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

as requested in the "my garmin has shipped" thread... i've started one that is for reviews from those of us who have received them.. to make it easier for people to find information! (i purchased our edges from getfeetwet.com (http://getfeetwet.com) using the reseller coupon.... i got NO BS from these guys... it shipped WHEN they said they would ship... actually earlier than they predicted! i also got a 2nd year of extended warranty for free thanx to their 7th anniversary special! their extra cadence sensors and bike mounts are on backorder... but if i get antsy waiting.. i'll just order from somewhere else!)

my immediate response if you ask me "what do you think?" I LOVE IT!

my UPS guy FINALLY brought it friday afternoon.... after scolding him for being so late... :beer: i hugged him and thanked him!

i immediately opened both boxes and plugged them in to get them all charged up.... then i looked through the boxes to make sure everything was there! yep... cadence *check* (with a note on the bag saying to turn over the batter!), heart rate strap *check* (however they need to come up with sizes... mine is almost all they as small as it can go.. when that elastic stretches... it won't ge a snug fit anymore :mad: )

instruction book *check*.... quick set up guide *check*.... magnets *check*....

sooooooooooooooo we get home from work and hubby proceeds to put my cadence meter on my bike... as expected... since i not only have a small bike.. my chainstays curve in... so my cadence "arm" had to stick up (it's just asking to break off) so that is a negative for me.... it's not just the magnet... with the arm "down" even without the magnet.. it hits my spokes!

while he's setting up his bike (his bike, even with curved chain stays, allows the "arm" to be down") i played with the edge getting it set up... picking my views... inputting information, etc.... finally it's time for a test ride... it was getting dark by then.. so we just went around the block.. just enough to make sure it's working.....

got back... downloaded the info to both training center and motionbased (http://www.motionbased.com/) (how COOL motion based is!) i have a garmin map program on my computer.. so i didn't have to do that registry fix... it automatically used my metro city (or whatever it's called) to show the map in training center)

played around some more with the views.. (i LOVE that you can have so much information right there at a glance and 8 more pieces of information with the push of a button!)

i left the edge plugged into the usb until it was time to go to bed.. it said "fully charged" so i unplugged it and set it aside til morning... got to palm springs the next morning.. turned on the edge and one bar was missing from the battery indicator.. UH OH! ok.. don't panic.. it will be ok....

i take off.. the first major test.. the windmills area and power lines... last year my polar 720 went CRAZY along that stretch.. the edge? not a wimper.. it just kept going... beautiful!

however.. as i rode along.. the battery kept going down... and down.... and down.... about 3 hours into the ride... it's almost all white... oh no! ok... don't panic (as aside here... i've always used my HRM as a form of "entertainment" when i'm on a century... i'll count calories with it... or check how far til the next sag.... watch cadence.. etc.... it's a silly way to keep entertained out there! so was freaking that i wasn't going to have that for what was looking like at least 1/2 the ride! no gauge til the next rest stop.. no gauge to the end! *gasp*)

well fortunately.. that never panned out.... the battery did last all the way til then end.. even with starting out with one bar missing already...

another thing i noticed right away... the garmin odometer was dead on with the mileage on the route sheet! the polar would always get off depending on high wires, etc... the garmin remained true all the way to the end!

the calorie counter seemed on par with the polar... (not sure if either is accurate.. but they were both close)

post ride downloading... WOW! i LOVE motion based!

as soon as you hook the edge to the computer.. it opens training center and in a couple beeps.. it's downloaded! with the polar it always took a few minutes.. especially with a century!

uploading to motionbased took a few seconds longer.. but i think it retrieves more info.. and it's still quicker than the polar!

it is so cool seeing the map of where you rode (whether in training center or motionbased)... "flying" around the mad at MB is too cool!

yesterday i took my second ride with the edge... i plugged it into the wall overnight.. and in the morning.. the battery was full.. no missing bars... took off for a fun ride... up and down streets... areas i hadn't ridden in for a while.. just a fun recovery ride.. more to "play" with the edge than worry about speed... just spinning the legs... i checked out the map page... cute (but no streets.. however.. it's too danged small to show much even if it did show streets)... i realized i had duplicates showing so played around with changing those.. i like that you can change the settings "on the fly"..... i rode for a little over an hour and a half yesterday and the battery indicator never lost a bar....

today i'm going to read about the training partner... i want to do one of the local hills and set it up to be able to ride with my virtual partner.. so i'll have to come back to tell you how that works!

provided the battery will last long enough for me to ride a double metric or hilly century... i'm gonna love this thing! it's been mentioned at MB to get a battery pack charger... i may just do that.. cuz the edge has too many positives for me to want to give it up and go back to the polar!

if i think of anything i forgot.. i'll add it as i think of it.. and i hope you other edge users will add your reviews, thoughts, ideas, opinions!

yesterday i took my second ride with the polar... i plugged it into the wall overnight.. and in the morning.. the battery was full.. no missing bars... took off for a fun ride... up and down streets... areas i hadn't ridden in for a while.. just a fun recovery ride.. more to "play" with the polar than worry about speed... just spinning the legs... i checked out the map page... cute (but no streets.. however.. it's too danged small to show much even if it did show streets)... i realized i had duplicates showing so played around with changing those.. i like that you can change the settings "on the fly"..... i rode for a little over an hour and a half yesterday and the battery indicator never lost a bar....

today i'm going to read about the training partner... i want to do one of the local hills and set it up to be able to ride with my virtual partner.. so i'll have to come back to tell you how that works!

provided the battery will last long enough for me to ride a double metric or hilly century... i'm gonna love this thing! it's been mentioned at MB to get a battery pack charger... i may just do that.. cuz the edge has too many positives for me to want to give it up and go back to the polar!

if i think of anything i forgot.. i'll add it as i think of it.. and i hope you other edge users will add your reviews, thoughts, ideas, opinions!
Nice review but me thinks you meant Edge. :D

You need some photos. :D

OOPS! i'll fix that! and i'm not even blonde.. my hair is

<--------------------------- as in the avatar!

and i'll get some pics this week!

