Tom Tom Rider 550

I ordered another bike dock so I can use the 550 on two different bikes.
Annoyingly the dock didn't come with any screws for mounting to a plate using the threaded holes in the back of the dock.
I couldn't get black ones with domed heads so got stainless hex heads.The size you need if anybody else is looking is M5 x 12.
 
Received my Rider 550 a couple of days ago and briefly tried it out today. Being a long-time Garmin user and never having used a Tomtom before, these are my initial observations.
There is very little difference in screen size between my Zumo 660 and the Rider 550, but the 550 screen is definitely brighter and easier to read in sunny conditions - this was my main motivation for changing, as I was finding the Garmin very difficult to read in sunshine, but this is much less of an issue now.
When going off-route, Garmin has a "re-calculate" option - The Tomtom seems to automatically re-route - it might be that there is a setting somewhere to provide the option, but if so I haven't found it yet.
The 550 seems to always want you to go to the start of a plotted route, rather than allowing you to join part way in - again this might be my inexperience with the unit.
The sound quality for voice instructions on the 550 is poor compared to the Garmin. Also, whilst I hardly ever make or receive phone calls while riding, I was disappointed to find that with my Sena SMH5 headset I cannot have satnav voice instructions as well as phone usage with the Tomtom, whereas both were available with the Garmin. It seems that a more expensive 2 channel headset is required to enable this.
The sidebar information on the Tomtom is more difficult to for my old eyes to see compared to the Garmin.
Don't have enough experience yet to compare MyDrive with Basecamp.

Overall, as far as I'm concerned, the Jury's still out as to whether I have made the correct choice in Changing to Tomtom.
 
Stroller

I have a Sena Evo 20S and a 550. The instructions I had in the manual to get the phone and the 550 working with the Evo was the same as the link in the previous post shows. It might be worth trying as I have the 3 devices working nicely together.

This shows how Tomtom explain it.....
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/484214-Linking-Rider-550-iPhone-Sena-20S-HereÂ’s-help

Thanks for that. I have a Sena 20s Evo on order, so that should get me sorted.
 
What is the battery life if it is not connected to the bike battery?
Looking for something to use on my XT and want to keep it simple
 
So how about an update from the collective on how the 550 Rider is working out, especially compared to the Garmin ?
 
So how about an update from the collective on how the 550 Rider is working out, especially compared to the Garmin ?

It depends what you want, but I’d say it’s a close call. One thing I didn’t like on mine was how fiddly it was to zoom out, and it would only zoom out so far. Planning a quick route on the fly is a bit slower than on a Garmin. The WiFi planning and updates is a great feature though, and I believe that the Garmin Zumo 396 will do the same.

I’m going back to a Garmin on my next bike.
 
What I’d like is a display that is easier to read in bright sunlight. Plus my air text jacket reflects badly on the Garmin screen making it even harder to view. I’d miss the built in MP3 player, but I’m sure there’s a way to pipe music in.
 
The 550 seems to work pretty well but the user interface is utter rubbish. Why, when Android and IOS devices have shown the way to do it, do they send you down so many screen changes to get to the items that you need. It takes so much scrolling once in settings to get any useful icons when they could be all on one screen or two at most, the remainder of the screen space is unused and needn't be.

Come on Tom Tom it's only software after all;)
 
When it works, I thnk this is a great little satnav, the deal breaker for me is the connectivity issues with my phone. I am not sure whether it is the satnav or the phone, but having to connect via personal hotspot to the wifi to get the traffic updates and shit is fine, as long as it stays connected. I cant get through a fucking journey without the bloody thing disconnecting from y phone, which means I lose all the features of a satnav that Wapping doesnt need or want.

Have to say I am utterly fed up with it at this point.
 
I really wanted to like my 550, but just couldn’t get on with it. I’ve got a Zumo 396 now, and am very pleased with it.

I can update maps over WiFi, so the debacle from a few years ago definitely won’t be repeated.:D
 
How do you make the dock switch through 90degrees so tou can have it horizontal and vertical? I’ve fixed mine to my t max and it won’t swivel 90 degrees ?
 
How do you make the dock switch through 90degrees so tou can have it horizontal and vertical? I’ve fixed mine to my t max and it won’t swivel 90 degrees ?

That was another issue I had!
 
I really wanted to like my 550, but just couldn’t get on with it. I’ve got a Zumo 396 now, and am very pleased with it.

I can update maps over WiFi, so the debacle from a few years ago definitely won’t be repeated.:D

That assumes that the software that governs the Wi-fi transfer is written properly, so that the full mapsets transfer over wirelessly. Time will tell. You might just get half of Lichtenstein and nothing else.
 
That assumes that the software that governs the Wi-fi transfer is written properly, so that the full mapsets transfer over wirelessly. Time will tell. You might just get half of Lichtenstein and nothing else.

It’ll be fine. What’s the worst that can happen? :D
 


Back
Top Bottom