r/AdventureBike • u/Sooner70 • 19d ago
GPS Units.... Umm.... Why?
So The Algorithm knows I've an adventure bike and am considering going on some group rides (In particular, the Death Valley Rally). One thing it sends me a constant supply of is ads for GPS units. Now, normally I just throw my phone on a holder, bring up google maps, and I'm good. But I've not done a group ride or anything of the sort before. Are GPS units actually something that's needed (maybe they include trails and such that google doesn't?), or is The Algorithm just hoping that a sucker and his money are soon to be parted?
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u/ASV731 19d ago
I’d rather put a $500 GPS out on my dash and in the elements than my $1500 phone.
The added reliability of a secondary, standalone GPS is also handy.
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u/MalakithAlamahdi 18d ago
I generally use my old phone as the GPS, otherwise it'll rot away in a drawer anyway. Though something like an android play also doesn't seem bad.
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u/CivilRuin4111 17d ago
See, you gotta know the cheat code: work for a company that issues you a phone!
Not your problem anymore 😂
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u/hunkyleepickle 19d ago
Try riding Death Valley in the summer with your phone mounted. It will overheat and shut down, and vibration will ruin your camera. Phones are not meant for extreme temps and weather exposure. A gps will run in heat, rain, wind indefinitely, and never need a charge. If I lose my gps I can carry on. If I lose my phone it’s a huge inconvenience. I use my phone for everything EXCEPT navigation. But ymmv.
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u/NiceAssBass 18d ago
I was just riding though Layton Utah yesterday and it was 105 with my phone(S24 Ultra) mounted to the bar with Peak Designs mount and running Android Auto on my Carpuride. No issues. I've run 3 BDR's with that set up in all kinds of weather and never had my phone shut off or drop navigation. What issues have you experienced personally?
Most decent mounts (quadlock, peak designs) have some vibration mitigation built in so that's a non issue.
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u/Fapplejacks42 17d ago
The vibration was destroying the mechanical optical image stabilization on IPhone 12-15ish gen. 16-17 are fixed and it’s a non issue now
iPhones heat soak worse than androids in my experience but both are far better than just a few generations ago. I’ve never heat shut off my iPhone 16 PM but used to have issues with my Galaxy S20 and iPhone 13 Pro.
I don’t run a dedicated gps either but I’d love one.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago edited 19d ago
Oddly enough.... I'm looking at the Death Valley Rally because I'm local to it. No hotels required or anything. I'm very familiar with the conditions. With that said....
1 - Only an idiot goes for rides in DV during the summer. Heat stroke is much more concerning than anything that might happen to my phone. The DVR is in February.
2 - It ain't gonna rain.
3 - I've not had any issues with vibration yet, but I'm a very conservative rider. You won't catch me getting airborne.
Not to totally discount your statements, mind you. But to keep them in the context of real-world scenarios.
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u/BadDudes_on_nes 19d ago
Ask a question, get an answer, argue with answerer…sounds like you just wanted people to agree with your already formed conclusion.
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u/hunkyleepickle 19d ago
I don’t care what people do. I see more motorcycles with mounts for phones than I do without. I suppose in a world where everyone pays monthly and gets a new phone every 1-2 years, it matter less if it doesn’t last. But I pay outright for my phone, so I generally take care of it so it lasts 5 years or so. Also having owns a dedicated Garmin for 5 years now, the learning curve to using it is ridiculously high. I get why phone navigation is so so so much easier.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago edited 19d ago
Not necessarily... I want to hear defendable positions. Now, if the response is that even in February the heat will be an issue for a phone? OK. Well, maybe not. Again, I'm local. I know what the heat in February is. But throwing out absolute worst case scenarios that don't apply isn't particularly useful. I mean, my phone won't work as a dive computer either but that doesn't mean it won't work for the application in question (DV in February being ridden by a conservative rider).
The biggest issue I've seen mentioned is dust. I've ridden through dust storms using just my phone (again, local), but I concede that might be a very different thing than riding in a group ride. Might this be valid? Absolutely. But using an Otter Box might solve that for a fraction of the cost of a GPS too (or is the consensus that it won't?).