I got 305HR quickly from gpsmarketplace ... ordered the cadence sensor from computers4sure. It tracked well for the first day, then the altimeter malfunctioned. I've since sent it back to Garmin for a replacement. I am confident I'll get one that works.

This is the first bike computer I have that records my HR, Speed/Distance so I love this being able to track and have a history of rides.

Motionbased is great! I think MB is overpriced at $16.95/month. I mean most standalone programs are $90+ dollars, but the MB subscription equals $203/year. Seems excessive, but I like the features and that's what the market will bear, yes?

This will be a great training tool for me.

Does anyone know what the weight of everything is?

Does anyone know what the weight of everything is?
Really light. The main unit is like 80g +/- the cad unit can't be that much if even that so maybe 160g-200g if you get the whole package.

This is my first experience with a GPS or HRM so I don't have much to compare the edge to, but I'll pass my first impression along.

I ordered mine on ebay late Jan, and like most everyone else spent many days in anticipation of its arrival. After what seemed like an eternity (2 weeks) it finally showed up at my door late saturday afternoon. The irony is that the mail runs early every day except the day that it comes. First things first, I unpacked the box and made sure everything was there. Tempted to press the power button, I forced myself to plug it in and let it charge for the recommended 3 hours. I then read all of the enclosed information and familiarized myself with the unit. I've had experience with garmins aviation units and there was a familiarity with the two that helped speed my understanding of things.

Once the initial charge was complete I turned it on (inside) and let it find itself. Even inside it was able to get an accurate position quickly. I then tried to plug it into the computer and update the firmware version before doing anything else since the update will completly erase any settings. I had already downloaded Training Center from garmins website, but apparenty it didn't have any usb drivers because the edge wouldn't sync, so I used the disc and reinstalled Training center including the drivers. That worked perfect. Now that was out of the way I updated the firmware which took 2 minutes max. Powered up again and started setting up all of the profiles and data fields which I seem will work best for me.

By the time I was ready to go it was 9:00p.m. and snowing outside so my first test was a walk out the driveway and around the house. From what I could tell, everything was very accurate. The elevation is a little off the first few minutes after powering up, but the auto calibration only takes a few minutes to settle in. I uploaded my first test to sport tracks, zoomed in and my tracks where right where they should be.

The next day my first real test was a drive around town. Leaving the house, with the edge showing the "bike computer 1" page, I pushed the start/stop button to start recording. To my suprise the altitude changed from 860ft. to 6800ft! NOT GOOD :( I then pushed the stop button but nothing. I turned the unit off, then back on and it still read 6800 ft. I pushed the start button again and the altitude returned to 860 ft. No big deal. I then proceded with our drive and scrolled through all of the different screens. I was amazed at how well this thing actually works. We have many rolling hills on the drive and the altitude was right on. The altimeter page showed the progress very accurately and the speed was always right on with the speedometer of the car. We drove by the airport where I work and the elevation showed the exact field elevation that is published. We finished up the drive and I then loaded everything into both Training Center and Sport Tracks. During the upload the unit powered off and I tried turning it back on, but nothing. I've been reading about this on the motion based forum so I did the recommended soft reset which is pressing Mode-reset at the same time and holding it for a moment. The unit chirped briefly, I let go and then pressed power and it came back to life. It hasn't happened since. Once everything was transferred I compared the routes. Training center only showed a yellow track on a blank background, so I did the recommended registry fix...

For the brave Windows XP users amonst you, try:
1) Opening Notepad and cut & paste the following text between the ***:
****************
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Garmin\Mapsource\Products]
"InstallDir"="C:\\Garmin\\"
@=""
****************
2) Save the file as 'Forerunn.reg' - the '.reg' is the important bit. This reproduces the file as received from Garmin.
3) Now right clck the saved file and select 'Merge'.
4) Problem solved.

After doing that it showed a very basic map of the area, but only plotting major roads, no local streets.
The Sport Tracks shows very detailed maps, but for some reason I can't get it to transfer calories or elevation data. Training Center plotted every field accurately and will come in very usefull over time.

My next tests were two 6 mile rides around the neighborhood yesterday. I kept the rides short because it has been 30 degrees here and intermittent snow showers. The first ride I started from my driveway, I didn't even notice if the elevation changed or not when I pushed the start button, but on TC it showed very close. I tried to push myself hard and climb as many hills to see major changes in speed, altitude, heart rate, etc. I also had my cateye computer along side the edge and the speed was identical. I then loaded everything into TC and created a course so I could try out the virtual parter function. Adding user waypoints was very simple and each icon shows up in sequence. I kind of went crazy with the waypoints, plotting every turn and summit. Viewing them on the map in TC is easy, but I discovered when viewing the map on the edge itself you can't see the course, only a cluttered mess of waypoints clustered together. The only way to see the map is to zoom in to a close in vew. Keeping the waypoints to a minimum will make the map easier to view on the unit.

