kwieto wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 7:16 am
You may search for TwoNav devices, I know bike users who are happy with them
Thanks for the suggestion. I had a look at them once before but as far as I can see TwoNav's ecosystem is almost entirely cloud-based, which doesn't work for me. Also, the desktop application, Land, requires an online account and is apparently very limited in features unless you subscribe.
Perhaps you could post back letting me know what aspects of the TwoNav devices the bike users you know liked?
JungleJim wrote:
Not sure about the POI search, I think (but am not 100% sure) that data is not coming from the map itself but from a different database. Address search works with custom maps if those maps include address data (not all do).
I can get in touch with Garmin directly and ask about this. I find their support team very helpful, which is one reason I'm still looking at their products.
In my experience with the Edge cycling computers (see signature) I’ve never felt the need to use custom maps. The cycling maps (now integrated in Garmin’s TopoActive maps) worked fine for me.
I like keeping my options open. I don't want to pay for a device where the maps for my region fall short of my needs and I can't do anything to improve them except wait for Garmin to update them. My reading suggests Garmin can take quite some time to provide updates to things like this, if ever.
Backup is easy, just copy the relevant files (locations.fit, activity fit files, course fit files, etc) from the device to your computer. To restore, copy them to the Garmin\NewFiles folder. See this Garmin support article for more info.
That's good news. I can work with that. I'm guessing I can probably import them directly into BaseCamp afterwards.
Note that the Edge Explore 2 uses MTP to communicate via USB, not all devices support connecting to an MTP client. On macOS you need a 3rd party utility like OpenMTP to access the files.
Yeah, that's a pain. I actually tried OpenMTP as an alternative to Android Transfer Agent and it crashed on launch with an error message every time. I've just downloaded an older version, hopefully it'll work.
Just to give something back: there's a fork that fixes some issues available
here. It's ARM only so newer Macs only.
From what I read on different forums, accuracy is fine but the Explore 2 does not have multi-band. It does have multi-GNSS, with GPS, Galileo and GLONASS.
So long as it's more accurate than a smartphone and has a faster first fix time, it'll do for the moment.
One other thing of note though is that the Explore 2 doesn’t allow creating custom activity profiles. It comes with three profiles (road, off-road and indoor) that you can customize, but you cannot create new ones.
I'm not actually sure what this means. I'll download the user guide and see if this is going to be an issue.
I’d suggest checking some YouTube videos, there are plenty available. For example DC Rainmaker (aka Garmin fanboy :P), gpsradler, DesFit, and many more.
Thanks, seeing the device in action would be useful.
And finally, the Edge Explore 2 was released in 2022 so it’s quite old now by Garmin standards.
[...]
That's actually a positive in my book. It means I can expect the device to be more likely to be available second-hand and it'll be more stable.
PPS I honestly think your limiting your options by not wanting to use cloud.
...
But that’s my personal opinion.
I hear you. It's a preference of mine. Once you've had your information stolen online and lost access to accounts holding personal info, I think it's natural to try to limit exposure in the future. It's just a shame that device manufacturers push people to cloud-based devices - even when it's largely unnecessary. I think it speaks more to a desire to have access to a pool of user data to work with, for whatever reason. But, that's only
my personal opinion ;) .
), gpsradler, DesFit, and many more.