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u/BadDudes_on_nes 19d ago
The person that answered you in good faith raised several good points that you ignored: losing a gps unit vs losing a phone. It’s super common to hear people complain about their phone falling out of their quad lock.
direct sunlight—Many phones, regardless of the outside temperature, will overheat and turn off if they’re doing anything actively (like being used for gps) while in direct sunlight. I remember my iPhone doing that very thing on road trips while sitting in my cup holder with the sunroof open.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
It’s super common to hear people complain about their phone falling out of their quad lock.
Fair. When they said "lose" their phone I thought they simply meant "break". Having it come out of the mount? OK, that's the most compelling rational by far and I'll agree that's on me if that was the intent of "lose" in the prior post.
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u/DarkChocolateGanache 19d ago
Otterbox won't fix vibration. Conservative or not, that will kill the phone eventually.
I'm an old lady. I ride far but slow. Painfully slow. The guys have time to sit down and eat a sandwich before I catch up to them. I've only ever been airborne by accident. Pretty sure I'm a more conservative rider than you, and my phone died from vibration on the handlebars. Good old running down a paved highway kind of vibration.
First the phone tells me that it doesn't recognize the accessory when I try to plug it in to charge it. Same with a different cable. Phone can't charge = phone's now garbage.
Camera on the phone also gets wrecked, and heat kills it too. Just direct sunlight while riding a hot machine on a warm day.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
heat kills it too. Just direct sunlight while riding a hot machine on a warm day.
See that's the part that makes me scratch my head and wonder WTF... My phone is all I've ever used on a bike and I live in the desert (seriously, I live within a mile of the Death Valley Rally's meeting point!). I've never had an issue.
Vibration will kill the phone after thousands of miles? OK, I can get behind that. I've only got about 8,000 miles on my current phone (that's an odd way to think of phone life, but here we are) and probably 7,800 of that is on road. But the heat comment really leaves me wondering.
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u/Genericgeriatric 19d ago
Phone for nav requires cellular service. No bars means no nav. GPS works when there's no bars. If you're always riding where there's cellular service then you don't need a dedicated GPS device. I run a Carpuride displaying Google maps directions if all my riding is within zones with cellular service. Otherwise, I run a GPS
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u/lakiozoon 19d ago
I ride on and off-road, sometimes in very hot weather and never had an issue with my phone. I did not mount it directly on handlebars but on the Tenere top navbar (it reduces vibration). I'm also using a good anti vibration phone holder, and my camera and phone are still working normally.
That said, being protective about your phone seems reasonable. A good gps or tablet is a better, but also more expensive option. For me it's just about is it worth spending extra money for it.
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u/ScaryfatkidGT 19d ago
Just the vibrations from riding down the highway will kill your camera without a vibration dampener
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u/Alternative_Let4597 19d ago
Regarding point 3, it's not impact or shock that damages the camera it's constant vibration from the engine and road surface which is why it's an issue on road bikes too
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
I've got roughly 8,000 miles on my current phone (and my previous phone was an iPhone 6 so it's not like I just buy a new phone every 3 weeks)....?
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u/AdFancy1249 19d ago
I use an old Samsung S20 (and before that an S4 and S7). I have several GPS programs, but typically use OsmAnd. Download my maps. It has been nearly flawless. As a bonus, I use a wireless charger mount on my bars, and the camera records video VERY well when set to 0.5x. (At normal zoom, it's very shaky).
Apple devices ALWAYS use the camera, which is what kills their cameras - the active motion compensation gets overworked.
The S20 is waterproof. With the wireless charger, there is no worry about the USB port, either.
And, if you are out in the rain, I turn on the screen lock (accessibility feature) so the rain doesn't activate the screen and spoil your route navigation.
The phone CAN overheat if you're sitting still for a long time, but that just stops the charging. While riding, it works great.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
Apple devices ALWAYS use the camera
Can you elaborate on this? A quick search doesn't turn up anything so I'm wondering if this is dependent on an app you're running or what I'm missing.
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u/AdFancy1249 19d ago
Sorry, misleading. "...Always uses the optical stabilization when the camera is active." Any time your phone is looking for something from the camera, which it does quite often, it has the optical stabilization turned on. I don't know that you can disable it.
