Northern California - Garmin 705 - do I really need one?

I've been putting off buying a GPS cyclo-computer for a long time. I had a ForeRunner 205 from the last century and have not pulled the trigger on any of the successive generations - so far. It just feels to this weekend warrior that they're waaaaay overkill for the type of exercise & fun cycling that I do.

But alas, I'm an old techie at heart. I lived and worked in Silicon Valley and have been drinking the Kool-Aid here for too many years. Plus, following the example of our new President, we all need to help stimulate the economy, right? RIGHT!? :innocent:. So, I've been eyeing the 705 lately.

So, for those who have one - how are you liking it? Are you using it as much as you thought when you first fell in lust with it? Or, do you have regrets that your child is going to CSM instead of Stanford because you dipped into his college fund for the down-payment on the 705? Does all that info help you ride better, or make the rides more fun? Will I be shunned as a neanderthal if I continue to resist getting one?

I need your help gang. Steer me in the right direction (nudge, nudge, wink, wink ;)).

I am going to buy one eventually because I seem to get lost. My wife, who I hope will ride with me again soon, would feel much better if I knew where we are going on our bikes with kid in tow. Plus, if I know there's a viscious dog on my planned route, with the 705, I can find another way 'round.

They aren't that much are they? I wonder if Costco carries it.

Not only do you need the 705, you also need a Powertap Pro+ or better so you can get POWER data as well.

If you have to ask this, then you really do need one.

no....

and what's wrong with CSM? ;)

no....



Wow! I wasn't expecting this answer from you!!! :D




and what's wrong with CSM? ;)

errr, umm, NOTHIN'! I was just saying it's cheaper than Stanford.

If you have to ask this, then you really do need one.

How are you liking yours, Ron? Use it a lot? Is it a key part of your rides - to analyze all the data after the fact?

Wow! I wasn't expecting this answer from you!!! :D



errr, umm, NOTHIN'! I was just saying it's cheaper than Stanford.

I know... I kid! :lol:

I've been putting off buying a GPS cyclo-computer for a long time. I had a ForeRunner 205 from the last century and have not pulled the trigger on any of the successive generations - so far. It just feels to this weekend warrior that they're waaaaay overkill for the type of exercise & fun cycling that I do.

But alas, I'm an old techie at heart. I lived and worked in Silicon Valley and have been drinking the Kool-Aid here for too many years. Plus, following the example of our new President, we all need to help stimulate the economy, right? RIGHT!? :innocent:. So, I've been eyeing the 705 lately.

So, for those who have one - how are you liking it? Are you using it as much as you thought when you first fell in lust with it? Or, do you have regrets that your child is going to CSM instead of Stanford because you dipped into his college fund for the down-payment on the 705? Does all that info help you ride better, or make the rides more fun? Will I be shunned as a neanderthal if I continue to resist getting one?

I need your help gang. Steer me in the right direction (nudge, nudge, wink, wink ;)).

I'm a techie too, but I'm holding-off. I can get enough info from a combination of my rudimentary cyclocomputer & Bikely. I rarely ride in unfamiliar territory, and when I do it's with the BF group, so no worries there.

I find it more enjoyable when I just get on the bike and ride, but your results may vary.

BTW, I went to Skyline, CSM & Canada for the trifecta. :thumb:

What data do you want to analyze? I just can't justify the expense of a 705 right now, and I sure can't justify a Quarq or other power meter. So, a 305 does what I need. GPS to record a new route or to preprogram a route, HR, and all the other computer functions.

I finally gave in and picked up an Edge 305 not too long ago. At the time, I was looking into getting a new bike in the near future, and I thought it'd be nice for the new computer to be able to do elevation and grade. By then, the 605/705 had been out a while, so the 205/305 were pretty dirt cheap, so I gave it a shot.

I do kind of regret it in that while it's nice to attach a number to "steep", it ends up being even more information overload than the computer I had before. Also, there's not much in the way of software to do anything with the data that works under Linux. The best I can do is download the data, convert it to .GPX format, and upload it to a place like Bikely.