Using the course option is simple. After creating the course, I simply hit the tranfer button in TC and the edge beeped and confirmed the transfer was complete. Then go to the training > courses > select the course you made. Once loaded you can scroll through all of the pages as normal and use the enter button to scroll through the courses pages. I then did the ride again from where I started I hit the start button and off I went chasing the virtual partner. I had to stop almost immediately so I decided to reset the course. I held the reset button and the unit locked up. I waited a few moments and nothing. I then did the soft reset again and it restarted. I loaded the course again and started the ride without any more problems. I was pushing buttons pretty fast when it happened, so I wonder if slowing down and letting it think for a moment would help. Chasing my previous ride was a blast, or should I say outrunning myself. I found myself constantly trying to increase the gap and pull ahead as much as possible. In this mode I found myself scrolling through all of the pages within courses. All I can say is I love this thing! As I said before, I've never used a HRM or GPS and I'm enjoying being able to sit down afterwards and see the ride broken down into so many data fields.

The only problem I'm having so far is that it has locked up 2 times so far, but each time was easy to fix. If it happens during a long ride I'm not sure I'd feel the same way. I've been playing inside and I've noticed that almost without fail, every time I initially start the timer, the altitude changes. Sometimes 20-30 ft. - sometimes 100 or more. For example, I'm at 860 ft. I press the button, it will jump to, say 700 ft.) If I press it again to stop the timer it will stay at 700ft. I can then start and stop and it stays at 700. If I hold the reset or clear the history and start over it will jump again. I imagine it will recalibrate as I start to ride, but I'm going to call garmin and see what they say.

Anyway, as first impressions go, with the exception of the altitude jumps I love the edge. I'm looking forward to things warm up so I can start mapping out all of the different rides in my area. I hope this will be usefull to everyone reading and I'd like to know if anyone else is experiencing the same problems I have been.

Dave

I got 305HR quickly from gpsmarketplace ... ordered the cadence sensor from computers4sure. It tracked well for the first day, then the altimeter malfunctioned. I've since sent it back to Garmin for a replacement. I am confident I'll get one that works.

This is the first bike computer I have that records my HR, Speed/Distance so I love this being able to track and have a history of rides.

Motionbased is great! I think MB is overpriced at $16.95/month. I mean most standalone programs are $90+ dollars, but the MB subscription equals $203/year. Seems excessive, but I like the features and that's what the market will bear, yes?

This will be a great training tool for me.

Yes I would be very interested in how many people are actually paying for MB. I like the features, but not enough to pony up the cash

The barometric pressure sensor on mine is bad as well. I called Garmin this (Monday) morning, spent 40 minutes on hold, then gave up. For those that had to contact Garmin to send theirs back, which contact method did you use - telephone or email?

The barometric pressure sensor on mine is bad as well. I called Garmin this (Monday) morning, spent 40 minutes on hold, then gave up. For those that had to contact Garmin to send theirs back, which contact method did you use - telephone or email?

Was your altimeter jumping when you started the timer or was it just off all of the time?

Has anyone tried using the Edge with Google Earth Plus?:

http://earth.google.com/earth_plus.html

telephone or email?

called first thing in the morning on TH the 9th, took twenty minutes. i have the replacement charging right now.




Was your altimeter jumping when you started the timer or was it just off all of the time?

it was inaccurate all the time. 65,616ft with satellites off ... 8,000' on a ride. our elevation here is about 103' ...

edit: i did e-mail them first on TH ... they want you to call in this case.

Was your altimeter jumping when you started the timer or was it just off all of the time?

All the time. It started off pegged at 65,000+ feet for the first ride. On the second ride, the value varied widely (thousands of feet) every few seconds.

All the time. It started off pegged at 65,000+ feet for the first ride. On the second ride, the value varied widely (thousands of feet) every few seconds.

Mine isn't nearly that bad. When I first turn it on it takes a couple of minutes to calibrate to the correct altitude. The only time it is incorrect is the moment start the timer and in most cases, the discrepancy is within 100ft. I'm guessing I should still call or e-mail Garmin to let them know.

Here's my nitpicks of a generally outstanding product.
The CAD unit:
It has a test button that illuminates as either of the two mags pass by their sensor. Wheel sensor works ... flashes green. Pedal sensor ... I don't know. Due to the location of this little light (right beside the pedal pickup), as the pedal passes by the sensor, it also passes by the light, so unless you have room to stick a dental mirror down there while pedalling, you can't see the light even if it were working.

Garmin, How bout putting the test button/light where you can see it while the item is being tested.

The HRM Unit: Haven't got mine working yet ... displays 54BPM (apparently the lowest possible count it can calculate) while I'm touching the sensor with my hand. When I let go, display switches to ____BPM and my little heart is "x'd". Haven't tried putting it on my back like the instructs say. Guess I'll have to try that. I might be a bad battery. Will get a replacement soon. I guess the one plus in this case is the the two units (CAD & HRM) use the same size batteries so no fumbling with two different sizes.

Edge305:
The Normal/Indoor operation is buried deep in the menu. Who cares? Those of you that have your bike mounted on a trainer indoors will. You have to surf to this menu option EVERY SINGLE TIME you ride your bike indoors or you can wait for it to grind away at locking on to the satellites while indoors. Since you're not going to be moving anyway, the need to lock on at all is unnecessary so switching quickly to GPS "indoors" would be handy. The unit defaults to Normal when powered on. To bad the software can't tie this setting to a setting in your bike definition and when that "indoor" bike setting is chosen, it auto-sets to indoors. So on power up, the unit would load the bike def that was in use on power down including the status of GPS (normal, or Indoors).

Speaking of bike definitions (3 different bikes can be defined). You can enter a name for a waypoint, you can enter a name for a course, you can enter a name for workouts, but you CAN'T enter the name of your bike. Let me see ... what was my TREK 1000 ... Bike 1, 2, or 3?