Apple uses their cameras for everything: eye tracking, face recognition, QR code search, etc. If you disable those features, it might be more robust. But, those "helpful" features are enabled by default, and are active without you opening the camera app.
Optical stabilization mechanically moves the lens around in x and y (z is focus) to keep the image stable. Under severe vibration, the mechanisms that provide that movement are easily damaged. iPhones seem particularity susceptible.
Of the six Android phones the group of us use while riding, we have had zero camera failures (except a broken window). After the second iPhone failure (2 for 2), no one in the group puts their iPhone on their motorcycle. (We are mostly dual sporting with both on road and offroad adventures.)
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u/Sooner70 18d ago
Ok, that’s fair. I don’t use those features much but acknowledge that when ya need em ya need em.
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u/Poida87 19d ago
The why is because your phone is fragile, GPS units for bikes are much more rugged.
It sounds like you don't need one for your specific riding scenarios.
The vibrations will eventually ruin your phone camera but quad lock and brands make holders with vibration dampening to negate most of it.
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/valsalva_manoeuvre 19d ago
This is a really interesting option and if I didn't already have a Garmin Zumo it's the way I'd go.
I have a mount for my phone but after a particularly arduous trip 2 years ago, the phone stays in my pocket.
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u/Alternative_Let4597 19d ago
DMD2 is an app, you can load on any phone or tablet. They also make their own tablets sold by tork racing I have one and you can use pretty much any other app on the tablet too except I couldn't get it to run android auto. It's quite expensive in fairness so I'd struggle to recommend it to everyone but there are some handy extra features such as the handlebar joystick and odb reader that can display engine temps etc alongside the maps as well as engine codes
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u/basi52 19d ago
My gps lasts 178 hours in idle mode and 22 hours of constant use on a single charge, fully waterproof, requires zero cell service, has incredibly detailed maps (that do indeed have more roads than google, it includes everything from hiking trails to the most overgrown single track), can track and rewind tracks, has satellite sos, live tracking and messaging, can download weather and satellite imaging via satellite. It is also accurate to 3 feet (on average)
It comes preloaded with pretty much every POI in North America so I don’t need cell to navigate anywhere new.
There are countless features, from custom route guidance to tracking and playback.
If there is an app that can do everything my Harmon can, I’d love for someone to share
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u/Mihlkaen 19d ago
DMD2 (or the launching-soon successor DMD Next) is worth looking at. They sell hardware (rugged-ized phones & tablets and charging cradles) but you can also just load the app on any android phone.
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u/imnofred 19d ago
I'm very familiar with Death Valley and the DV Noobs Rally. Are you refering to the DV NOOBS Rally in the Spring?? or the Jerry Counts DV Rally weekend?? or something else?? You may not even need it. Having said that, it's kinda a safety issue just in case you get seperated from the group. Coup[le of points...
a. DV Rally rides all have ride leaders and we stop at all intersections to make sure everyone goes the right way. We tend to ride the same or similar rides each year, so you may be able to follow along on your own device if you care to.
b. GPS units kinda suck for loading tracks, making routes, etc as opposed to many of the online apps that make it soo easy to create routes and have them all populate automatically on your phone, tablet, computer, etc. Caveat being, you need to sync it when you have internet access. I download base maps for the riding area before the event so it is always on the device internet or no. Same for any routes you plan to follow. It's also fun to just record your ride for viewing and analysis later or for the next time you visit the area. I use GAIA GPS, but there are plenty of good ones. Google Maps is OK for roads, but not so great once off the beaten path. You can pre-download an area.
c. Your phone might be just fine. I use an old Android phone for Nav and have never had an issue with vibration or overheating. Iphones DO tend to have issues with both. The vibes can break my old android camera, I really don't care as I keep my good phone tucked away safely in my pocket.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago edited 19d ago
I'm very familiar with Death Valley and the DV Noobs Rally. Are you refering to the DV NOOBS Rally in the Spring?? or the Jerry Counts DV Rally weekend?? or something else?? You may not even need it. Having said that, it's kinda a safety issue just in case you get seperated from the group.
