Garmin Edge Touring Plus Followup
April 18, 2014
In the most recent issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine, I reviewed Garmin's Touring Edge Plus GPS unit. To supplement that article, I would like to share a few common questions I've received about the unit, as well as peek into Garmin's latest creation.
How are Adventure Cycling maps loaded onto the Garmin Edge Touring device?
You may or may not be aware that Adventure Cycling offers waypoint files for many of the Adventure Cycling Route Network maps. Anyone is able to download the waypoint files for these routes, however, members are able to access files that include service data along the route.
Our Routes and Mapping department have put together a great GPS information page, which gives an overview of what waypoints are, and what you need in order to use them. There is also a useful GPS discussion board on the Adventure Cycling forums that is worth taking a look at.
These are all great resources, but to save you some time, here are the steps you can take to get Adventure Cycling waypoints, or any .GPX file for that matter, onto your Garmin Edge Touring or Touring Plus unit.
1. Download your desired files. These will be downloaded as a .zip file, and can be decompressed using software such as WinZip.
2. Once the file is decompressed, look for a folder containing files ending in .gpx. These are your waypoint files that you will load onto your Garmin.
3. Plug in your Garmin device using the USB cable that was included with the unit. Your computer will recognize the unit, and a folder for the GPS will appear on your computer. On Macs, it will appear on your desktop, while on PCs it will appear in your Computer folder. Open this up, and go to the folder "Garmin" and then to "NewFiles."
4. Drag and drop the .gpx files you downloaded into the "NewFiles" folder.
5. Unplug your Garmin GPS and turn it on. Your waypoints are now loaded!
6. To view the Waypoints on your device, simply press the icon 'Where To?,' then 'Saved,' and finally 'Courses.' The routes will be saved here in segments of varied length. Just click on a segment, and hit 'Ride' to begin navigating that portion of the route.
*Depending on your device's settings, you may be routed on to roads or paths that are not on the Adventure Cycling route between waypoints. Please use Adventure Cycling paper maps for cross reference when navigating with this device for best accuracy.
Depending on how many waypoints you plan on loading up for your tour, you may need to purchase additional microSD cards to load any remaining portions of the route that don't fit on your existing card, or simply delete used waypoints after you have ridden them and upload new ones when you have time at a computer.
Can separate rides along the same route be compared to track progression?
If you want to be able to track your rides and compare them to each other, you'll want to take advantage of Garmin Connect. This is a totally free service that allows you to upload your rides for later viewing, analysis, and comparisons. One fun feature is to stack rides up against each other. You can select up to four activities to be compared side by side, and there are over a dozen metrics to be compared.
Garmin Edge 1000
The Garmin Edge Touring series is the bees knees when it comes to on-the-fly bicycle-specific navigation. For performance analysis, you'll probably want something closer to the Garmin Edge 800 series. Smartphones are the way to go if you need to send or receive data from the road or trail. Smash these together, and you have the new Garmin Edge 1000. It has the OpenStreetMap navigation and points of interest features of the Edge Touring series, the data analysis on the Edge 800 series, and when coupled with your smartphone, allows you to live track your ride, so your friends and family can watch your progress as it happens in real time.
Photos by Josh Tack
—
TOURING GEAR & TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead. Look for Josh's "Fine Tuned" column in Adventure Cyclist magazine as well.
Comments
Does the Garmin Touring Plus pair with their ANT+ speed sensor (for better data, esp in heavy woods)? Also, what size of memory card is necessary/useful? Thanks!
I have the Edge Touring Plus with a micro SD card. I am creating routes in Basecamp. When I send the route to the card I am not able to locate it on the device. I do I view routes sent to the card?
I've just taken delivery of a shinny new edge 1000. All charged up now but will not find any of the postcodes I input. Is there a known problem with this feature? Really disappointing as this is one of the main reasons I went for this device.
I have had nothing but problems, it won't stick to A roads regardless of setting. It will do anything to avoid riding on an A road which when you are touring and have a route can treble your distance!!!!!!!!
