Ultimate bike computer?

In article <[email hidden]>,

dtmeister said:

Well, I've been pretty happy with my Polar 720i. Then along comes this :

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/garmin-edge-305-gps.php

Anyone got one and would like to comment? Around $550 at various online
.au GPS sites.

I don't have one but I do use Garmin eTrex Vista Cx on my bike. Using
GPS, It's obviously the next level up in terms of technology. Edge 305
has the extra advantage of having the more sensitive SiRF chip. The only
downside for me is its lack of mapping functionality for general riding
needs. Yet again, it is designed for cycle sport in mind.
--

In article <[email hidden]>,

Artoi said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

dtmeister said:

Well, I've been pretty happy with my Polar 720i. Then along comes this :

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/garmin-edge-305-gps.php

Anyone got one and would like to comment? Around $550 at various online
.au GPS sites.

I don't have one but I do use Garmin eTrex Vista Cx on my bike. Using
GPS, It's obviously the next level up in terms of technology. Edge 305
has the extra advantage of having the more sensitive SiRF chip. The only
downside for me is its lack of mapping functionality for general riding
needs. Yet again, it is designed for cycle sport in mind.
--

Forgot one thing. With GPS units, you can download the track data in gpx
format and display it in GoogleEarth. Now that is super cool!
--

Artoi said:

I don't have one but I do use Garmin eTrex Vista Cx on my bike. Using
GPS, It's obviously the next level up in terms of technology. Edge 305
has the extra advantage of having the more sensitive SiRF chip. The only
downside for me is its lack of mapping functionality for general riding
needs. Yet again, it is designed for cycle sport in mind.

I've got an old Etrex (original yellow one) and a Garmin Forerunner 201
which at the time had some of the features of the Edge. However the Edge
seems to be the complete package. Just need to find a home for the
little used Forerunner. 🙂

--
..dt

Artoi said:

Forgot one thing. With GPS units, you can download the track data in gpx
format and display it in GoogleEarth. Now that is super cool!

I use gpsvisualiser which takes exports of various formats, including
..xml.

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=google

Also found sone cool free (windows) software to collect HRM and/or GPS
data.

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/

--
..dt

dtmeister said:

Well, I've been pretty happy with my Polar 720i. Then along comes this :

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/garmin-edge-305-gps.php

Anyone got one and would like to comment? Around $550 at various online
.au GPS sites.

GPS is good, but doesn't work well under canopy (or bridges, tunnels
etc). Just something to be aware of.

Quoted message said:

--
.dt

Bleve said:

dtmeister said:

Well, I've been pretty happy with my Polar 720i. Then along comes this :

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/garmin-edge-305-gps.php

Anyone got one and would like to comment? Around $550 at various online
.au GPS sites.

GPS is good, but doesn't work well under canopy (or bridges, tunnels
etc). Just something to be aware of.

They seem to have solved that (for speed anyway). You can get it with
a wireless speed and cadence sensor. The speed sensor is self calibrating,
in that it uses a solid GPS speed calc to calibrate the speed sensor.
So when the GPS drops out, you still get speed/dist data. It also uses the
ANT protocol for data telemetry which sounds like it should be more reliable
than the Polar way. It all sounds too good to be true which is why I was
hoping someone local had tried one. Might try wreck.bike.tech.

--
..dt

dtmeister said:

Well, I've been pretty happy with my Polar 720i. Then along comes this :

pocketgpsworld.comgarmin edge 305 gps.phpOpen ↗

Anyone got one and would like to comment? Around $550 at various online
..au GPS sites.

