Choice between Edge, Oregon and GPSMap
 

Hi!

I am looking for a GPS device that would show me my heart rate and speed, but also be good for navigation, when I'm on my road bike. I have often no clue where the roads lead to when I'm out cycling. Because of work I will be moving to another region in a few months, so I will end up in even more trouble then. So I would be glad to have a device on which I could plan my routes and then follow turn by turn directions on the screen. Compatibility with heart rate sensor is a must and with the cadence sensor preferred as well. Now one extra bit of detail: I do quite a bit of hiking and although not an absolute necessity, I would expect an expensive GPS to be usable for both applications.

Bearing this in mind I visited the Garmin website and found three suitable models:
Edge 705
Oregon 450
GPSMap 62s

As far as I understand, they all have compatibility with ANT+ wireless cadence and heart rate sensors, plus they all include altimeter. What I do not know is how good is the display on different devices and how would they present the cycling data. Could one customize the screen layout? How is the battery life?

I would be very glad if you could give me some advice on which of these three devices I should get. I would be thankful for replies from users who already have one of these Garmins. What do you like about it? What features do you miss?

Big thanks!

I have the 705, Oregon 400t and Dakota 20. I generally use the 705 on the bicycle general rides and the Dakota for hiking and touring. I prefer the Dakota touch screen for scrolling the map when there are route questions or route planning on the fly over the joystick on the 705. The 705 is more readable in sunlight and the HR monitor is standard. I've also used the 705 for recording hikes with the HR and uploading after the trip to see where I've been on the map. If you do use a Dakota or Oregon add a lanyard to the bars so it doesn't try to jump off on bumpy roads, the bracket doesn't always keep it locked.

I bought a 705 because it was advertised to work on a bike, in a vehicle and while hiking. It has a selector function that allows the user to tell it whether you are biking, hiking or driving. I've used all three ways and it does just fine. When hiking one time I put it inside the top flap of my pack to check signal sensitivity and it did just fine recording my route.

The owner's manual is pretty poor and tech support isn't much better. But, that just makes the learning curve steeper.

If you are going to use it for all three functions I'd recommend getting CityNav on the microSD card rather than the DVD.

I would consider the Dakota 20, it is a nice size, right between the 705 and Oregon.. I have the Oregon 550 and it is at times a little big for riding..

On a side note, even though the Dakota 20 and Oregon can use the HR and Cadence options, it will not record this data for later analysis like the 705.. If you are a big data hound get the 705..