I have just purchased a Garmin 500 with HR and cadence. I was looking for a good program for analyzing data and logging rides, and I stumbled upon Golden Cheetah.

After looking the site over, I could not tell whether there would be any benefit of the software without a power meter. I do not have a power meter, yet. Maybe one day.

So, would it still be worth downloading, or are there no real benefits without a PM?

Doesn't Garmin have a website application for uploading data? from what I've seen thats more what you would want for ride map, elevation, hr, etc profiles

I use Golden Cheetah, but I run a Powertap with the Cyclops CPU

Yeah Garmin does have a website application and some sort of software but I have heard that it is laking in the analysis aspects.

Hence my looking into Golden Cheetah, that and it is free.

Analyzing PM data is kind of the point of that program.

Okay, so thats a no?

Garmin s/w is GTC (Garmin Training Center) which allows you to download data from device. There is also there website where you can upload your ride data:

https://connect.garmin.com/

why not download it and make a decision for yourself. As you said, it is free.

Some other GPS analysis s/w:

https://www.zonefivesoftware.com/sporttracks.php

Good point, I just hate downloading unnecessary software. This is probably what I will do though.

You'll probably need Garmin Communicator plug-in as well so that PC and Garmin s/w recognize Garmin device.

Yeah I am aware of this stuff. I have yet to use any of it, because I just got it, late, today.

I have just read here that the Garmin branded software is laking in the analysis department. You know like TSS, trending information, and the other stuff I don't yet know about.

Well, it's s/w is free compared to others out there.

I use training peaks, it is a great program and you can upgrade to pro if you like. They have training plans galore too. Give it a look see, who knows it may be just what you are looking for.

Also see post #8 per Sport Tracks.

This is pretty cool. I am sort of a wiz with excel and could probably make my own program with analysis functions though.

I was looking for a free, time saving, plug it in (no user input necessary) software that does some data analysis (not just saves ride data).

On my computer if I download something I don't like it can be erased. But then again I have a pretty high tech computer. Just sayin

^^ Probably a Windows user thing. Downloading a software and deleting it will probably still bloat the registry and slow the machine down. Thankfully, us Apple users dont have to worry about it

V.

can someone tell me how to set up the time in rate rate zones on golden cheetah.

I think that is essentially correct. I run GC and prefer it to Garmin's software. It is more geared to power users, but it's fine for recording rides etc. and tracking time spent in HR zones.

Garmin's software is nice in one regard however. If you want to create structured interval workouts (e.g., for on the trainer), it is much much easier to do this with Garmin's software package and then upload the workout to your device. Creating anything but simple interval workouts on the device is a bit cumbersome.

I also train without a PM and have found SportTracks to best suit my purposes. Don't be fooled by the basic package. There is a whole slew of available plug-ins that will give you all the analysis you want. I've got fitness trending, overlaying comparable rides, creating power data for trainer rides, etc. One of those plug-ins is an interface for Garmin devices that allows you to do everything you can do in Garmin Training Center (i.e. set up interval workouts) right from SportTracks. It really is a great package once you dig into it.

As I noted above, GC is better for looking at your ride than Garmin in my opinion, even without power data. You do have to invest a little effort to figure out the GC interface as there isn't a lot of documentation, but in general I found it to be pretty intuitive.

I think Strava is the best software for analyzing GPS tracks of rides. Especially if you regularly do any sustained climbing. The main benefit over Connect is you can define segments of your ride and it will give you the stats (time, etc) for that segment. So if you've got a sprint or climb you do regularly, you can easily track your performance on it.

Example:
https://app.strava.com/rides/283833#4378544