Future wishes:
Do to the Edge305 what they did to the Garmin 60C ... make it microSD compatible. What about the Edge305x model. A microSD card for each bike? A large capacity microSD card capable of store more than 3.5 hours at 1 point per second?
Also the options for data recording is either 1 point per second (pps) or "smart" recording (kinda guesses what points need saved). The manual states that 1 pps will do about 3.5 hours of data before the oldest data is over written.
So, as another option, why not ... 1 point every 2 seconds (7 hours before over writing). 1 every 3 seconds (10.5 hours before over writing). 10.5 hours is roughly the run time for a fully charged battery. And who knows, depending on your course, 1pe3s may record a more accurate track than "smart" recording.

Other than that, I like the Edge305 unit. It fits better on the mount (fore/aft) as opposed to the FR301 (sideways). I also like the mount clip. The FR301 used kinda the same clip as my old GPSV, and that thing would launch the GPS V at every bump. Had to wrap a strap around the clip lever to keep it "clicked". This new clip seems more trustworthy. Will have to see later.
I like the flexibility of the displays (number of data fields per bike screen) and the ability to put any field anywhere. This is not only for bike screens but for the map, workouts, and courses screens as well. I also like the fact that the date and time of day can be read on the menu screen (saves having time of day out on a bike screen taking up a data space.

It's a very nice product with a few quirks that just happen to push the wrong buttons for me. Garmin definitely has foresight in some areas but walks into walls in others.

Will have to take it outside for a spin. Maybe these quirks are just amplified because I'm trapped inside with the thing.

Good Luck,
d.tipton

Hi All,

Here is my review and some comments to some of the posts above this one.

First, read about my problems with my first unit on the MotionBased Forum:

http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/i...hp?topic=1701.0

I got my replacement unit on Friday, just in time for the Tour de Palm Springs (century). I got the Edge 305 with HR and CAD to replace my reliable but aging Polar 710i. One of the first things that I noticed was that I could ride past the areas that would drive my Polar crazy and the Edge would keep showing the correct heart rate. (It's always a pain when you see your speed and HR drop to zero or go to 220 bpm and 65 mph when you ride past a powerplant. :p )

The unit is a little larger than I expected but it fits well on my 110 mm ITM Millennium stem. I was also able to get the mount to fit properly on my very old style TTT quill stem on my very old Benotto track bike (more on this setup later). The computer definitely makes your bike look a bit geekier, but as one of the original cycling geeks I'll deal with it. ;)

So the actual GPS display on the screen is not tremendously valuable but it is nice to know if you're headed north or south or... Of greater interest is the elevation profile screen. It seems to work well on the replacement unit and it let me see just how much climbing there was during the Tour de Palm Springs.

Operating the unit on the road is pretty easy but I did notice that the buttons on the new unit are harder to press than those on the first unit. Either way the buttons provide no feedback through their feel as to whether or not you pressed it enough. You have to look at the display to tell for certain if you pressed the button hard enough. (BTW, I don't like using the beep sound to tell if I've pressed hard enough because the sound annoys me and I always want to minimize battery consumption.)

As others have noted, downloading data is very convenient. It is fast and the computer also recharges through the USB port. Fast downloading and convenient recharging are important though because memory and battery life are apparently at a premium. Recording data every second only allows for 3-1/2 hours of data. The Smart Recording feature had no problems with my six hours of riding in Palm Springs and the number of discrete data points seems adequate. The battery indicator also showed very low power at the end of the century, but the unit never shut down. However, it does look like you will want to download and recharge pretty much after every ride.

Regarding the CAD sensor, I bought that feature specifically for my track bike. Since the ADT Event Center velodrome is indoors I will need the speed sensor for my Thurday night workouts. I had a little trouble with the setup in that the alignment of the magnets for both cadence and speed seem a little more sensitive to alignment than most of the other computers that I have owned. I still haven't calibrated the wheel size but my short experiment with it seems to show that everything is working.

Likes:
* Highly customizable display screens
* GPS data for post-ride analysis (now I can really see where I ride)
* Insensitive to areas with high EMF (power lines and other mystery sources)
* Stem mounting
* USB data downloading and battery recharging

Dislikes
* Unreliable(?) barometric pressure sensor
* Can't set accessories based on bike -- have to turn accesories (CAD) on for all bikes or no accessories for all bikes
* Tactile feel of buttons is poor
* A bit larger than expected
* Expensive (don't want to crash with this on the bike)
* Battery life is only good for a couple of rides at best
* Data storage is (apparently) only good for a couple of rides

Note that I haven't used any of the training aids yet so there may be more likes in my future. :)

Note to caligurl: I noticed that the initial full charge for my second unit seemed much shorter than for my first. After Palm Springs the unit took quite a bit of time to fully recharge. I still had three power bars after a 3-hour ride on Sunday.

Note to dlink72: It really sounds like you have a defective barometric pressure sensor. My first unit would change rapidly and almost randomly. My second unit seems at least as good as my Polar HRM/computer.

Note to tippy: I have not had any problems with the HR transmitter. I do like the fact that you can change the battery on the transmitter vs. "recycling" the transmitter and buying a new one for Polar.

Finally, does anyone know where you can order additional mounts? One source supposedly has them for about $10 each but the shipping for three of them is an additional $10+. :eek:

Hope this helps.

OK,

I'm a new cyclist, I've owned the Edge 305 for a couple weeks now. I have done a handful of workouts on my indoor trainer, and my first outdoor ride this weekend with the 305. So I leave the actual review of the computer to others. I have put together a set of images to highlight some of the software features, once you download a workout to your PC.

