The Tom Tom Rider thread

Sadie · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Karma :

As you may know, I am product testing a Tom Tom Rider GPS system, and one of the things I have to do is discuss it on an internet forum. So here we go...

It arrived on Thursday, and I charged it up at work. The charger is the same for the Bluetooth headset as the Tom Tom, so they cannot be charged up at the same time. This could be a problem if you were touring and stopped at an hotel for the night, having to remember to recharge both. However, there is a cable to connect to your bike battery which will recharge the Tom Tom as you ride, so this may not be such a problem.

I found it very difficult to actually switch the Tom Tom and the headset on. You really have to exert a lot of pressure on the switches. I guess the advantage (in both cases) is that a simple bump over a pothole won't turn it off, but it was so difficult the first time, I thought the set was faulty.

However, having managed to turn it on, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to set up. It is very user friendly, and I managed to find my way around it without having to read an entire encyclopedia first.

I found the deed of fitting the bracket to the bike to be quite easy, although I think having small female hands may have been an advantage here. The screws to attach one part of the bracket to the other are quite small and easily droppable, although the set did come with spares.

So having turned it on and attached it to the bike, it was time to go and try it out. I had already put my home address in when setting it up, so I put in my destination, having searched for the road name, and off I went.

Unfortunately, it turned out that there are two Oundle Roads in Peterborough and I had selected the wrong one! Rolling Eyes

Fortunately, I knew where I was going and there was no real problem, but it did highlight the need to be absolutely precise when entering the address.

It did get me home correctly, however.

More adventures with my Tom Tom soon!
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Stevie GooGs · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :

I have been testing one for a while also and agree with a lot of your comments, i work for a GPS company. To be honest with using a lot of GPS equipment the Rider is as far the best options for bikes that i have found, it is the only real dedicated GPS system for bikes, i found the lack of Euro maps was a major factor and tomtom went from Tele atlas to Navteq maps which i did not find the best in Scotland. Another thing i thought was the headset should have been stereo not a single mono speaker or atleast the option for either.
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Scorpius · Scooby Slapper Joined: 19 Oct 2005 Karma :

Is there any chance the price will fall over time with the rider? I'm considering getting one but 600 is just too much tbh. Might get the Garmin i3 instead, heard thats good.
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ZZR-Souls · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

I need one of those for my Charity Ride Round Britain next year. Can anyone loan me one in return for an ad placed on the bike and a link/banner on the website?? Or can someone suggest where I may do such a deal?? Please??
Souls
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G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

Stevie:
Going a bit off topic, but have you tried any of the GPSMAP60 series?

map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

feef · Energiser Bunny Joined: 11 Feb 2002 Karma :

My GPS system is made up of a bluetooth GPS module from Ebay (£40) my iPAQ RX3715 pda, and a copy of Alturion GPS (professional edition)

the Alturion software comes with a copy for my laptop, as well as for the PDA, and being the Pro edition, includes maps for all of Europe as standard. the system works well, and has voice as well as visual prompts.

biggest drawback is weather-proofing for the PDA, so I stick it in the mappocket of the tank-bag for now, and route the audio output to the autocom (also works for playing MP3s ) I'm looking at building a weatherproof mount for the PDA.

a plugin you can buy (for very little) also provides speed-camera alerting.

Alturion update subscription service is about £40 per year iirc.

the laptop software allows you to create routes, and all associated gubbins, and also export map data to the PDA. it has the option of exporting map data for a specific route (to save spce) or to export entire, or partial map segments.

with an internet conention, the PDA will automatically update a weather-report for the route you're riding, and in the EU it has TMC, which is a system of traffic reports, so will re-route automatically if a road on your route is jammed before you get there. I leave my mobile with bluetooth enabled, and it connects automatically.

in all, I like the system, and think it has marginally more functionality than the tomtoms, (not including the versatility of the PDA itself) BUT weatherproofing (or lack of ) on the pda is a big drawback.

a
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Sadie · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Karma :

Went out today in the rain to check the waterproofness of the TomTom. I am happy to say that I had no problems whatsoever and it was pee'ing it down.

I have connected the charge wire to my bike battery and have discovered that, because the bike is charging the TomTom, when you place the TomTom in the bracket on the bike it automatically switches on, which saves quarrelling with the switch.

I am off to Europe on the bike shortly and have ordered the European maps. Although I can see an SD Card with all the European maps on the TomTom website, I am informed that this is not available until June. I have therefore ordered an SD card and the maps on CD. I shall let you know how easy it is to convert one to the other.

I'm looking forward to going a bit further afield, because so far I've only been able to check out routes that I already know, although today it did take me over to my mate's house via the usual main road route, and took me back home via all the nice back roads.
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Sadie · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Karma :

Method · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Karma :

I never knew there were two oundle roads in Peterborough Sadie...

Infact im pretty sure there isnt Confused

Beings as i live on "one" of them Laughing

Realy debating getting a GPS system, its not often i go storming off places im unsure how to get to - but its those odd few times i do, that i realy feel the need for something better than a map.

