Was it a route that you created (a GPX file)? YES
Did you have a routeable map turned on? YES
Did you select "Guidance Method" of "Off Road" in the settings/routing menu?
Have it defaulted to "prompted".

Meanwhile... we just created a short test map in mapmyride and manually put in notes for each turn. We saved it as gpx and transfered to device. We're able to follow the map but we get NO turn-by-turns at all, not even the east/north type we got the other way. We're trying to find the best way to manually create a bike ride loop with cue sheets. I've read and read, and sifted all this stuff and still can't seem to make this happen. What are we doing wrong?

Thanks,
Sheila

Since you had prompted selected what method did you choose in the pop up box that comes up next?

Correction, I used TCX not GPX format. And I don't know what you mean by the pop-up that comes next. We're talking about in the Settings/Route, right? There's no popup. Underneath Guidance method I have the choice of Avoiding unpaved roads and major streets. I have major streets checked but not unpaved. Is that what you meant?

Is it even possible to get a turn-by-turn cue sheet ala navigating directly with the GPS when using any mapping tools? We successfully used MapMyRoute.com and got a lovely map and printed cue sheet. I had thought that the turns in the cue sheet should be able to be displayed with the tcx file but it's not. I just want to know if that's possible and how.

Thanks again.

Ok, we need to go back to the basics a little bit here.

Route
- GPX extension
- Requires routable maps to be on your Edge
- Supports autorouting (not good if you are attempting to follow a SPECIFIC path as the unit may optimize the path as it sees fit)
- Has mutiple turn warnings before each turn
- Has a digital cue sheet
- Mapsource will directly create this type of file
- MotionBased downloads a hybrid of this file type that does not support autorouting

Course
- TCX or CRS file
- Does not require ANY maps to be loaded to your Edge
- Does NOT support autorouting (means that the path you chose for it to follow will not be deviated from, you will get warnings when you have left the path but will be forced to find your own way back)
- Only has turn warnings if YOU set them
- Only has a digital cue sheet if you created turn warnings listed in line above
- Mapsource will not directly create this type of file without utilizing mutiple shareware products (I have them and the instructions if you are interested)
- MotionBased downloads this type of file along with many other websites (BikeRouteToaster.com is my favorite)

Ok, that said. On BikeRouteToaster.com do the following to get a COURSE that has turn warnings and digital cue sheet:
- go to www.bikeroutetoaster.com
- select Course Creator
- In the Controls Box be sure the following are selected
- Use autorouting
- Add Course Points at junctions
- On the Summary tab select "Add Course Point Warnings"
- Create your course using the map page
- Name your course on the Summary Tab
- Download your Course to your Edge from the Summary tab also. Choose the "To File" "tcx" link and save the file on your Edge (or PC and move to Edge manually to the Course folder)
- Go out and ride your course!

S2cycle, just to add, MapMyRide creates GPX (route) as well as CRS (track) files, and if you use the GPX option you will get, as Luv2Climb says, turn warnings and digital cue sheets. It appears you already know how to print the cue sheets from MapMyRide if you want hard copy as well (haven't done that myself).

thank you BOTH so much. That's the best explanation I've seen. It gives me a lot to go on. Will try working on it some more in the next few days and will hopefully not have to bother you any more.

Sheila

OK - tell me what I'm doing wrong. I followed the outline to use bikeroutetoaster to plot a course and save it as tcx. On my desktop the file appears as "course.tcx". I also saved the file to the Edge, and it shows up on the SD card in the Course folder as "scenic.tcx" (scenic being the name I gave it). When I turn on the Garmin and navigate to "where to -> saved rides" tab, it tells me that I have no saved rides.

Zoeste...I'm so happy to actually be able to offer help... I think you must save a tcx file in the courses folder then you'll find it by going to training/courses. That works for me.

