# Edge 520 Plus and Trailforks



## philstone (Mar 14, 2011)

Hi, 
So I know it’s still new but hoping someone can answer this.. is it possible to follow a trail on the trailforks app and record the ride as well?

Cheers


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## kiwim5 (May 19, 2015)

If it works the same as 820 and 1030, then yep, just download the trailforks maps, and you're good to go.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I think I see where this question is coming from. Let me guess, you're used to using phone apps, and most of the map/nav apps available for bike trails don't actually record, as well, correct?

Garmins operate differently. On fitness models like Edges, they don't really do anything until you start the timer (and therefore, record your ride). Recording your ride is the most basic function that they do. They can do other stuff WHILE recording your ride, too, like navigating, showing maps, and other such like that. Whereas on a phone, you'd have to run at least two different apps if you'd want to navigate on Trailforks AND record on Strava. And some phones don't make that very practical.

So yeah, on a Garmin Edge, you absolutely CAN record your ride AND navigate at the same time (doesn't matter if it's a built-in function or from a ConnectIQ app). It's what these things are built to do.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

You start the timer, then hit the back button to get to whatever function you want. 




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## philstone (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks. Actually I’ve got a Fenix 5 that I currently use so well aware of the Garmin system. Just never used the Edge series. 

Cheers


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## matt.s67 (Nov 4, 2016)

Returning my 520 plus that I bought less than a month ago. As soon as I got up to NC on my trip last week, the thing stopped working and gave me an error every time I tried to load a route, making it pretty useless.


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## Anthony.L (Mar 30, 2018)

Heavily suggest you look into the Wahoo Bolt.


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## matt.s67 (Nov 4, 2016)

I had one and returned it. It would constantly beep at me while following an MTB route, saying I was off course even though I wasn't.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

matt.s67 said:


> I had one and returned it. It would constantly beep at me while following an MTB route, saying I was off course even though I wasn't.


This is what happens when trying to follow mtb routes on any dedicated gps. I have no experience attempting to use similar functionality with any phone apps.

What is essentially going on is that the tolerance for being "off track" is too tight. That tolerance works fine on road, but dirt trails are not mapped as accurately, and for that matter, are not fixed so firmly upon the ground - the actual location migrates over time.

It would be nice to be able to adjust that tolerance, as I am sure that a tight tolerance is useful at times, also. But for mtb, it reduces the usability of the function.

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## matt.s67 (Nov 4, 2016)

I agree with you. The Elemnt Bolt worked perfectly, aside from the annoying beeping. I don't even mind the thing thinking I'm off course and flashing orange lights or whatever, but when I'm going 30+mph downhill trying to pick lines, I don't want the distraction of anything beeping at me. And from what I understood, there's no way to disable it on that unit.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Garmin at least allows you to turn the off course beep off.


matt.s67 said:


> I agree with you. The Elemnt Bolt worked perfectly, aside from the annoying beeping. I don't even mind the thing thinking I'm off course and flashing orange lights or whatever, but when I'm going 30+mph downhill trying to pick lines, I don't want the distraction of anything beeping at me. And from what I understood, there's no way to disable it on that unit.


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

Hi guys. I'm also interested in the 520 to use with the TrailForks app. I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with the 520 (cheaper!) or if I need the "Plus". I'm hoping you guys can clarify a few things for me.

What I am looking/hoping for:

Download a Trailforks map to the 520, then use it to navigate an unknown trail. I'm hoping the navigation will be 'turn-by-turn' for most part, by displaying a card on the screen or beeping. Will the 520 do that when used with the Trailforks app? Or do I need the Plus? Or is that not how it works at all? 

Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!


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## bigdrunk (Feb 21, 2004)

I have a 520 and just downloaded the map for California. The 520 doesn't seem to have enough space to load it. I heard the 520 Plus has more memory. If so how much memory does the plus come with.



bryanus said:


> Hi guys. I'm also interested in the 520 to use with the TrailForks app. I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with the 520 (cheaper!) or if I need the "Plus". I'm hoping you guys can clarify a few things for me.
> 
> What I am looking/hoping for:
> 
> ...


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bigdrunk said:


> I heard the 520 Plus has more memory. If so how much memory does the plus come with.


www.garmin.com


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## bigdrunk (Feb 21, 2004)

Have you tried finding it on the website?



Harold said:


> www.garmin.com


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bigdrunk said:


> Have you tried finding it on the website?


