TomTom Rider v2 Or Similar

[maraach]

Hey guys,

Quick question. Looking at getting a GPS in order to help out with directions in a riding holiday i'm planning. Seems like the run of the mill for bikes is the TomTom Rider v2. However i've got a few questions, does anyone use one? Are they any good?

Most importantly, are they worth the money? A couple things i have noticed is that they are significantly more expensive than most other GPS systems (best price i have got so far is $690 from JB Hifi). Trying to work out whether i should just get another cheapish one and not care what happens to it as its mainly being used for a single trip... Also trying to understand why the same model costs US$260 in the US (AU$350) but retails for $800 here... some things just aren't fair.

[waynemorgan]

Hi,

Not sure about the Tom Tom Rider but I'm experimenting with an old HP iPaq with an external bluetooth GPS receiver and my Nokia N95 as well. 2 types of software - iGo V6 on iPaq and Garmin MobileXT on N95. Havn't mounted either on the bike to see the screen - just keeping them in my top pocket with the earphones in for voice only navigation.

Both seem to work ok. GMXT seems to have slightly better directions but iGo recalculates routes much faster.

I'd be happy to mount the iPaq to the bike (cause it's old) and use it over the N95 at this stage.

Bluetooth receiver cost $79 off eBay
iGo v6 was $49 off eBay
Garmin Mobile XT was $25 off eBay and has lots of handy features like POI

not sure if that helps you but it's certainly cheaper and one less gadget to carry around.

Cheers,
Wayne

[maraach]

interesting bit of info.. time to get the ipaq out of the cupboard i think