I'm finding when I follow the directions to set BikeRouteToaster to auto route, etc, that it's quite unpredictable. It doesn't always put a course point in AND sometimes the auto-notes says left when it's right and visa-versa! Not too helpful. But I am able to save a tcx and load and see it and follow it so at least I'm making progress. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong to get such erratic behavior? I also tried saving it as a GPX file and putting it in the GPX folder. But that file is not showing up in saved files or anywhere else. Not sure why. But it sounds like I should work with TCX not GPX anyhow. Just experimenting.

Ahhhh...very cool! I really should RTFM :) I was looking in the Where to section, not the training section

I'll give that a try when I get home from work.

Thanks.

While we're on the subject of courses... is there a good source of pre-made courses?

I tend to create all of my own courses. Have you browsed MotionBased? I think Bicycling has some to, http://alloverthemap.bicycling.com/.

mapmyride (http://www.mapmyride.com/) has a searchable library of rides, too.

using ver 2.3 here and took my bike up to the mountains for a ride - turned on the unit up there and elevation seemed about correct and all functions worked fine on the ride. turned theunit off and drove home and now elevation is about 3,200 feet off. anyone have any ideas why? can i just reset the elevation function? am i being punished for not riding all the way up there?

Has there been a solution to this problem that I'm missing short of going to Garmin? My 705 has done exactly the same:

I rode at altitude, saved the ride, shut down, next start up back down in the basin and according to the 705 I'm still up in the atmosphere several thousand feet.

Note: ver 2.3

My 705 has started to Autopause/Autoresume in rapid succession at inappropriate times (I'm pedaling and going 14 mph) about every 5-10 minutes. It seems to have something to do with cloud cover, but that could just be me making up excuses. Anyone else have this problem and a fix for it?

Mine started doing that tonight for the first time ever. The constant beeping every few seconds was driving me batty. Power-cycling made no difference, so I finally had to leave the timer shut off. I checked the wheel magnet, and it was in proper position.

Has there been a solution to this problem that I'm missing short of going to Garmin? My 705 has done exactly the same:

I rode at altitude, saved the ride, shut down, next start up back down in the basin and according to the 705 I'm still up in the atmosphere several thousand feet.

Note: ver 2.3


Not yet however in conversations with Garmin some other users have been told that the next update is addressing it. No ETA given yet for the update though.

My 705 has had the stuck at altitude problem a couple of times. The only workaround I've found is to do a reset, with the unit turned off hold down the mode button then press the power to turn it on. You'll be prompted asking if you want to erase all user data. I believe this just deletes the profiles, none of the saved rides.

Before I did the reset I backed up the profile xml's and then just copied them back onto the unit, so I didn't lose any major information/settings.

While we're on the subject of courses... is there a good source of pre-made courses?

I have found it helpfull to log into motionbased and search the Trail Network for rides in the area you want to ride and when you find one save it as a course file.

Does anybody know if you can do the following:

1) get the Edge 705 w/o the microSD card
2) get the Mapsource City Navigator DVD
3) get a 1 GB microSD card
4) load City Navigator database on card
5) use card in Edge 705 like if you got full 705 bundle w/ street level map (Garmin Edge 705, Heart Rate, Speed/Cadence & Data Card with Street Maps 010-00555-40)

Thanks for your help.

this is an old post and don't know if its been answered, since I am only on page 3 of this thread. You can get the 705 without the pre-loaded micro SD card. I however, got the boxed version with the pre-loaded maps from a guy on Craigslist. It wasn't until after I bought it that I found out that you can't copy the City Navigator maps from the pre-loaded card and use them on your computer: you can only use them on the device. This sucks because the City Navigator DVD allows you to load the maps on both your computer and a blank micro SD card, and its about the same price.

I talked to Garmin and told them I thought that was a raw deal. They took the pre-loaded card back from me via an RMA number, and they sent me the DVD as a replacement, so they are cool about that. So if any of you are in this predicament, just call Garmin customer service and they should take care of you.

Now, I have a couple questions...

I understand the difference between a route and a course, but what exactly is a track?

Also, I can't find an auto route feature in MapSource. What is the easiest way to map a course? For example, I don't want to keep clicking waypoints on a road that curves, so I would like to designate a road as part of the course, and let MapSource follow that road, and then tell it when I want to turn onto another, etc.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Now, I have a couple questions...