Its just the cost of the things thats stopping me at the moment unfortunately Thumbs Down

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Sadie · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Karma :

For Method
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Method · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Karma :

Its the same road... Oundle road (Also known as the A605) starts in like Elton and runs straight through to london road in town.

That multimap just shows two ends of the same road.

Check this streetmap. That shows about 8 locations on the same road.

Laughing

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Sadie · World Chat Champion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Karma :

Discovered tonight what a hardy wee bit of trickery the TomTom is.

I neglected to click it in properly to the bracket on the way home from work tonight. Got about 200 yards and it fell off the bike at about 20mph and bounced down the road for about 20 yards.

I picked it up, put it back on the bike (securely this time) and it got back to doing the job it was designed for.
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MadDogMcQ · Derestricted Danger Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Karma :

Hi people! I recently bought a TomTom Rider too. Got it from Halfords for £425 with a mate's discount card. I originally fitted it to the handlebars but found it next to useless down there, so I remounted onto the Givi Screen that I have fitted. Now it's brilliant!! What a difference it is when it's mounted almost at eye level - much more practical to use. I just need to extend the power cable to reach the unit's new position.

https://www.mcqart.com/xj600/images/tomtom1.jpg

https://www.mcqart.com

MadDogMcQ · Derestricted Danger Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Karma :

And can I suggest.... that you add a new splashscreen to your TomTom such as the sample below in case your TomTom gets lost?

I know, I know, most people who found one would just nick it, but there are some honest people out there who would love nothing better than to return it to its rightful owner - so make it easy for them!

All you need to do to create one of these is to create the image in your favourite paint-program and then resize it to 320x240 pixels, then rotate it 90 degrees right, so that it's on it's side. Save it as a Windows "bmp" file. Then copy it to your TomTom's card, over-writing the existing splash.bmp.
https://www.mcqart.com/xj600/images/reward.jpg

https://www.mcqart.com

Tom.

MadDogMcQ · Derestricted Danger Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Karma :

biggerjohn · Spanner Monkey Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Karma :

I thought I would chirp in with my thoughts on my shiny new Tom-Tom Rider

I have had it about a week now I found mounting it was very easy as was the set up.

The headset fits comfortably into the helmet and the voice prompts are clear and easy to follow but I think it could use a little more volume to cope with high wind noise.

Following the instructions is easy even complicated junctions are clearly shown and with just a glance you can plan your coarse though easily and safely.

As said it is waterproof and usable with gloves.

And I just love the audio alert when approaching speed cameras and the clear display that shows the posted speed limit for the road at that point.

The niggles and there really are only that.

The SD card could have been bigger to support more voices and POI

My phone will not sync up with the Tom-Tom Rider to allow hands free calling although the Sony Ericson P910i works with the Tom-Tom 700 it will not work with the Rider a bit of a shame as I was hoping not to have to change phones.

I think it also would have been nice to have the option to hard wire it to your bikes Autocom rather that just the Bluetooth headset.

Also would have been nice as it supplies a glove friendly weatherproof interface if it had a second SD slot and the ability to play mp3’s.

Lastly and probably my biggest niggled it would have been nice to be able to plan out a root on the PC and download it into the Rider as setting a complicated root within the small screen isn’t ideal. If any one had any tips on best how to do this I would love to hear them.

MadDogMcQ · Derestricted Danger Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Karma :

Hi John,
I was a bit disappointed too to find that my phone wasn't compatible with the TTR (I have an SPV-C500). I noticed on TT's website that the SPV C600 is compatible, so I rang Orange and they're sending me a free upgrade, so that's good news. It's worth noting too, that the C600 is also an MP3 player, so you could listen to some tunes thru the bluetooth connection!

I'm not sure, but is it not possible to set a route and then save that route? If that was the case, you could sit comfortably on the couch at home and lay in a route, save it and then recall it when you get it on your bike. I'll look into that when I get home.

Tom

biggerjohn · Spanner Monkey Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Karma :

Flip · Super Spammer Joined: 28 Feb 2004 Karma :

MadDogMcQ · Derestricted Danger Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Karma :

No, it's the "mirror mounting" kit. Works a treat. Done 800 miles with it in that position and it's never moved a millimetre!

Darren Griffin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Karma :

dfullwood1 · L Plate Warrior Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Karma :

Can any current users tell me if the tomtom rider can be programed for secondary roads? (Avoiding freeways, interstates, or major traffic motorways)

biggerjohn · Spanner Monkey Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Karma :

There are a few root planning options you can use

Avoiding toll roads
Avoiding Motorways (freeways to the yanks)
By shortest root
By Quickest Root
Bicycle root
And walking root (ignoring traffic rules)

My suggestion after using it for a few weeks it to set towns as way points and just head off on the roads that look right and let the rider recalculate as you go.
It works for me when I am out for a ride with no real destination in mind.

snuff2005 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 20 Nov 2005 Karma :

if any of you lot take it round europe could u let me know how it fairs coz im thinking of going on a wee tour wen i pass my test and i want to take a gps system with me, as well as the good old maps.

any feed back would be welcome
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