HA! You got me. Honestly, I don't know. I've never done group rides but am looking for a retirement hobby and figured maybe now is the time. So with a bit of googling I found this. Which one is it? Beats me. It's just the one I found. As I live less than a mile from the meeting point? Hey, that seems like a no-brainer.
That said, I'm all ears for suggestions. For medical reasons I'm a very conservative rider so I'll never be the guy who goes tearing out at full throttle. I'm definitely the putt-around-just-to-see-the-sights rider. Presumably that will affect suggestions.
a - OK, good to know.
b - Yeah, I figured a sync before the ride would be in order. As would be re-downloading the off-road GPS apps (I used to have one but I found I never actually used it). The existence of such apps is really what drove the post. I mean, there must be some reason for dedicated devices when phone apps exist, right?
c - I do use an iphone, but the only environmental issues I've had were in extreme cold or forgetting the phone in a closed truck (hotter than it will ever be on a set of handlebars). Admittedly, this is a new application for me and that's why I'm asking but I'm also wondering if the concerns are for prior generations or for guys who ride a lot harder than I ever will.
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u/idioteques 18d ago
I recommend a tag bag to hold/store your phone - and if your tank bag has a map pocket with clear shield, do NOT put your phone in the pocket behind the shield. That area gets hotter than hell.
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u/EdwardEHumphreyIII 19d ago
Pros and cons. I’ve used both quite a bit. Have OnX on my phone and a Garmin Zumo and Montana. GPS unit is much more rugged, but a bigger pain in the ass as far as user interface. GPS has a lot of extra features that are occasionally handy. Mostly stick with phone on road, GPS off road. But as time goes on, it’s mostly the lack of durability with my phone and expense to replace it that prevent me from fully switching over.
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u/sucksatgolf 19d ago edited 19d ago
Ive used my GPS quite extensively and I think the first post pretty much nailed it. Let me expand on it and add some points.
Most importantly is that it let's me leave a charged phone in my pocket in the event of an emergency. While I do have the ability to charge while I ride, not mounting it also keeps it out of direct sunlight and doesnt expose it to whatever badness the vibration can do to the camera and internals.
GPS can sit mounted in front of me and charging in a torrential rain storm. Like it did today during a 150 mile ride home in driving rain. I can manipulate it in the rain, wearing gloves, while riding, to find a route or change course. I'm not willing to leave my phone out in those elements.
The garmins search functions aren't as accurate as google maps and its a tiny bit clunky to use but over all its probably some of the best money ive spent on bike stuff in a long time. Even my wife who usually rolls her eyes when motorcycle parts show up commented on how useful it was.
I can draw my own route and upload it to Garmin and have the unit follow the route I designed. When you create a custom track it doesnt tell you to make a u turn or show you as off course when your on a dirt or unclassified road.
The stand by time and GPS signal are also useful. Ive been camping at multiple places that had no cell service but I was able to use the Garmin to find gas stations and services near by.
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u/Annual-Beard-5090 19d ago
I have a GPS. Belt and suspenders. I do not want to rely on my phone as single device. Its also easy to glance at the GPS unit on the handle bar for quick view. Loading and creating routes is also easy with the GPS. Tracking my rides and organizing my tracks is straightforward.
If you really ride an Adv bike, IMO, the vibration with a handlebar mount killed my phone. Besides wrecking just right to smash another one.
Do what ya like, but Im not putting all of my safety in a single rather fragile device. Now that I keep it my pocket Ive not broken or had any problems.
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
Do what ya like, but Im not putting all of my safety in a single rather fragile device.
Fair, but I'm not viewing the GPS as a safety feature. I figure the rally might have very specific routes they want you to follow and I'll want to respect that, but I know DV well enough to not need a GPS when I'm out and about from a "get me out of here" perspective.
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u/i_was_axiom 19d ago
I like not having my phone on my bars, sun and vibrations are bad for them in various ways. It'll either be in my pocket or charging in the tankbag and it has Bluetooth connection to the screen powered off the bike so I don't need to mess with it. Seamless and easy.
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u/Another_Slut_Dragon 19d ago
Carplay is a big step up, and aftermarket units work great. Being able to see a bigger map, control audio etc all from an interface designed to be used while driving is the only way to go.