I understand the difference between a route and a course, but what exactly is a track?

Also, I can't find an auto route feature in MapSource. What is the easiest way to map a course? For example, I don't want to keep clicking waypoints on a road that curves, so I would like to designate a road as part of the course, and let MapSource follow that road, and then tell it when I want to turn onto another, etc.

Thanks for the help in advance.

A track is a type of route file. It does not contain autorouting info and is like a breadcrumb trail so it contains more points than a route designed for autorouting. Another way to describe it is a course with no elevation and virtual partner details however it is saved as route and not a course. Did I confuse you more?

To turn on autorouting go to Edit/Preferences/Routing and for route style choose "Use Auto-Routing". On this same screen you can also set the specific auto routing preferences you want it to use, like car or bicycle, faster time or shorter distance.

When designing a route you want to click on all the important areas you want the route to follow. Once you set the above settings just starting playing with building a route. It should make more sense as you do that.

Post again if something does not make sense.

My 705 has started to Autopause/Autoresume in rapid succession at inappropriate times (I'm pedaling and going 14 mph) about every 5-10 minutes. It seems to have something to do with cloud cover, but that could just be me making up excuses. Anyone else have this problem and a fix for it?

Well, to followup my own post, I think I found the problem; The speed/cadence battery was low.
The first time I had a CR2032 battery go flaky was in a HR monitor. Oddly, it tested just slightly over 3.0V, but replacing it with a new one solved the problem. Same thing with the speed/cadence sensor. I can only guess that when these batteries are worn out, they will still show nearly normal voltage when not under load, but their voltage must drop off when installed in a circuit.

A track is a type of route file. It does not contain autorouting info and is like a breadcrumb trail so it contains more points than a route designed for autorouting. Another way to describe it is a course with no elevation and virtual partner details however it is saved as route and not a course. Did I confuse you more?

To turn on autorouting go to Edit/Preferences/Routing and for route style choose "Use Auto-Routing". On this same screen you can also set the specific auto routing preferences you want it to use, like car or bicycle, faster time or shorter distance.

When designing a route you want to click on all the important areas you want the route to follow. Once you set the above settings just starting playing with building a route. It should make more sense as you do that.

Post again if something does not make sense.

Thanks for the reply. So since my 705 has altimeter functions a track is not really worth my time, correct? I should stick with routes and courses?

Also, how do you do an out and back route or course? For example: I can plot 25 or 50 miles out on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, out of Front Royal VA, bout how do I plot the return on the same roadway to save it as a route or course?

Thanks for the reply. So since my 705 has altimeter functions a track is not really worth my time, correct? I should stick with routes and courses?

Also, how do you do an out and back route or course? For example: I can plot 25 or 50 miles out on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, out of Front Royal VA, bout how do I plot the return on the same roadway to save it as a route or course?

If you are riding on the road a track is not that great. If you are riding off road they may be of benefit.

To create an out and back route (simiplified instructions) you would click your start point, your turnaround point and the end point (which is the start in this case). Mapsource will take care of routing you.

To create a course you would do the same thing except Mapsource will not create a course without jumping through several hoops. A better way to create a course is to use BikeRouteToaster.com.

Does anybody else have the same issue with Bikeroutetoaster that I do? I can create a course just fine, when I try to download without course point warnings the route comes out ok. If I select the box to add course point warnings it adds the warning points at random spots. In other words...instead of the warning point being 200 or 300 ft in front of the turn, it places it 200-300 ft off to the side, sometimes even beyond the turn. I've tried just about every variable I can and the result is the same every time.

I use track points and autoroute. I have to download the tcx files first then drag them to the edge course folder. If I try to download straight to the 705, I get an error message from garmin connect every time.

Anyone else experience this or have any suggestioins?

I only tried making a course with warning points a few times. I noticed that when using Training Center, I had to create the points earlier than the turns if I actually wanted to be "warned" of the turns.

