brettinwa

Where's the best deal?

Is it worth the extra dough or should I get the 305?

JayC

Depends.. if you want the mapping, the 705 is a no brainer.. if you want power meter integration.. 705 wins again.

Other than that, the 305 does everything the 705 does for the most part and its MUCH more stable at this stage of the game.

jameyj

One more reason to get the 705 - If you want much better battery life.

Savagewolf

I was planning on getting a 705, but decided to save a few (ok a lot) bucks and bought a 305 Edge today. I'm 150% happy with my purchase.

Jay Andriot

I've had both, had a 305 sold it to get a 705, got the 705, found it to be too buggy to use on two bikes, returned the 705 and bought a 305. I liked the eronomics of the 705, it was easier to use. The mapping features are better for cars than bikes, the mapping features are the only good reason to go with the 705. I suspect that in a year or so the 705 with new software will be great, for now the 305 is better for me.

terrain

Interesting - What was buggy on the 705 that made it a hassle to use on 2 bikes - as I plan to do the same thing.

Where did you buy it that allowed it to be returned?

terrain

Well - I was able to get one on order - I don't understand what the "Buggs" are that cause problems when trying to use on 2 bikes but I plan to use on a road and mtn. The better batter life on the 705 alone seems like a compelling reason to buy over the 3 series. I was riding in a new area today and thought how nice it would be to know the name of the golf course I was riding directly behind... Yes I could have gotten off the path and found my way to the door of the golf establishment to get the name but that would take all of the fun out of it :-)

biker128pedal

Does the 705 show Landmarks? I was wondering if it would be usable on a motorcycle. My Garmin 12XL is fading and i will need a replacement in the future. Of course the 12XL is more like the 305.

Jay Andriot

There is a known bug when you do the upgrade of the firmware to 2.1 When you set the 705 to Bike 2 the speed readings go all over the place. I was crusing at a constant speed and the readings would go from 4.5mph to 90mph and back and forth. The readings were fine when I switched to bike 1 but I lost the cadence when I did that. I don't know if the bug is there when you keep it at the 2.0 firmware.

I bought the 705 from REI with a 15% discount. REI has a no questions asked return policy and I returned it to a local REI store even though I bought it from the web site.

I've since bought a replacement 305 on Ebay for about the same price I sold my 305 for, so all and all I'm not out any money.

JayC

That would actually be pretty sweet.

jinws

So does it work with Powertap yet?

brianallan

I'd go with the 68.

digitoast

Doesn't work with my PTSL2.4. Support is another year off last I read (somewhere in the wattage group). Since PT compatibility is the main reason I bought a 705, I returned my "early adopter" purchase to REI.

For now, I'll stick with having both the PTHU and 305 mounted to my bike. I'll upgrade with the $400 version of the 705 (HR only) if/when Saris and Garmin decide to play nice with each other.

terrain

Jay - good info to have. Mine should be arriving tomorrow and for now I'll stick at the older firmware rev. I looked at REI but w/out any sale they are 649 and you are stuck with the MAP combo which I did not need due to already having the maps.