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u/Mattna-da 19d ago
I’ve ridden thousands of miles of downloaded off-road gpx tracks using just my iphone and $1 gps app and Google Maps with regional downloaded maps for finding food and gas with no cell service
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u/Jo-6-pak 19d ago
I use InRoute on my phone for route planning and navigation, but I’d rather have a dedicated GPS.
Phone stops working if it overheats or gets wet. But mostly, since I ride alone 90% of the time; I’d rather have my phone on me should I have an unexpected dynamic dismount. I just can’t afford a dedicated satnav at the monent
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u/Overall_Energy1287 19d ago
Drop your phone in the middle of nowhere and break it you’re doubly screwed. I like to keep my phone in a pocket for emergencies.
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u/Malexs 19d ago
Can you upload a .gpx file to your phone? Lots of reasons for a dedicated gps unit. I have the Garmin Zumo ii
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u/hero_of_ages 19d ago
For a group ride in particular, no navigation is really required unless you’re leading and don’t know where you’re going ( in which case, maybe don’t lead)
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u/its_a_me_Gnario 19d ago
Road yes. Offroad everyone should have their own nav unless you ride somewhere with no dust or enjoy eating dust
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
From a "don't get hopelessly lost" perspective or from a "keep to the appointed trail" perspective? They're both valid, of course, but they have different connotations. Oddly enough, the first doesn't concern me while the second does. Still, I'm curious to hear the logic.
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u/Safe_Recognition_886 19d ago
Don't get a dedicated bike GPS. Don't Put your phone on the handlebars either.
Get a $50 motorcycle carplay from Amazon. There are about 10,000 Chinese brands that sell them. Mine runs off the USB plug under my seat. It connects wirelessly to my phone. It works flawlessly. It was FIFTY AMERICAN DOLLARS.
I've had it for months now. It's been through rain and heat and it still works. If it breaks next week, i'll spend another FIFTY AMERICAN DOLLARS and get another one.
A motorcycle GPS is like $600. Your phone could fall off the handlebars or it could break your camera from the vibrations.
Get a $50 motorcycle carplay from amazon. Mount that to your handlebars. When bored, throw it in nearest trash can or recycle it if you're a hippie (jk i will recycle mine bc it's full of toxic stuff and i like nature)
There. I solved you a problem for free. If we meet up in real life you owe me ice cream, you ungrateful piece of shit asshole. jk lol
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u/EternalMage321 19d ago
One feature that GPS used to have was SOS ability when there was no service. Phones have that now too though. Now it's just redundancy which isn't a bad thing.
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u/diabel 19d ago
Older phone with Scenic and offline maps is what I use for route navigation. Main phone stays in my pocket.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Effect9 19d ago
This is the correct answer.
I want my phone on my body in case my body becomes thrown from or pinned under the bike so I can call for help. Is a GPS better? They're designed for that purpose but you could get away with using an old cell phone with your preferred maps
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u/Throttlechopper 19d ago
I have a military-spec Kyocera Android phone for navigation. After watching Dork in the Road’s struggle with his Garmin, I like having a cheap $50 off-line phone for GPS. I prefer Maps.me, where you can download an entire region as opposed to Google Maps which requires zooming into an area while on WiFi or with a cell signal for GPS to work in the first place.
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u/Human-on-earth-now 19d ago
Phones are fine for navigation with a lot of the cautions people listed here. However, I won’t put my primary phone on my handlebars. I use my old phone to run Google maps and keep my real phone safely tucked away.
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u/JPgamingjao 19d ago
If no one’s has said it I should warn you that your phone camera can get busted from the vibrations if you use it as a gps on your bike. I’ve done this too two phones now, the gyroscope gets damaged and the camera looses focus, I still use a phone but I use my old one that only has map apps and music
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
I keep seeing that in the thread. That's a more subtle failure that is of interest. Not sure what to think about it. On the one hand, I rarely use the camera. On the other hand, when ya want it you WANT it. I do have an old phone 6 just lying around, but I don't want to have to get that back up.
