Question for the Garmin experts

[chrismechmaster]

I have a garmin 830 edge and am running it with a orbea rise with the shimano motor

on the Garmin it has the shimano steps screen but I can only get 4-5 pieces of info on this screen

So I went into data screen a build myself a ebike screen which as all the information I would like

Every time I turn the bike on the bike connects to the 830 and goes straight to the Shimano step screen and displays into or working ok

but if I then go to my custom e bike data screen i Created the screen does not display anything at all it’s like it’s not connected to the bike

how do i get the bike to connect to this data field page instead of defaulting to the shimano steps screen

 

[mark.ai]

Sorry, a few questions to ask, to understand better

• Is your custom data screen part of an activity?
• Do you start the activity when you want to connect to your bike?
• Have you added your bike as a "sensor" on the Edge?

When you mention that when you turn on the bike it goes straight to the Shimano Steps screen - that sounds really weird to me, as I've never had that happen on my Edge 1030. When I start the activity then it always starts on the first page of data. When I turn on the bike and the Edge connects to it, then data starts being displayed and it doesn't change page or anything. I do have the Shimano Steps screen as one of the pages, but I have to switch to it manually.

 

[Bigkatoomer]

Hi Chris

you can choose which screen appears in which order by going into Garmin settings, activity profiles and then where you can add a new screen or remove screen you can also reorder screens and they can be selected on visible, not visible and visible when enabled, such as segments and hillclimb and ebike. there are Fields that you can use in a custom screen that will have the data from Shimano steps. I had that set up that you are trying for, so make sure in your custom Fields you are selecting, I believe, from ebike category for things like battery and assist level. I gave these things up when I disabled the steps menu and installed and enabled the RS toolbox menu. At this point the custom Fields stopped responding, obviously the Shimano steps menu no longer appeared, but what I could do is customise the RS toolbox fields via connect IQ, to have all the fields to do with ebike that I wanted and then the custom screen had all the other Fields that I would want so I can scroll between the two for e-bike and non e-bike Fields. The benefit of going for the RS toolbox is the activity periods and battery level and assist levels are stored against that activity in your history.

I hope that helps

Will

 

[Gary]

Same as Mark says for my 530 (which is basically a 830 without the touch screen)
I have 3 data screens set up in my EMTB profile one shows normal bike data. ie. Time of day, speed, cadence, HR etc. another is a custom Emtb page and the other is the steps page. I rarely ever look at the emtb data. it always starts up in the normal page and I can scroll through maps, elevatrion profile and the two emtb data pages.

 

[Hale_Storming]

Hi Guys,

Im trying to determine which Garmin to buy and wondered if you could help me decide which one to purchase.

I have a YT Decoy Elite with the E8000 motor. I need GPS to guide me on natural trials in the Alps, sometimes riding alone. Other features such as heart rate monitor would ne nice but i consider them nice to have but not necessary.

The Garmin Edge Explore looks good value for money but im unsure if i should pay the extra cost for the Garmin Edge 830, or if there are othe GPS devices i should consider.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Gyre]

Hi Guys,

Im trying to determine which Garmin to buy and wondered if you could help me decide which one to purchase.

I have a YT Decoy Elite with the E8000 motor. I need GPS to guide me on natural trials in the Alps, sometimes riding alone. Other features such as heart rate monitor would ne nice but i consider them nice to have but not necessary.

The Garmin Edge Explore looks good value for money but im unsure if i should pay the extra cost for the Garmin Edge 830, or if there are othe GPS devices i should consider.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I haven't tried an Explore but in general the Edge 530 is a safe bet if you want a lot of features and reasonably good trail map guidance.

 

[Chicane]

Too add and ask a question. I also use the RS Toolbox and 2 other custom data screens for miles, total ascent, ect. that I scroll through. I also chose Ebike battery % and assist mode in my custom screens, but they display 0. I can only see these 2 functions in my RS Toolbox screen. Is there a way to see the battery % in the Non RS Toolbox screen? I have the 830.

 

[Gary]

@Hale_Storming
If you're going to be using the screen map a lot and looking for stuff rather than just following a pre-set route The 830s touchscreen will be well worth it over the 530 as scrolling/panning with the buttons is horrible.
I never use my 530 for mapping at all. but still have an old EDGE 800 with touch screen on my roadbike and even though it's a 10yr old device it's sooo much nicer to use when looking at maps.

 

[Growmac]

@Hale_Storming
If you're going to be using the screen map a lot and looking for stuff rather than just following a pre-set route The 830s touchscreen will be well worth it over the 530 as scrolling/panning with the buttons is horrible.
I never use my 530 for mapping at all. but still have an old EDGE 800 with touch screen on my roadbike and even though it's a 10yr old device it's sooo much nicer to use when looking at maps.

Hate to disagree, but I have an 830 and the touchscreen is rubbish for mountain biking. It doesn't work well with gloves, and while I'm ready to believe that the maps are terrible with the 530, they are pretty bad on the 830 too. Very clunky and hard to use. I just get my phone out.