I did awhile back, and I swear it used to be there.

At any rate, a Google search for the subject turned up a dcrainmaker post (of course it did) and there are a few tidbits down in the comments.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/hands-on-garmin-edge-520-plus-with-mapping.html

One person was able to load a good chunk of central and northern CA OSM maps onto the 520 plus. One person's device had 11Gb of free space and he could not load additional Garmin maps for Europe and is getting insufficient memory warnings. And a WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS from people simply asking how much free space the device has (with no solid answers - just that there's "a lot").

At any rate, what California map are you using, and what process are you using to try to load it onto your regular 520?

A few things - you have to delete the existing basemap file. I saved mine to my computer for backup purposes. It's 49,808kb. I have maps on my device that I've obtained from GPSFileDepot.com (topos layered with some trails) and my map files cover regions MUCH smaller than the entire state of CA (currently I have western NC loaded) and range in size from 74,000kb (my western NC file) to 9,000kb depending on how large of an area it is and how much data is in the file (trails, roads, contours, ect).


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## bigdrunk (Feb 21, 2004)

I am trying to load the California map you purchase with Karma points from trail forks. I read a bunch of step by steps on clearing out as much storage as possible. I don’t remember the size but unfortunately the Trailforks map is just a little to big. No big deal, I will go back to open street maps and gpx files for trails. 

My 520 works great so I don’t think I will screw around with it anymore. Kind of funny, memory is so cheap now I cannot believe Garmin can’t go up to 2GB on the 520.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bigdrunk said:


> memory is so cheap now I cannot believe Garmin can't go up to 2GB on the 520.


Honestly, that is all I want additionally from my 520.

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## thasingletrackmastah (Nov 15, 2005)

A bit off-topic, but I think it's a choice, made by Garmin marketing.
I had an Etrex 10.Loved it.
It has a clear B/W display is very accurate, Low power consumption etc.
And you can install maps on it, just as you can on the 520.
Unfortunately, Garmin choose to build in only a minimal amount of memory, so you end up with only 8 MB free space (after deleting some items)
The processor and chipset used can address several GB's of memory.
But if they would have done that, no one would have bought an Etrex 20 or 30...

Anyone ever opened up a normal 520 ?
Chances are, there is an open space on the circuit board whre you can place extra smd-memory...


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

thasingletrackmastah said:


> A bit off-topic, but I think it's a choice, made by Garmin marketing.
> I had an Etrex 10.Loved it.
> It has a clear B/W display is very accurate, Low power consumption etc.
> And you can install maps on it, just as you can on the 520.
> ...


Handhelds do work pretty well in general for mtb, also. I used an Oregon 450 for years (which has more than enough memory for maps). The size of the device got irritating (kept bumping it with my knees), and the touchscreen (which I really like for hiking) became an issue. Also, when it comes to track recording, I didn't like that I had to splice together bits of track to cover a whole ride. Tracklog was limited to 10,000pts, and you fill that up fast on 1sec recording. The device would auto-archive things in 2,000 point files, that I'd then have to splice back together. Additionally, once a chunk got auto-archived, it was no longer visible on the screen, so it became difficult to impossible to tell when I closed a big loop, or otherwise see on the device where I'd previously been. As such, I had to mark a waypoint where I parked, otherwise I was unlikely to see where that was.

As for your question about opening up a 520 to check the feasibility of adding memory yourself, I wouldn't really know what I was doing in that regard. I don't know squat about circuit boards/electronics. I'd be curious, however, if a technician could do it, say, at the same time you replace the internal battery.


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

I ended up getting a 520 Plus and tried it out with the Trailforks app on a recent ride to Anadel in Santa Rosa.

This was my first time using a Garmin and I did find it a little confusing to use. In fact I am still playing around with the settings and all of the features.

Getting the Trailforks app onto it was pretty easy. But unfortunately, I found that the navigation part wasn't exactly what i was hoping for. While the 520+ will alert you of upcoming changes in direction, it's difficult to look at the map [safely] while you are riding and trying to go as fast as possible. I often found myself off course, at which point the 520 beeps constantly and trying to find your way back on course is also difficult on the tiny screen. In a couple spots, I had to take out my phone and load up the Trailforks app there in order to figure out where I was and needed to go, as the Trailforks phone app is much larger and more detailed/zoomable.