To fix this I bought the city navigator maps to replace the open street maps and found the postcode search doesn't work so I haven't even been able to try those maps GAHHHHHHH!!
Despite Garmin UK support swapping the unit as faulty and then deciding the navigator maps were corrupted and swapping them as well I still can't search on a postcode because it just sits at the ride option!!
I am sat with technical support now who now tell me they want me to return both the maps and the device at the same time so they can see the interaction for themselves???
meanwhile I am probably 6 months down the line with a device that doesn't follow the routes I plan on their software and doesn't allow me to use the maps I bought from them??
I am returning the devices but have asked to investigate getting my money back as this has just filled me with frustration!
Has anyone found a way to skip a waypoint on a route? I have tried to shorten a loop route (same starting and finishing point) while riding and the device can't figure out that I am beyond a point and keeps trying to what was the next point. HELP !
(answer to my question of 15 my 2014).
Yes, you can load and use Garmin-compatible OpenStreetMap-based maps on this unit. So yo can use the device anywhere in the world, you are not restricted to the United States. In particular it works with maps from garmin.openstreetmap.nl/.
Garmin Edge is very useful, but i have a question in my mind is there is a way to recharge it while riding...
Yup - standard generic battery
Where is the original article? This is in response to that.
Following
hi, I would like to know what battery features has the garmin edge touringplus. I would like to use one of my múltiple chargers without having to buy an original garmin one. thanks
I use a generic one I bought off of Amazon.
If I load an Adventure Cycling map that is set up with waypoints listed west to east what must I do to get turn by turn directions going in the opposite direction-east to west?
I just posted an article explaining how to get maps and data to and from the Garmin Edge Touring, and also a review of which route-planning web sites work well with the Edge Touring:
http://poplarware.com/jenzach/2014/05/23/jhodgdon/planning-rides-garmin-edge-touring/
May be of interest to several people who posted here...
The European version of the Garmin edge Touring comes preloaded with "Garmin Cycle Map" which is a Garmin rendering of OpenStreetMap data.
Has anyone had success in loading non-Garmin OpenStreetMap-based maps (http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl; velomap.org; openmtbmap.org) on the Garmin edge Touring?
A touring GPS would take standard batteries (AA). Any GPS that requires a plug every day or two IS NOT a touring GPS.
Um, there are external battery packs (AA and USB rechargeable) that will charge while on the bike. I also have a dynamo that can charges it while riding. Non-issue.
Colleen; I have found the OpenStreet maps available at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ very useful. Although I don't have an Edge Touring, I have downloaded the maps and saved them on a MicroSD card that I have used in my Garmin Edge 810. I would imagine that the process is somewhat similar. While ridewithgps.com is excellent for creating routes and transferring them to your GPS, I have not heard of it being used to transfer maps.
You can also just download the Garmin connect and communicator, make sure your Garmin is connected, and (this is in ridewithgps.com) when you select your route you have developed, click on Export and instead of transferring files, like your article states Josh, you can click Garmin Write, it then detects your Edge connected and automatically transfers that route you have onto the Ege as a course. Much faster.
Is there a way to recharge the Garmin from the bicycle wheel while riding along?
If you have a USB connector for your dynamo hub, such as The Plug III, then you can certainly charge the unit using the supplied USB cable.
I have the Edge Touring (not the Plus model). I contacted Garmin about using it in Europe. They told me in order to Europe maps, I would need to get the European Garmin Edge Touring. As you might guess, I was a little bummed about that. Then someone told me I could load maps of Europe on the Edge through Open Steets, but he didn't exactly know how to do it. Is it possible to load maps of Europe on the Edge Touring?
Take a look at this website for producing maps outside of North America: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl
This site takes a little time to figure out, but there are some good tutorials and FAQs on the site map. Just be sure to select Routable Bicycle maps. Also, keep in mind that this is open source user generated data, so it's always a good idea to cross reference the maps.
Forgot Password?
Enter your email address and we'll send you an email that will allow you to reset it. If you no longer have access to the email address call our memberships department at (800) 755-2453 or email us at memberships@adventurecycling.org.
Not Registered? Create Account Now.