Garmin Forerunner 305 Speed/Cadence
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ChunkyB posted 20 weeks ago.
First of all, I have had the unit for about 6 months, and I love it. You don't have to set the wheel size on the watch if you go riding outside. The first time you take it riding, a minute or so into the ride it will beep and say "Wheel size set automatically" because it uses the GPS to calibrate it. The default size is probably close to your actual wheel size, so that's probably why it seems right. But, the first time you ride outside, it will set it exactly. In general, it uses the GPS for speed, and just uses the speed/cadence sensor if you're out of range, or if you're indoors.
It took some finagling to get the sensor in the right place so it would sense the wheel magnet and the crank magnet, but it sounds like you have it set up already.
I have never had any kind of wireless interference problems (I use the HRM and the speed/cadence), and I've never had any kind of connectivity problems. Basically, I really have no complaints about the whole setup. It's the only cyclo-computer I use now, and it seems to have every function I want (for now). I don't know what else to say other than I really like the system.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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JDB posted 20 weeks ago.
I've had mine for about 3 months and really like it. I did have to send it back once because the cadence all of a sudden stopped working but Garmin sent me a replacement right away. I have a very concave (convex?) chain-stay and so I had to put the unit on upside down in order to get everything to line up and not hit the spokes.
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RV posted 20 weeks ago.
I also had a question on setting the size for the speed sensor
See the following thread:
http://www.trifuel.com/forum/11704/garmin-305-speed
Once I did that worked great.
Haven't been able to ride anywhere but the trainer... :(
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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cjhoffmn posted 20 weeks ago.
I set mine up on my indoor trainer first and haven't had it outside yet due to winter weather. I did a roll-out of my wheel and set it in the computer. I also later found this http://sheldonbrown.com/cyclecomp_f.html which has the "usual" sizes already converted. This way you can just input the number.
-C
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SpeedDemon07 posted 14 weeks ago.
I just recently bought the 305 with the purpose of using it on my tt bike. I am a little dissapointed/confused. I bought this thing because it said GPS and I figured I wouldn't have to mount any speed sensor on the bike. Am I still able to get the speed and distance reading when I'm on the bike without mounting the speed sensor on the wheel? I run a disk wheel, so there are no spokes to mount a magnet on. I've thought about mounting it on the front wheel, but then it still have the cadence signal just sitting there, looking stupid. I would rather not have to mount any kind of sensor. Am I able to do this??? Please let me I didn't just waste my money on this thing !!!
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ChunkyB posted 14 weeks ago.
You didn't waste any money. You can get speed and distance from the GPS alone. The only reason you need the speed/cadence sensor is if you want to track your cadence, or if you want to train indoors (where the GPS obviously doesn't work). If you're planning on riding outdoors, and you don't care about cadence, then you can just turn the thing on and ride.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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RV posted 14 weeks ago.
SpeedDemon07 wrote:
...I run a disk wheel, so there are no spokes to mount a magnet on...!
If you do decide to mount the magnet - You don't need spokes - I have mine on a HED-3 wheel - I talked to HED and they sent me epoxy to use to mount the magnet.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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SpeedDemon07 posted 13 weeks ago.
Alright, so thank you for your help, I figured out my previous questions. Now I have another: How do I switch from Running to Biking, and then perhaps back to running? I have a Duathlon this weekend and I don't want to be fuddling around with it in the transitions. There has to be any easy way to switch from sport to sport, right?
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kylie posted 13 weeks ago.
To switch between sports just hold down the mode button and you'll get a dialog where you can switch from one to another with the arrow buttons.
Check out the quick start guide (available online here) and the full manual as well (available online here). Garmin actually does a pretty good job explaining how to use their devices. I know people seem to not want to read a whole manual, but I always figure if I spent that much $$ on it I might as well know how to get the most from it :) Plus with an online one you can search for keywords and don't have to really read all of it!
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RV posted 13 weeks ago.
kylie wrote:
To switch between sports just hold down the mode button and you'll get a dialog where you can switch from one to another with the arrow buttons.
That works but I thought that Garmin made the switch between sports easier than that for when racing - I'll have to play around with mine to check...
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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Triguy98 posted 13 weeks ago.