Coming from a non-GPS cateye strada cyclcomputer, I do like all of the data that the Garmin pulls in. But what I don't like is the physical size of the device when compared to the [diminutive] cateye it replaced. I picked up a k-edge gravity stem cap mount for it, which is very stable, but the device looks pretty massive and out of place on my bike. I also don't like (or am not yet very familiar with) the process of starting and stopping each ride, saving it, etc. With the Cateye, you just turn it on and start riding and it stops when you stop. With the Edge, you need to tap a button to start the ride, tap it again to pause/stop, then another button to save it. There are some auto-start/stop features, but they only kick in at 6mph, which I am often below, especially when climbing.

To be honest, I am having a difficult time justifying the purchase. I don't do Strava, so all of the information I really like to have is my ride time, odo, and speeds (current, max). My cateye does all of those and in a much smaller package. I was initially drawn to the Edge for the trailforks app to use on unknown trails, but my first experience so far has been a letdown. Hopefully I'll have another chance to use that feature and find its worth soon.

Also, FWIW, I did pull in a map update the other night and the download was 3.5GBs, so maybe the 520 Plus does have the room for such an update.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Think of Garmin fitness computers like a stopwatch on steroids. Start/stop/pause functions. Fitness phone apps wprk the same way. Honestly there is no need for pausing on a ride. Any software can figure out when you are paused later.

As for how the navigation works, that is how it goes trying to use one to navigate a mtb trail. There are ways to make it marginally better, but no app will do all the work for you.

Navigating on a mtb trail system is going to take some work on your part no matter what.

I have played with nav capabilities on various devices and find that they are all lacking. I will use maps on devices for quick reference, but my primary tool is my brain. And I try to always carry a good paper map.


bryanus said:


> I ended up getting a 520 Plus and tried it out with the Trailforks app on a recent ride to Anadel in Santa Rosa.
> 
> This was my first time using a Garmin and I did find it a little confusing to use. In fact I am still playing around with the settings and all of the features.
> 
> ...


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## upstateSC-rider (Dec 25, 2003)

bryanus said:


> I ended up getting a 520 Plus and tried it out with the Trailforks app on a recent ride to Anadel in Santa Rosa.
> 
> This was my first time using a Garmin and I did find it a little confusing to use. In fact I am still playing around with the settings and all of the features.
> 
> Getting the Trailforks app onto it was pretty easy. But unfortunately, I found that the navigation part wasn't exactly what i was hoping for. While the 520+ will alert you of upcoming changes in direction, it's difficult to look at the map [safely] while you are riding and trying to go as fast as possible. I often found myself off course, at which point the 520 beeps constantly and trying to find your way back on course is also difficult on the tiny screen. In a couple spots, I had to take out my phone and load up the Trailforks app there in order to figure out where I was and needed to go, as the Trailforks phone app is much larger and more detailed/zoomable.


I currently use a 520 and have loaded road routes into it but never mt bike ones, was looking to possibly getting a 520+ in the future just for when I get into trail systems I don't get into too often. 
Don't even care much about loading a route, I can just write the trails I'd like to do on a paper taped onto the top-tube, but it'd be nice to have verification that I'm on the right trail when the trailhead has 3 options but TF is showing only 2 and I have to stop and whip out my phone I keep in my Camelbak. Maybe a handlebar-mounted phone holder would suit me better but I prefer it being a little more protected.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

upstateSC-rider said:


> I currently use a 520 and have loaded road routes into it but never mt bike ones, was looking to possibly getting a 520+ in the future just for when I get into trail systems I don't get into too often.
> Don't even care much about loading a route, I can just write the trails I'd like to do on a paper taped onto the top-tube, but it'd be nice to have verification that I'm on the right trail when the trailhead has 3 options but TF is showing only 2 and I have to stop and whip out my phone I keep in my Camelbak. Maybe a handlebar-mounted phone holder would suit me better but I prefer it being a little more protected.


The thing with digital trail mapping is that it's all inconsistent. Sometimes Trailforks has better data. Sometimes MTBProject has better data. Sometimes neither has good data for a particular system.

IMO, the 520+ is such a small incremental change from the 520 that I wouldn't both replacing a regular 520 with the +.

When I'm at an unfamiliar trail system, I use whatever mapping works to navigate. Sometimes that means an app on my phone. Sometimes that means an actual paper map that I purchase and carry. Sometimes it means a shitty printout from a shop. Sometimes it means there are no maps of the trail system yet and I am relying on my tracklog and references from the terrain and the topo basemap on my regular 520.