The Edge 305 comes with the latest version of the Garmin Training Center, version 3.02. The software is very well behaved with a simple clean user interface. At first I considered the software rather simple, but it's actually growing on me. It turns out it does most of what I'd like to do. View individual workouts, with free form notes, maps, stats, and a graphic representation of HR and Cadence. It lets you compare two workouts on the same graphic, and show summaries by day, week, month, or totally cycling log.

(Click any thumbnail to see a larger image)
Here is the basic user interface:

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_screen_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_screen.gif)

As several others have reported, when you install the software it doesn't include ANY maps. So you see your course plotted on a white background. Several people have posted a registry hack which turns on the base map which adds major roads and geographic features to your map (as Garmin intended). Here is a sample of the Garmin Base Map with my bike route overlaid on it:

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_map1_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_map1.gif)

I didn't try the registry hack, but I did have a copy of Armin's detailed city maps (MetroGuide) and once I installed it, not only was I able to see the base map, but I was able to see my routes overlaid on Garmin more detailed city maps (still within the training center software). Here is the same route as above with the more detailed map:

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_map2_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_map2.gif)

Here is an example comparing two different workouts. One on the indoor training (with HR steadily rising) and one outdoor (with much more HR fluctuation).

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_compare_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_compare.gif)

Here is an example of seeing a summary of three weeks of rides:

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_total_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/tc_total.gif)

So in general I've come to like Training Center. One thing that is disappointing is that Training Center doesn't allow any printing features, and really doesn't have any "Cool" looking maps.

Another popular tool which is compatible with the Garmin Edge 305, is the MotionBased website (http://www.motionbased.com/). This site allows you to download Edge 305 workouts directly from your bike computer to their website. Their website lets you overlay your rides over a variety of different style maps (road maps, satellite images, etc...) and even have an animated icon follow you route.

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/mb_screen_sm.gif (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/mb_screen.gif)

Motionbased lets you share routes with other users. They offer free accounts, or pay for use accounts which offer more detail analysis of your rides. Currently motionbased supports all the data from the Edge 305, but the website does not yet show cadence information (it's apparently stored, and will show up in a forthcoming upgrade). Motionbased also includes a cool "Gravity" feature which calculates accurate elevation profiles for you rides even if the data recorded in your Edge 305 isn't accurate.

From motionbased, you can also click a link to send your route to the free GoogleEarth program. This program can do a animated flyover of your route, which is pretty cool looking:

http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/ge_screen_sm.jpg (http://www.epilogueguild.com/bike/ge_screen.jpg)

In general I've been pretty happy with the computer and the software options. I'm not a strong cyclist (yet), but I am a geek and the computer and the software log help motivate me to keep using my bike. One other piece of software I have my eye on is http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/garmin/ & http://www.trainingpeaks.com/garmin/. Cycling Peaks is a commercial exercise log (like Garmin Training Center) but with many more features. It's pretty much the gold standard for users that train with powermeters, and the promise to support the Garmin Edge 305 "soon". As you can see the website promises 2/28 (it previously had promised 1/31). This software will likely provide good printing options, and it can also import Polar heartrate data (so I'll be able to merge all the workouts recorded with my Polar 625X and my new workouts from the Garmin). TrainingPeaks is a website service (in some ways similar to motionbased), which is owned by the same folks who own CyclingPeaks. TrainingPeaks just became Garmin 305 compatible today! I haven't tried it yet, but I know it's a popular website for athletes to share their data with coaches.

Anyway, I hope the pics help a bit. Let me know if anyone wants to see anything further.

The CAD unit:
It has a test button that illuminates as either of the two mags pass by their sensor. Wheel sensor works ... flashes green. Pedal sensor ... I don't know. Due to the location of this little light (right beside the pedal pickup), as the pedal passes by the sensor, it also passes by the light, so unless you have room to stick a dental mirror down there while pedalling, you can't see the light even if it were working.
Are you serious about this gripe? I had no issue looking down at an angle to see the LED light when the crank arm passed the sensor. The crank doesn't have to be going fast...the magnet just has to pass the sensor and you can even spin the crank backwards to check it.

Has anyone tried using the Edge with Google Earth Plus?:

http://earth.google.com/earth_plus.html

Don't get Google Earth Plus... it does not work with it.. I have Google Earth Plus and all it does is download the four Garmin locations around the world...

Don't get Google Earth Plus... it does not work with it.. I have Google Earth Plus and all it does is download the four Garmin locations around the world...

One of the main features of Google Earth Plus over the free version of Google Earth, is that plus can directly download data from GPS's units. That feature is NOT compatible with the Edge.

However, there are several ways to get a route from the Edge into Google Earth. You can set up a free account with motionbased (www.motionbased.com), which will let your upload rides from your Edge to their website, and their website includes a feature to transfer a ride to Google Earth. Once there, you can do animated fly throughs of your route, etc... There is no benefit to the Plus vs. the free version for this application though. See my screenshot from GoogleEarth in this thread.

I used a garmin for a few months this winter and had really mixed feelings. While it did give me very accurate speed readings, the negatives outnumbered the positives. The battery life was a pain, but most of all, it was the fact that it relied on satellite connection. I live in Victoria, British Columbia, so there are tons of road that are in wooded areas. I found that even in very lightly covered areas, the Garmin couldn't pick up a satellite, leaving me with a blank screen. It was just really annoying!

I used a garmin for a few months this winter and had really mixed feelings.

Are you talking about the Garmin Edge? It just came out!

