Where to buy a Garmin Edge 305

[ozbiker2]

Hi guy's

I"ve been looking at this GPS for a couple days, and have some concerns whether it will do what I would like. I'm thinking of using it on the GVBR, would it be able to record the whole ride or would it have to be saved some how. The other concern is the battery life, where to recharge batteries or use spares.
Any suggestioins would be of help. I klnow it will be of some hel;p preparing for the ride.

Ron

It will run for 11 1/2 hours on a single charge then you get to rest for 2 hours while it charges. For longer times you will need to purchase an external power lead - mini usb connection. At the other end you will need a power source which must *never* be appreciably over 5V for any length of time. Safest bet is a regulated source. You can buy these (do a google search - I've got the link somewhere but can't lay my hands on it just now) or make one yourself if you can (cheaper).

For the latter I would suggest a 2.5 to 5AH LiIon pack in a small bag velco'ed to the top tube and a reg shrunk into the lead. Mini USB leads are $9 from WES.

For long rides you can dump this 11 hours before the end of the ride.

The adapter that comes with the unit is a 5V regulated switch mode wall wart rated at 400mA. A ready solution to the reg is a switch mode DC converter made by Duratech. It's rated at 5V 600mA with an input voltage range of 9 to 18V. Use 3 Lion cells and this reg will suck them dry!!. Be warned. You may need a low voltage cutoff to prevent cell damage.

The model number is SCW03A-05. Distributor is Electus, ph 1300 738555. They are retailed by Jaycar, cat number MP3204, $32.95.

I use these to power Bluetooth transmitters in earthmoving equipment and they have been quite reliable so far, so I expect them to be fine for bicycle touring.

 

[CycleRon]

Thanks ozbiker2,

I will check out what you have given.
The other query was does the GPS store up to 10 days of data or will it have to be downloaded. The GVBR is a 9 day event, of probably 4-5 hrs each day.

Ron

 

[peterlip]

Thanks ozbiker2,

I will check out what you have given.
The other query was does the GPS store up to 10 days of data or will it have to be downloaded. The GVBR is a 9 day event, of probably 4-5 hrs each day.

Ron

It will have to be downloaded. Using Smart Recording it will record 15-20 hours. Apparently you can save some of the data off as courses which uses other memory. This may give you another 15-20 hours. However the data has to be massaged before importing back into Traning Center. Not sure how hard this is, or even if it works (found this on a forum somewhere, can't find it now). Even so, this only gives you 30-40 hours which is still not enough.
The other issue is to download data, you need Garmin's software. This may not be possible in an internet cafe as they usually don't let you install software.
Other Garmin products (non cycling ones) have the ability to change memory sticks (and batteries). Hopefully this will appear in future versions of the Edge.

 

[ozbiker2]

It will have to be downloaded. Using Smart Recording it will record 15-20 hours......

I just checked one of my history files. A training ride of 53km using "smart recording" recorded 1221 trackpoints and the ride took about an hour and a half. Garmin says the unit can record for 3.5hrs at 1s intervals, so that's about 12000 trackpoints. I would therefore expect a memory capacity, in smart recording mode, of about 500km or 15 to 20hrs, consistent with what peterlip says.

There is discussion (and pressure) on forums to have the firmware modified to enable the unit to appear as a usb drive. This would solve many problems but is not yet available. Meanwhile, you are not stuck with Garmin software. SportTracks is freeware and will download the unit's history, with the added advantage that it will also export it in .gpx format. You could run this on a laptop and download at checkpoints - each leg of the ride could be a lap, which is no problem since the unit's (addressing) capacity is 1000 laps.

Another useful (free) product that works with the Edge is
GPS UTILITYVersions 4.20 - "GPS Utility can be used to manage lists of waypoints, routes and tracks and to transfer this information to and from various GPS receivers". I've used this to enter a bunch of waypoints without wearing out the Edge's buttons - entering waypoints on the Edge is like texting on a mobile phone - the most inefficient method of communications yet invented by man - I'd rather use morse code

 

[CycleRon]

Thanks peterlip, ozbiker2,

Nothing seems to work the way you would like it to.

It would have been great to have the whole ride, with graphs, especialy Tawonga Gap and Powers Lookout climb.
But then Edge might not record walkimg speed .
I might just hold off for a bit and see what developes, Garmin might change the design and make me happy.