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

upstateSC-rider said:


> I currently use a 520 and have loaded road routes into it but never mt bike ones, was looking to possibly getting a 520+ in the future just for when I get into trail systems I don't get into too often.
> Don't even care much about loading a route, I can just write the trails I'd like to do on a paper taped onto the top-tube, but it'd be nice to have verification that I'm on the right trail when the trailhead has 3 options but TF is showing only 2 and I have to stop and whip out my phone I keep in my Camelbak. Maybe a handlebar-mounted phone holder would suit me better but I prefer it being a little more protected.





Harold said:


> The thing with digital trail mapping is that it's all inconsistent. Sometimes Trailforks has better data. Sometimes MTBProject has better data. Sometimes neither has good data for a particular system.
> 
> IMO, the 520+ is such a small incremental change from the 520 that I wouldn't both replacing a regular 520 with the +.
> 
> When I'm at an unfamiliar trail system, I use whatever mapping works to navigate. Sometimes that means an app on my phone. Sometimes that means an actual paper map that I purchase and carry. Sometimes it means a shitty printout from a shop. Sometimes it means there are no maps of the trail system yet and I am relying on my tracklog and references from the terrain and the topo basemap on my regular 520.


I agree with @Harold. The 520+ has some additional basemaps, but I think that is more targeted at road bikers. Did you know the 520 can actually load the Trailforks app, too? If you have Trailforks on it, you pretty much have a 520+. Give that a shot first.


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## Back2MTB (Jun 4, 2014)

Harold said:


> This is what happens when trying to follow mtb routes on any dedicated gps. I have no experience attempting to use similar functionality with any phone apps.
> 
> What is essentially going on is that the tolerance for being "off track" is too tight. That tolerance works fine on road, but dirt trails are not mapped as accurately, and for that matter, are not fixed so firmly upon the ground - the actual location migrates over time.
> 
> ...


I've found following segments created by phones on strata beep a lot more on my 520 as opposed to garmin tracks I made myself fwiw.


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## Back2MTB (Jun 4, 2014)

bryanus said:


> I agree with @Harold. The 520+ has some additional basemaps, but I think that is more targeted at road bikers. Did you know the 520 can actually load the Trailforks app, too? If you have Trailforks on it, you pretty much have a 520+. Give that a shot first.


Got a link on how to do that ppppplease?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Garmin Connect phone app. You will probably need to delete the preinstalled basemap on the 520 to make room for maps.


Back2MTB said:


> Got a link on how to do that ppppplease?


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

Back2MTB said:


> Got a link on how to do that ppppplease?


Check out this article announcing the Trailforks/Garmin app:

https://www.trailforks.com/blog/view/traiforks-now-available-on-garmin-edge-devices/

Basically, once you install the app on the 520, you would use the Trailforks website to create/save routes that you want to sync to your Edge. Then, on your Edge you launch Trailforks app, it will connect to your phone, and then sync the routes to your Edge where you can then select and start navigating.

I'm looking forward to hearing your experience on navigating! lol. Good luck!


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Anything new in this realm in the last few months?? 

Looking to add a bike computer for off road mapping, essentially trailforks ON my handlebars in areas with no cell phone coverage. Been watching the development of the Hammerhead unit. Love what they're doing, would love to buy and support, but it still looks pretty glitchy and a bit early to drop $400 on them.


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

escrowdog said:


> Anything new in this realm in the last few months??
> 
> Looking to add a bike computer for off road mapping, essentially trailforks ON my handlebars in areas with no cell phone coverage. Been watching the development of the Hammerhead unit. Love what they're doing, would love to buy and support, but it still looks pretty glitchy and a bit early to drop $400 on them.


If you want Trailforks, I think your only option is Garmin at the moment. The 520+ will work without cellular, but you would have to make sure you downloaded the trailforks route your Garmin beforehand, as it uses your phone's data to download the maps.

Personally, I haven't used the Trailforks app since my first time using the 520+ in an unknown trail. I just don't ride new trails very often, or I'm going with someone who already knows it. That said, I have gotten used to using the Garmin vs my old, 'dumb' cyclocomputer and like all the neat data it provides. It's also nice to see how much you've ridden in the past month, etc as the phone App syncs everything and keeps track of it all.