I have switched to creating routes using "Garmin Roadtrip" for the Mac. By placing a waypoint at nearly every turn of the route, I can create a route the follows specific roads even if they are not the quickest route. The only issues I have encountered are when the roads are not available in the City Navigator maps.

My first post in this thread ...

My 705 is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I have been looking around for microSD cards, maps, etc.

Anyway, the '09 NT Update is available at Circuit City for $79 and I just got a coupon book from Circuit City and one of the coupons is for 25% off on Garmin/TomTom/Magellen map updates. So, you can get your '09 NT for ~$59. This is at least $15 cheaper than anywhere else I have found, so I am posting this as a "705 tip" ;-)


Great thread, BTW. I did a lot of reading here before I decided to pull the pin and get the 705. I am going to be using it primarily for MTB'ing in the woods of New England, and I'd like to think that this is going to help me keep from getting lost. I do like adventure biking, but I also like to ride by myself a lot and getting lost and in trouble is not good when you are alone. I'm also planning to use the 705 for backcountry skiing and in my car. I'll be able to check my stress levels (via HR monitor) when I'm stuck in traffic ;-))))

Lots of great posts by luv2climb. Nice work!

For those still watching this oh so long thread, the 2.5 update is out for the 605/705. To update your Edge use the Garmin WebUpdater. Update notes here:

Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:
Implemented change to allow the user to access Map Setup option for tracks which will allow showing that track on a map, and what color to display it in.
Added ability to set Off-Route Recalculation behavior in Routing menu. User can set it to Automatic, Off, or Prompted.
Fixed issue with long routes shutting down.
Fixed issue where Autopause and Start/Stop were not getting saved into the History files. This could also cause Courses created from this History to not register these times.
Fixed issue where History files would occasionally not upload due to misaligned data.
Fixed inaccurate elevation when moving to and from areas with distinctly different altitudes or atmospheric pressures.
Fixed random elevation spike in the first few track points.
Added the ability to delete tracks.
Fixed issue where speed would drop to 0 going through turns.
Fixed issue where viewing a Course on a map went to the wrong location.
Fixed barometer initialization issues in situations where the unit is turned off and back on within 5 minutes in the same location.
Fixed issue with Course List where actions could be applied to the wrong Course.
Fixed issue where course guidance lines were drawn on top of roads.
Fixed issue with repeated Autopausing when using a wheel sensor.
Fixed issue with creating a Workout with Spanish language selected.
Improved German translations.

thanks for the heads up!

Added ability to set Off-Route Recalculation behavior in Routing menu. User can set it to Automatic, Off, or Prompted.

wow, that's huge.

I have the Edge 705 with cadence and map data but I'm not real impressed with Training Center. I'd LOVE to have Ascent but I'm not a MAC guy -- what other software option are there that are better than the Garmin crud?

Anyone heard if Montebello plans to port Ascent to the PC?


Brian

Have you looked at SportTracks?

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

Have you looked at SportTracks?

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


Thanks, I just downloaded and so far it looks pretty good.


Brian

I have the Edge 705 with cadence and map data but I'm not real impressed with Training Center. I'd LOVE to have Ascent but I'm not a MAC guy -- what other software option are there that are better than the Garmin crud?

Anyone heard if Montebello plans to port Ascent to the PC?


Brian

I spoke with the developer of Ascent several times over the last 2 yrs. He has no time to port it to Windows. I ended up by a MacBookPro so I bought Ascent and love it. It blows away everything out there for Windows, including SportTracks.

Just bought my 705 after using a 305 over the last 2 yrs. Still reading through this entire thread and learning the 705. Used it on my first ride yesterday and like it. One thing I noticed that it doesn't do that my 305 does, it holds onto a course if you tell it to "Do course". I always set what course I wanted to ride the night before a ride. On the 305 I would just turn it on in the morning and hit start and I was off. With the 705 I had to tell it to "Do Course" before my ride because it "forgot" what I had told it to do the night before. I am running the latest and greatest 2.50 upgrade so that wouldn't be it, probably a limitation of the unit as of now.

Waiting for my map software to arrive so I can see how it works with that.

