I'm thinking of buying a new computer for my bike and I'm eyeballing three different ones at the moment.

Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 705
Cycleops Joule 2.0


My main goal driver is a HRM (all three have it), but figure if I'm going to buy something why not something fun.

I like the gps feature of the Garmin computers, but I use my phone and sportypal for that currently and I'm satisfied with it. I've read that the Garmins can be somewhat buggy.

I've read a little about the Cycleops Joule 2.0, I like the idea of being able to measure power output, the engineering geek side of me.

Any opinions?

For a bike gps the best thing is to see one in action. Garmin's documentation and owner's manuals are very poor. So seeing one in action is the only way you will be sure whatever you pick will do what you want. I didn't do that before I bought and wish I had.

All three of those options do power output too. Of course to get that capability (w/ any of the 3) you have to drop another $1,200 or so. Yeah, I've read where garmins can be buggy, but I have a 500 and so far so good.

Good luck.

Garmin 310xt here. If you want something you can run and swim with, it is great. It is basically the 500 in a wrist watch version, however you can mount it on the bars. Just my 2 cents.

The 705 is great if you want all the mapping bonuses.

An update on my recommendation.

I still highly recommend you see your prospective purchase in action before you spend money.

That said here is my experience with my Garmin 705 bundle that included heart rate monitor and cadence/speed sensor.
>First 705 had a defective altitude sensor. Exchange through REI-Online was smooth.
>Second 705 works just fine. But using the word "pathetic" to describe Garmin's documentation and manuals is too kind. Their sales literature is convoluted so you really don't know what you are getting until you get it.
>The USB cable delivered with my bundle is a Charge/External Power Only cable. It does not make a data connectiion. Nowhere does it say the USB cable is Charge Only so I assume it is defective. No questions asked REI-Onlne is sending me a replacement.
>I've used the 705 for both bike and car. It works just fine. In fact, even if you have gps in your phone this is better. However, for car navigatiion it isn't as smooth or easy as the large screen dedicated car units. That is reasonable since it is not a large screen dedicated car unit. It is a reasonably packaged everything in one package unit that comfortably installs on both bike and car.
>The sales literature doesn't tell the buyer the CityNav on the microSD card included in the bundle is not updateable, After I discovered that I went back to the Garmin web site. I discovered that fact is not in the sales portion of the site. It is in the map update and purchase portion; an area a buyer is unlikely to visit during the purchase process.

In short: The 705 deluxe bundle is a good all-in-one product. Garmin, whether by design or accident, has poor documentation and somewhat deceptive web advertising.

I have an Edge 500. Reliable, small, light, stays on the bike well but it's just a quarter twist to remove it to take it inside when I'm parking the bike.

The documentation with the 500 is pretty good I thought.

The battery life on the 500 is excellent, mostly because of the lack of map display. I like having the long battery life.

The downsides:

If you forget to hit the start button, it doesn't record. I want it to record whenever the bike's moving. No dice. Sometimes I get data files that won't upload. I'm taking a couple of samples of those and sending them to Garmin (friend of mine is a software engineer there and knows who it needs to go to) to get that fixed.

My cadence sensor is either low on battery, completely bonkers, or I'm doing over 1k rpm.

I have an Edge 305. I really like it. The calorie calculation is not hear-rate based, so i not at all accurate. I understand they fixed this with the 500. I'm not concerned with having a map display on the bike computer, so the 305 works for me. If I bought one now I'd go for the 500 because I like to know the temperature when I record ride stats. I'm not interested in having a power meter, but that could change.

At any rate, I would recommend a Garmin unit. But I do agree, it would be best if you could see it in action first.

If you haven't already, take a look at Polarusa.com..

Just a disclaimer, I work for Polar. Just thought based on your needs our product is highly relevant. Let me know if you have any questions.

It has an auto start reminder (reminds you motion has been sensed and for you to press start). Also auto stop reminder.

Yeah, must be the battery on the actual cad sensor.

I've been lucky that I have not have any problems with my 500.