--
..dt

I got one about a month ago. I love it.
The post ride analysis is fantastic. You've probably read all about it, but it records position, speed, cadence, heart rate & altitude. So you can get all sorts of pretty graphs.
Features I like:
- Pretty graphs.
- It has a ghost trainer so you can compare your ride with a previous one. Aside from competing with yourself, it's great for estimating your eta.
- The lap function is handy, giving you ave speed, etc (all the above) for each lap. Laps can be triggered by pressing the lap button, by distance, or by position. So you don't have to count laps or press a button at the veledrome, it'll do it for you. Back at the computer, you can then distinguish your work out laps from you warm up and warm down laps.
- Yes it doesn't have maps, but you can still upload routes to it for you to follow if your riding to unknown areas, or set waypoints to head towards.
- After a ride, you can see exactly where you were, at what time, and what you where doing. (Did I really leave work that late?? When I was being swooped by that bird, I managed to get to 52 km/h, and heart was beating at 172bpm.).

Things that can be improved.
- Battery life. Doing everything has a cost. Rumour has it that the internal battery will only last 12 hours. Haven't stretched it yet, but I'm a little concerned about ATB in October.
- More memory would be good, do you could download maps.

Oh yeah, I bought mine from Johnny Appleseed in St Kilda. Turns out to be more expensive than mail order, but those guys have a lot of GPS knowledge, and if anything goes wrong I don't have to have the hassle of mailing things back & forth.

OMG!!!111oneeleven!

"Snakes on a STEM!" http://tinyurl.com/nkj3a

peterlip said:

- After a ride, you can see exactly where you were, at what time, and
what you where doing. (Did I really leave work that late?? When I was
being swooped by that bird, I managed to get to 52 km/h, and heart was
beating at 172bpm.).

🙂 Thanks for the feedback. I can feel the credit card cringing. JA may
have an order tomorrow.

--
..dt

gplama said:

OMG!!!111oneeleven!

I think I've missed something. WTF is 111111?

Quoted message said:

OMG!!!111oneeleven! "Snakes on a STEM!"
http://tinyurl.com/nkj3a

JESUS CHRIST IT'S A LION!
GET IN THE ...CAR
OH SHI-

(an even more obscure blogging meme reference..)
--
Chris,,

In article <[email hidden]>,

gplama said:

OMG!!!111oneeleven!

"Snakes on a STEM!" http://tinyurl.com/nkj3a

Why are you carrying 2 GPS units? One on the stem and another on your
wrist?
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Artoi said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

gplama said:

OMG!!!111oneeleven!

"Snakes on a STEM!" http://tinyurl.com/nkj3a

Why are you carrying 2 GPS units? One on the stem and another on your
wrist?
--

It isnt me

peterlip wrote:

[chomp]

Quoted message said:

Things that can be improved.
- Battery life. Doing everything has a cost. Rumour has it that the
internal battery will only last 12 hours. Haven't stretched it yet, but
I'm a little concerned about ATB in October.

ride faster 🙂

Bleve said:

ride faster 🙂

Yes thank you Mr Obvious. I'm not worried about not finishing in 12 hours (we're aiming for 7 this year, although you then add all the ferry time, and hanging around time, plus riding to and from the start/finish), I'm more worried about their claims vs actual time. You know when you get a mobile phone which claims 170 hours standby time, but you have to charge it every 72 hours because, surprisingly, you don't live and work within 20 metres of a tower.

I suppose I should just shut up and test it...

In article <[email hidden]>,

peterlip said:

I suppose I should just shut up and test it...

Yes, please do. But don't tempt me as I've already bought two Garmin
units (Nuvi 350, Vista Cx) this year. I don't want to compete to be
their best customer. :P
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Artoi said:

Yes, please do. But don't tempt me as I've already bought two Garmin
units (Nuvi 350, Vista Cx) this year. I don't want to compete to be
their best customer. :P
--

How does the claimed vs actual battery life compare with the two units you've got???

In article <[email hidden]>,

peterlip said:

Artoi said:

Yes, please do. But don't tempt me as I've already bought two Garmin
units (Nuvi 350, Vista Cx) this year. I don't want to compete to be
their best customer. :P

Quoted message said:

How does the claimed vs actual battery life compare with the two units
you've got???

Nuvi is a car unit with rechargeable Li battery so I've never tested it
till empty. The Vista Cx runs on AA.
--