Garmin Edge 500

[Watoni]

I got one of these as a holiday gift from my bride.

Has a lot of functionality thus far, though I need to update my PT 2.4SL so I can get the power part working.

I have a few dumb questions:

1. Any experience with calibrating the PT hub via the Garmin? I also heard with the ANT+ update the hub should zero torque whenever it is stopped, so it might not be as critical to recalibrate before every ride as with my current set up.

2. GPS speed/elevation. I am finding that the distance and gradient readings can be incorrect, especially when you put the unit in a jersey pocket. I assume that having a real speed senor would fix this since the elevation is roughly correct and it is the speed/distance that seems out of whack. If I am using the PT wheel then presumably the Garmin would take the speed reading from the hub as opposed to GPS, and I could get a speed/cadence senor for the non-PT bike.

Thanks!

 

[sitzmark]

No experience with the 500, but I have the 305.

GPS real-time speed/distance seems to be relatively accurate when I have mounted the unit on my car dash and compared it with the speedo/odometer. There were inconsistent readings on occasion. I threw the 305 in my pocket and skied around a resort for a couple of hours and most of the data points seemed reasnonable based on "feel". I have no way to confirm. There were two erroneous datapoints (80mph) which I am absolutely sure are incorrect.

According to the information provided by Garmin, the 305 (and I think the 705) only uses "manual" speed sensor data when the GPS signal is weak/lost. Same may or may not apply to the 500.

Validation against car suggests to me that total distance and total time readings are accurate, which also means average trip speed should be accurate as well. As for the numbers at any given instant ....

 

[Watoni]

No experience with the 500, but I have the 305.

GPS real-time speed/distance seems to be relatively accurate when I have mounted the unit on my car dash and compared it with the speedo/odometer. There were inconsistent readings on occasion. I threw the 305 in my pocket and skied around a resort for a couple of hours and most of the data points seemed reasnonable based on "feel". I have no way to confirm. There were two erroneous datapoints (80mph) which I am absolutely sure are incorrect.

According to the information provided by Garmin, the 305 (and I think the 705) only uses "manual" speed sensor data when the GPS signal is weak/lost. Same may or may not apply to the 500.

Validation against car suggests to me that total distance and total time readings are accurate, which also means average trip speed should be accurate as well. As for the numbers at any given instant ....

Thank you!

My experience is that sometimes the distance is off, but perhaps I get into areas where the GPS cuts out due to weather (the same exact ride has come up as 35 miles or 37 miles -- elevation is consistent). Also, the grade of the climbs upon download is about 0.5% too high since it underestimates the distance. My old Polar was spot on in this regard, so again I figured getting accurate distance from the PT hub or a Garmin speed sensor would solve the issue.

I am waiting to hear back from Garmin so I'll let you know. Hopefully I'll also get the ANT+ update for the hub tomorrow. The Garmin tells me all the time it recognizes a powermeter, even when the guy is screaming down the hill and I am going up. It's a cool little gadget.

 

[rogerrayenz]

We at 9to5Mac like the cycling. And we love cycling gear. Here's a little ditty on a forthcoming product that we think will be a hit. On this blogger's second century-ride of the season, I noticed the groan-inducing "low battery" icon on my near-antique Polar S710 cyclecomputer/HRM--I now have to send it to Polar for a battery and chest strap replacement. The Polar product has always been a bit of a disappointment to me. It has an unintuitive interface, is prone to interference, and is infamously inaccurate. Since the S710 is eight years old already, I thought I'd take a look at what else is available, and see if the time was right for an upgrade.