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

bryanus said:


> If you want Trailforks, I think your only option is Garmin at the moment. The 520+ will work without cellular, but you would have to make sure you downloaded the trailforks route your Garmin beforehand, as it uses your phone's data to download the maps.
> 
> Personally, I haven't used the Trailforks app since my first time using the 520+ in an unknown trail. I just don't ride new trails very often, or I'm going with someone who already knows it. That said, I have gotten used to using the Garmin vs my old, 'dumb' cyclocomputer and like all the neat data it provides. It's also nice to see how much you've ridden in the past month, etc as the phone App syncs everything and keeps track of it all.


Good to know and appreciate the update...sorry I missed this a few weeks ago.

I'm probably over thinking it. But would really like something to actually navigate with mounted on the bars, especially for out of town rides. Leaning toward the 1030 now because of the zoom/pan. Watching ebay and classifieds for a dealio. Reading the forum posts on the Hammerhead site, sadly, it looks very glitchy. I'd plunk down the $400 today if it was more refined.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

escrowdog said:


> Good to know and appreciate the update...sorry I missed this a few weeks ago.
> 
> I'm probably over thinking it. But would really like something to actually navigate with mounted on the bars, especially for out of town rides. Leaning toward the 1030 now because of the zoom/pan. Watching ebay and classifieds for a dealio. Reading the forum posts on the Hammerhead site, sadly, it looks very glitchy. I'd plunk down the $400 today if it was more refined.


FWIW, the 820 should give you improved zoom/pan capability in a smaller package (I prefer smaller).

What sort of nav assistance are you looking for for out of town rides? Are you looking for actual directions from the device, or are you fine with just a visual overview of a trail network? I ask because I use a variety of different methods depending on what's available.

My #1 preference is for good quality paper maps (Over The Edge sells maps on microfiber cloths that are pretty amazing, too). I'm fortunate that I live in an area where this sort of thing is plentiful and really high quality. I am also prone to collecting maps of places I've been. I kinda have a problem with that.
I'll take lower quality, more limited coverage paper maps if they're available, but these can vary from pretty good to an absolute mess.
Digital is my fallback plan. I load some trail data as a basemap onto my Garmin Edge 520. It's not going to tell me where I need to go, and not all trails are listed, but it's definitely better than a terrible photocopied hand-drawn paper map.
I also have MTBProject and Trailforks on my phone, too. These tend to fill gaps in my preferred digital maps (MyTrails layer on gpsfiledepot.com) and paper map availability. I do my best to limit looking at them on the trail, so this involves studying the trail network before heading out, which I'll do with paper maps, as well. I just love laying big paper maps out on a big table to plan out a ride.


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Harold said:


> FWIW, the 820 should give you improved zoom/pan capability in a smaller package (I prefer smaller).
> 
> What sort of nav assistance are you looking for for out of town rides? Are you looking for actual directions from the device, or are you fine with just a visual overview of a trail network? I ask because I use a variety of different methods depending on what's available.
> 
> ...


Ya, when riding dirt bikes in Colorado we always ran bar mounted gps and carried paper maps/gazetteer. The whole idea I guess, for me at least on the mtb, is to be able to just ride and look at the trailforks maps on my bars at a quick stop vs stopping, take off glove, unzip pocket, get out phone, hope I have signal, etc. and breaking it down for 5 min. I just want to look down and see a map on my screen and get a hint as to which way to turn. I don't need turn by turn nav or the closest starbucks, but just my current location on the trailforks maps would be great. AND to be able to zoom and pan on a screen big enough to make some sense.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Zooming and panning on an 820 is an exercise if frustration for me. I find the touch screen to be way too erratic, hardly ever doing what I want. With any moisture on the screen it goes bonkers. There's no panning on the 520 or 520+ and zooming takes many button pushes through menus, so not really practical, IMO.


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Lone Rager said:


> Zooming and panning on an 820 is an exercise if frustration for me. I find the touch screen to be way too erratic, hardly ever doing what I want. With any moisture on the screen it goes bonkers. There's no panning on the 520 or 520+ and zooming takes many button pushes through menus, so not really practical, IMO.


Right! That's what led me to the 1030. I'm okay with the larger size, screen is supposed to be better again than the 820...allegedly.

