will unit tell degree for hill & atv

[dalehollowlake]

we use our garmin csx a lot on our trail riding, could you determine the degrees of a hill with such a

unit. Most recommend not to take the atv on a hill with more than a 60 degree incline, would u be able to get this info from our gps unit thanks

[mdg2003]

You might consider getting an inclinometer from a bike shop, but I think those will not really indicate anything above 25 degree grade. Here is just one example http://circlecitybicycles.com/inclin.htm . I've never bought from them, so I can't vouch for the site. Only way I could guess is to watch your altimeter and try to judge some sort of rate of climb on known hills. Would be pretty innaccurate though as your speed would have to be a known constant and it would be neear impossible to maintain. 60 seems a bit insane I guess when you hit 61 you automatically flip backwards and flame down the hill .

[+Manatee87]

we use our garmin csx a lot on our trail riding, could you determine the degrees of a hill with such a

unit. Most recommend not to take the atv on a hill with more than a 60 degree incline, would u be able to get this info from our gps unit thanks

The 60-series doesn't display incline directly. You can see the percent grade after the fact by analyzing track data, or importing the track into software like MotionBased. Garmin's cycling models, the Edge series, display percent grade on-screen as one of the data display choices. It isn't highly accurate, and the value displayed tends to lag the current grade slightly, but it's pretty useful. I don't know how well it would work when it comes to a 60 degree incline, though! Maybe others here know more about how effective it would be for you.

[dalehollowlake]

we use our garmin csx a lot on our trail riding, could you determine the degrees of a hill with such a

unit. Most recommend not to take the atv on a hill with more than a 60 degree incline, would u be able to get this info from our gps unit thanks

The 60-series doesn't display incline directly. You can see the percent grade after the fact by analyzing track data, or importing the track into software like MotionBased. Garmin's cycling models, the Edge series, display percent grade on-screen as one of the data display choices. It isn't highly accurate, and the value displayed tends to lag the current grade slightly, but it's pretty useful. I don't know how well it would work when it comes to a 60 degree incline, though! Maybe others here know more about how effective it would be for you.

 

it is possible some of the inclines could be walked first tracking the incline with gps in hand, thus if a program allows us to review those results we could determine the degree of difficulty so as to warn others

[dalehollowlake]

It would be helpful if walking the hill, with unit in hand, there is a way to determine the incline if its over 60 degree's, then let the other s know the difficulty....keep in mind a few degree's plus or minus wont hurt us as the manufacture's, have a marjin of error. thnak

[gratefulHIKE]

if you are planning a route for you and others

 

just use the scaled topo maps to estimate the angles and hike through when you are done to make sure (Hiking isnt that bad ;p)

 

it goes up x amount of feet over x amount of distance....its 3rd grade math and you can print the maps out for others to use at the site with big ole circles or X's on those hills

Edited January 31, 2008 by gratefulHIKE

[+Manatee87]

It would be helpful if walking the hill, with unit in hand, there is a way to determine the incline if its over 60 degree's, then let the other s know the difficulty....keep in mind a few degree's plus or minus wont hurt us as the manufacture's, have a marjin of error. thnak

 

A "steepness" alarm would be a great idea. It would have only a small audience, but it could be useful in various applications. It is something that could be done for the software in the GPSr, but I doubt any makers would take the trouble to do it. What would be nice is if they added a feature where you could set an alarm on any measured parameter -- it is already available for some things.

 

 

(I wonder if the 96C offers a "steepness alarm", to let you know that your aircraft is about to implant itself in the Earth? )

[Grasscatcher]

A steepness alert would be absolutely worthless (IMHO).

 

Why? you ask, .....because the GPS could only tell you "after the fact" that you are in trouble. Beep beep, this hill is too steep ! You shouldn't have started up it, or down it......back there behind you!

 

That's what contour lines on the topo maps (paper or on your unit) are for. The closer the contour lines are together, the steeper it is. Closer than x amount, Too Steep, wider apart than xx amount , OK.

[dalehollowlake]

if you are planning a route for you and others

 

just use the scaled topo maps to estimate the angles and hike through when you are done to make sure (Hiking isnt that bad ;p)

 

it goes up x amount of feet over x amount of distance....its 3rd grade math and you can print the maps out for others to use at the site with big ole circles or X's on those hills

 

3rd grade math wish my parents had sent me to private school love your stomping on the post

Edited January 31, 2008 by dalehollowlake

[dalehollowlake]

A steepness alert would be absolutely worthless (IMHO).

 

Why? you ask, .....because the GPS could only tell you "after the fact" that you are in trouble. Beep beep, this hill is too steep ! You shouldn't have started up it, or down it......back there behind you!

 

That's what contour lines on the topo maps (paper or on your unit) are for. The closer the contour lines are together, the steeper it is. Closer than x amount, Too Steep, wider apart than xx amount , OK.

