Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - my garmin edge... a users review (please add your reviews, too!)

However, there still will be differences in auto stop at lights etc. The cateye will shut off the clock as soon as I stop. The Garmin has a range which may differ.I do this in the SportTracks application. Within Sportracks, I ask it to remove any readings below 2.5mph. I figure this would be when I'm clipping in and circling at the start of a ride, and it also takes care of those times when I'm at stoplights, etc.

I'm still new with my Garmin (have both cadence and heart rate), I'll review completely at a later date.
But what I noticed in the meantime is that my Cateye Astrale 8 speed and avg speed is higher than the
Garmin's. I assume Cateye's is more accurate since is a more straght forward type of measurement.
Which device is correct though?
Not by much, like yesterday my speed avg was 17.9mph for 45 miles according to Cateye's and Garmin's
had it at 17.6 mph. So what gives?
The wheel size on both devices were entered as the same.
Corsaire :rolleyes:

PS Both my Catteye and Garmin are mounted on my bike. Left the Astrale on to test the accuracy of the Garmin.

Actually, Corsair . . have a look at the time and distance on both units for that ride (which generated the average). That will help diagnose where the diff is coming from. Is the time longer on the Edge and distance the same . . or the reverse . .or are they both different?

However, there still will be differences in auto stop at lights etc. The cateye will shut off the clock as soon as I stop. The Garmin has a range which may differ. With GPS there is the further siliness of position fluctuations which could cause your timer to start momentarily although you aren't moving.

You can set it to autostop.. it does not do it out of the box I dont believe. I personally keep it at about 4MPH. That seems to work best on my road bike.

I do this in the SportTracks application. Within Sportracks, I ask it to remove any readings below 2.5mph. I figure this would be when I'm clipping in and circling at the start of a ride, and it also takes care of those times when I'm at stoplights, etc.

Also a good idea. Thanks drag.

I'm on Edge #3. The first lost the ability to find satellites; the second developed blank lines in the display.

I love the technology but two units with serious problems tells me that Garmin QC sucks.

I've concluded that the Edge (and/or Training Center) is/are buggy pieces of crap.

In addition to the above problems, I now have developed an issue where my speed graph in Training Center shows speeds like 75-220 miles per hour, but the average calculates more or less correctly.

It makes no sense to me that they don't use HR in their calculating. Effort is what produces the expenditure!

Yes, but it's actual effort not perceived effort that matters. It takes a certain amount of energy to move a rider and bike from point A to point B at a certain speed, no matter how hard the rider perceives the effort to be. It doesn't matter if one rider can do it at 60% and another needs to haul at 80%. The energy requirement is the same. The energy requirement is completely independent of the source.

Where HR factors in is when you go over AT and the burn rate jumps. But the Edge doesn't know what the AT is, anyway. Apart from that air resistance, rolling resistance, weight -- all the usual factors -- apply. But HR isn't such a big factor. You also don't really care about the fat burnt (at least I don't), only the repletable glycogen, perhaps the Polar unit tries to estimate this and doesn't even report the fat part since it doesn't really matter.

Yes, but it's actual effort not perceived effort that matters. It takes a certain amount of energy to move a rider and bike from point A to point B at a certain speed, no matter how hard the rider perceives the effort to be. It doesn't matter if one rider can do it at 60% and another needs to haul at 80%. The energy requirement is the same. The energy requirement is completely independent of the source.

Where HR factors in is when you go over AT and the burn rate jumps. But the Edge doesn't know what the AT is, anyway. Apart from that air resistance, rolling resistance, weight -- all the usual factors -- apply. But HR isn't such a big factor. You also don't really care about the fat burnt (at least I don't), only the repletable glycogen, perhaps the Polar unit tries to estimate this and doesn't even report the fat part since it doesn't really matter.

One can estimate the AT from age etc. And you can adjust that by doing your own road or lab tests. As long as your estimate is close to accepted ranges calories are ABSOLUTELY related to your HR. What possible significance could speed or grade or any other input have anything to do with your burn rate or your AT.

You, me and and Lance Armstrong ride together. You/Me are over our AT, gasping, and producing 150 watts. He is producing 150 watts but he is effectively asleep. HR probably 100. He is more efficient and burning very few calories. We're burning a lot. The ONLY measurable input from that scenario that is of ANY significance is HR. And it's very simple. The more elements you try to add to your algorythm, the further you get from a reasonably consistent number. Not perfect, of course . . .but apples to apples.

As evidence . .as many have said . . you can see it clearly from mountain biking examples. On 30 pound bike at 6mph . .effectively flat. Are you burning 1/3 the calories than on on your road bike 18mph. No . .as you actually said . .you're probably just as close to your AT or over it . .and burning just as many calories. Again . .the only input worth measuring is HR.