TrainingPeaks just became Garmin 305 compatible today! I haven't tried it yet, but I know it's a popular website for athletes to share their data with coaches.

I've been using TP for a week and I like all the metrics you can track. I'll see what the uploads from device are like. Should be pretty cool.

One thing I don't like about the Edge is that I can't change the heading to cardinal numbers ... I mean North is North but 000 and 010 are two different things.

Thanks Dahvaio and Vbclown for the Google Earth Plus feedback. Good to know I could use a free MotionBased account to liaison with it.

Like everyone else, I'm keen to get training data and HRM functions and all that. But I've been salivating over the 305 (and its predecessors) because they might help me put together detailed ride reports...because I'm a dork like that.

What I'd really like is a way to automate synchronization between the Garmin's GPS data with a publicly-browsable site like Wayfaring.com (http://www.wayfaring.com). The GPS data would be for eliminating the tedious process of clicking out routes by hand and the Wayfaring site/interface would be for enabling ride annotation/notes/etc.

The GPS would also be cool because, I assume, one can pick out a specific time during one's ride and find out where one was at that moment. If my digital camera's clock is synched with the GPS's, then I would be able to always know precisely where a picture was taken. With Flickr/Google Maps/GPS mash-up web apps, this could help folks do some really cool route guides.

Anyway...I'm still trying to figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle would fit together, so I really appreciate all the detailed reviews that have been posted. Thanks for the effort, folks.

Are you serious about this gripe? I had no issue looking down at an angle to see the LED light when the crank arm passed the sensor. The crank doesn't have to be going fast...the magnet just has to pass the sensor and you can even spin the crank backwards to check it.
Here's my nitpicks of a generally outstanding product.
As you can see, I said it was a nitpick ... not a gripe. A gripe would have happened if I couldn't get the thing to work at all. Besides, you can read a few posts that said they had to tilt the unit slightly outboard to close the necessary gap to the pedal (I had to do this too). With the unit tilted outward, the indicator gets tilted downward, thus making it more difficult to see the flashing red as you say "looking down at an angle to see the LED light". Laying on the floor looking up at the indicator while pedalling would be necessary.

"you can even spin the crank backwards to check it" ... Huh? If you cant see the light cranking foreward, how does cranking it backwards make the pedal (that is blocking the view) suddenly become invisible?

Besides ... cranking backwards causes the green flash not to work. :D

My CAD unit is working just fine even without seeing the flashing red ... so no gripes about that.
Why I can't rename Bike 1 profile to TREK 1000 profile ... now that's a gripe.

Good Luck,
d.tipton

Does the Edge navigate - for example, can one program in a cue sheet and get instructions back out as you ride along?

Ok really stupid question, but how does it track your speed if you dont get the cadence version? By satellite?

Ok really stupid question, but how does it track your speed if you dont get the cadence version? By satellite?

Yes, it tracks speed by satellite and the only time that the speed/cadence sensor kicks in is when you have really bad satellite reception or no signal at all. The cadence sensor activates with each turn of the crank, like any other cadence unit.

I have to state that the Garmin does a fantastic job with speed. I have a Polar S725 and my speed would drop out all of the time. I would look down and it would read 0MPH for an extended period of time. I have yet to see the Edge drop in speed or not display it.

The Grade % function is awesome... I have it displaying all of the time and it is really accurate...

One quick word of warning. My polar works great *right now* for heart rate.

Confused yet? How about this. It is because it is cold outside.

Uhm, Air conditioning? Massively increased power draw? Ahh, now you are with me. Right now the power lines in my area are just barely humming along as we all have natural gas, but come the summer I know my polar unit will yet once again start giving me 255hbpm readings. Will my garmin? Who knows, but just remember this before you start thinking the unit is broken, though I think it will be a good thing to post to let everyone know.

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my UPS guy FINALLY brought it friday afternoon.... after scolding him for being so late... i hugged him and thanked him!
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Why is it I think I know who will be getting UPS packages first from now on? They used to come to my door at 8am, now 6:59pm. I would try the hugging thing, but somehow I don't think it would have the same effect ;)

Why is it I think I know who will be getting UPS packages first from now on? They used to come to my door at 8am, now 6:59pm. I would try the hugging thing, but somehow I don't think it would have the same effect ;)

lol! within our building.. i DO get my packages first! lol! when i was expecting my computer a while back.. he did come straight here... first stop that day! shoulda heard me scream! :D :rolleyes: :p

i'm annoyed at my edge again... this is a gripe though.... i was reading at motionbased about the way the edge calculates calories.... i had noticed that according to my edge... i burned the least amount of calories while climbing the other day... but burned a lot descending the hill.. and getting to and from it...??? whatsupwiththat?

apparently the edge (and other gamin gps's) calculate calories based on speed :eek: get real! so if i'm grinding away up a hill... or into a headwind... (or mountain biking) i'm not going to burn as many calories (according to the edge) as if i'm speeding down a hill or have a tailwind (where i'm really NOT working as hard!) :mad: :mad: :mad:

very annoying :mad: :mad:

i know my OVERALL calorie count... before i played with laps the other day... was on par with the polar.... but once i broke it down into laps and saw what is was saying.. and realized that a day of mountainbiking or a day of hill climbing on the roadie will result in LOW calories.... it really irked me!

and i agree... i want to NAME my three bikes! it can't be THAT hard to do that!

That sucks. I know the polar is based off of some sort of algorithm of age vs vo2 vs speed vs heart rate. I cant say it is absolutely accurate, but it seems to work for me.

