Garmin Edge 305 Is it Worth It?
For me, with ANY of the Garmin products, the biggest advantage is I can go out, track what I did and come back and record it. If you track your stuff like I do, when you go back and see two 50 mile rides and one is at a 20 mph pace and the other is at a 12mph pace, you don't have to read your notes, you can just look at the elevation profile.
When I go back and look at my notes for when I wasn't using anything other than a cyclometer I see "Donnor Lake Hill Climbing" or even better, "Pasadena, CA". While I could probably dig up the info on Donner Lake, "Pasadena, CA" tells me nothing.
But honestly, this is a ME problem more than anything but Garmin allows me to overcome that issue.
Some features which I find useful:
- Customization Screen
- Pace Alert
- Elevation
- Records and Saves Routes for Recall
- Uploads to MotionBased or TrainingPeaks
- Virtual Partner
- Auto Lap
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I have one and absolutely love it.
There's very little real time benefit to GPS on the bike. It won't keep you from getting lost. I guess the new ones do, but that's incidental.
Data logging is the big thing. Seeing all the information from your ride is awesome.
I also love love love the big screen because I can put all the information I want on the screen without having to press buttons. And there are 2 switchable screens, so if you do need more info you can get 6 more data fields with one button. Mine is set up for time/speed/cad/hr/dist one one screen and mostly climbing info on the alternate screen (Elevation, Grade, Total Ascent, Avg Spd, Avg HR, Lap Distance). And as tsilcyc mentioned, it's customizable.
-Grant-
I got mine right before christmas. I needed a new HR monitor and computer for the MTB anyway. I LOVE it. It works much better off road than any other bike computer and can be used on the run, too.
It's much better than having a seperate biek computers and HRM. I simply plug it into my computer after a workout, and all my data is right there. You can also design workouts on your computer and import them to your Garmin. It's just plain awesome.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
Think I'll wait and check out the 705 which is due around Feb. 27th.









I have read from some people how they LOVE their Garmin 305. I had a chance to purchase a New Garmin Edge 305 with HR/Strap/Cadence for $200 but did not. Next day someone else bought it. Other than letting me know my exact location on the bike, (I haven't got lost on my bike since I can remember) what does the Garmin (big screen) have over other bike computers? I just installed a Cateye Strada wireless and it seems to be fine.