Garmin Edge 305

sergen said:

This looks like a superb unit. I'd be very grateful for any help in answering the following questions;

1) Does this unit display the gradient of a climb IN REAL TIME? (Polar 725 only shows it post-ride using the software)

2) I'm concerned about the accuracy of the altimeter (which obviously would affect the gradient calculations). Although this is a GPS unit the Garmin website still says that the unit calculates altitude with a barometric altimeter - would this not leave it susceptible to the same inaccuracies as the Polar and HAC4 units?

3) Stem Mounting. I have a very short stem on my bike. I prefer stem mounted units over handlebar mounts. Because this unit is so much larger than avarage cycling computers I'm worried that the top of the unit wouldn't clear the handlebar clamp that attaches to the stem. Does the stem mount provide sufficient height clearance for the unit to pass over the handlebars?

4) Battery replacement. Like mobile cell phones, the lithium-ion battery's performance will surely deteriorate after several hundred re-charges. Can you replace the battery? It sure seems very expensive if you can't!

Any help with the above questions would be very much appreciated

Many thanks

I've been using my Edge 305 now for about six weeks, so think I can answer most of your questions:

1) Yes, the grade is displayed real time if that's one of the data fields you choose to display.

2) I am amazed at how accurate the altimeter is. Over quite a few rides over the same course, I rarely see variation over ten feet. I previously had a Cateye computer with altimeter, and I had to reset it before every ride, as it could be off by a couple hundred feet.

3) The stem mount provides clearance for the handlebar mount. It's close, so you might want to put a little pad under it so it doesn't beat against the clamp. I use mine on an FSA 135mm stem, so am able to mount it behind. I don't think you'll have any problems with it, though.

4) This is the one question I can't answer, and was wondering about myself. I'll look through the manual, and post another reply if I can find it. You are right...this would be pretty expensive if you can't replace the battery.

-Tom

Tom

Thanks for all those replies - seriously, the info you have provided has been really helpful. I think I'll email the manufacturer directly to get the answer to the battery question. I'll post the reply here when I get it.

By the way - have you had any problems with the wireless speed and cadence sensors? I looked at the Garmin website and I note that the sensor attaches to the rear chainstay, not the front fork. My Polar CS200 has been giving me serious problems with the wireless speed sensor since the day I got it, and many others on this forum have also complained about the CS200 speed sensor too. My cheap $25 Cateye computer is wired and has never given me any problems, so wired would be better for me but it doesn't look like Garmin have a wired option.

sergen said:

This looks like a superb unit. I'd be very grateful for any help in answering the following questions;

1) Does this unit display the gradient of a climb IN REAL TIME? (Polar 725 only shows it post-ride using the software)

2) I'm concerned about the accuracy of the altimeter (which obviously would affect the gradient calculations). Although this is a GPS unit the Garmin website still says that the unit calculates altitude with a barometric altimeter - would this not leave it susceptible to the same inaccuracies as the Polar and HAC4 units?

3) Stem Mounting. I have a very short stem on my bike. I prefer stem mounted units over handlebar mounts. Because this unit is so much larger than avarage cycling computers I'm worried that the top of the unit wouldn't clear the handlebar clamp that attaches to the stem. Does the stem mount provide sufficient height clearance for the unit to pass over the handlebars?

4) Battery replacement. Like mobile cell phones, the lithium-ion battery's performance will surely deteriorate after several hundred re-charges. Can you replace the battery? It sure seems very expensive if you can't!

Any help with the above questions would be very much appreciated

Many thanks

I just got this unit last Saturday, so I haven't had much time to experiment, but so far, I love it.
Just to add to Tom's info.
1) As well as displaying grade as a field, there is also a screen that will graph it as you ride.
2) I'm not 100% about this one, but my understanding is that it will calibrate the altitude from satellite from time to time. For example, I rode to work the other day, when I got there the altitude was 25m. After work, I'm not sure if I did something wrong, like power it up in doors or what, but it gave me a reading of 75m below sea level. I looked around and it seemed pretty dry. I expected to get home and find the altitude down by 100m, but it was only 1m different from when I left in the morning. I haven't seen a repeat of this problem since. More research required here.
3) As well as stem mounting, you can mount it on the handlebars if required.
4) Yes, the battery has to be replaced by a "professional". Not sure on the cost though.