For the mode switch- setup Auto Multisport mode. You can do whatever events in whatever order, however number many times you want- you just push the lap button when done with one leg to automatically switch to the next leg/ sport. Took me a couple tries to get it pegged down.
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kylie posted 13 weeks ago.
RV wrote:
kylie wrote:To switch between sports just hold down the mode button and you'll get a dialog where you can switch from one to another with the arrow buttons.That works but I thought that Garmin made the switch between sports easier than that for when racing - I'll have to play around with mine to check...
I think they have a multisport setting where you can set ahead of time your sports, and then the start/stop button gets you into the next sport on your list. I just find that is harder to set up than it is to just use the mode button. But that might also be habit since that feature wasn't there at first!
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ChunkyB posted 13 weeks ago.
It's actually really easy to set up because the default multisport mode is "Other -> Transition -> Bike -> Transition -> Run". All you have to do is go to the multisport menu (I think it's in "workouts") and hit "Start Multisport". It's actually super smooth, and then you just hit start/stop (I think it's start/stop, and not Lab, but I could be wrong) at the beginning and end of each transition, and it will even keep track of your transition times.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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RV posted 13 weeks ago.
ChunkyB wrote:
It's actually really easy to set up because the default multisport mode is "Other -> Transition -> Bike -> Transition -> Run". All you have to do is go to the multisport menu (I think it's in "workouts") and hit "Start Multisport". It's actually super smooth, and then you just hit start/stop (I think it's start/stop, and not Lab, but I could be wrong) at the beginning and end of each transition, and it will even keep track of your transition times.
That sounds pretty easy - will give it a try. Thanks.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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TryScott posted 13 weeks ago.
If I had know that the cadence sensor came with a speed sensor, I would of got one before the winter. Oh well, I ordered it last week, and I guess I'll know how far I go on rainy days at least.
I also didn't know about the multisport mode. I've been holding the mode button between workouts.
If I had read the entire manual like Kylie, then I wouldn't have all these cool surprises. I've had my Jeep for 3 months, and last week I found out how to use the fog lights, and that if I tap the turn signal, it flashes 3 times then goes off. I like to spread the "new toy feeling" out as long as possible by finding new things.
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kylie posted 13 weeks ago.
Haha... I'm just a techy geek and want to know it all! No patience for waiting :)
As for the multisport mode, it looked cool in practice and I did try it a couple times, but it wasn't always clear to me which interval it was in so I went back to my old way. Maybe someday I'll play with it again, but since I use the official times for my splits in races it was more just for me to gauge where I was, so a second or 2 missing wasn't a big deal.
I *believe* if you just switch modes it automatically puts you in multisport mode, although not in a set sequence. Which I hate -- when I did use the Garmin software, it meant if I wanted my bike and run into the log as a bike and a run I had to not just stop and change mode (since that meant multisport) but stop, reset, and then change. It was a pain.
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ChunkyB posted 13 weeks ago.
Yeah, the auto multi-sport feature is kind of a pain, but you can turn that off. I've had that a few times where I actually do workouts on different days, but since I didn't reset or sync with my computer, it logged it as a multi-sport event. Kind of annoying.
Also, when you're in multi-sport mode, you can see which mode you're in by pressing the arrows on the side (that change the display type). It basically adds a 4th display option that says "RUN" or "BIKE" really huge at the bottom.
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SpeedDemon07 posted 13 weeks ago.
ChunkyB wrote:
It's actually super smooth, and then you just hit start/stop (I think it's start/stop, and not Lab, but I could be wrong) at the beginning and end of each transition, and it will even keep track of your transition times.
I'm starting to like this thing more and more as you all read the manual for me! :) You actually push the LAP button to go to the next event. Hit LAP from the RUN and it automatically puts you into TI, then hit it again and your on the bike, then again and your in T2, then again and your on the 2nd run. Thanks for the help. This thing can get to be to much, but its fun for now. I'm going for a brick workout (run/bike/ +maybe a short cooldown run). I'll let you know how it goes.
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SpeedDemon07 posted 13 weeks ago.
one more thing, has anyone figured out a way to attach the watch to aero bars? It is kind of hard to twist my wrist to read how fast I am going on the bike or the distance.