I love the 830, but honestly, if you really want the touchscreen, get a 530 and I'll happily no-cost swap you. Genuinely.

EDIT: The 830 touchscreen is capacitive, which is why it's horrible with gloves or when wet. I also have an old 800, and the resistive touchscreen was okay. Not great, but perfectly okay. This is a downgrade in real-life use.

 

[Gary]

I don't ever wear gloves @Growmac

I'll happily swap you my 530. Will PM you now

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

Hate to disagree, but I have an 830 and the touchscreen is rubbish for mountain biking. It doesn't work well with gloves, and while I'm ready to believe that the maps are terrible with the 530, they are pretty bad on the 830 too. Very clunky and hard to use. I just get my phone out.

I love the 830, but honestly, if you really want the touchscreen, get a 530 and I'll happily no-cost swap you. Genuinely.

EDIT: The 830 touchscreen is capacitive, which is why it's horrible with gloves or when wet. I also have an old 800, and the resistive touchscreen was okay. Not great, but perfectly okay. This is a downgrade in real-life use.

I've seen that comment a few times. I've got neither but I do have an Oregon 550t and a GPSMap 64s, the GPSMap is far better because it's usable with gloves in winter and the actual touch interface of the 550t isn't really that good.

 

[mark.ai]

Too add and ask a question. I also use the RS Toolbox and 2 other custom data screens for miles, total ascent, ect. that I scroll through. I also chose Ebike battery % and assist mode in my custom screens, but they display 0. I can only see these 2 functions in my RS Toolbox screen. Is there a way to see the battery % in the Non RS Toolbox screen? I have the 830.

I think the problem here is that with RS Toolbox, you can't also have your bike connected as a sensor to the Edge 830 (both connections use ANT+ I think).

I don't know if this might work, but you could try using this data field for battery % in the Non RS Toolbox screen: STEPS EMTB Data | Garmin Connect IQ . It uses bluetooth to connect, so possibly it may work alongside RS Toolbox - or it may just not work either If it does work I'm interested to know, as I still haven't tried RS Toolbox ...

 

[RickBullotta]

Hi Guys,

Im trying to determine which Garmin to buy and wondered if you could help me decide which one to purchase.

I have a YT Decoy Elite with the E8000 motor. I need GPS to guide me on natural trials in the Alps, sometimes riding alone. Other features such as heart rate monitor would ne nice but i consider them nice to have but not necessary.

The Garmin Edge Explore looks good value for money but im unsure if i should pay the extra cost for the Garmin Edge 830, or if there are othe GPS devices i should consider.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Your smartphone will be a far superior option for navigating - better apps, better screen, better user interface.

 

[Growmac]

Your smartphone will be a far superior option for navigating - better apps, better screen, better user interface.

Yes, but also no. The GPS will have an always on screen, the battery life is far, far better, it's a lot more robust. And it means that your phone is safely tucked away and not going flat so that it will be available for use should you need it. And it's easy to modify a route on phone and send it over to the GPS should you change your mind on where you're going.

 

[Chicane]

I think the problem here is that with RS Toolbox, you can't also have your bike connected as a sensor to the Edge 830 (both connections use ANT+ I think).

I don't know if this might work, but you could try using this data field for battery % in the Non RS Toolbox screen: STEPS EMTB Data | Garmin Connect IQ . It uses bluetooth to connect, so possibly it may work alongside RS Toolbox - or it may just not work either If it does work I'm interested to know, as I still haven't tried RS Toolbox ...

I’m not sure I even want to retry this as I’ve read that you have to have one or the other for the RS Toolbox to work.

 

[RickBullotta]

Yes, but also no. The GPS will have an always on screen, the battery life is far, far better, it's a lot more robust. And it means that your phone is safely tucked away and not going flat so that it will be available for use should you need it. And it's easy to modify a route on phone and send it over to the GPS should you change your mind on where you're going.

Yes, but also no. ;-) I bought an old iPhone and put it in an Otterbox, so I have no concerns about damaging it. All the radios are off, so battery life is "good enough" for a half day of riding. I just find the small screen and horrific pan/zoom/scroll capabilities of Garmin devices to be virtually useless when moving. For true epics, I just bring a small USB battery pack along in my backpack if needed.

 

[mark.ai]

I’m not sure I even want to retry this as I’ve read that you have to have one or the other for the RS Toolbox to work.

Yep, that's because both RS Toolbox and the standard data fields use ANT+ to communicate. Whereas the data field I linked uses Bluetooth and does not need the bike adding as a sensor. It will either work or it won't

 

[Growmac]

Yes, but also no. ;-) I bought an old iPhone and put it in an Otterbox, so I have no concerns about damaging it. All the radios are off, so battery life is "good enough" for a half day of riding.

Does the GPS work with the radios off? It never used to. Interesting...