That said, being able to automatically make a map of the ride in Bikely is a pretty nice feature. The unit's portability between bikes without having to muck with sensors or anything is pretty handy, too.

The mapping functionality that the 605/705 has (but the 205/305 lacks) is probably a great tool when lost, not that that's ever happened to me. :rolleyes:

What data do you want to analyze? I just can't justify the expense of a 705 right now, and I sure can't justify a Quarq or other power meter. So, a 305 does what I need. GPS to record a new route or to preprogram a route, HR, and all the other computer functions.

Well, that's exactly why I haven't gotten one so far, and why I'm so much on the fence. Most of my needs are met by Bikely or my basic cycle computer. I think the major benefit of the 705 is to track heartrate and elevation along the route. No real reason that I NEED to do this, I'm just a weekend warrior. But it is a cool toy, isn't it?



I do kind of regret it in that while it's nice to attach a number to "steep", it ends up being even more information overload than the computer I had before. Also, there's not much in the way of software to do anything with the data that works under Linux. The best I can do is download the data, convert it to .GPX format, and upload it to a place like Bikely.


There you go. Another reason I've delayed. The .gpx upload to Google or Bikely is fun. I used to do that with my ForeRunner too. But after 3 or 4 times looking at the "fly-over" view of what I just rode, I got bored with it. It doesn't functionally add any value.



Uh oh, I might be talking myself out of this thing.... HELP!

It's the economy Alan. ;)

In different times we would have scolded you for not buying quickly enough... Haha.

Kidding... I'd love to have one too, but I will wait until the 705 can be had for super cheap.... OR... Wheb the cell phone apps that utilize gps can run for several hours without killing the battery.

There you go. Another reason I've delayed. The .gpx upload to Google or Bikely is fun. I used to do that with my ForeRunner too. But after 3 or 4 times looking at the "fly-over" view of what I just rode, I got bored with it. It doesn't functionally add any value.I've never played with the routes in Google Earth, but what I've been doing is saving the routes in Bikely, so if I ever wanted to re-do a ride, it's right there. But since the model you have can do this already, it's not selling the 705 much.

I'm not even sure if I know of anything the 705 can do over the 305, aside from mapping and compatibility with some power-meter. Battery life must suck with the color screen, too.

I've had the 705 for almost a year now.

I LOVE the navigation for when I use bikely.com I can just program a ride for unfamiliar places.
Easy as hell to set up.
16 modes on the screen within a flick of a button. 8 at one time.
Always have a satellite signal.
User friendly once you get the hang of it. Kinda weird at first though.
Color screen with adjustable brightness.


Don't like:
The mount. Broke once going 30 and watched it slide down the street for 50 feet. I do like its durability though :)
The software.
The fact that I rarely use the GPS.
The fact that it freezes if I leave it on GPS sometimes.

Overall, I absolutely love it.

I LOVE the navigation for when I use bikely.com I can just program a ride for unfamiliar places.Ah, I forgot, this is one of the things I was hoping to be able to do with the 305. While it doesn't do actual mapping, it'll at least show a route onscreen enough to figure out where to turn. I've never gotten that to work, but I'm sure that's more due to my choice of operating system.

Ah, I forgot, this is one of the things I was hoping to be able to do with the 305. While it doesn't do actual mapping, it'll at least show a route onscreen enough to figure out where to turn. I've never gotten that to work, but I'm sure that's more due to my choice of operating system.

A customer of mine just told me about "sport tracks" that is a software program for Garmins. I guess it's pretty top notch. I'll look into it tonight.

On the 305, I understand that its GPS function is not nearly as reliable as the 705. Do you lose the signal on the 305 when climbing OLH or Tunitas, which have a lot of trees?

The only time I've lost the GPS signal is going under a bridge where the clearance is minimal.