The thing is, now that MACS are Intel based you'd think porting over would be pretty easy -- I guess not. So, for the time being, I'll use SportTracks and hope they iron out some of the bugs and continue to add features to make it competitive to Ascent. I just can't swing a MAC, new or used, for a single application! :cry: :(


Brian

Porting software has very little to do with hardware and everything to do with the OS. OS X is an entirely different animal from XP/Vista. It is more of a Linux variant which in turn is a variant of UNIX... There is a company that's working on a program to making porting apps between the OS's simpler... but so far it's still in beta last I heard.

Porting software has very little to do with hardware and everything to do with the OS. OS X is an entirely different animal from XP/Vista. It is more of a Linux variant which in turn is a variant of UNIX... There is a company that's working on a program to making porting apps between the OS's simpler... but so far it's still in beta last I heard.

I don't know that I completely agree with this as the OS has to be related to the hardware and if the hardware is more closely related the OS would necessarily be as well. I'm not saying it is trivial just that it shouldn't be so hard.

But, if Montebello have no interest in the 15X larger market that Windows based PC's offer then that just means there competitors can make more with less -- there choice!


Brian

Searching this thread I've only found one post from June regarding power monitoring. I'm interested in any input. Difficulties, satisfaction, especially with the SRM as it relates to the Garmin Edge 705. Also what web site or preferred program do you use for tracking .

Well the only power meter I can comment on at this time is the iBike Aero. I used one for about a month and it worked fine. There were occassional drop outs for a few secounds despite the fact that the units were only about 2" apart. I now have a Power Tap and am waiting for the Ant+ updater to show up.

The biggest challenge that I see with the Garmin is how it averages power. Currently the Garmin averages the power only when you are pedaling. There is no option to have it also display the overall average (including the non-pedaling time). Both of these figures are of value top users of power meters.

In addition Training Center does not display any of the power data that the Edge records. You will need another application to do this. I dont think this is an issue as most folks that are using a power meter already are most likely running another application that captures this data.

Hope that helps a bit. You can find more info over at http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?board=86.0.

For those still watching this oh so long thread, the 2.5 update is out for the 605/705. To update your Edge use the Garmin WebUpdater. Update notes here:

Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:
Implemented change to allow the user to access Map Setup option for tracks which will allow showing that track on a map, and what color to display it in.

This may be a total noob question, but how does one do this? I've done the 2.5 update, but as for getting tracks to show up like this, I'm drawing a total blank.

This may be a total noob question, but how does one do this? I've done the 2.5 update, but as for getting tracks to show up like this, I'm drawing a total blank.

This feature only applies to a GPX file that is saved as a track and not waypoints. I belive that MotionBased files that are downloaded in GPX format are tracks.

Make sense?

This feature only applies to a GPX file that is saved as a track and not waypoints. I belive that MotionBased files that are downloaded in GPX format are tracks.

Make sense?

Not yet. I can see that I'm going to need to dig into this deeper than I thought. I know there are a number of different file formats, and differences between routes and tracks, but I was sort of hoping that this update was a feature that I'd been dearly hoping for - a simple way to take a route that I've ridden, and then tell the GPS to add that route as a trail overlaid on my mapset. Soooo...not that simple, huh?

I just tried BikeRouteToaster for the first time and it's a great little program. You can use all the features of Google Maps to plot a ride and turn it into a course for the Edge 705. But when I tried to save the tcx file to my Garmin, the webpage said it was saved but it was not there. I finally found that I could save it to my hard drive--it showed up as course.tcx and then copy it over to the course folder on the Garmin. But it seems like Google should know how to get this to happen in one step. Does anybody know what the secret is? I am using a Mac with Intel processor and Safari browser, and I have already downloaded the Garmin plugin and the Garmin test said that it's working fine.

BTW, I think these third-party programs are a great idea because when you are lost in a maze of streets, it's much nicer to have a course you can use to get somewhere because the GPS system often sends you on roads you may not want to be on...

I don't know that I completely agree with this as the OS has to be related to the hardware and if the hardware is more closely related the OS would necessarily be as well. I'm not saying it is trivial just that it shouldn't be so hard.