In other news, it's early days, but the HR & cadence/speed sensors have worked faultlessly. The actual speed sensor is not always used, as it will use your satellite position to calculate speed (according to the manual, or web site, can't remember where I read it). Looking at a data extract from my commute, of the hundreds of points logged, it only used the speed sensor a few times over the satellite, I think in tunnels. The other interesting thing, it auto-calibrates your wheel size. The value it came up with matches what I measured and programmed for my old computer.
A cool feature I used today. I did a few laps of a velodrome. On your first lap, you hit the lap button at a position on the loop, and it will then automatically display lap times every lap after that. When you download the workout, it will show you average speed, max speed, ave HR, max HR, ave cadence and lap time for each lap.

The other thing to note, is that unlike other GPS's, you can't load a map into it. Not really a feature I need, so no biggy for me. You can however program in points or a course to follow. You can also use a previous ride to compare with. I haven't used this feature yet, but apparently it will show a 'ghost' bike so you can compare your current progress with the saved ride.

How about this for a real time gradient indicator, its cheaper than a garmin and faster, you mount on the handle bar and read off the gradient.

Tmax said:

2) I am amazed at how accurate the altimeter is. Over quite a few rides over the same course, I rarely see variation over ten feet. I previously had a Cateye computer with altimeter, and I had to reset it before every ride, as it could be off by a couple hundred feet.

On the altimeter, it may be of interest to note that the unit has to recalibrate itself each time you switch it on, which takes quite a while. I had cases of riding a loop without waiting for the unit to calibrate, where I ended up with my starting altitude being 50ft higher than my altitude at the end (which was, of course, at the exact same spot). If you switch the unit on about ten minutes before you start riding, your readings will be accurate to within a few feet.

And no, the battery is not user-replaceable. Hard to say how well it will hold up over time, since the device is so new.

I have had my edge 305 for about 3 weeks now and love this device. I really like being able to download all my rides and track all my workouts. The display is pretty cool because you can adjust it to show many different sets of numbers. You can have up to 8 fields or as little as 3 or 4. I have speed, ave speed, heart rate, ave heart rate, distance, grade, elevation and elapsed time on my screen. Once I get my new bike, I will add the cadence sensor on their.

As far as the elevations are concerned, if you choose to use motion based as a place to host your rides you can have the site correct your elevations, speed, mileage to be exact. I believe they take the numbers off of exact satellite numbers. (I am not 100% sure how they do this exactly but you can find it on motionbased.com) It is a setting on motionbased that you can chose to use or not use.

Another cool feature on motionbased is the new player. You can playback your ride in real time on a map (adjusts anywhere from .5x to 10x). It will display actual numbers as you move along on your ride. It also displays a smaller elevation map in the same time. It is kind of cool to watch your numbers change as you see yourself move on the map and the elevation map. Sorry if I lose some people here. Its kind of hard to explain but if you see it on motionbased you would understand.

Lastly, the ONLY problem or complaint I have at this point is that my unit shuts off when I hit a large bump/pothole etc. Here is folsom, CA the roads are pretty darn good so I would hate to see what would happen on bad roads. It seems to be happening about once every 2 hour ride this week. I am going to have to email/call Garmin about this problem. Does anybody else have this problem? If so, have you talked to Garmin about it?

USCswimming said:

Lastly, the ONLY problem or complaint I have at this point is that my unit shuts off when I hit a large bump/pothole etc. Here is folsom, CA the roads are pretty darn good so I would hate to see what would happen on bad roads. It seems to be happening about once every 2 hour ride this week. I am going to have to email/call Garmin about this problem. Does anybody else have this problem? If so, have you talked to Garmin about it?

That sounds like you do have a bad unit. It shouldn't do that; I had never happen that with mine. This is on fairly good roads, too, but there is the occasional railroad crossing that is bad enough for my chain to hit the chainstay even under moderate load.

