Should I buy an XT2?

[jfheath]

Absolutely nothing wrong with Basecamp as a tool to create routes that work on the XT2. Just make sure that the maps on your Zumo XT2 are the same version as the maps on your computer that you use in BC. You use Express to Install the maps onto your XT2 and then use it again to install the same maps on your PC. Use the default locations for where to store it. It used to be possible to install it in both places at once, but it was not possible the last time I updated mymaps. (Garmin Express seems to be updated every time I want to use it !!)




1. Get rid of the Tread App on your phone and reset your XT2 - if you have already linked the XT2 with Tread to synchronise.

Then - A couple of suggestions to keep life pain free - they are alternatives. Both work.

Either


2a Use @FrankB's Trip Manager (for PC) to install your routes on the XT2. This by-passes the need to put the GPX file onto the XT2 and instead creates the necessary routes on the XT2 without having to import them. It removes the opportunities for the XT2 to really mess up your route.

Or 2b Use a Copy of the Route rather than the original. Put your GPX files onto the SD card rather than internal storage. When you have imported routes, before you use them open them on the XT2 and before saying Go! select the Spanner and Copy the route. Give it a slightly different name (eg put a full stop at the end or a symbol at the start. Load and run the copied file - not the original. This makes the XT2 think that the route has been created on the XT2 itself and it doesn't display some of the annoying routing behaviour.

Also, for whichever option you choose:

Make a track of the route (Trip Manager can do this for you), but you can do it in Basecamp. Learn how to display a route and a track at the same time. This gives you a plot of your original route and it is very easy to see if the route has been recalculated. You can then decide to follow the new route, or follow your original plan.

You may subsequently install Tread on your Phone and link it to your XT2 so that you can access weather, traffic, road works information (and more). The trick is NOT to allow it to synchronise your data or store your data.

Garmin assure me that they are working on solutions for the problems that many of us are having. Garmin have assured me before about similar issues with the XT1. The solution never materialised and still remain on the XT2.

In the mean time either of the above methods work extremely well.

[oldwobbler]

Thank you all for the (as expected) invaluable advice.
It's very much appreciated.

[Oop North John]

Been using my XT2 around Europe for the last couple of weeks, not as frustrating as the XT was with the RUT problem.

But I'm fairly convinced that as a navigation device it is severely compromised by the faster roads problem. I enjoy planning my routes and use via points to force it to use the roads I want to. All is happy as long as I'm following the route but god forbid someone dares to close a road. Add in toll options etc and the XT2 becomes as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

Seriously thinking about putting my 595 on my bike for when I journey outside of areas I know so that I have a device that navigates primarily and does the extras as an add on.

[oldwobbler]

This is exactly my concern.
After the previous advice, I'd decided the XT2 was the way to go, having the best hardware and I could force it (with the tricks on here) to work as I wanted.
But if a recalc, screws all your hard work planning up, I'm not so sure now.

[proofresistant]

But if a recalc, screws all your hard work planning up, I'm not so sure now.

A Re calculation won't ruin your entire plan if you use enough shaping and/or VIA points and deactivate the Tread app if necessary.

However, if you leave the planning to the XT2, you may get some questionable results due to deviations, but this will even out once you are back on the planned route.

[jfheath]

I should have said:

The XT2 has a lot of nice features. Getting it to behave exactly as you want does require a few hoops to be jumped through.
And you can still use Basecamp.

However, something that is unavailable on the 590 or the 595 :

Load a track, select Go!.

So while you are getting used to how best to use it, you can have a 100% reliable representation of where you intended to go drawn on a map that scrolls as you move. No directions issued. Just like a dumb navigator sitting on your dash with a finger pointing to your place on the map.

And if you happen to go off route it draws a dotted straight line to the closest point (it assumes you can fly there), and gives a distance.
"If you want to get back to your original route - its about 3 miles in that direction." And it keeps updating it as you ride.

app.php/ZXT-P48

When I first tried this on the XT1, my first thought - what is the point of that ? But in fact it is very relaxing to use.



The image shows me off route following a road to Wensley. The track that I plotted is over to my right, and it has drawn a dotted straight line to the closest point on that track from my current location. There is no road that I can use - but its handy to know that it is only 0.5 miles away and that as I ride, that number goes down.

[oldwobbler]

Thank you John, great explanation

And the 595 has already taught me to use way more shaping points than is healthy

[Oop North John]

But if a recalc, screws all your hard work planning up, I'm not so sure now.

A Re calculation won't ruin your entire plan if you use enough shaping and/or VIA points and deactivate the Tread app if necessary.

However, if you leave the planning to the XT2, you may get some questionable results due to deviations, but this will even out once you are back on the planned route.

My problem was where the XT2 knew there was a road closure, but decided it was faster to take an extra couple of hours by going onto a motorway rather than a small back road. It obviously hated me ignoring it and going along the small road, and I had to soft reset it a couple of times.

Google maps managed to see the small road ok, which is why I used it. I suspect that the 590 / 595 might have also been a useful tool rather than an expensive paperweight in this instance.

[proofresistant]

... but decided it was faster to take an extra couple of hours by going onto a motorway rather than a small back road. ...

Yes, you're right, sometimes the route calculation from zumo is quite questionable.
But basically, planned routes are usually not completely destroyed.

Hopefully, my new Tread 2 will be better suited for motorcycling.
In the Tread 2, you can also set Adventurous Routing (e.g., Level 2) as your preferred calculation method and specify a desired maximum speed on roads for a motorcycle profile.

I don't have much experience on country roads, but a combination of Adventurous Routing (e.g., Level 2) and vmax 60 km/h tends to avoid highways.

[stevedo]

Hi all. Many of my questions about buying an XT2 have been answered in this thread. However, I don't think my current workflow in its entirety is accommodated in the replies.

I currently use a ZUMO 595 which is now quite a few years old. I'm not sure if its degraded over time but I am finding the screen harder to see in very bright sun e.g. in places like Spain etc. This has led me to start thinking about purchasing an XT2 for its much-improved screen. However, the numerous issues reported here and elsewhere are putting me off.

The way I use the 595 is to create all my POI's, waypoints and routes in Basecamp. My pre-planned routes will include waypoints, POI's and shaping points to ensure that the 595 will navigate me where I specifically want to go and how I want to get there. I also use Basecamp to store tracks, created by the 595, as a record of our trips and days out. I use both original Garmin maps and OSM maps installed on my Windows 11 PC and on the 595. I connect the 595 to my SENA headset for routing directions only. Other than connecting the 595 to my PC via cable and SENA via BlueTooth, the 595 knows nothing of the outside world.

My objective with the XT2 would be to use it in exactly the same way as I do the 595 i.e. all routes etc. created in Basecamp using both original and OSM maps and then transferred by cable to the XT2 which would have the same maps as on the PC (assuming I can install OSM maps on the XT2?). Connect to my SENA for spoken directions only. No weather, traffic, music, phone calls, texts etc. Is it possible to use the XT2 as I currently use my 595 and ignore/disable/not install all of the connected Garmin stuff i.e. Tread App etc?