Anyone tried the TomTom Rider yet ?

[nisbeam]

Dont know if it is in the US yet, but I see that US maps are available.
I'm toying with the idea of a GPS, but cant decide to go Garmin (probably 2610) or TomTom Rider - I was interested because of the Bluetooth headset with the Rider. But having said that, I would probably go for an Autocom at some stage so maybe the TomTom headset isnt a selling point after all.

Anyone here tried one of these ?

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=TOMTOM_RIDER_GB

:03biker:

[Littlejohn64]

Dont know if it is in the US yet, but I see that US maps are available.
I'm toying with the idea of a GPS, but cant decide to go Garmin (probably 2610) or TomTom Rider - I was interested because of the Bluetooth headset with the Rider. But having said that, I would probably go for an Autocom at some stage so maybe the TomTom headset isnt a selling point after all.

Anyone here tried one of these ?

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=TOMTOM_RIDER_GB

:03biker:
I havent done any research on these, as Im happy with my SP III, but someone told me you cant build custom routes on the software for the Tom Tom, it only knows how to autoroute. Could be a bunch of baloney, but a good question to ask.

[nisbeam]

Good point Little John, thanks for the heads up. I like the look & size of the Tomtom Rider, but I think I'm tending towards the 2610, especially as it is quite a bit cheaper here in the UK. I also think the cash saved would be better spent on an Autocom so I can listen to MP3 and connect my phone as well. :03biker:

[tricky_micky]

Good point Little John, thanks for the heads up. I like the look & size of the Tomtom Rider, but I think I'm tending towards the 2610, especially as it is quite a bit cheaper here in the UK. I also think the cash saved would be better spent on an Autocom so I can listen to MP3 and connect my phone as well. :03biker:

If you want some help on the set up, I have the Autocom System fitted. I have the Honda RDS radio fitted, GPS is the Garmin 2610, I run bike to bike, rider to pillion, mobile phone, you name it, I run it through the Autocom system. It is very good.

My advice, before going for the GPS, look at what audio system you will be going for as that will be the head of your bike audio network. That should be your first purchase because the GPS is not a lot of good without those voice over prompts, my opinion anyway.

If you want to know more, let me know and I will help you as much as I can with any advice, instalation or whatever.

Mick

[nisbeam]

Hi Mick – thanks for the offer of help. My preference is for in-helmet sound and not external speakers. So the Autocom should be ideal.. Regarding audio, I would like to hook up some sort of MP3 and radio – iPOD perhaps – the only issue being remote control. I believe there is a remote iPOD unit but I don’t know if it is weatherproof..

As I don’t have a RDS radio I should be able to make some sort of holder in the left pocket for MP3 and phone. As my phone is Bluetooth I would need the Autocom adapter. Apart from this the Autocom should be fine for future additions of GPS, and probably bike-to-bike at some stage.
Would you think the Autocom could sit in the front pocket as well ? I presume I can power it from the quartet harness.
Thanks, Andy.
:03biker:

[tricky_micky]

Hi Mick – thanks for the offer of help. My preference is for in-helmet sound and not external speakers. So the Autocom should be ideal.. Regarding audio, I would like to hook up some sort of MP3 and radio – iPOD perhaps – the only issue being remote control. I believe there is a remote iPOD unit but I don’t know if it is weatherproof..

As I don’t have a RDS radio I should be able to make some sort of holder in the left pocket for MP3 and phone. As my phone is Bluetooth I would need the Autocom adapter. Apart from this the Autocom should be fine for future additions of GPS, and probably bike-to-bike at some stage.
Would you think the Autocom could sit in the front pocket as well ? I presume I can power it from the quartet harness.
Thanks, Andy.
:03biker:

Andy

I am not up on iPods, but I would think that they are not waterpoof. Before I got the 1300 which had already got the RDS radio fitted, I used to use a small radio cassette player and occasionally, a mini disc player.

All I did was to get a waterpoof carrier, and velcroed them to the top of the tank. I had a Baglux tank cover so it did not mark anything. From this position, I was able to adjust volume, switch it on and off etc. When I put the tank bag on, I just removed the carrier and put the radio in the top of the tank bag.

Regarding the bluetooth, I would buy the adapter from Autocom for £10.00, and have it all plugged into the system. Remember, the Autocom earpieces are quite large, and even when seated inside the helmet, your bluetooth earpiece could really give you some pain.

You can fit the unit into the left pocket, but there may be a heat issue, hence why I plummed for the rear of the bike and just fed the cables up to the front.

Mick

[EdsST]

There's a review of it here

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/tomtom-rider/

Good luck

[griffog]

And I have a RIDER fitted to my ST, very happy with it and having used Garmin SP's I prefer the TomTom.

[Burger]

Andy,

When I was researching GPS's two things put me off the Tom Tom... first was screen readability which simply isn't up to the Garmin standards in bright sunlight and the second was the price for the rider. I don't see what the rider has over the then 700 to justify the price hike, other than the fact it comes with a headset. I've also read of problems with the bluetooth implementation forgetting it's pairing settings but admittedly that was only when pairing with the Starcom bluetooth interface. As you probably know from my posts, I went with a Quest 2 which is the smallest you can get as portability was important to me. Sure the screen is small, but it isn't too small for the information you need it to display and so far I am delighted. MapQuest, the software that ships with Garmin is excellent for planning routes (once you learn to use it properly). I don't know what the Tom Tom software is like, but this should also be part of your decision in my opinion.

Regards,