.

[Smokes35]

i LOVE my magellen's, ive had 3 of them.... they have free real time traffic updates and balh blah blah... mine even plays MP3s and save pictures...


and its under 400 bucks.... i have the 3050T $499.... my mom has the Roadmate 700... $239.


http://www.magellangps.com/products/...54&prodID=1735

[Shelly]

Cool...tks for advice guys. Any drawbacks or annoying quirks to keep in mind? I just want to be sure that if I'm shelling out that kinda $ that it's worth every penny

[ffejtable]

The zumos are great because they were designed with bikes in mind. They are also water resistant, which I dont think most regular car units are, so keep that in mind when purchasing.

[ronin_01r1]

i have the zumo 550. no problems or complaints so far. i like the large bright screen so i can see it easily while riding. i use a ram mount attached to the fork. as ffej said, they maid it with bikes in mind. controls are big, easy to use while wearing gloves, buttons on left side, resistant to vibrations, water proof IPX7. there are several models out there that are water proof. the only downside i can think of is that it is a little bulky, otherwise i think it's very sturdy too.

i recently tried another garmin model i got from circuit city for about $250. i tried it for a weekend and didn't really like it. one thing i noticed was the time it took to recalculate the route after i took a wrong turn. it sometimes took long enough that i'd just about miss the turn it wanted me to take next. this was in miami with faily clear skies. it also took longer than my zumo to pick up a signal too.

[BoRkA]

I currently have TomTom on my windows mobile phone, from my experience i would stay away from TomTom, sometimes it calculates the most idiotic routes, when i tried to goto Hunter mountain to go snowboarding, i knew how to get there, but TomTom said to take a different route, so i listened as i was curious to see maybe it knows a shorter/better way? needless to say i was going through alley ways and small private streets that eventually came to not one but TWO dead ends and a closed off street!!!

Ive used my friends Gearmin and it seems to be better.

[Marker54]

Was looking at the Garmin Nuvi 350...any thoughts?

[sonny]

I like my Nuvi 660. Havent put it on the bike yet though.

[Marker54]

Originally Posted by sonny

I like my Nuvi 660. Havent put it on the bike yet though.

When shoping for the 660, did you see any major differences between the two that pushed you to the 660? I don't know much about these things but did a "side by side" on bestbuy.com...didn't see much of a difference except a larger screen and some minor do-dads. Thinking the 350 may be enough for the money saved?

[sonny]

I opted for the larger screen.. the 660 also has more bells and whistles..

I think. Anyhow, I opted for the 660 because its flat and looks better.

Would play with a ram mount easier i thinks.

[CBRBob]

Stay away from suction cups on the bike! Also I find the Garmins may not have every feature in the world but they do have good software.