If the garmin is speed only based, thats a shame. Our bodies are not perfectly efficient so heart rate is a good indicator of general output.

i'm annoyed at my edge again... this is a gripe though.... i was reading at motionbased about the way the edge calculates calories.... i had noticed that according to my edge... i burned the least amount of calories while climbing the other day... but burned a lot descending the hill.. and getting to and from it...??? whatsupwiththat?

How long is your hill? I suspect there is some amount of averaging going on in the calorie formula. That will cause a delay in displaying your numbers. If your hill is very short (less than 10 minutes to climb), then you might not see the climbing calories register until you hit the downhill on the other side.

it's over 3 miles.... so more than 10 minutes for me to climb! lol!

i will say it's "fun" watching the grade percentage.... 5%.... 6%.... 4%..... 6%.... etc! interesting!

i actually turn around and come down.... it's over 50 miles to do a roundtrip out the other end of the park... can't do that on an after workday! lol!

they are disussing this at motionbased.... the mountain bikers are getting really low calorie readings.. because of course... you usually go slower on a mountain bike than a road bike!

i'm annoyed at my edge again... this is a gripe though.... i was reading at motionbased about the way the edge calculates calories.... i had noticed that according to my edge... i burned the least amount of calories while climbing the other day... but burned a lot descending the hill.. and getting to and from it...??? whatsupwiththat?

apparently the edge (and other gamin gps's) calculate calories based on speed :eek: get real! so if i'm grinding away up a hill... or into a headwind... (or mountain biking) i'm not going to burn as many calories (according to the edge) as if i'm speeding down a hill or have a tailwind (where i'm really NOT working as hard!) :mad: :mad: :mad:

very annoying :mad: :mad:

i know my OVERALL calorie count... before i played with laps the other day... was on par with the polar.... but once i broke it down into laps and saw what is was saying.. and realized that a day of mountainbiking or a day of hill climbing on the roadie will result in LOW calories.... it really irked me!

So what do you even use the calorie count for? If it's just some formula I doubt it would be correct. It seems like you might need a Powertap or something that measured power as well. But even if you had the right calorie count I'm still not sure what you use it for. Inquiring minds want to know...

John

uhm.... cuz i always assumed with the polar it was in the ballpark.... sure... not absolute... but better than the calorie calculators out there on the internet!

and... as for having the correct calorie count.... i want it so i can know how much i can eat (i like food!)

i'm a small person... so i only get to have 1220 calories a day.... i ride my bike so i can have more caloires.... but i need to know HOW MANY i can have so that i don't get fat! heck... i swear i'm the only person who has actually gained weight since taking up cycling! cuz i think i can eat more since i ride! apparently not! so now i try to watch my calories (i already eat healthy food 99% of the time... so that's not an issue)

but we're getting off the subject! i just want a closer calorie count.. and garmin has the means to do that.. rather than basing it on SPEED... how dumb is that?

(last night i was flying with my 20mph tail winds... ya... i "burned" a lot of caloried according to the edge.... turned around and was working into that same wind.. now a headwind... you guessed it.. i burned less calories according to the edge cuz i was going slower GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrr)

tonight i'm wearing my polar HRM along with the strap for the edge.. and i'm gonna see what i get! (that is if they don't interfere with each other)

Sort of on topic. Anyone use one of the Foretrex Garmin units? I like the idea of a wrist mount since I do a lot of hiking also.

Does the Edge navigate - for example, can one program in a cue sheet and get instructions back out as you ride along?

Great minds think alike. I've got an email into Garmin on this point. I don't think it has any mapping capability other than Lat/Long info but I thought I'd check. Garmin would call this a "turn by turn" set of instructions (we have a Garmin mapping GPS in our vans). I got turned around out in the county (gray day, couldn't see sun, didn't have my compass along) and wanted some positive ID on my location in the future, particularly if I have to call for my support team (read:spouse) to come to my aid. ;)

I was thinking a traditional bike computer + a garmin or equivalent bike mountable (there are several) mapping GPS would be a good combo. I doubt if I'm going to ride beyond the scope of 32mb of map data. Interestingly, Garmin has a new Legend/Vista (Cx models) that can carry very large memory cards.

I'll post again if Garmin says something interesting, like, the Edge will do turn by turn (cue sheet) stuff.

Bill

no... no navigation... no turn by turn.... no mapping.... the only thing it does is draw a line to show the route you've taken.. but no streets.. no map.... nothing like that at all....

i think the edge would cost $800+ if it had navigation and enough memory to hold maps and still do everything it already does ...

the bike computer + a gpsmap is a good combo if you want navigation.

not to mention... you couldn't really read the streets... i guess the turn by turn would work... if you could hear it above wind noise :) but as for trying to actually read a map on the screen.. nope... too small... you'd have to zoom in so far.. you wouldn't be able to see much more than the street you are are currently on (which is kinda what the line shows.. without the name!)

i'm happy with the edge the way it is.. (well... except for the weird way it counts calories :mad: :mad: :mad: ) IF we wanted navigation.. we have a handheld w/a bikemount that we could never use with the polar cuz it interferred with it (the polar.. would go whacky!)

Great minds think alike. I've got an email into Garmin on this point. I don't think it has any mapping capability other than Lat/Long info but I thought I'd check.

It doesn't even display lat/lon. You need to download your track to a PC to see where you've been.

Here's the reply from Garmin but I think others have answered the question about cue sheets based on street routing:

Thank you for contacting Garmin.

You can manually create routes on the unit as well as transferred to the
unit using Mapsource products. The unit only supports point to point
routing though, not road navigation routing.

Feel free to contact us again by phone(M-F 8am-5pm CST) or e-mail for any
further assistance.