Ron

 

[meeghan]

I've been shopping around for a while trying to find the best deal. I wasn't as lucky as joel, but I got pretty close with youprice.com.au... about 440 AUD. I told one of my mates about the site, and he talked to them online, and got them to sell it for 420 because he paid by bank deposit! I wish I had tried that, but I guess I can't complain too much.

Cheers!

Hi,

I'm from Melbourne (presently living in Taswegia) but I looked at johnny appleseed and almost bought one from him - great unit - but i held off because i wanted to be able to use it not only for cycling (its main purpose) but for navigation also (i.e. get coordintes off the unit) and with the firmware that came on it you couldn't do this. But i kept looking into it and found that the upgraded firmware you could do this.

I think Johnny Appleseed was asking around $570 AUD but i decided to get it from Geo.Man in america. Around $430 AUD and it arrived exactly 1 week after i bought it - no duty import taxes or anything. It did come with an american plug for the charger however, but as i plug it into the usb cable of the computer it charges from there anyway. The plug is also 100-240V input so all it needs is an adapter (i.e. no transformer required).

So all good.

 

[miyata610]

Just an observation....

The best prices from mail order in the usa seems to be $US305 including shipping to oz...(some are $us290+15 and some are $us270+35) that's about $407 ozzie dollars. There are a few dealers selling at that price.

btw, that includes BOTH the cadence/speed sensor and the HRM. You can get this unit with only one of these or neither of these, so watch out.

 

[scotty72]

My Edge 305 arrived on Friday (thanks geo.man). I moved house on Friday so I've been a little busy to share my experiences til now.

First impression is it is great. It is deadly accurate in both location and speed (as compared to Google Earth and my old bike computer).

The features are great, being able to know what grade i'm pushing up is cool.

The only thing I think is a little ordinary is the altimeter. Whilst much more accurate than a purely GPS altimeter, the inability to tell it what the barometric pressure is makes it a little inaccurate. To demonstrate, on Sunday, I went on an 90km ride. I started at Meadowbank Wharf (obviously at or very near sea level). the 305 registered 2 metres - however, a few hours later when I arrived back at Meadowbank Wharf I was now at 12 metres. A quick check of the weather chart revealed that the air pressure had probably changed a bit. I know that I am unlikely to be able to find out the current pressure mid ride, but still - it should be available if I wanted it.

Otherwise, I am very, very happy with it.

Scotty

 

[samwell]

Hi guys,

This question has probably already been answered in here but I am not that clued onto this kind of stuff so I didn't understand it!!

Basically my question is if I decide on a (unfamiliar) route I want to ride can I then use some sort of software to map out the route on a street directory (if that makes sense). Then can i download this route onto the Garmin and use it to make sure I am on the right track.

For example I'm heading to Sydney in a couple of weeks and have a few rides that I want to do but I'm not familiar at all with the area. Could I map these out on the Garmin and use it for navigation??

As I said I'm not too clued onto this stuff so you may need to dumb it down a little!!

Any help would be great!

Cheers,

Sam

 

[scotty72]

The short answer is yes.

Perhaps not the best way but, here's what I do...

Go here

http://www.bradculberson.com/cc/map.html

Map out the route you want then save it as a course onto your hard drive.

Open the Training Centre Software (**** one that comes with the unit)
Import the course (select the course you just created)
Send course to the unit.

You then open the course on the unit and it is a follow the bread crumbs map that is a lot better than it sounds.

Scotty

Hi guys,

This question has probably already been answered in here but I am not that clued onto this kind of stuff so I didn't understand it!!

Basically my question is if I decide on a (unfamiliar) route I want to ride can I then use some sort of software to map out the route on a street directory (if that makes sense). Then can i download this route onto the Garmin and use it to make sure I am on the right track.

For example I'm heading to Sydney in a couple of weeks and have a few rides that I want to do but I'm not familiar at all with the area. Could I map these out on the Garmin and use it for navigation??

As I said I'm not too clued onto this stuff so you may need to dumb it down a little!!

Any help would be great!

Cheers,

Sam

 

[peterlip]

Hi guys,

This question has probably already been answered in here but I am not that clued onto this kind of stuff so I didn't understand it!!

Basically my question is if I decide on a (unfamiliar) route I want to ride can I then use some sort of software to map out the route on a street directory (if that makes sense). Then can i download this route onto the Garmin and use it to make sure I am on the right track.

For example I'm heading to Sydney in a couple of weeks and have a few rides that I want to do but I'm not familiar at all with the area. Could I map these out on the Garmin and use it for navigation??