On the 305, I understand that its GPS function is not nearly as reliable as the 705. Do you lose the signal on the 305 when climbing OLH or Tunitas, which have a lot of trees?I don't think I lost signal on Morgan Territory last weekend. I'm hoping to do an OLH/Tunitas run this weekend, so I'll see how that goes.

Since the 205/305 is an older design by a few years, I wouldn't be surprised if the 605/705 are a bit superior.

I do kind of regret it in that while it's nice to attach a number to "steep", it ends up being even more information overload than the computer I had before. Also, there's not much in the way of software to do anything with the data that works under Linux. The best I can do is download the data, convert it to .GPX format, and upload it to a place like Bikely.

Once you have the data downloaded, you've got a set of locations, each with a timestamp. There must be plenty that can be done with that, especially in a standard format like GPX.

With my GPX data, I can call up approximate start and end times between a bunch of given points (typically intersections). For segments that I've ridden multiple times, I can compare the times, though without power or heart rate data, I have to remember whether I was riding in a pack versus solo, or whether there was a tailwind. I can also put together segments I've ridden into new routes and estimate how long they would take based on how long it took to ride each segment in the past.


To Alan's original post: If the cost is not an issue (which should be true for many Silicon Valley techies), then why not?

Nice timing, I'm just thinking about blowing my REI 20% off voucher on a 305....

I love my 305. I love the maps it makes, and that I can track my speed and heart rate.
Using Ascent software for the Mac makes it worthwhile. Without Ascent I wouldn't lik eit nearly as much.
Ascent also sends the data to Googlr earth and you can play back your ride as a fly through. No training value, but big fun!
I'd like a 705 for navigation, but they are too flippin' much for me right now. But you need one.

Can you get Ascent for a PC?

Can you get Ascent for a PC?

*sigh* nope.

Nice timing, I'm just thinking about blowing my REI 20% off voucher on a 305....Check Amazon. I had an REI 20% coupon when I was buying mine, but it ended up being cheaper at Amazon in the first place.

Ascent software for the Mac makes it worthwhile.That looks pretty neat. I have an old G4 tower beating around, but it never got upgraded past 10.3.9, and Ascent requires 10.4. Bummer.

(Plus, having a second computer set up specifically for GPS downloads would be pretty ridiculous. :P)

I had the Edge 305 but then lost it at some point between having my bike in the shop for a month and then moving shortly thereafter. Even though I liked the product I was never able to bring myself to fork out money for a replacement.

Since then I realized that I mainly liked it for two things: 1. visualizing where I rode and 2. tracking vertical feet climbed. I now have solved the first one by mapping my rides in bikely or gmap-pedometer . It doesn't have heart rate, speed, cadence, etc. but I found that I wasn't really using that info anyway.

For the elevation, I ended up getting an altimeter watch that tracks cumulative ascent and descent. Plus it is solar powered so no need to ever worry about the battery. Also has a magnetic compass which could be useful for backpacking (haven't had a chance to test it out "for real" yet).

The only time I miss having a bike computer is for checking what speeds I'm hitting on descents :)

ps, I just put this (http://benweir.com/maps/index.html) together today. It's an animation of my various commutes to and from work. No Garmin product involved, just web based routing tools and some google earth/maps magic.

Get the 705, you know you want it! Or you could contribute the money toward my "upgrade the CF rain bike I'm building" fund.

I have the 305 and like it a lot. The 705 has full GPS features, maps and color. I usually know where I am going so the map feature is not that important. If I was a touring/adventurer guy I would want this feature for sure. Regarding the color feature, well I usually don't watch a movie while riding. The only thing I really like in the 705 is the extended battery life.

The 305 advantages to me:
- It's way smaller than the 705.
- It has the features I need: HRM, bike computer with cadence, GPS data recorded so I can download my rides in the computers with maps and data.
- I am a Mac user so I can enjoy all this data in the Ascent software which is great. (Garmin software is a joke).

The 305 disavantages:
- Battery life is limited to around 7 hours. If you ride centuries you will need an external battery extender such as MintyBoost (build yourself kit) or Energi To Go from Energizer (available in drugstores).

the 705 battery lasts a very long time. I get 3 3 hour rides out of it with no problem.