Jeremy
Product Support Specialist
Garmin International
1200 E 151st St.
Olathe, KS 66062
Ph: 1-800-800-1020
Fax: 1-913-440-5488
www.Garmin.com




Great minds think alike. I've got an email into Garmin on this point. I don't think it has any mapping capability other than Lat/Long info but I thought I'd check. Garmin would call this a "turn by turn" set of instructions (we have a Garmin mapping GPS in our vans). I got turned around out in the county (gray day, couldn't see sun, didn't have my compass along) and wanted some positive ID on my location in the future, particularly if I have to call for my support team (read:spouse) to come to my aid. ;)

I was thinking a traditional bike computer + a garmin or equivalent bike mountable (there are several) mapping GPS would be a good combo. I doubt if I'm going to ride beyond the scope of 32mb of map data. Interestingly, Garmin has a new Legend/Vista (Cx models) that can carry very large memory cards.

I'll post again if Garmin says something interesting, like, the Edge will do turn by turn (cue sheet) stuff.

Bill

Just got my 305. Too cold here to ride, but took it for a ride in my car. Camb back and loaded the data into TrainingCenter. Couple of questions:

Do you have to buy MapSource maps to view the route on a map, or is there a place to get the maps?

I purchased DeLorme's TopoUSA and I was hoping to upload the routes to that. Anybody try that? I was also hoping to be able to upload routes from TopoUSA to the 305.

Thanks for your help....this is a great thread.

Matt

I received my Edge 305 a few days ago, and the altimeter is also bad. I live at sea level (literally), and the altimeter shows my elevation at 65,800 feet. No amount of resets changes this. It always climbs back to 65,800, and will remain at that altitude. I reloaded firmware twice, and have let the unit sit in a window with a good GPS fix for 10 hours to let the "auto_cal" occur. No luck.

The good news is that every other feature works well, but I bought this thing mainly for altitude, and to clean up my handlebar. Hope others are having better luck. I am disappointed.

I received my Edge 305 a few days ago, and the altimeter is also bad. I live at sea level (literally), and the altimeter shows my elevation at 65,800 feet. No amount of resets changes this. It always climbs back to 65,800, and will remain at that altitude. I reloaded firmware twice, and have let the unit sit in a window with a good GPS fix for 10 hours to let the "auto_cal" occur. No luck.

The good news is that every other feature works well, but I bought this thing mainly for altitude, and to clean up my handlebar. Hope others are having better luck. I am disappointed.


Could you take picture of your Edge displaying the 65,800? Just curious as to how it displays the numbers...

I received my Edge 305 a few days ago, and the altimeter is also bad. I live at sea level (literally), and the altimeter shows my elevation at 65,800 feet. No amount of resets changes this. It always climbs back to 65,800, and will remain at that altitude. I reloaded firmware twice, and have let the unit sit in a window with a good GPS fix for 10 hours to let the "auto_cal" occur. No luck.
Hi,

Please read my earlier post in this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=2172467&postcount=16

Also look at the link in my post to another post on MotionBased. I think that you will need to get a warranty replacement. I don't like hearing about so many units with bad barometric pressure sensors. :(

Anyone else use TopoFusion (http://www.topofusion.com/index.php)? It doesn't do HR but it works very well with GPS units (I have the Garmin eTrex Vista). It enables you to upload your rides and overlay them on maps and do some analysis.

I have a Polar F11 HRM (no cycling functions) as well and it would be great to get everything into one device, however, dropping a bunch more money on electronics isn't something I really want to do. It is great to watch a simulation of your ride overlayed on the map and with the elevation plot.

Check out TopoFusion. I think I paid $40 for it last summer.

I went on my first ride with this computer yesterday. It functioned (for the most part) flawlessly for me. The only problem that I had was getting my initial fix in an area with many tall buildings blocking open sky. The elevation was spot on or as accurate as you could hope for, when riding along some tidal flats I got +/- 5ft pretty close and on the return trip at the start point the elevation was only off by 10ft from the original number. There seems to be a slight amount of lag in the speed (I'm not using the cadence/speed sensor) but I'm not sure how much better a normal computer would do. From what others have said it seemed like the calorie count would underestimate the number but for me it seemed pretty generous probably a little too generous. But these kinds of things are only estimates anyways. I'm sure none of the estimates from polar or other meters would hold up to scrutiny if you compared them to lab generated numbers across a population. No displayable lat lon coordinates seem sorta weird to me (it seems easy enough for them to add if they wanted), but perhaps its some sort of liability issue for them, who knows. After ride analysis with the motion based software is nice and the google maps fly-overs are pretty cool. I can't comment on battery life as my ride was only 3hr, so no problems to report there yet. It's just a guess but the battery might need to be cycled a few times for max performance, but it's just a guess.

4.5 out of 5

Final verdict: The ultimate (non power measuring) cyclocomputer yet
Erik

Finally got out with my Edge today and I am pretty satisifed with the results. Unfortunetly I have the altitude problem and had to call Garmin for a replacement unit. They know that there is a batch of these units that are defective and will replace them in a trade out. They won't have more units in stock for a couple of week, but this is not too much of a problem for me since I don't have more than a few feet of elevation changes down here in Miami. I did run into a problem with Motion Based, I installed the 2.2.0.19 beta of the agent and it reads the 305 but it logged my 20.5mi today as 1,625mi?? Also I tried to read the Training Center .hst file which it says it supports but it would not do so. May just be a problem with the wacky elevation data i.e. -591 ft to 65,556ft. I guess I'll wait until I get the new unit to play with this