But, if Montebello have no interest in the 15X larger market that Windows based PC's offer then that just means there competitors can make more with less -- there choice!


Brian

I know just a little about programming OS X. The problem is that Ascent is written using Objective C, which is C with object-oriented extensions....only available on the Mac. It is just -barely- possible to port such code to Linux, and I don't know of any easy way to port to Windows. The problem is not the code that Montebello software wrote; that's probably a lot of fairly standard C code. The problem is the Obj C frameworks, which are only available on the Mac.

Hi, everyone. I'm a complete novice when it comes to bike GPS units, so please bear with me. I've read through perhaps a third of the posts in this thread, but I wanted to clarify a few things:

o It sounds like the Edge 705 works fairly well for Mac users. Is Ascent the software of choice to use? I'm interested in:
o having the Edge track my ride and then let me upload it with altitude/HRM data to Ascent
o Being able to take maps from mapmyride.com or other ride sites and download it to the Edge so it can tell me where to turn.

o Are there any features which are unavailable to Mac users?

o I am very confused about the bundles and map DVDs available. Could someone either clearly lay out what the different packages and software are or point me to a place which does so? I think what I'm looking for is the Edge 705 with HRM and then having to buy a third party SD card and then...some topo maps? What's the difference between topo map DVDs and city map DVDs? Which one should I get?

I'd appreciate any advice, as well as where one could get the best deals in general. Thank you!

o I am very confused about the bundles and map DVDs available. Could someone either clearly lay out what the different packages and software are or point me to a place which does so?
------------------------------------------------------PART NUMBER_____MSRP___
Edge 705, Heart Rate_____________________________________ 010-00555-20 $ 541.65 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate & Speed/Cadence_______________________ 010-00555-30 $ 595.82 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate, Speed/Cadence & Data Card with Street Maps_ 010-00555-40 $ 709.07 USD

------------------------------------------------------PART NUMBER_____MSRP___
Edge 705, Heart Rate_____________________________________ 010-00555-20 $ 541.65 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate & Speed/Cadence_______________________ 010-00555-30 $ 595.82 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate, Speed/Cadence & Data Card with Street Maps_ 010-00555-40 $ 709.07 USD


Those prices are on the high end as I picked up the full system (Edge 705 + HRM + Speed/Cadence + NAVTEQ Map) for about $597 with tax and shipping.

If you have a MAC the best software by far is Ascent -- I only wish it were available to PC users.


Brian

------------------------------------------------------PART NUMBER_____MSRP___
Edge 705, Heart Rate_____________________________________ 010-00555-20 $ 541.65 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate & Speed/Cadence_______________________ 010-00555-30 $ 595.82 USD
Edge 705, Heart Rate, Speed/Cadence & Data Card with Street Maps_ 010-00555-40 $ 709.07 USD

Those prices are on the high end as I picked up the full system (Edge 705 + HRM + Speed/Cadence + NAVTEQ Map) for about $597 with tax and shipping.

If you have a MAC the best software by far is Ascent -- I only wish it were available to PC users.


Brian
Where did you purchase your garmin 705 for $597?

Where did you purchase your garmin 705 for $597?

You can buy full package here for $599.99 with FREE shipping:

http://www.modernbike.com/itemgroup.asp?IGPK=2126176061

I bought mine from them last May.

Where did you purchase your garmin 705 for $597?

Buy.com

You have to click on the link to get the correct "lower" price.

Make sure you select the version with the options you want.


Brian

how smooth a curve do you guys get when you go to look at your data after a ride. mine is always full of random spikes and its pretty much useless. yet while riding the number on the screen hold constant.

how smooth a curve do you guys get when you go to look at your data after a ride. mine is always full of random spikes and its pretty much useless. yet while riding the number on the screen hold constant.

If I pass through a tunnel, I often get a spike in speed. If I am wearing just a loose jersey over the HR belt, I will get HR spikes any time the wind or bike speed causes a lot of flapping.