The DeLorme Earthmate PN-60 bike GPS wasn’t designed specifically for cycling; however, that doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a bicycle GPS. You can purchase a bike mount separately and follow the turn-by-turn prompts the GPS provides. This bike GPS is an excellent outdoor product and weighs slightly more than many bike specific GPS units, but it makes up for the weight in durability.
Unlike many bike GPS units that also include the features of a cycle computer, the DeLorme Earthmate functions solely as a bike GPS. It doesn’t provide the ability to track calories burned, heart rate, cadence or temperature. On the other hand, it does provide excellent, detailed maps with turn-by-turn navigation. It also provides data on your speed, distance, time and altitude. It even offers a barometric altimeter for more accurate altitude readings. Through our research we found that cyclists who used the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60 as their bike GPS were very impressed not only with the quality of the maps but with the number of maps they received as well. The Earthmate can navigate you on roads, trails and through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management recreational land such as national parks.
The screen size is not very large and measures only 2.2 inches diagonally. It is somewhat hard to read while cycling but still very doable. The cycling GPS offers a color display but is controlled via buttons found beneath the display. The bike GPS uses AA alkaline batteries. Through our research we found that some cyclists prefer rechargeable lithium-ion batteries while others prefer the disposable alkaline batteries. It's simply a matter of preference.
There is an SD card slot that cyclists can use for 32GB of additional memory in addition to the 3.5 GB built-in memory. It is a waterproof unit and, as mentioned above, very durable.
If you haven’t had experience with GPS units in the past, we recommend that you read the manuals available for the product. Though some cyclists will pick up the navigation rather quickly, others have said that it is slightly confusing and takes some time to get used to. Don’t be in such a hurry to use the GPS unit that you skip over learning about all the features it has to offer.
Through the DeLorme website you will find the company’s contact information. The customer service representatives and technical support staff are available via email. They also have a toll-free phone number that you can call if you have questions regarding your bike GPS device. We attempted contacting them through both means of communication. When we contacted them through email regarding their GPS unit, we never received a response; however, when we contacted them using their toll-free phone number we were connected with a representative right away who was able to answer each of our questions.
Overall, we believe that the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60 is an excellent bike GPS. The detailed maps, in addition to the quantity of maps, alone make this product an excellent purchase. It can be used for a variety of purposes and may be the perfect solution for many of your outdoor activities. The GPS bike mount is sold separately, which in the end will make the overall product price slightly higher. If you have a cycle computer, this may be a great addition so that you have access to all the data you want. If you don’t own a cycle computer, keep in mind that this unit does not provide data on calories, heart rate, cadence and temperature.