The 705 is also the only unit that will work with a power meter, so if you ever go the power route.

I have a 705 and rarely use the map or the directions feature (but I grew up 10 miles from where I live now and rode my bike all over the place as a kid) I like the data of the heart rate/speed and altituide correlation.

Download sport tracks for free, it is a great freeware app for measuring all of this data (if you are a data person).

Oh and to answer the actual question, if you don't want the maps the 305 gets almost all of the data except for the power stuff.

For the elevation, I ended up getting an altimeter watch that tracks cumulative ascent and descent. Plus it is solar powered so no need to ever worry about the battery. Also has a magnetic compass which could be useful for backpacking (haven't had a chance to test it out "for real" yet).



This was an option that I thought about too. Do you mind saying which watch you got?

Check Amazon. I had an REI 20% coupon when I was buying mine, but it ended up being cheaper at Amazon in the first place.

Good call.

Problem is, that then removes the whole "well I have to buy this now otherwise the offer's toast after Mar 29" rationale that I was getting comfortable with. I'll need to find some other artificial source of urgency to justify this.

I got the Casio Pathfinder PAW1300.
http://pathfinder.casio.com/resource/images/xlarge/paw1300t-7v_xlarge.jpg (http://pathfinder.casio.com/watches/hiking_trekking/PAW1300T-7V)

One thing that I'm really happy about with it is that since it's a watch, I always have it. So for instance if I'm out for a short day hike I can just look down at my wrist and see my elevation and measure how many feet the trail climbs. It's not like a separate gadget that you have to remember to bring and to always make sure the batteries are charged.

Problem is, that then removes the whole "well I have to buy this now otherwise the offer's toast after Mar 29" rationale that I was getting comfortable with. I'll need to find some other artificial source of urgency to justify this.Heh, true.

REI pries a lot of money out of me with that trick. Especially this time of year when I have a 20% off coupon and a dividend to spend.

Heh, true.

REI pries a lot of money out of me with that trick. Especially this time of year when I have a 20% off coupon and a dividend to spend.

Oh yeah, and I just noticed on the back of my coupon "offer not valid on any item with GPS technology".

I mean, :wtf:

How are you liking yours, Ron? Use it a lot? Is it a key part of your rides - to analyze all the data after the fact?

I only have a 305, but I use it religiously to track my mileage, altitude climb, distance, HRM, etc ... I don't use it for trend analysis, and I probably should.

I have a 705 and recently got the Powertap SL+ hub. I don't have enough experience with the PT to comment on it but it's nice to have everything in one display.

I went from the 205 to the 705. The biggest upgrade I liked were:
1. improved battery life
2. larger screen
3. color display that is much sharper
4. GPS is nice but I don't use it very much

Negatives:
1. $$$
2. worry about losing it or having it fly off the bike

2. worry about losing it or having it fly off the bike

Don't worry, you'll hear it hit the ground. :)

Yeah, but that's one sound I don't really want to hear. Because I when I get home, I'll be hearing "that thing costs how much to replace?" :)

Just my 2cents.

I've been using the 305 for over a year, and while it got off to a rough start (replaced 2 of them), it has been a pretty nice little tool. I usually don't 'venture' out when I ride, so the mapping function would not be all that useful to me. It has way more functions then I currently use, but it was easy to configure, and setup.

Its always fun to look at the calories burned data too, lets you know how much pizza you can eat :eek:

Its always fun to look at the calories burned data too, lets you know how much pizza you can eat :eek:

That feature right there makes it worth the money.

I just got a 705 a couple weeks ago and i'm really happy with it. I got the bundle from REI with 2 bike mounts (and then picked up a 3rd), cadence /wheel sensor, and SD card with all of north america local street maps. Yeah I splurged but I have been lusting after one for ages.