Yes, but it's actual effort not perceived effort that matters. .

That is what I said. HR shows your true effort. However, I am no health or heart rate expert. I only play one on the net. Later.

I find it hard to imagine how on earth the Human race made it into the 21st century without these things. Seems that if I want I can get one to make my breakfast for me too?

I do this in the SportTracks application. Within Sportracks, I ask it to remove any readings below 2.5mph. I figure this would be when I'm clipping in and circling at the start of a ride, and it also takes care of those times when I'm at stoplights, etc.

Just getting into SportTracks and I see where the smoothing and correction settings are. However, are you using the default settings or did you come up with your own? Thanks.

That is what I said. HR shows your true effort. However, I am no health or heart rate expert. I only play one on the net. Later.

Sorry aham. . . I now see that you were saying the 'Edge' doesn't factor in the AT and HR as it should. . .as opposed to saying that HR and AT aren't a factor, and speed or grade is.

Thanks.

After two test rides this last weekend I feel pretty happy with my new Garmin, cadence & HR.
Everything seems accurate except for the speed and avg speed, which I compared to my Astrale 8, just a tad off which could be due to ariding time discrepancy.
I was particularly careful to set it up as precisely per the instructions. It's very important to
have it fully charged before each ride. Turn it on and don't move it at all to let the
GPS acquire satellites, once this is done, I press/reset the cadence and speed sensor, press START
button and I'm ready to go. For me it's fun to see the grade % as I go on a climb.
Over all, a fun gadget. Lots of data.

Corsaire

After two test rides this last weekend I feel pretty happy with my new Garmin, cadence & HR.
Everything seems accurate except for the speed and avg speed, which I compared to my Astrale 8, just a tad off which could be due to ariding time discrepancy.
I was particularly careful to set it up as precisely per the instructions. It's very important to
have it fully charged before each ride. Turn it on and don't move it at all to let the
GPS acquire satellites, once this is done, I press/reset the cadence and speed sensor, press START
button and I'm ready to go. For me it's fun to see the grade % as I go on a climb.
Over all, a fun gadget. Lots of data.

Corsaire

Did you happen to notice . .was it the distance or the time which was the larger discrepency causing your avg speed mismatch between thw units?

Did you happen to notice . .was it the distance or the time which was the larger discrepency causing your avg speed mismatch between thw units?

Actually, the riding time and distance were off compared to the Astarle, but not by much, just seconds and less than 1/2 mile.

Corsaire

Hey Drag . . . .any luck uploading accurate (well accurate looking) data from an indoor session?

I got my Garmin Edge 305 w/ HR and CAD Monday as a gift from my wonderful wife. I ordered a second speed/cadence sensor for my second road bike. Installation was a breeze...the easiest that I have ever encountered. I have probably read every review on the internet before making my final decision. I did something that I rarely do with a new electronic device and actually read the manual from cover to cover while I waited on it charge. After charging was complete I installed the latest firmware, which was very straightforward. Everything that needed to be setup or configured was easy to understand. Within minutes I had all of my Data Fields setup just the way I wanted them and a pretty good understanding of the unit.

I took my first ride with the Edge this morning. I had no problems pairing my accessories or getting started. This thing is absolutely wonderful!!! I was able to setup one course, my main training loop, and will be using the virtual partner when I ride again on Thursday. I will also be using the "Quick Workout" and "Interval Workouts" on my future rides.

I love being able to see so much data while I am riding. My favorite piece of data is the grade percentage.

I didn't think I would like any other cycle computer better than my Polar CS200 but the Garmin Edge 305 has it beat, hands down!!! After I get one more mount and another cadence/speed sensor, I will be using it on all of my bikes.

BTW...the speed and cadence seem to be dead on.

This Garmin 305 would the very TOP gadget if it had power meter & the mapping Navigation capability of
other handhelds.

Corsaire




I got my Garmin Edge 305 w/ HR and CAD Monday as a gift from my wonderful wife. I ordered a second speed/cadence sensor for my second road bike. Installation was a breeze...the easiest that I have ever encountered. I have probably read every review on the internet before making my final decision. I did something that I rarely do with a new electronic device and actually read the manual from cover to cover while I waited on it charge. After charging was complete I installed the latest firmware, which was very straightforward. Everything that needed to be setup or configured was easy to understand. Within minutes I had all of my Data Fields setup just the way I wanted them and a pretty good understanding of the unit.

I took my first ride with the Edge this morning. I had no problems pairing my accessories or getting started. This thing is absolutely wonderful!!! I was able to setup one course, my main training loop, and will be using the virtual partner when I ride again on Thursday. I will also be using the "Quick Workout" and "Interval Workouts" on my future rides.