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ChunkyB posted 13 weeks ago.
First of all, I would suggest getting a bike mount kit. That will work to mount on normal bars. It's also great because it has a wrist band that you can mount the thing on too, so you can go from bike to run really quickly (if you were ever so inclined).
And I remember seeing a post (here or at bikeforums.net) about someone that put this on their aero bars. They basically got a piece of PVC pipe and cable-tied it between the two bars, which basically gave like a second bar that was perpendicular to the aero bars. That way you can have it right in front of your face. I can't find the picture for the life of me, but hopefully that made some sense.
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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ChunkyB posted 13 weeks ago.
Ok. I found it. Here's the link to all the pics, and then there are some specific ones that are good.
http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/The_Mickstar/Forerunner%20305/
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/The_Mickstar/Forerunner%20305/151_...
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/The_Mickstar/Forerunner%20305/151_...
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/The_Mickstar/Forerunner%20305/151_...
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/The_Mickstar/Forerunner%20305/151_...
Here's the link to the thread where I found this.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=376216
"The melting point of wax means nothing to me": Thrice
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kylie posted 13 weeks ago.
ChunkyB wrote:
Yeah, the auto multi-sport feature is kind of a pain, but you can turn that off. I've had that a few times where I actually do workouts on different days, but since I didn't reset or sync with my computer, it logged it as a multi-sport event. Kind of annoying.
How? I tried turning it off, and the only setting that seemed similar didn't seem to actually do it. Although maybe I should read the new manual (if they updated it ;)) Mine is from before the multisport mode was an option -- it was added in a software update. [ooh, this could be because I actually use the 301, not 305... maybe it was an update in that change].
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SpeedDemon07 posted 13 weeks ago.
That bike mount set-up is cool. There are some really creative people out there. I am in the process of fabricating my one very similar set-up (I do already have the bike mount kit). Thanks to whomever that is!
Anyway, I did my brick workout yesterday, using the multisport feature and it went pretty well. I don't like how it doesn't give me the time for the particular part of the workout I am on (i.e. transition), instead giving me the total time (maybe I had it set-up wrong, I don’t know). But overall, it was a nice feature.
I am curious to know what specific date fields and how many you all like to have displayed. I like 3 data displays and;
For the Bike I prefer: Time,Distance,speed
For the Run I prefer: Distance, Pace, Time
I continue to battle myself on whether I should have current speed or average speed for the bike, and current pace or avg. pace for the run.
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RV posted 13 weeks ago.
SpeedDemon07 wrote:
I am curious to know what specific date fields and how many you all like to have displayed. I like 3 data displays and;
For the Bike I prefer: Time,Distance,speed
For the Run I prefer: Distance, Pace, TimeI continue to battle myself on whether I should have current speed or average speed for the bike, and current pace or avg. pace for the run.
Since you can have multiple screens I have different setups, but the primary ones for me are: cadence (both bike and run - if I will use the foot pod in training) and lap time and lap distance. I will also show the HRZ. I will put the current speed up for the bike setup, but cadence is more important to me. Speed is very subjective - headwinds, terrain etc. Tho fun to see the big numbers roll up on a screaming downhill!
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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cjhoffmn posted 13 weeks ago.
I originally mounted mine between my aerobars using a computer mount kit that I then electrical taped to the other bar. I ended up with a very solid cross bar, basically right below my eye line. It really worked great, until I got the aero bottle mount kit and I then didn't have room. Now I've mounted it elsewhere, but its really great with the wrist strap as well to transition from bike to run smoothly.
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rpe5 posted 13 weeks ago.
If I am using the forerunner 305 outside with the cadence sensor do I have to use the speed magnet? I would think it could do the speed stuff without the magnet.
I just purchased the speed/cadence sensors to go along with my Garmin Forerunner 305 which I have only used for running over the past year. I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not the while size must be set on the watch to get an accurate speed. I pretty much just set things up and got on my indoor trainer. The readings seem accurate but I just purchased my indoor trainer and am thus not totally used to riding with it. Has anybody had any experience with this product?
Any other info from any experienced user would be helpful! Thanks!