Call Garmin and have them replace it. I once called them about a bum cadence sensor that came with my unit, and they immediately sent me a replacement. I think they are fairly good about this kind of thing.

USCswimming said:

Lastly, the ONLY problem or complaint I have at this point is that my unit shuts off when I hit a large bump/pothole etc. Here is folsom, CA the roads are pretty darn good so I would hate to see what would happen on bad roads. It seems to be happening about once every 2 hour ride this week. I am going to have to email/call Garmin about this problem. Does anybody else have this problem? If so, have you talked to Garmin about it?

I agree, you may have a suspect unit. I've only had mine a week, but it's yet to shutoff, and my commute involves going over a few gutters and speed humps, so it definetely is not a smooth run.

Just out of curiosity, does the unit have an odometer for total distance travelled? If it does, I can't find it.

sergen said:

This looks like a superb unit. I'd be very grateful for any help in answering the following questions;

1) Does this unit display the gradient of a climb IN REAL TIME? (Polar 725 only shows it post-ride using the software)

2) I'm concerned about the accuracy of the altimeter (which obviously would affect the gradient calculations). Although this is a GPS unit the Garmin website still says that the unit calculates altitude with a barometric altimeter - would this not leave it susceptible to the same inaccuracies as the Polar and HAC4 units?

3) Stem Mounting. I have a very short stem on my bike. I prefer stem mounted units over handlebar mounts. Because this unit is so much larger than avarage cycling computers I'm worried that the top of the unit wouldn't clear the handlebar clamp that attaches to the stem. Does the stem mount provide sufficient height clearance for the unit to pass over the handlebars?

4) Battery replacement. Like mobile cell phones, the lithium-ion battery's performance will surely deteriorate after several hundred re-charges. Can you replace the battery? It sure seems very expensive if you can't!

Any help with the above questions would be very much appreciated

Many thanks

I have had the unit since March. It has performed perfectly. I think most of your questions have already been addressed by other posters. The percent grade varies a bit during a ride and may not be that accurate. I do not think that a battery replacement program has been offered yet since the unit has only been out since early this winter.

I had previously owned the HAC 4 and found it to be a "hack" piece of hardware. The first unit was returned for a defect. The second was also a bit strange and did not report the average per mile accurately.

In answer to another poster, I have taken quite a few bumps without a glitch. It is probably your unit that is the problem. One of my friends has also bought the Edge 305 and reports it to be quite reliable.

peterlip said:

I agree, you may have a suspect unit. I've only had mine a week, but it's yet to shutoff, and my commute involves going over a few gutters and speed humps, so it definetely is not a smooth run.

Just out of curiosity, does the unit have an odometer for total distance travelled? If it does, I can't find it.

To answer a couple of questions here let me say that I use my Edge 305 off road over some pretty tough trails, and I've never had it glitch. The unit must be defective.

Yes, you can view your total miles. Go to HISTORY <enter> then TOTALS <enter> and it will show your total distance, time & calories burned.

I have found the speed/cadence sensor to be very good. As another poster stated, it only uses the speed sensor when you loose good GPS coverage. Also, it has a user replaceable battery.

If I had to list my one complaint about the Edge, it's the Training Center software that comes with it. It does some things very well, and others not at all. I think they're trying to force you to buy more software. On one of my favorite loops, I set waypoints at several places along the route, normally where I monitor my split times. I was surprised that when I downloaded my ride data, the waypoints can't be viewed within Training Center. I confirmed this with Garmin...you have to buy a $30 USD piece of map/waypoint software to be able to view them.

When you set up a course in Training Center, you can use a recorded ride, and add the waypoints manually within the software. I have done this, and loaded the course into the unit, but have found that where I added them wasn't always very accurate. I guess if you want to make sure you get the waypoint precisely where you want, you could ride a circle or something similar where you want to set it. After you download your ride data you can zoom in on the map, and you'll see the circle.