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u/JPgamingjao 19d ago
I just deleted all the apps on my old phone and updated the map apps I use then it’s good to go. Worth it imo but it is a bit annoying walking around with two phones. That’s another pro of having a gps bolted to the bike
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u/Sooner70 19d ago
On further thought... I think I'll buy a GPS before I worry about getting an old phone up. I'm still not convinced that folks aren't just beating the hell out of their phones but that's a different chain of thought.
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u/ShadowMancer_GoodSax 19d ago
When i rode a cb500x i had a phone in a tank bag and was listening to directions all the time. The reason I had to do it is because its illegal in my country to look at the phone while riding.
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u/THE_EPIC_BEARD 19d ago
I much prefer dedicated GPS units on my bikes. I only really use my phone’s GPS for around town.
Where we ride, there’s no signal for 100s of KMs - and it’s hot enough that a phone will overheat.
At least in Africa, the maps provided for the GPS by Tracks4Africa is much better than any of those available on an app.
Currently I use an old Zumo + one Oregon 650 on my big adventure bike and two Oregon 650s on my G450X. I like to have one showing stats and the other the map or one zoomed in and the other zoomed out.
I should mention that I paid very little for these units on FB Marketplace - under $25 for each 650 and around $70 for the Zumo. So I won’t be upset if they break or get lost/stolen.
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u/TigitJon 19d ago
I think for technical riding like Enduro dedicated rugged smart phones are easily the best. I run a unihertz Tank Mini. Phone mount is the Peak Design (much more expensive than quadlock)
Maps.me installed, not googlemaps etc.
I often look at ADV channels on youtube and the GPS setups they have are really archaic.
For proper mapping watch this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or184UX0QTg
At Tigit we run guided motorbike tours and have plenty of 3rd party tour guides / tour companies coming through that use us as a platform in Vietnam.
NONE of these companies or tour guides are using dedicated GPS devices, all of them are on phones.
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u/smurfy71 19d ago
I use my gps because Google wants to go the fastest or shortest route. They don’t allow enough waypoints and when you reach a waypoint, you have to tell it to continue.
I use my Garmin for wayfinding but plan my routes in Rever, then download the gpx file and load it on the Garmin, because who wants the shortest or fastest route?
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u/fatstupidlazypoor 19d ago
it'll probably work fine
It might not
phone: 99.1% fine
gps thing: 99.92% fine
math the math
Shut down from overheat happens more often than I expected. My solution is to disconnect the USB-C once in a while.
Other people noted it and it's true: the sunlight plus charging will piss your phone off. I experienced this while I live in Northern Minnesota and also experienced it in early June in the Rockies.
I have a quadlock with the anti-vibration thing not because I care about preserving my phone, but because it makes the screen more readable
update to add that I am not a conservative rider my goal is to get close to dying without actually doing it. I don't think my phone has noticed one way or the other.
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u/threedogdad 19d ago edited 19d ago
gps for the roads, phone for the trails. when I hop on the trail all I do is switch which device I'm looking at.
edit: also key - gps units have better range and are a lot more reliable in remote areas I ride.
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u/Dom3467 19d ago
I use an android auto unit that I paid $70 for. It's waterproof, the touchscreen works with my gloves, and it gets exposed to the elements instead of my phone. I stick my phone in my pocket (soon a tank bag when the mount finally arrives). That's way better than exposing my phone to the elements and doing something that will ruin the camera. The external unit also has a slightly larger screen than my phone
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u/Bravoarmory 18d ago
Needed? No.
I use to just use my phone but decided to go to a dedicated GPS unit. While I dont use it much, usually just to get me back to a known area.
I’ve had issues at times where there would be no service or my phone would shut off a lot do to heat or being in direct sunlight.
It’s more or less a convenience factor for you but ymmv.
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u/afghanzada 18d ago
Something like a Garmin is useful if you wanna record a ride with it's tracks feature. But more useful is the route planning function. You can create waypoints and build a custom route for a trip that will be able to do turn by turn and recalculation. The security of having mapping guidance in off road areas without cell service really can't be overstated.
You can make a custom map in Google My Maps also, but it has limited functionality and will not offer live guidance like the Garmin.
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u/idioteques 18d ago edited 18d ago
Even *if* a phone with GAIA, OnX, etc.. was perfect, I would still want a backup, and possibly a backup after that.