 

dont mean to embarase you go back and read the post, we walk it first to give heads up to others b4 they try it...........great info on contour maps, 1st time u can tell if the contour is over so many degree's Nasa might higher u

[LinXG]

I don't want to sound harsh but if you're measuring the angle of a hill in order to determine if it's safe to ride up then you're probably on the lowend of the rider experience scale.

 

Learn the limits of your machine slowly, learn your own limits even more slowly.

[Grasscatcher]

A steepness alert would be absolutely worthless (IMHO).

 

Why? you ask, .....because the GPS could only tell you "after the fact" that you are in trouble. Beep beep, this hill is too steep ! You shouldn't have started up it, or down it......back there behind you!

 

That's what contour lines on the topo maps (paper or on your unit) are for. The closer the contour lines are together, the steeper it is. Closer than x amount, Too Steep, wider apart than xx amount , OK.

 

dont mean to embarase you go back and read the post, we walk it first to give heads up to others b4 they try it...........great info on contour maps, 1st time u can tell if the contour is over so many degree's Nasa might higher u

 

I'm definitely NOT embarrassed....go back and read you own post...it doesn't say anything about walking the hill first.

 

This is from an individual that has had ATV's come back over the top of me while hill climbing(more than once). In other words. Been there done that.....don't want to do it again!

 

There are a whole lot more things that need to be considered than steepness. See the previous post about experience........

Edited January 31, 2008 by Grasscatcher

[+julianh]

we use our garmin csx a lot on our trail riding, could you determine the degrees of a hill with such a

unit. Most recommend not to take the atv on a hill with more than a 60 degree incline, would u be able to get this info from our gps unit thanks

The 60-series doesn't display incline directly. You can see the percent grade after the fact by analyzing track data, or importing the track into software like MotionBased. Garmin's cycling models, the Edge series, display percent grade on-screen as one of the data display choices. It isn't highly accurate, and the value displayed tends to lag the current grade slightly, but it's pretty useful. I don't know how well it would work when it comes to a 60 degree incline, though! Maybe others here know more about how effective it would be for you.

 

it is possible some of the inclines could be walked first tracking the incline with gps in hand, thus if a program allows us to review those results we could determine the degree of difficulty so as to warn others

My best suggestion would be as follows:

 

1. Walk the route with the GPS in hand

2. Download the track-log to your computer

3. Import the track-log into Excel - you should get a table of numbers which include latitude, longitude and elevation

4. Latitude and longitude can be converted into eastings and northings very simply if you are prepared to put up with a bit of approximation (1 degree is approximately equal to 100 km, ignoring convergence effects at higher latitudes, the shape of the geoid, etc, etc). If your objective is just to estimate track grades, then this approximation is usually good enough. If you are a stickler for "exact" solutions (or if you are taking your ATV to the South Pole ), the exact maths is a LOT more complex, but can still be done in a spreadsheet if you have the coding skills - but it is NOT Grade 3 maths.

5. Some very simple Excel maths will then allow you to calculate the distance between successive track-points (Distance = SQRT((Easting2-Easting1)^2 + ((Northing2-Northing1)^2)

6. The gradient between adjacent track-log points is then just given by the height change divided by the distance. (Note - positive gradients will mean you wee travelling uphill; negative gradients mean you were travelling downhill)

7. Highlight any sections of the track-log where the gradient is excessive, and then you have a basis to mark your trail maps accordingly.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Hope this helps.

[rwsmith123]

You can configure one of the data fields to show "Glide Ratio" which is the ratio of horizontal distance traveled to vertical distance.

[+apersson850]

That only works downhill, though, as it's mainly thought for aeronautic applications.

[+Manatee87]

You can configure one of the data fields to show "Glide Ratio" which is the ratio of horizontal distance traveled to vertical distance.

 

Good point. I forgot that they do that. You just have to get used to what ratio = what angle (or % grade, in my case) and it's just as useful.

[+Manatee87]

That only works downhill, though, as it's mainly thought for aeronautic applications.

 

It won't give you a negative if you're climbing?

[+apersson850]

None I have, at least. They just dash out the data field.

[gratefulHIKE]

might not be a bad option to add though......it would be useful to have steepness layouts before you are going to take the trail

 

plus people are still talking about it on here.....and I didnt mean anything bad about my 3rd grade math comment sorry that it looked to be in a condescending manor

[rwsmith123]

Bummer. Well, if you make it to the top you could use it on the way down to see how steep it is. If you don't make it to the top then your friends behind you will know it's too steep.

[+EScout]

Walk or ride the trail recording the track using a close or short trackpoint interval. You also can create a track/route using your GPS or a Topo map program without traveling it. Save/export your track to a file and then convert it to a .gpx file using GPSBabel. I use an Explorist which records very good tract points with accurate elevations. Import the .gpx file to the program: SportTracks

 

You can show several windows like this one:

 

 

Another window shows your track in an aerial photo. When you click your mouse on a point on the graph, such as a high grade point (red line), the position in the aerial photo is highlighted to show you where it is.

 

Edited February 2, 2008 by EScout