I love being able to see so much data while I am riding. My favorite piece of data is the grade percentage.

I didn't think I would like any other cycle computer better than my Polar CS200 but the Garmin Edge 305 has it beat, hands down!!! After I get one more mount and another cadence/speed sensor, I will be using it on all of my bikes.

BTW...the speed and cadence seem to be dead on.

One can estimate the AT from age etc. And you can adjust that by doing your own road or lab tests. As long as your estimate is close to accepted ranges calories are ABSOLUTELY related to your HR.
Yes, but that's the only significant aspect of HR. If your AT is 92% then it doesn't matter whether you're riding at 65% or 75%. HR is irrelevant except as an indicator of anaerobic workload. However, for endurance riding where the calorie estimate actually matters AT is secondary since you won't be riding near it. (Maybe an anaerobic alarm would be useful.)



You, me and and Lance Armstrong ride together. You/Me are over our AT, gasping, and producing 150 watts. He is producing 150 watts but he is effectively asleep. HR probably 100. He is more efficient and burning very few calories. We're burning a lot.

Yes, but we'd be burning a lot because we're working anaerobically while he isn't. The real difference is that he can produce a lot more work, and burn a lot more energy, at a lower HR. That's why he's not anaerobic while we are, to begin with. The work correlates very closely to the energy consumption, you can only condition about 5% once you're fit enough to ride long enough for a calorie estimate to matter. The remaining 95% is purely the ability to burn more calories/hour to produce more work at the same HR. This is why HR is almost irrelevant when it comes to estimating calorie needs. Speed, grade, and rolling resistance (weight) matter a whole lot more.

Yes, but that's the only significant aspect of HR. If your AT is 92% then it doesn't matter whether you're riding at 65% or 75%. HR is irrelevant except as an indicator of anaerobic workload. However, for endurance riding where the calorie estimate actually matters AT is secondary since you won't be riding near it. (Maybe an anaerobic alarm would be useful.)


Yes, but we'd be burning a lot because we're working anaerobically while he isn't. The real difference is that he can produce a lot more work, and burn a lot more energy, at a lower HR. That's why he's not anaerobic while we are, to begin with. The work correlates very closely to the energy consumption, you can only condition about 5% once you're fit enough to ride long enough for a calorie estimate to matter. The remaining 95% is purely the ability to burn more calories/hour to produce more work at the same HR. This is why HR is almost irrelevant when it comes to estimating calorie needs. Speed, grade, and rolling resistance (weight) matter a whole lot more.

AT aside . .that wasn't my point . .just an extreme manifestation of burn rate . . are you saying Lance would burn an equal number of calories as me on the same road at my speed (assuming I weigh the same as him and he is at 50%MHR and me at say 75%MHR)? I can imagine a table of sample data of various humans at various rates of intesity in various activities producing expected ranges of burn rates.

I would expect to see any given subject acheiving progressive burn rates in ANY activity as their effort increases. Weight, speed, resistance, grade will play into necessary work or effort . .sure . .but unless everyone is exactly the same fitness, are all on the same road, the same wind, the same bike, the same grade, the same weight . . . the data becomes useless. I can't see external inputs having any way of reliably predicting individual "effort".

Whether I ride the hill, or get off and run up, or stop and drag a dead deer up the road . .the only (imperfect) measure of my work at that moment is HR. I don't think it's "accurate" . .I just struggle with the other inputs.

I've used the Edge 305 for the past three days and have been happy with it. I paid $150 for a returned unit at an REI Attic Sale (normally $400), so I can't make any complaints! I hadn't planned to buy one, but couldn't pass up the $250 off list price.

It seems to be working fine--I just had to replace the Cadence/Speed sensor battery. I had a little trouble trying to get the sensor to read both the wheel and the pedal, but I think it is working properly now.

I'll try to get a more thorough review when I have more time to test all the features.

Is the paid Motionbased subscription worth it? I just bought a Edge 305 and wondering if it is a good value compared with the free "Lite" version.

Jason

I recently bought their special 2 year subscription for something under $4 a month. Motionbased is mission critical to me. I consider it well worth the cost.

Best,

if you are going to get it... NOW is the time with their 2 for 1..... i haven't been paid for the almost year i've had it.... no need, really..... i get to see my last 10 rides... that's good enough usually.... BU.... that said.... i'm mostly likely going to get a subscription before the end of the month.....

This Garmin 305 would the very TOP gadget if it had power meter & the mapping Navigation capability of
other handhelds.



