Gleb Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 I've read alot about the accuracy of gps systems and everything and I think I'm going to buy a gps watch. I'm wondering if anyone knows if this watch will work well on the slopes or is it only ment for flat ground. Thanks in advance. http://cgi.ebay.com/Mens-Timex-IRONMAN-SPEED-DISTANCE-GPS-Watch-53501_W0QQitemZ8948091499QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3137QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmoore Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Gleb, I have no idea about the accuracy but, like you, I'm curious if others feel it's a worthwhile purchase. I have a wireless Flight Deck computer on my road bike and a traditional odometer on my road unicycle but have never tried a GPS for biking or boarding. There are more sophisticated models that will record vertical distance. Incidentally, you can use tinyurl.com to reduce those massive URLs. The one you posted can also be accessed by going to http://tinyurl.com/kaq4l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dragon fly jones Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 Has it nailed - they are (i hope) coming on as a sponors for the teams I ride and work with. Wrist top handlebar top and in the car garmin has it nailed - I have no idea how they pack it all in but I know it works. The new models are so explosive and detailed that you could get lost in downloading the rides travels heart rate and other info (on the personal training ones) that what you have left of a life will be taken up by that time wise. Now that is not to say that we do not have lives so get to doing the research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcross.au Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 i have a mate that uses one of those garmin fortreks on his sailboat, works well, great for distance averages over a course etc. and greatly accurate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 i have a Suunto H6XR and battery drain is huge... In winter ( using altimeter and sometimes Heart option) i have to change battery almost every 30 days! I'm sure a GPS on a watch would tear its battery life down... Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dold Posted June 21, 2006 Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 What's this "Belt Clip" thing they are talking about? Is there another thing you have to wear on your belt? After using basic computers over the years, I'm completely sold on having a GPS on the bike, but a real one with a moving map. My Garmin Etrex Legend is small, cheap, the battery lasts a long time (about 20 hours) and it's easy to see in the sun since it isn't color. It seems really accurate with speed and direction, the moving map is handy, and it's big fun using USAPhotomaps to put routes into the GPS, and look at tracks I've ridden. I ride to work a couple of times a week and it's fun to look at the track on the map and see how fast I was going at each point in the trip, etc. It's even better for mountain biking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted June 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2006 the watch doesn't have the gps transmitter built in but you wear the transmitter somewhere on you. I do plan to wear it as a regular watch sometimes, but I have a regular wegner with a broken wristband that I plan to fix soon. They do have a timex triatholon with an altimeter (also comes witrh heart rate monitor, which I don't really want) but its twice as expensive. I don't really care what altitude i'm at, I just care that the gps takes the altitude into account when taking my speed. The watch is pretty small compared to the watch which i just bought on Steepandcheap.com. I got a watch with a built in barameter but after i realized how bulky this thing actually is, I'm going to put it up on ebay for the reserve of how much I actually paid for it. Maybe I can make a little profit. Actually, I don't mind selling it one of you guys for $61 (watch was 53 and shipping was 8). Its a high gear summit. It comes in the mail today, so I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to sell it. If I sell my watch, I guess I'll spring for the gps watch and if it isn't what I expected, I'll put it back on ebay, even if it is at a slight loss. Thanks for the input guys and let me know if anyone wants the high gear summit watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 gleb, I saw that watch on s&c at 3 am and was ready to order one until it was Sold Out 15 minutes later. pretty sweet watch with an altimeter and barometer.I've always been a fan of the Casio G Shock.Last 3 days on the cape were windy and sunny. http://flickr.com/photos/goldfish17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 I was a Garmin/Motionbased beta tester for the 201. The 301 never showed up. So, have lots of info to share... First off, the Timex is crap. Garmin made the guts and appeared to use all the IP to make their branded products better. Many things have changes in the past several years...mostly: Heart Rate Reception Form Factor Software Since I work for the largest software company in the world...I'd say the software advances are the most important and the device is now a comodity. Garmin bought Motionbased.com in order to expand their capability. For the sakes of snowboarding, you're in a bad spot b/c any "tranportable" GPS device is going to want to see daylight. The larger ones "can" work in the backpack, but the signal may suck. The wristwatch device "can" be worn outside the glove, but don't exactly work well when flopping around. Perhaps the BIGGEST issue for snowboard is the turn radius and trackpoints. The 201/301 will take a reading approx every 10m, so your line on a small hill will look like a heart rate chart...rather than nice arcs down the hill. However, these are smoothed out if ridden over a larger area. Back to the software....Motionbased is a nice end-user tool and most of the GPS systems have a nifty API and/or interface to retrieve the data. This data can then be used in a variety of formats.....mostly XML. Luckily, most manufacturer's tables are consistent and can be used with MANY mapping tools on the market, including Google Earth (duck for cover). Expect better things to come from Uncle Bill. Here is an example of the data downloaded to Motionbased. Found one w/o heart rate so you don't know how bad I'm sucking wind on my recovery rides. The VERY nifty part is pulling of (for lack of better term) web parts from other sources of information (weather, for example). MB also does error corrections for discrepancy in elevation with verified typo sources. Nuff of that...here's the fun part. http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=-2&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=665401 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted June 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 gleb, I saw that watch on s&c at 3 am and was ready to order one until it was Sold Out 15 minutes later. pretty sweet watch with an altimeter and barometer.I've always been a fan of the Casio G Shock.Last 3 days on the cape were windy and sunny. http://flickr.com/photos/goldfish17 Ya I got actually the last one, or one of the last ones. It fits really nicely and has really good things on it, but it looks kinda big on my wrist. If you want it, send me an email. Ken, I plan to wear the wristwatch device around my bicep on the outside of my jacket, so signal should be pretty good. I'm liking the motionbased interface. After looking at that, I'm now thinking of just saving a little extra and going for the typical gps. I'll just get a cheap watch to wear on the slope that would withstand the abuse. My Swiss Wegner broke when it slid down my wrist a bit and I fell causing the band to break. I'm searching around the forums because I remember many discussions bout ordinary gps trackers and what not. I want a gps that updates every second or so. Thanks for all the input guys. Greatly appreciated. Edit: willy, i was looking through the photos and it looks amazing. I should be at the beach but school is kicking my ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 IMO....you would be better served to put a mount on your goggle strap or tuck it below your cap. The Garmin 201 and 301 can be nabbed for cheap on Amazon and Ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted June 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2006 I'll look into those, thanks kent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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