 

[johnc]

What do you mean by radios?

 

[Growmac]

What do you mean by radios?

Cellular, Bluetooth and wifi radios on the phone. Used to be if you turned them all off by using airplane mode the GPS receiver was also turned off.

 

[Chicane]

Yep, that's because both RS Toolbox and the standard data fields use ANT+ to communicate. Whereas the data field I linked uses Bluetooth and does not need the bike adding as a sensor. It will either work or it won't

I added the Steps to test last night and as soon as it started to display the Battery% in my custom data screen, I scrolled back to the RS Toolbox and the screen was gone, back to searching. I only had 1 Steps box(battery %) added and it can be simply removed on the bike and the RS Toolbox comes right back.

 

[Blokie]

Cellular, Bluetooth and wifi radios on the phone. Used to be if you turned them all off by using airplane mode the GPS receiver was also turned off.

Turning them all off individually is different from airplane mode - that is the sledgehammer approach for everything, including GPS. I think these days as opposed to specifically turning on/off GPS it's "location", as it uses both GPS and wifi where it can to increase accuracy.

 

[mark.ai]

I added the Steps to test last night and as soon as it started to display the Battery% in my custom data screen, I scrolled back to the RS Toolbox and the screen was gone, back to searching. I only had 1 Steps box(battery %) added and it can be simply removed on the bike and the RS Toolbox comes right back.

Thanks for trying that! A shame it doesn't work though - I guess it shows that only one connection of any type can work at a time ?

 

[Growmac]

Well, I've put my money where my mouth is. I'm swapping my 830 for Gary's 530. I'll let you know whether I'm an idiot or genius.

 

[Sapientiea]

Hi Guys,

Im trying to determine which Garmin to buy and wondered if you could help me decide which one to purchase.

I have a YT Decoy Elite with the E8000 motor. I need GPS to guide me on natural trials in the Alps, sometimes riding alone. Other features such as heart rate monitor would ne nice but i consider them nice to have but not necessary.

The Garmin Edge Explore looks good value for money but im unsure if i should pay the extra cost for the Garmin Edge 830, or if there are othe GPS devices i should consider.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I own or have owned many Garmin GPSs. From the Oregon400, 600, 700 (hiking) to 530, 830, Explore. All of them are good, but for biking I like the Explore. Little less (software) bullshit stuff on it ( still heart rate and such, it can also be paired with the e-bike). And it is not so expensive (relatively). All extra options are mostly software shenanigans, hardware is usually the same. Explore is very well readable in sunlight due to the light-reflective background, but most garmin devices have this nowadays. If I were you I would go for Explore (larger screen

 

[Hale_Storming]

I own or have owned many Garmin GPSs. From the Oregon400, 600, 700 (hiking) to 530, 830, Explore. All of them are good, but for biking I like the Explore. Little less (software) bullshit stuff on it ( still heart rate and such, it can also be paired with the e-bike). And it is not so expensive (relatively). All extra options are mostly software shenanigans, hardware is usually the same. Explore is very well readable in sunlight due to the light-reflective background, but most garmin devices have this nowadays. If I were you I would go for Explore (larger screen

Thanks for your advice! I went to the Garmin shop today and prefered the bigger screen of the Explore. Following peoples advice on here, I'll be using "breadcrumb maps" i.e. Uploading routes from Komoot. Have you done this with the Explore and if so, did it work okay?

Thanks!

 

[Chicane]

Well, I've put my money where my mouth is. I'm swapping my 830 for Gary's 530. I'll let you know whether I'm an idiot or genius.

I had the 520 and now the 830 which I much prefer, as it’s way quicker and easier to scroll for me. Good luck!

 

[Growmac]

I had the 520 and now the 830 which I much prefer, as it’s way quicker and easier to scroll for me. Good luck!

This is the Edge 530, so should be just as quick as the 830 - it's the same bar the touchscreen.

It turned up this morning, cheers Gary! Not used it in anger yet, but Garmin Connect appears to have transferred all my screens and settings across without my input, and the controls seem straightforward and easy. Obviously time will tell, but first impressions are very good.

 

[Growmac]

Three months later, I remain very happy with my swap to the 530. Far easier to use in gloves, especially in the wet. In fact the only downside is that it’s marginally harder to check the temperature, and if I really cared I could put it on the screen.

So yeah, I’m pleased. Cheers Gary!

 

[StuE]

Hi Guys,

Im trying to determine which Garmin to buy and wondered if you could help me decide which one to purchase.

I have a YT Decoy Elite with the E8000 motor. I need GPS to guide me on natural trials in the Alps, sometimes riding alone. Other features such as heart rate monitor would ne nice but i consider them nice to have but not necessary.

The Garmin Edge Explore looks good value for money but im unsure if i should pay the extra cost for the Garmin Edge 830, or if there are othe GPS devices i should consider.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I have had an Explore for 10 months, it's ok but battery life is not great I would look at one of the more expensive models