Bolo Grubb

What data screens do you all find most useful to display? It is fun playing around with it and changing them, but also curious as to what others are using.

For example I found average cadence to be pretty useless, since it averages it over your entire ride time and not just the time you are pedaling.

gpelpel

I don't like having to push buttons during a ride, so I have 8 pieces of info on the main screen, in order of importance:
HR Rate in % - Cadence
Distance - Speed
Total Ascent - Grade %
Time - Time of Day

VegaVixen

Total time; total distance; speed; cadence. I use the first two to keep tabs on my average speed during the ride.

willieb

+1, I hate that lack of a feature. It should stop averaging when you aren't pedaling. Useless indeed.

Main display I have 5, speed is the big one, then HR, Cadence, current time, distance. In that specific order left to right.

Then the other screen has (not in order) avg speed, max speed, total time, pause time, elevation, grade, etc. It's flat around here, when I ride mountain rides, I have it set up a little differently.

R900

Cadance
Heart Rate
Elevation
% Grade
Direction
Distance
Total Ascent

My regular computer does ride time and speed.

smurf hunter

Cadence | Speed
Distance | Time of Day
Heart Rate | Heading
Grade % | Calories

That may seems an odd mix, but I find it satisfies a cross section of different purposes.

When I commute, time of day and speed are important so I can estimate my arrival time.

For training, HR and cadence.

For group rides I use them all. I don't personally do anything with the "grade" field, other than share with my group - "Don't wuss out, it's only 6%" .


Last weekend I rode a century and found distance and calories very helpful. It reminded me to eat

DocRay

trainer:
Speed - Cadence
Calories - time from start
heart rate - distance

on the road, drop cadence.

socalrider

I am about to take the leap and was looking to just buy the 305 w/ Cadence and keep using my Polar HRS. I read on the MB forums that there are many issues with the HR functions on the 305 being flaky or just plain not working.. Anyone have experience with this?

Related to the thread, do most people using the full 8 screens or do you prefer having a larger number on top and then 4 or 6 smaller screens below it?

Ritterview

Has of course been discussed before, for example here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=garmin+fields

I don't know whether it is nobler to start a new thread, or resurrect an old thread.

DocRay

I find that the Garmin HRM works much better than the Polar (CS200).
Too many screens mean the numbers can be too small to see at a glance, you could be riding along, wondering, "...is that a 5 or an 8?" then WHAM! Tree.

socalrider

I am using the polar s710 or s725x.. I actually like having my HR out of my sightline.. I don't need to know that my hr is 175..

I was just asking about the reliability of the HR function on the Edge 305.. It seems many of the complaints on the MB forum are about the HR function..

willieb

I've never had a seconds trouble out of it. I do remember a time or 2 that I had to rescan accessories, but that only took a minute. Go for the full meal deal and drop the Polar, or use it for backup. I gave my Polar to my wife, lol. She's always complaining that she gets the hand-me-downs, but geez it cost more than th Garmin including the sensors!

BTW I like speed big, and 4 on the bottom (see my above post).

cgallagh

I have the 205 and use a HRM.

Speed, Avg Speed, distance, TOD, Max Sp, % grade, Paused time, Elev.

Slice2

Speed
Heart Rate
Distance | Elevation
HR Zone | Time

I wish the screen size was a bit larger.

rha600

I have 7.

Time
Speed | Average speed
Cadence | Elevation
Heart Rate | Total Distance

gpelpel

The HR function is working fine on mine. The HR belt is actually working a lot better than my Polar 725 belt.

Bolo Grubb

ok here is what I have settled on for now.

Bike screen #1
Speed
Cadence
Heart rate
Grade %

Bike screen #2
Time
AVG HR
AVG Cadence
Max speed
AVG Speed
Distance
Total Ascent

This way bike screen #1 gives me all my current info I want and Bike screen #2 gives my the end of ride totals and averages that I have been tracking since I started cycling. I only added back in the AVG Cadence since updating the firmware.

TXCiclista

I guess it depends on the point of view. I hear lots of cyclists brag about 90 rpm when we all know that's only when they're pedalling and that they really average about 50-60 (i.e. they're not in the shape required to hold 90 for a long period of time). Though I agree a "while pedalling" would be nice, just because true average cadence while is an ego-buster, it doesn't mean it's useless.

stonecrd

You need to go update your firmware:

Changes made from version 3.10 to 3.20:

Changed History By Week display to show dates from Sunday to Saturday, not Sunday to Sunday.
Fixed problem where improper conversion could cause scheduled workouts to appear on the wrong day in some time zones.
Fixed problem where Mark and Lap setting would sometimes not autolap off of course laps.
Improved course logic for multiple paths over the same geographic area such as out-and-back courses.
Fixed USB problem with Macintosh computers.
Fixed problem that would occasionally cause SiRF version to go to 0 when updating from some computers.
Do not add 0 cadence values into the average cadence.
Fixed problem where Pause Distance would not update.
Additional corrections to smooth elevation when START is pressed.

Terex

I've had a number of invalid reading on max HR. I continue to use my CatEye for cadence and total miles tracking. I havn't mounted the Garmin cadence sensor yet, and don't know if I will. I like all other features tho.

varian72

I thought the latest firmware update fixed the cadence issue. See second to last item


Newest firmware.

Changed History's By Week display to show dates from Sunday to Saturday, not Sunday to Sunday.

Fixed problem where improper conversion could cause scheduled workouts to appear on the wrong day in some time zones.

Fixed problem where Mark and Lap setting would sometimes not autolap off of course laps.

Improved course logic for multiple paths over the same geographic area such as out-and-back courses.

Fixed USB problem with Macintosh computers.

Fixed problem that would occasionally cause SiRF version to go to 0 when updating from some computers.

Do not add 0 cadence values into the average cadence.

Fixed problem where Pause Distance would not update.

biffstephens

I use both screens but usually switch to the second one after the ride or at a stop....

First Screen

Speed
Heart Rate
Cadence

Second Screen

Avg Speed
Calories
Distance
Time of Day
Total Ascent

obra3

1st page-5 fields- used for training and racing
taking up four slots- HR (makes sure I don't kill myself on breaks or TT's- usually don't pay attention to speed during races anyways)
below that are speed and distance- useful for knowing how much longer in the race.
bottom left- cadence. bottom right- time- keep myself in check to make sure i'm eating at regular intervals.

2nd page contains neat to know stuff:
2 slots: HR
left to right bottom to top:
time
time of day
current lap
cadence
% grade
total ascent