As I said I'm not too clued onto this stuff so you may need to dumb it down a little!!

Any help would be great!

Cheers,

Sam

I've just tried a new process (for me). Go to www.bikely.com and create a route, or find a route that someone else has made. Click on the "Save as .GPX" button to save the route locally. Most mapping software will save routes as .gpx.
Download a GPX to Course converter from http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=2088.0 Look for the text "You can download the application from here:"
This will convert your route into a course. This is required because the Edge can only import route up to 100 points. A course can have bucket loads (can't remember how many, but I just uploaded one with around 400. I think it's in the thousands).
Import the course into the Training center software.
Send it to your unit.
Brilliant. Tomorrow I've got a 3 hour course mapped out for me. Hope the weather is OK.

Peter.

 

[cam99]

has anyone bought one on ebay ?

anyone bought a refurbished one ?

 

[chrispatoz]

has anyone bought one on ebay ?

QUOTE]

Hi

Yes I bought on Ebay from the USA received in 14 days in September last year and have had no problems. The seller was myronblobal but they are not currently offering any items for sale. Got it approx 100 cheaper than the cheapst oz price included cadence and HRM

 

[brycer]

has anyone bought one on ebay ?

anyone bought a refurbished one ?

Just got one from the Geoman for US$309 delivered (with HR/Cadence). Took six days to get to Melbourne. Very happy with it.

 

[geo.man]

Just got one from the Geoman for US$309 delivered (with HR/Cadence). Took six days to get to Melbourne. Very happy with it.

Thanks!!!

We ship to Australia and New Zealand practically every day now. Shipping times are typically 3 to 5 days and the USPS Express Mail service has been terrific.

Appreciate your support!

GeoMan

 

[mphew1]

has anyone bought one on ebay ?

anyone bought a refurbished one ?

Hi cam99,

I bought one on ebay a few weeks ago. It was a refurbished one too. Ended up paying $318 Aus for the cadence and heart rate version, gotta love the weak US dollar at the moment. It works really well and I have had no problems, yet... My main problem now is getting over this bloody cold so that I can get back to my commute ride.

See: this link here
or:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=3212455

The edge is everything I wanted and more. The ride in the above link was me chasing a previous ride I did, it is so much fun.

 

[geo.man]

Hi cam99,

I bought one on ebay a few weeks ago. It was a refurbished one too. Ended up paying $318 Aus for the cadence and heart rate version, gotta love the weak US dollar at the moment. It works really well and I have had no problems, yet... My main problem now is getting over this bloody cold so that I can get back to my commute ride.

See: this link here
or:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=3212455

The edge is everything I wanted and more. The ride in the above link was me chasing a previous ride I did, it is so much fun.

We sell on eBay frequently and are able to provide warrantable sales receipts since we are also non-auction dealers of the product.

We've been offered the refurbs and have declined them so far. Frankly, we know that many mountain cyclists can be hard on equipment and we're not quite sure the 10% or 15% discount for a refurb is worth the risk. We're constantly assessing our position and talking to customers. So far, "new" is what we are selling and "new" is what our customers are wanting.

It's hot up here!

Best regards all,

 

[scotty72]

We sell on eBay frequently and are able to provide warrantable sales receipts since we are also non-auction dealers of the product.

We've been offered the refurbs and have declined them so far. Frankly, we know that many mountain cyclists can be hard on equipment and we're not quite sure the 10% or 15% discount for a refurb is worth the risk. We're constantly assessing our position and talking to customers. So far, "new" is what we are selling and "new" is what our customers are wanting.

It's hot up here!

Best regards all,

Hey, Geo.Man,

I bought an Edge 305 off you about 1 year ago and was wondering if you sell (or know where I can get) spare handle bar mounts? Broke one and the spare that come is a sideways one?

 

[geo.man]

Hey, Geo.Man,

I bought an Edge 305 off you about 1 year ago and was wondering if you sell (or know where I can get) spare handle bar mounts? Broke one and the spare that come is a sideways one?

Sorry to hear that. They are common and readily available for about $11USD. We sell them but shipping for just that item would be too much, IMHO.

Do you have a friend ordering an Edge one of these days that we can piggyback an extra mount on?

Or is anyone willing to trade you your extra one for theirs? You see, one mount is a bar mount and the other is a stem mount. Somebody you know has an extra...

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[ozelise]

Johnny Appleseed sells them for about $20.