Garmin Edge 705
 

If I were to say want one of these for X-Mas....where might I find one at a good deal.

I want the full setup....puter, HR, Cadence and Maps.

You guys that have one like yours and would you buy it again?

Please.....Let's NOT hear from all of those who don't own one, haven't used one and yet still feel qualified to offer an opinion. :thumb:

Just got one of ebay with 25% live.com cashback and 15% paypal code.

I have forerunner 305 and edge 705 is much nicer. Took it for a ride yesterday and enjoyed 8 fields display.

I am using my old cadence and HR sensors. garmin connect is much better then the training center. Still looking into power meter. So fat powertap is my primary choice.

Keep in mind than you would have to buy maps if you want to use the nav.

I have a polar HR strap...that probably won't work with the 705 will it?

705 comes with a HR strap

I got mine from an LBS but they are available on Ebay. I got the computer, HR, cadence/speed rear sensor and maps. I like mine and would buy it again. So far there have been no problems.

I have an Edge 705. It is awesome on and after the ride. My ETA does not work however. I have made 5 calls to Garmin Technical Support and they are awful and incompetent. I appreciate Garmin's sponsorship of the pro cycling team, however I would rather have competent technical support on an extremely expensive product with a feature that did not work from the very beginning.

Ebay.. I noticed today that the 30% off deal is back.. get to buying!

The Polar strap will not work with it.

The ETA assumes a constant speed, 12mph I think.

My 705 ssumes that I peddle at 42 mph. If only I could peddle that fast.

Have you checked the value in settings > Routing > "Calculate routes for" to make sure it is set as bicycle? Of course, the ETA will still be wrong...

I have one with HR, Cadence, but no extra maps. The only complaint I have is the calories are always way off. I basically have to cut the value in half. Other than that, it works great but is a bit big on the bike. Best of luck!

Calories are worthless. Based entirely on speed and nothing else.

This ebay seller has pretty good prices.

http://stores.ebay.com/GPS-ARE-US

I would not get the maps bundled because the bundled maps come on a locked Micro SD card so you can only use the maps on the device, not on your computer. Buy the maps on the DVD for the same price, and you have the maps on your computer and the device.

fixed.

This, however, is definitely correct. Went out on my usual group ride today. Rocked a rented PowerTap with my Garmin 605. The difference is over 50% more than the PT.

I've owned two different garmin units over the span of five years. Called/used customer service maybe 5-6 times over that period. No complaints here.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I bought the 705 with the pre-loaded maps on the datacard, but Garmin kindly swapped it out with me for the DVD version, via an RMA#.

No matter what you pay for it, it's worth every penny. $650 seems to be the going rate on it. Just be sure that if you see a price lower than that, that it's the FULL combination. For some reason they don't mark it well on their boxes.

I've only figured out about 35% of it's functionality and it is still well worth the money.

I'd love to be able to do that! Did you call or e-mail for support? What story did you tell them to get them to do the swap? Did you have to send the SD card back before they'd send you the DVD? If so, how long did it take?

+1. Still have no idea about half the functions it offers. Speed, cadence, heart rate, elevation, grade... and knowing where you are no matter how many wrong turns you took... those are the benefits I use.

I just bought 1 a week ago and I'm very happy with it. I can almost monitor anything now. It is very useful for trainings and the map is a big plus too.

I just called customer support and told them I didn't realize I couldn't load the maps on my PC. I pointed out that the DVD is the same price for twice the functionality and the limitations of the pre-loaded data card are not explained on the packaging.

The customer service rep. offered to swap it out without a problem, so he gave me an RMA #, I mailed it to them, and once they received it they mailed me the DVD.

I must say, Garmin's customer support seems great, the product is a great product, but their pricing and packaging needs work. The data card is one of those examples. They should just package the DVD in the box and let the consumer get their own data card. Unless its fully researched, many consumers don't realize the distinction between the pre-loaded data card and the DVD. I also think the 605 seems a very poorly placed product, with lots of limitations but just a bit lower in price from the 705. I don't see a point of the 605 even being packaged. In addition, the physical packaging looks the same for each combination of the 705. They should name the packages differently and color them differently. The customer service guy made notes of my comments and said he would forward them to their marketing department, which I felt was very responsive.

By the way, I got my 705 with HR, cadence and pre-loaded data card for $475 off craigslist. The customer service rep. did not ask for a proof of purchase since I registered the product online. The cheapest I saw on ebay, through an ebay store, at the time was $520.00, which is still a great price. If retail is really over $600.00, I would go to an ebay store for a substantial discount.

Thanks for the info on exchanging the map card for DVD! I'll give it a try... FYI, there were some great deals on eBay last week for the 705. Especially good when you factor in 25-30% cashback through live.com. I got a smokin' deal on the one I bought...

I disagree, relative to every other bike computer, it is much better, and much more reliable (Polar is a serious joke), however, I was very disappointed with the firmware issues when I bought this 705 over the 305.
I still use my 305 after returning the 705.

Great customer service...whatever, Polar has great customer service, but that really doesn't help when they made poor products and keep replacing them.

I don't like Garmin's business plan of releasing a device too early and then dealing with customer issues in a touchy-feely way. I'd prefer they get it right from the beginning.

The 305 had early issues as well, and they finally dealt with them. So, while the 705 is cool, the 305 has almost all the same functionality, with greater reliability, at a fraction of the price.