I'm looking to get a GPS unit and was thinking of having it interchangable between the bike and car.

Is the TomTom Rider the way to go?

Does anyone have one of these?

The other option is a Garmin Zumo 550, which I personally would be leaning towards, but I haven't used the TomTom before.

I was on the market for a GPS too a couple of months back, so did a bit of research and found the Garmin better (can't remember why); in the end my mate ended up buying the Garmin for our road trip so I didn't have to.

have ran garmin gps for years but the tom toms are better there maps are easier to keep up to date and have better map system than garmin and cheaper

Hey Bazz, do you really need a GPS in St Helens? 

I think I could get by without one just about anywhere in Tas.

I can see the use for one if your trying to get about Melb for example.

I'm planning a trip to the US next year so want a GPS for that. I'll buy the North American map for the trip.

I was thinking of get the TomTom Rider so that I have covered all bases and be able to use it on the bike and in the car.

The cost difference between the TomTom standard and Rider is an $350 or so extra so it might not be worth it.

Quote from: techno on September 29, 2008, 06:04:25 PM
Hey Bazz, do you really need a GPS in St Helens? 

I think I could get by without one just about anywhere in Tas.

I can see the use for one if your trying to get about Melb for example.

st helens is a big place , jeez i still get lost in launceston 

I've used a bunch of different GPS over the years and they all have pro's and con's.

Right now I use both Garmin and TomTom. Both work great, but I like the ability to download maps from TomTom. You simply load "TomTom Home" and away you go. Sometimes a little hard to navigate but the mapping side is a piece of cake. Somewhere in the region of $120 for the various country maps which is cheaper than Garmin.

You can't go wrong either way.

Mick, do you think that it is worth while getting the TomTom Rider or just going with one of the standard ones and buying a seperate bracket to mount it on the bike?

I'm currently using my Palm Treo with the TomTom software and a Bluetooth GPS receiver. I have it mounted in a RAMS case which is waterproof.

I could use a Bluetooth headset, but don't.

The only problem I have with it is that in direct sunlight it's a bit hard to see, even with the brightness turned all the way up.

My wife has a Garmin Nuvi 310 which I have also considered as it's a lot brighter.

In the end my setup works and I don't have to carry a GPS, Phone & MP3 player.

A friend of mine uses a similar setup with a Nokia phone and it work good too. He's currently in Europe and plotting his way along using that setup.

If you already have a phone with a big screen, check out the TomTom site to see if supports your phone. A Bluetooth GPS is only $100 on Ebay, TomTom software $100 and maps $120. You also then have to get the mount $100 (directly from RAMS and you get local delivery!). So now you've spent $400 if you have a compatible phone.

Only you can decide if that's a good deal. If you had an iphone then all you'd need is a mount!

Options options options.....