Another hint is that instead of setting the unit to SMART DATA, set it to update ONCE EVERY SECOND. Your totals for altitude gained will be very different between settings, and probably much of your other data. On my one training loop of about 22 miles, with smart data selected, it shows a total altitude gained at approximately 1900 feet. With once a second selected, the altitude gained jumps to over 2500 feet. I have confirmed this over multiple rides on this loop. I'll tell you that it feels much more like 2500 feet😉

Tom

Tmax said:

Another hint is that instead of setting the unit to SMART DATA, set it to update ONCE EVERY SECOND. Your totals for altitude gained will be very different between settings, and probably much of your other data. On my one training loop of about 22 miles, with smart data selected, it shows a total altitude gained at approximately 1900 feet. With once a second selected, the altitude gained jumps to over 2500 feet. I have confirmed this over multiple rides on this loop. I'll tell you that it feels much more like 2500 feet😉

Tom

I am not certain that changing the data rate would improve the accuracy. In fact I have read material from Garmin that suggests that in very few situations setting it to every one second is useful. They suggest that it may be helpful in track running or cycling, and downhill mountain biking. Otherwise it is less accurate. It also consumes too much storage.

vascdoc said:

I am not certain that changing the data rate would improve the accuracy. In fact I have read material from Garmin that suggests that in very few situations setting it to every one second is useful. They suggest that it may be helpful in track running or cycling, and downhill mountain biking. Otherwise it is less accurate. It also consumes too much storage.

Well, I find it difficult to believe that taking more data points would decrease accuracy. The ride I reported on is a loop, so the total ascent and total descent numbers should be equal. With the unit set to take data points once per second, those two numbers come out very very close...within a few feet. I see much larger variation with the unit set to smart data. This has been the case over a few of my different courses. Of This may not prove that the device is accurate, but it does say that it is repeatable since when I compare rides in Training Center, the graphs are almost perfect overlays.

Anyway, I'm not saying that your information is wrong, but it does differ from my experience.

Tom

Tmax said:

Well, I find it difficult to believe that taking more data points would decrease accuracy. The ride I reported on is a loop, so the total ascent and total descent numbers should be equal. With the unit set to take data points once per second, those two numbers come out very very close...within a few feet. I see much larger variation with the unit set to smart data. This has been the case over a few of my different courses. Of This may not prove that the device is accurate, but it does say that it is repeatable since when I compare rides in Training Center, the graphs are almost perfect overlays.

Anyway, I'm not saying that your information is wrong, but it does differ from my experience.

Tom

How many courses can loaded into the 305?

blkhotrod said:

How many courses can loaded into the 305?

Depends on the courses. If you use "Smart Recording", then it will not only depend on the length of the course, and whether it is on winding or straight roads, but also on the way you ride (constant speed versus lots of acceleration/deceleration). So it's hard to tell, but it should hold a couple dozen mid-length (say, 50 miles) rides easily. You can upload the data to your PC using the supplied software, so you never have to loose any of it. The unit itself will simply overwrite courses starting with the oldest once it runs out of space.

kleng said:

How about this for a real time gradient indicator, its cheaper than a garmin and faster, you mount on the handle bar and read off the gradient.

Kleng, where would you get that from, and how much (ballpark figure).

Ta,

n

nerdag said:

Kleng, where would you get that from, and how much (ballpark figure).

Google is your friend: Check here.

question for those of you who has the HR option: will the HR function work like normal when used on a stationary trainer, i.e. showing current and average HR, HR zones etc?

boon

Tmax said:

If I had to list my one complaint about the Edge, it's the Training Center software that comes with it. It does some things very well, and others not at all. I think they're trying to force you to buy more software. On one of my favorite loops, I set waypoints at several places along the route, normally where I monitor my split times. I was surprised that when I downloaded my ride data, the waypoints can't be viewed within Training Center. I confirmed this with Garmin...you have to buy a $30 USD piece of map/waypoint software to be able to view them.

Try this software: zonefivesoftware.comSportTracksOpen ↗

I've been using it for months with my Garmin 205, and I love it. Best of all, it is free (although the creator of the program does give you the opportunity to donate to his efforts. I donated, and it was money well spent.)

has anyone used the motionbased software yet??