tntom

If I get a Garmin 305 with all the stuff on it. Will I still need my cateye on my bike?

cccorlew

No, technically, but you'll want to leave it there anyway.

• You need to start the GPS every ride. Will you always remember?
• The GPS battery charge won't last forever like the battery in the cateye.
• If you like the odometer you'll want to leave the cateye on.

BikeArkansas

Yes, because the Garmin will throw a fit at some point.

RockyMtnMerlin

Not sure I understand that one. The odometer on my 305 seems to work well.

cccorlew

Just that you must remember to start and stop it every ride, and you must keep it charged. If you always remember to do both, and never ride longer than the 8 hour charge you are more organized than I am.

tntom

I'm Not!

Beverly

CCCorlew,

Does the Garmin and a wireless Cateye running together cause any interference with each other?
I had a wireless Cateye installed on the new bike but I sure missed a couple features on the Garmin today.

tntom

Man I am so far behind. I don't even have a wireless Cateye.

Cleave

Hi,

I've had my Garmin for over 2 years and when I got it I went "cold turkey" and removed my prior computer. Over the past few years I forgotten to recharge the computer maybe five times, but I haven' done that now in at least 9 months. Also, my battery lasts more than 8 hours. I have had the low power warning come on but I've never had the battery die completely when I've started with a full charge.

Also, since I download all of my ride data and use SportTracks software, I don't need a total mileage (odometer) function.

Hope this helps.

cccorlew

My Garmin plays well with my wireless Sigma. Don't know about the Cateye.
I made a Minty Boost battery extender (see my blog) that the Sigma doesn't like at all.

Beverly

Thanks.

I'm going to mount the Garmin and see if they play well together.

rodrigaj

I wondered the same thing about the polar 720i.

I removed the polar from the bike. Within 30 days the garmin screen went black. The seal between the case and the display leaked sweat into the unit.

I put the polar back on the bike.

You will be using the cateye again. If data is important to you, don't remove it.

Also... if you are using the garmin for navigation, always bring back up paper maps with you.

gfspencer

When I got my Garmin the Cateyes came off the bikes. I have forgotten to recharge the Garmin once. It died mid-ride. I haven't forgotten since.

The good thing about the Garmin is that it can go back and forth between two bikes (Mountain Bike and Road Bike for me) and still have all your data recorded.

RockyMtnMerlin

I just take the Garmin off the bike after every ride, down load the info, let it charge and then put it back on the bike. That way I do not experience those problems mentioned above.

stapfam

Had the same query and took the computers off both bikes. The Garmin covers everything I want and to be honest- I have had more reliability problems with the Computers than I have had in the "Short" time of the Garmin.

Only thing is that the Garmin does not give me a readout of accumalative milage over the year. That has to be worked out by Motion based.

I can see no disadvantage to keeping the computer on the bike- unless you want an uncomplicated cockpit- As I prefer.

Edit=------The more reliability problems means that the computers break down a lot more than the Garmin.
Like all electronics- it depends on how you look after them. So far I might be taking special care of the Garmin but it works faultlessly and has not broken down- had a glitch or given me a problem. And from what I have heard- they are exceptionally good on any warranty claims that may arise.

tntom

Wow! Are they that bad? Sounds like they are a lot of trouble.

Beverly

I've had my Garmin 305 for about two years and haven't had any problems with it. I had the Cateye installed on the Trek 520 because I plan on doing a ride later this summer and we might not have access to places to recharge it each night

I really do prefer the Garmin as I like to know what direction I'm heading and the grade of hills. I really missed these features on yesterday's ride.

jppe

I've had a Garmin 305 and used in all kinds of conditions and never had any problems with it except for user errors. I do like RockyMtn and always have a full charge for the next ride. I don't know how long a charge last but I know it will last at least 8+ hours.

My good riding buddy got one about the same time and just had some problems with his-sounds like water getting in the seal. He called Garmin and they are replacing it with a new unit.

byte_speed

Good list, but in addition, the Garmin can be a little tough on old eyes, the Cateye may be easier to read at a glance.

Red Baron

Garmin is not user friendly but after a few months I'm glad I switched. Garmin HR strap is not compatabile with Polar HR and vice versa

Artmo 

No. I use both together.

rodrigaj

It depends. I have a love-hate relationship with my Garmin. When working correctly, it is the best device I have ever owned for recording ride data and for getting me around rural WI.

Garmin customer service is great. Returns and turn-arounds are handled very quickly with no hassles. However, I would rather not be dealing with them. I am on my third Garmin in 9 months.

byte_speed

The Garmin has codes in the wireless signal to "pair" the heart rate and cadence sensors to your unit. This makes the Edge pretty much immune to signals from other computers, but also makes the unit not compatible with most other chest straps, etc.

For the same reason, if you have two bikes with cadence sensors, you will probably have to scan for the alternate sensor whenever you change bikes.

rodrigaj

+1 The actual pairing takes place only once. Then the garmin remembers the other bike along with its settings. However, you still have to manually switch to the other bike prior to your ride. Settings>Bike Profile>Select bike. Otherwise, you will get no cadence reading.

This along with the manual start before each ride are puzzling quirks I don't understand about the Garmin. If the unit recognizes that you are on a different bike, why can't it switch itself. Similarly, if the unit can auto start stop on a ride, why can't it auto start initially.

RockyMtnMerlin

Hey! Me three. Third one seems to be working okay. The other two had the dreaded "just stops in the middle of the ride" syndrome. While I like all of the cool stuff it does, I think my next move will be to a simple, simple, simple device - well until a really neat new one comes along.