Planning and navigating a cycling route on and Edge 1000 is just too cumbersome, too many steps, once you are executing the route you can't change it if you choose to, plus the base maps must be provisioned, loaded and updated. Cant imagine needing to do any of these steps with the standard of navigation, Google Maps.
Google Maps has all the base maps and cycling directions allow you to reroute on course, however I cant read the Google Maps screen while on the bike, I cant force Google Maps to maintain a preplanned course if I choose to, and I can't plan a cycling course that excludes unpaved or mixed use trails, plus the battery on my phone will not last a ride if the screen remains on. I have taken to navigating with only Google Maps voice directions on my phone loudspeaker, which is at best a poor solution.
Best technology I have right now is still a paper maps.
Garmin needs to move away from a fixed route downloaded to the Edge 1000 to some sort of service with live maps, live course recalculation, but with enough control over the route to allow the rider to choose and maintain a route if she chooses to, or reroute by simply steering out of the preplanned route, while still retaining the Garmin Edge advantages of battery life and screen legibility (though map legibility is not great either on the Edge 1000 with sunglasses on). Such a service can be developed by combining the Edge 1000 with the intelligence and communication provided by the phone.
Check out the Komoot app, it does the navigation well, it recalculates, presents the map to the rider quite nicely, I just need to be able to view the Komoot map though the Edge 1000 on my handlebars.
Garmin needs to work this out, or its a sitting duck for some start-up that offers me a practical cycling navigation device.
I ride with a group of some 20 riders, most have Garmin 1000 or 800s, only one rider actually plans routes, the rest will only download a route offered by somebody else. Wake up Garmin, get up to speed, your devices are physically very good, but your software is several generations behind the times.
