Is GPS Practical For Your Bicycle?

If you are an avid touring cyclist, I’m sure you will enjoy any of the many cycling gps units on the market. Nothing creates more pressure for me then having to stop riding to decide exactly where I’m at.  It used to be a routine of looking for road signs and then estimating your location and distance remaining on your ride.  Any cyclist is familiar with the routinewhether mountain biking or touring. GPS technology has provided us with a great answer to this problem with the production of the many cycling GPS units on market. In fact, there are now so many cycling and handheld GPS units available that you really should read some GPS reviews before deciding which is the best for you.

GPS navigation for travel have been around for quite some time but it is only fairly recent that major GPS system manufacturers have started producing cycling GPS systems. The basic benefit of the cycling GPS receiver is that it will tell the user the exact location of user. Nothing could help the rider more with enjoying the ride then knowing the distance to his destination or how far that unmarked back road is from his position and all provided with just a fast glance at his cycling GPS.  Cycling GPS has definitely improved the safety level of touring or mountain biking for that matter.  No more having to guess on positioning and distance and most importantly, no more taking that precious extra time of searching for road signs and estimating travel time. The new cycling GPS receivers do all the hard work for you and allow you to simply select maintain your speed.
These new devices are easy to use and quite affordable. The basic uses allow you to instantly know the exact location they go beyond that.  As each new model comes on the market they seem to provide you with more and more choices.  Many are available with a handlebar mounting bracket and this makes their use more practical then ever.

The majority of roads and park trails in the United States have already been mapped so the advantage of using the GPS is obvious.  Garmin made their name in the GPS field and they offer a good variety of cycling GPS units.  They provide a good variety of functions beyond the basics.  Of course you still have do the cycling but your ride will become much more enjoyable.  These units can be literal life savers if you do a lot of off road mountain biking.  Just decide which model fits your individual needs, set the destination and start riding.  Cycling GPS is becoming one the more popular bicycle accessories on the market.  You are in for a much improved ride.

Tags: bicycle accessories, cycling gps, garmin, gps navigation, gps reviews

The Popularity Of Bicycle Touring

Touring on road bicycles has become more and more popular.  When I was young, I first recall seeing men on touring bicycles climbing the highways through the mountain areas of Vermont and New Hampshire.  I was intrigued watching these riders climbing the long inclines without letting up.  Loving the outdoors and especially the mountains, I knew this was the only way to really enjoy the magnificent views.  It was then that I realized the type of bicycle they were riding was much different then the mountain bike I grew up with.

A few months ago I met a man in his late 50′s who lived in the north east.  Each summer he would fly with his bicycle to the west coast.  Then he’d spend several weeks riding across the country coming home.   Needless to say, his bicycle was outfitted with loads of specialized touring bags and accessories.  As the sport’s popularity has risen, so has the demand for touring bicycles.  In the past, the only place to locate a tour bicycle was at local bike shop which would usually be limited to one brand of bike.  Of course that all came with a high price tag.  Lets face it, the price of many serious tour bicycles simply put them out of reach for younger people just entering the sport.

I recall traveling a couple hours to find the specific Schwinn touring bicycle I was searching for.  Fortunately today, that is not the case.  You can find all the biggest names in touring bicycles on the internet.  The additional benefit is many can be found at affordable prices also.  The interest in bicycle touring has also given rise to the availability of specialized bicycle parts, accessories and bicycle clothing.  You would be hard pressed to find bicycle parts at your local discount store.  But this is not the case online.

The obvious addition that bicycle touring requires is a way to carry your personal gear, clothing and camping equipment on long trips.  The popularity of touring has provided riders a huge variety of racing bicycle parts and accessories.  It is quite easy to find all types of bicycle parts and adult bicycling accessories for your long trips.  Serious bikers can easily upgrade just about their entire bicycle by traveling no further then their PC.

Tags: bicycle accessories, bicycle parts, Bicycle Racing, road bicycles, tour bicycle, touring bicycles