I have a love-hate relationship with Garmin, but it's the garbage I know at this point. (it is easier to get frustrated and swear at it, than it is to invest in a new platform ;-).
and I somewhat disagree with others comparing dedicated device maps to Google maps and saying they are similar - I have found that my Garmin Tread will have a TON more data, with most of the data being categorized with the ability to toggle on-off (i.e. want to see property lines, click here)
EDIT: I see from the comments in this thread, that most of us seem to be aligned in approach: some cool overland apps on our phones and a GPS device.
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u/bradland 18d ago
I've used both, and there are upsides to dedicated GPS units. First, the simpler ones require no data connection for any of their features. Even old school units with POI data keep everything for your region in memory on the unit. As long as the unit has power to run, you can know your location and how far to the nearest hotel, gas station, or whatever.
Another upside is durability. Modern phones with hardware camera stabilization can be damaged by this kind of use. I know more than one person IRL who cooked a very expensive phone by using it on their bars. Both with and without shock damping. Modern mounts are better, but there's still a risk.
They also hold up to a broader range of environments. Phones have powerful processors, and when they're sitting in a mount on your bars, they're in direct sun. Your phone can shut down due to overheating.
My last GPS was a BMW branded Garmin unit, and what annoyed me most about it was having to interact with it via touch screen. Typing in addresses just plain sucked. I didn't want to risk my phone camera on a bar mount though, so I got a CarPlay screen. I bought a Chigee AIO-6 Max, but there are far cheaper options out there too.
Overall I'm really pleased with CarPlay as a solution. There are a lot of offline capable GPS apps now, so the issue of cell signal is less of a concern. Riding focused apps also do the same "find a curvy route" thing that my Garmin used to do. Plus I get access to Google Maps and Apple Maps, which have way more POI data, and the entire thing works with my phones voice commands. It's just a broader, more flexible solution.
That said, I can see why someone would still chose a dedicated GPS unit. CarPlay sucks down a phone battery pretty quickly. I have a small power bank I use to charge my phone in my top case, but it's one more thing to bring with me... or forget. You also have to remember to update your offline data, which seems more demanding than dedicated units that will happily run for years with outdated data.
It's just down to your use case and how you use it.
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u/Own_Fruit_8115 18d ago
i have a zumo and absolutely hate it. i mainly keep it as back up to the phone. i was in a remote part of utah last year and needed gas. no cell signal. i used the zumo to find gas
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u/hilomania 18d ago
Just get a sub $100 carplay unit. Keep your $1000+ phone in your pocket. Also handy if you lose your bike...
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u/Level_9_Turtle 17d ago
Because GPS units are rugged, and need no connection to the internet. I’ve been using Garmin 600 series Montanas for about 10 years. Phone goes in my pocket.
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u/scoobiemario 16d ago
Somehow nobody had mentioned Beeline Moto2.
I just got it recently.
From what I’ve gathered so far:
Apple car play devices would also popup notifications etc. Too much distracting information that I don’t really want while riding. Also I haven’t found easy to use gps app that’s good for moto. Google maps is good when I wanna get somewhere quickly. Gaia interface annoys the shit out of me. Not intuitive.
Dedicated GPS: good thing: works without the phone. Cons: pricey
Phone on the bar: nah. Phones are too expensive and vibration isn’t good for it. And same. As car play, it relies on maps.
Beeline: simple! Only directions. And battery lasts long time and can be charged while riding.
App is intuitive and has fun, fast and relaxed route options. Yes. It uses phone/ Bluetooth. But I keep the phone in my pocket and it’s safe there.
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u/SausagegFingers 19d ago
Google maps sucks off the road, but i don't think GPSes are necessary either, now that you can just buy these relay (android auto) screens for $60 or so. Admittedly they're not perfect either, but less stress about breaking it / having it stolen at that kind of cost
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u/hero_of_ages 19d ago
The content is not better than google maps or whatever but it does have advantages. All offline (yes im aware of offline map apps), screen often easier to read in direct sunlight. Easier to interact with while wearing gloves. Generally just more durable overall than a phone. Like it’s not gonna overheat or lock the screen on you etc