Sadly I fear what I'm looking for doesn't exist? I've got an old Garmin HCx I took off my KTM dirt bike and put on my Jeffsy. Great for a visual reference of location, but no way to load trailforks maps on it...I've tried. Plus I'd like the other cycling metrics.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

escrowdog said:


> Right! That's what led me to the 1030. I'm okay with the larger size, screen is supposed to be better again than the 820...allegedly.
> 
> Sadly I fear what I'm looking for doesn't exist? I've got an old Garmin HCx I took off my KTM dirt bike and put on my Jeffsy. Great for a visual reference of location, but no way to load trailforks maps on it...I've tried. Plus I'd like the other cycling metrics.


Oh, there are ways. You just might not like the work involved to make it happen.

The short of it is that you need to be able to convert gpx files into Garmin-compatible .img basemap files. Depending on how complicated of a basemap you want, you may need to do more steps. At its simplest, I've used a program called GPX2IMG to load .gpx files and convert them to a transparent basemap that I can then layer with other Garmin-compatible maps (like topo maps) in Basecamp or Mapsource.

The free version of GPX2IMG supports loading just a small number of .gpx files at one time, but the paid version, IIRC, has no such limits, so you can build out an entire large trail network with data from BOTH Trailforks and MTBProject (among others). This same method will work with the Edge 1030, too, fwiw.

I haven't played with that method in quite some time, as I've been able to use resources that already exist. But it still works. I do use layered topos and trail maps on my Edge 520 to check intersections, and with a little foreknowledge of the trail network, I don't need to mess with panning/zooming (which is definitely a shortcoming if you're totally unfamiliar with the trails).

It's also worth pointing out that both TF and MTBP will work without a cell signal on your phone, as long as you download the data for the state in question before you go out. So if I know reception is spotty, I'll turn off cellular networks and go gps-only on my phone and pull out either app if I need it. If I pull it out once, I'll generally leave the mapping app running when I put my phone away, so that subsequent checks are fairly quick. If I need to check nav on my gps or paper map, I'm stopping for just as long, anyway.


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## bryanus (Jun 1, 2008)

escrowdog said:


> Right! That's what led me to the 1030. I'm okay with the larger size, screen is supposed to be better again than the 820...allegedly.
> 
> Sadly I fear what I'm looking for doesn't exist? I've got an old Garmin HCx I took off my KTM dirt bike and put on my Jeffsy. Great for a visual reference of location, but no way to load trailforks maps on it...I've tried. Plus I'd like the other cycling metrics.


I think what you should try is to pick up a used 520/+ and give it a shot and see if it works for your needs. If it doesn't toss it back out on eBay...I found that using it just as a cyclocomputer offers a lot of neat features that I wasn't aware I was missing until I got mine. I like that it can show you what days you rode, for how long, speed/elevation overlays etc. And it's all sync'd to your phone (as well as the cloud). I also just discovered a setting I hadn't noticed before that enables voice directions. I haven't tried this yet, but sounds like it could sound out the turns when connected to your phone.


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## Catmandoo (Dec 20, 2018)

Or look at the Garmin Edge Explore. It's kind of a 1000 without a lot of the fitness oriented stuff. It's $249 and the same size as a 1000, so a tad smaller than a 1030, but much bigger than a 520. Plus it'll take 2nd party maps as well as can use a speed sensor, helpful for trail riding.

Dcrainmaker did a good review.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/07/garmin-edge-explore-review.html


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Catmandoo said:


> Or look at the Garmin Edge Explore. It's kind of a 1000 without a lot of the fitness oriented stuff. It's $249 and the same size as a 1000, so a tad smaller than a 1030, but much bigger than a 520. Plus it'll take 2nd party maps as well as can use a speed sensor, helpful for trail riding.
> 
> Dcrainmaker did a good review.
> 
> https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/07/garmin-edge-explore-review.html


Thanks for heads up on this! Looks to be more what I'm looking for!!


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Catmandoo said:


> Or look at the Garmin Edge Explore. It's kind of a 1000 without a lot of the fitness oriented stuff. It's $249 and the same size as a 1000, so a tad smaller than a 1030, but much bigger than a 520. Plus it'll take 2nd party maps as well as can use a speed sensor, helpful for trail riding.
> 
> Dcrainmaker did a good review.
> 
> https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/07/garmin-edge-explore-review.html


Picked up the Edge Explore. Just messing with getting it setup. If I'm NOT using it for on road navigation or finding the closest Whataburger, can I or should I delete the included base maps to free up space? It's now freezing ass cold here in KC so haven't been able to try it on the trail yet.