I'm really happy with it. The mapping is super helpful, I set it up on the rear stem of the tandem so Jen can navigate when we're out in unfamiliar territory (and so she can go "what? 36 MPH! AWESOME" :D ) and on my 2 single bikes. Aside from the pretty graphs (I use Ascent like Curtis, it's awesome, and also upload to garmin connect for easy web sharing) I am using the data to be more systematic about my rides and specifically figure out what I could be doing to climb stronger. For example I recorded tonight's climb up montebello..

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2644317

The Player view shows me that after I 'popped' over 170bpm in mile 11, after the second switchback up montebello rd, i never got back into optimal 165-167. If I had been able to keep it down at the bottom I probably would have kept a faster pace at the top.

(yes the data for the first 10 mins of the ride is completely insane, -100 ft below sea level and 210 bpm heart rate?!?)

So there ya go! What more justification do you need?

I bought the 705 to solve one problem - getting lost on pre-planned rides over routes I've never ridden before. I was sick of using maps that someone else made and missing turns and getting lost. It ruined several rides for me.

Now I can enter the route using Garmin's mapsource software and maps and download to the 705. Its been very reliable at telling me every turn on the route and I have enjoyed riding over strange territory a lot more.

The 705 automatically makes a meticulously detailed recording of every ride I make, including route, HR, elevation, speed, cadence. I rode a 65 mile route with some friends recently that I really enjoyed and would like to do again, but had no clue what route we were taking. The garmin gave me a perfect recording over every step of the way so I can do it again in the future.

I must admit, I purchased the 705 at a nobrainer price. I bought it new complete with HR and cadence for $409 on ebay and got a $125 rebate from MS live.com, so it cost me under $300.

I read recently about a guy asking for a price match at performance bike against the price on some British web site and they sold it to him for under $350.

I noticed a few glitches in the software when I first got it, but these have all been resolved by software updates released by Garmin. The put out free updates every few weeks or months that can be installed from the internet.

Yeah, I am very happy with mine.

Bob

I must admit, I purchased the 705 at a nobrainer price. I bought it new complete with HR and cadence for $409 on ebay and got a $125 rebate from MS live.com, so it cost me under $300.

I read recently about a guy asking for a price match at performance bike against the price on some British web site and they sold it to him for under $350.



Wow! At that price, I wouldn't have needed this whole discussion, although it's been very helpful. I'm going to try the price matching tip. Thanks for the idea.

Its always fun to look at the calories burned data too, lets you know how much pizza you can eat :eek:

Cut that number by at least a third. It's very optimistic.

Darn, you got me lusting after one, too.

I have a question. Does the 705 come with North America maps or do you have to also get the SD card with the NA maps?

Darn, you got me lusting after one, too.

I have a question. Does the 705 come with North America maps or do you have to also get the SD card with the NA maps?

You have to buy the maps. You can either buy them stand alone on an SD card or order the DVD package with mapsource to create routes and load the maps/routes to the Garmin. I bought the SD card originally for a lower cost on ebay than I could get the DVD. I ended up buying the DVD anyway because I wanted to use mapsource to create routes. You can use mapsource to load GPX routes to your garmin that are created from other sources (mapmyride, etc), but it won't be able to use the garmin maps on the PC.

If anyone wants to buy a cheap, legal North American garmin map on SD, I will sell mine for $20 plus postage. Its the first 2009 edition.

Bob

My wife just sent me an email saying she orderd me a 705. Last fall she got a PT then about a month ago she got the 705. I am slow. I kept telling her I would order a PT. Well finally this week I ordered one. She told me to also get the 705. I am so non techie. I just wanted to get used to one thing at a time. Oh well, At least it is nice to have a wife who is forcing you a buy expensive bike stuff as opposed to the other way around.

All I've got to say is "curse you, SesameCrunch!"

Your rationale for getting a 705 is almost exactly like mine; the only difference is that I don't live in the Silicon Valley. I love tech toys like this.

So I bought one on Ebay this morning (after getting the wife's blessing, of course). I am so psyched; I can feel the economy turning around already and I did my part.