To 810 or not to 810... (Computer advice)

I have had a 705 with the fancy training functions and now have an Edge Plus (Edge but i use the HRM strap off the 705 to record heart rate when I am 'training').

I am sure the 800+ series is very good, though there is a learning curve! If you have a need for ghost racings on TTs or complex workouts then thats your buy.

If you want something that will give you open cycle maps for Europe out of the box and easy use then the Edge Plus is an excellent buy. I recently lost my 705 into a canal (!) and bought an Edge two days before doing a 600 Audux ride that relied heavily on tracks and was totally fine. Phew. Easy. I don't miss the advanced training functions of the 705 at all. I have never touched the 'make a route' options on the Edge and I suspect I never will.

Also note that Garmins are not erally big enough to tell you where you are like a map can, the screen just isn't big enough. If you are in vaguely familiar territory you can work stuff out, but if you are (say) riding in Europe you will still need a map. If you get totally lost you can type in a viallage name and they will take you there. Best download a GPX and follow it!

And for strava - why not just use your phone?!

There is an edge (not plus so no HRM) on sale over on yacf.co.uk for 150 at the moment... https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=86172.0

I love my 800, much better than the previous Garmins I owned which were full of bugs and faults.
The basemaps it comes with are useless but if you get it without maps you can download good maps for free but it's easier just to buy Garmin city navigator for about 30 quid unless you enjoy messing about with computers and stuff.

Don't ignore some of the walking-orientated units(Etrex, Oregon etc) - Etrexes are often used by Audaxers. You don't get some of the cyclocomputer functions, but the mapping stuff's there, with the convenience of AA cells rather than having to faff with external battery packs. Some receive Ant+ hrm data too, tho' only display/log instantaneous values.

I like my 800. I like to pre-plan a ride on RidewithGPS.com and load it up before I set out. Never had a problem with it losing GPS signal. The 810 just didn't seem like much of an upgrade when it came out. i.e. Bluetooth to a phone but not to sensors.

Then the 1000. I didn't fancy the change to a capacitive screen from a resistive one. I ride half the year in gloves so it would be a right pain. Although I do like the ability to a connect to a SMEWW01 equipped Di2 setup. Garmin really should enable that in a firmware update to the 800/810 but I guess that's not going to happen while they want to sell more 1000's

So I'll be keeping the 800 for a while.

I've struggled massively with the 800 in terms of it losing satellite reception every time you come to a critical junction; got lost so many times in areas I wanted to explore it was driving, sorry riding me mad. I send it back to Wiggle, got full refund and got myself a very early Xmas present with the Edge 1000, which is in a different league altogether. It also helps having a bigger screen if you're using it mostly for mapping, plus the Glonass satellite capability really improves gps signal. It's expensive admittedly, but I see it as a long term investment, plus no additional costs for maps.

got an 800 and love it

As above, I just bought the Touring Plus for its round trip option. Put in a distance and it'll find three routes for you to choose. It has at least UK wide, if not Europe, maps and cost is not high.
I like mine.

I have an 810 love it, it is aimed more at the number crunching rider than the navigating rider, If I was looking for a GPS for mapping I would go for the Garmin EdgeTouring, cheeper price than an 810 and has a few navigation tricks that the 810 does not, you can set it to do round trips of a pre set distance or time.