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## Catmandoo (Dec 20, 2018)

escrowdog said:


> Picked up the Edge Explore. Just messing with getting it setup. If I'm NOT using it for on road navigation or finding the closest Whataburger, can I or should I delete the included base maps to free up space? It's now freezing ass cold here in KC so haven't been able to try it on the trail yet.


I'd leave whatever maps you can keep till it wants more room


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Edge Explore...so using trailforks...

Is there a way to select an entire "group" of trails, like if we're heading to an area of crisscrossing trails and want to be able so see ALL the trails? Or do you have to select and download each individual trail? I have the whole state of MO downloaded in the trailforks app...but not sure how to make it show up? 

Once the individual trails are on the garmin, do I need to select those trails under the trailforks tab in order to view them on the screen while riding? And then do I need to actually build a route to see them? 

We took a 10 mile singletrack ride Saturday, I downloaded each individual trail for the area. I ASSumed they would populate the garmin base map even if I were just hitting the "ride" button to start recording (not following a route per se). It did not. This area is made up of like 8 different trail segments on trailforks, each downloaded...so how do I see the whole area so I can pan, zoom, etc.??


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## Catmandoo (Dec 20, 2018)

I think you can do this using Routes - Ride Planner. It seems you can view existing trails, then select them in sequence and build a route. Then save to gpx.

Note that I’m only seeing this on the site while viewing on an iPad, which doesn’t let me actually select trails. I’ve never done this so let us know if it works.


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Catmandoo said:


> I think you can do this using Routes - Ride Planner. It seems you can view existing trails, then select them in sequence and build a route. Then save to gpx.
> 
> Note that I'm only seeing this on the site while viewing on an iPad, which doesn't let me actually select trails. I've never done this so let us know if it works.


Hmmm...I guess I was hoping there was a way to just download the whole state or area to the Garmin? I see there is a "nearby trails" option under 'trailforks' on the Edge unit. I'm guess if I had selected this while I was in the parking lot it may have populated the map?


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## Catmandoo (Dec 20, 2018)

You need to spend some time with TrailForks to determine if it's possible to download as .gpx an entire set of available trails in a particular area. 

I was just able to select every trail in a local park. I'm not a TF member (as yet) so wasn't able to do anything with this selection and I'm unclear if it will require a route be generated, or can I just dump the trails and map to a device. That's what I think you desire, this way your Garmin will have the map as well as trails and you will then be able to see where you are.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

escrowdog said:


> Hmmm...I guess I was hoping there was a way to just download the whole state or area to the Garmin? I see there is a "nearby trails" option under 'trailforks' on the Edge unit. I'm guess if I had selected this while I was in the parking lot it may have populated the map?


You can do this, except there are a few more steps to it. IIRC, trailforks even does a few of them for you.

Last time I looked at it, trailforks required a donation to a trail org to access these files, but they do supply Garmin basemap files from their website. Download em, install onto your gps. Then the whole trail network is visible on the basemap of your Garmin.

Has nothing to do with their Garmin app, though.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


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## escrowdog (Oct 26, 2018)

Harold said:


> You can do this, except there are a few more steps to it. IIRC, trailforks even does a few of them for you.
> 
> Last time I looked at it, trailforks required a donation to a trail org to access these files, but they do supply Garmin basemap files from their website. Download em, install onto your gps. Then the whole trail network is visible on the basemap of your Garmin.
> 
> ...


Okay...got it! Thanks for explaining. I did donate $25 via trailforks a while back.

On my laptop I went here... https://www.trailforks.com/tools/garminmaps/ then scroll down and click on a state and it will download to your browser, connect Edge device with USB and drag the entire state to the main /garmin file. I then went into the menu on the Edge Explore, Ride Settings, Map, Map Information and disabled everything but the trailforks maps. The base map of streets is still visible around me, but panning around reveals trailforks trails highlighted. So this is cool! I was able to download the entire state of KS and MO.


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## railx (Feb 17, 2021)

Harold said:


> This is what happens when trying to follow mtb routes on any dedicated gps. I have no experience attempting to use similar functionality with any phone apps.
> 
> What is essentially going on is that the tolerance for being "off track" is too tight. That tolerance works fine on road, but dirt trails are not mapped as accurately, and for that matter, are not fixed so firmly upon the ground - the actual location migrates over time.
> Sounds can be disabled on the Edge 520 first thing I did when I got it
> ...


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