I don't know if this has been discussed yet (it's a long thread) but I've gone on new routes downloaded from the computer to the Edge and have done just fine. First I get the local cue sheets off the internet, then use a mapping program, Brad Culberson's CourseCreator2 to map out the course. I have the course is converted to a .crs file, which I import into the training center and then up to the Garmin. When I head out I just follow the little line. It's pretty cool.

Another cool thing is getting on MotionBased and see all the trails from German and Holland and anywhere.

Thanks for your input, I will buy a subscription before the end of the month..

Jason

I just started using the free option to MotionBased - pretty cool. Looks like the Analyzer is the only thing that you don't get w/ the paid subscription - what's does that get you? Any other advanced features (besides more than you last 10 rides)?

the differences are posted on their site. one of the main ones is the availability of all your saved reports and NOT just the 10 most recent. later.

Edge users: What's your battery life? I am doing the Seattle to Portland. Will it last the entire ~12 hour ride?

Edit: Oopps, I just realized that I just resurrected an old thread. Oh well.

Edge users: What's your battery life? I am doing the Seattle to Portland. Will it last the entire ~12 hour ride?


12 hours = unlikely. However, external battery packs can boost your run time. The Edge has a standard mini-USB power port (same as some IPods and some Motorola cell phones).

12 hrs wont happen. I get 9-10 out of mine. When I'm on a ride in the 7-8hr range or higher, I bring along a battpack. I have one from usbgeek in some of theother edge battery threads, however I don't think they sell it any more. Any should work though. Mine has about 3 times the capacity of the on-board edge battery and will last 24+hrs. Get one...

I built an external battery pack (uses 2 AA) for the Garmin based on the kit called MintyBoost. Pretty easy, but it does require some sodering. Here are the plans to give you an idea of teh effort involved: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/make.html. Works well!

Bob

I also built a MintyBoost and have used several other battery packs. The downside of the MintyBoost is that, at least in my tests, it doesn't have enough capacity to fully recharge an Edge with just 2 2500mAH NiMH cells. Should be more than enough for a 12 hour ride though, and it's nice and compact (though on mine the Altoids tin keeps popping open so it's kind of a pain). The good thing about it is that the regulator design looks to be safe and of high quality. I also have the usbgeek battery, which is a slicker design in terms of package and features, but I don't know if anyone has tested it to see if it has good regulation.

12 hours = unlikely. However, external battery packs can boost your run time. The Edge has a standard mini-USB power port (same as some IPods and some Motorola cell phones).


So how heavy is the second battery pack? Doing a 210 miles ride has me counting grams... :D :D :D

Forget paying for motionbased, this is free and I'm much happier with it than TrainingCenter:

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/

Forget paying for motionbased, this is free and I'm much happier with it than TrainingCenter:

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/

I've used SportTracks a few times and it seems to use the raw data with no corrections, like TC. Is that correct?

I've used SportTracks a few times and it seems to use the raw data with no corrections, like TC. Is that correct?

If you go to the SportTracks settings->analysis menu, you will see various parameters to control the data smoothing algorithms.

doesn't motionbase have a free and a pay version? or is the free one just a trial?

yes, they have both. later.

well I just went out for a short test ride and my 305 worked great. motionbased was pretty easy to use and didn't take long to figure things out without reading any instructions. same with the garmin training center. I also exported the history to another drive on my computer as backup. as everyone else seems to have noticed, the elevation is WAY off in most places but on the charts (both motion based and training center) it was pretty accurate. it's just on the tables that it's off by about 500%. haha.

sorry to be lazy and not read the whole thread first...

is using the optional wedge supplied with the 305 necessary for mounting on the stem?

the 305 that just came yesterday has two bike mounts (oddly, with the zip ties already threaded) - one seems configured for stem mount, the other for handlebar mount...

seems like it would go on my stem nicely without the optional wedge?

Forget paying for motionbased, this is free and I'm much happier with it than TrainingCenter:

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/

Correct me if I'm wrong. Motion base is web based & thus can be accessed from any computer, while SportTracks stores the info on your hard drive. This is a significant difference for me. (my edge is on order & I should have it tomorrow or Thursday. I have decided to stay with MB based on this difference alone).

sorry to be lazy and not read the whole thread first...

is using the optional wedge supplied with the 305 necessary for mounting on the stem?

the 305 that just came yesterday has two bike mounts (oddly, with the zip ties already threaded) - one seems configured for stem mount, the other for handlebar mount...

seems like it would go on my stem nicely without the optional wedge?

yes. i have mine on the stem without the wedge. i did try it at first, but it "jacked" it up too much for me. later.

I'm having trouble setting my heart rate zones on my edge 305... I'll set one zone to the number I want, hit "done", and it doesn't change the number. Anyone else experience this?