Garmin Edge 305 Bicycle GPS Navigator with Heart Rate Monitor
by Garmin
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin Edge 305 Bicycle GPS Navigator with Heart Rate Monitor
Customer Review: Accurate,User friendly and Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using the Garmin Edge 305 for the past month for mountain biking, riding 3-4 days a week on average and have used it on a gruelling 3 day 150 km trip. I find it a great training tool for mountain biking. Easy to set up and use. Accurate for all parameters except calories. The Motion Based software is simple to use, fun, and a great way to share workouts with riding buddies, borrow courses from others and review workouts visually and physiologically . It would be nice if it would be possible to share the info from Garmin Training Center software as well. My only regret is not having purchased the device earlier.Customer Review: Nice unit, poor software [Roadie perspective]
Summary: 2 Stars
Despite a large number of user and site reviews to the contrary I believe this item is let down by poor software design and quality. The Edge products are something of a 'hook' item in that they are sufficiently crippled out of the box to require subscription to online services or other products. Having used the unit for about 3000km now I think I can offer some addition perspective to what is already out there...
Don't get me wrong the concept of a GPS based cycle computer is great - I regularly and easily swap it between the bikes I frequently use without wires or calibration. The unit feature set is also pretty comprehensive, in fact one has to be quite judicious in display setup options so as not be overwhelmed by data. The GPS chip is plenty good for road, quick(ish) acquisition and tracking sufficient for speedo accuracy etc. With the good stuff out of the way...
But - and for me this is considerable but - the unit firmware is flakey (you will have to figure out how to do a soft reset as the unit will freeze up on you), and the Training Center software is even worse. Here come the hooks, for me (in NZ) the basemaps included for course planning are practically useless (though there is a way to create your basemaps own if you have the time and data), the cost of correcting this the Garmin way is horrendous [h1]. A great alternative, however exists in MapMyRide (though you don't get to insert course waypoints). But you still have to resolve the following...
Getting data in and out of the unit becomes more problematic over time, in fact I have installed Training Center on 3 separate PCs (all of the XP variety) and all of them stopped receiving data from the GPS with an error sooner or later. Sometimes they would receive sometimes they wouldn't - final resolution was a complete uninstall (AND manual user dir delete). The alternative is use of the MotionBased site, (2) though paid subscription is required [h2] for a full suite of services. An alternative exists again in the form of SportTracks, a great donorware piece of software (no affiliation).
Other minor gripes include the usual - HRM interference, at times poor barometric related elevation performance - especially in the wet [don't even think about it in heavy rain]. GPS related gripes - the Course following option is a little flakey if created via software as opposed to ride history. Lapped or complex courses (retracing sections) also problematic - a moving snake option highlighting the current, say 1km, section of the course would alleviate this somewhat though. Finally you'd think you would be able to 1. insert an autolap point on a course *before* you rode it (like a lapping waypoint), and 2. insert more than one autolap points. But no, you cannot achieve either of these with the 305 Edge.
In summary, yes the Edge 305 is full featured and bloody convenient for multiple bikes. After you get the unit turned on, the on bike features even work pretty well. The great letdown comes when you want to download, analyse and share all that data you collected out on the road, or heaven forbid do some planning before you hit the road to take advantage of a GPS platform. If you are prepared for multiple workarounds on the SW side of things the Edge 305 is still a great option, if not its power (and potential) is wasted and you'd be better off with a Polar or similar speedo.
Edge 305 Firmware 3.20
Training Center Version 3.2.3
Hope this helps.
Ron
ps. I wouldn't even think of dropping money on an Edge 605/705 until these SW issues are sorted. More bug testers and actual cyclists involved in the next edition please Garmin.
Customer Review: Just Works!
Summary: 5 Stars
So far no problems with the unit after a month or so of use. No satellite drops, unit functions superbly. Here in New Mexico we do have more open space, so maybe that contributes to the stability of satellite connection. May add the cadence module at a later date, but for right now it's good.Customer Review: Ingenious device
Summary: 5 Stars
The thing I like most about this product is that you can configure the display just about any way you'd want to see it. Most cyclometers don't allow this kind of customization. Another thing I like is that through the motionbased.com web site you can upload your workouts to Google maps or Google earth. Excellent for bike riders that want to share routes with others. One last thing: I have had other wireless cyclometers that pick up interference from other sources, and this ends up skewing your results, making it look like you've ridden much faster than you ever really could. This has happened to me frequently with Polar and Cat-eye devices, and it can be very frustrating. The Garmin has NEVER done this! There are other features that are fun to use, like the Virtual Partner, which allows you to race against a course you've previously ridden. The Garmin points you in the right direction all along the way and allows you to see your progress against the time you set for the course. Customer Review: Flexible bike training tool
Summary: 4 Stars
Very flexible data display.
Computer-side software (PC & Mac) could use some work. Ships with PC only software, but slightly less functional Mac software can be downloaded.
Almost everything worked great on my ride up 10,000 foot Haleakala on Maui (really), but the "percent grade" number fluctuates too much when you're going up hill at low speed (like when your at 9,000 feet and feeling the altitude).
Battery life adequate but not great.