Cycling Gear: Garmin Edge 305 User Review

Hi All, I posted a user review on a resellers site after reading a few user and 'professional' site reviews of the edge that I feel didn't really capture the key issues for me (ie. that I would like to be aware of when purchasing). Would seem pretty relevant to MapMyRide users ... and despite my gripes there is still great potential for the unit if Garmin software can be avoided.

[Did a quick search for existing discussions here, apologies if I missed any]

-------Garmin Edge 305 Review -------

 

Despite a large number of user and site reviews to the contrary I believe this item is let down by poor software design and quality. The Edge products are something of a 'hook' item in that they are sufficiently crippled out of the box to require subscription to online services or other products. Having used the unit for about 3000km now I think I can offer some addition perspective to what is already out there...

Don't get me wrong the concept of a GPS based cycle computer is great - I regularly and easily swap it between the bikes I frequently use without wires or calibration. The unit feature set is also pretty comprehensive, in fact one has to be quite judicious in display setup options so as not be overwhelmed by data. The GPS chip is plenty good for road, quick(ish) acquisition and tracking sufficient for speedo accuracy etc. With the good stuff out of the way...

But - and for me this is considerable but - the unit firmware is flakey (you will have to figure out how to do a soft reset as the unit will freeze up on you), and the Training Center software is even worse. Here come the hooks, for me (in NZ) the basemaps included for course planning are practically useless (though there is a way to create your basemaps own if you have the time and data), the cost of correcting this the Garmin way is horrendous [h1]. A great alternative, however exists in MapMyRide (though you don't get to insert course waypoints). But you still have to resolve the following...

Getting data in and out of the unit becomes more problematic over time, in fact I have installed Training Center on 3 separate PCs (all of the XP variety) and all of them stopped receiving data from the GPS with an error sooner or later. Sometimes they would receive sometimes they wouldn't - final resolution was a complete uninstall (AND manual user dir delete). The alternative is use of the MotionBased site, though paid subscription is required [h2] for a full suite of services. An alternative exists again in the form of SportTracks, a great donorware piece of software (no affiliation).

Other minor gripes include the usual - HRM interference, at times poor barometric related elevation performance - especially in the wet [don't even think about it in heavy rain]. GPS related gripes - the Course following option is a little flakey if created via software as opposed to ride history. Lapped or complex courses (retracing sections) also problematic - a moving snake option highlighting the current, say 1km, section of the course would alleviate this somewhat though. Finally you'd think you would be able to 1. insert an autolap point on a course *before* you rode it (like a lapping waypoint), and 2. insert more than one autolap points. But no, you cannot achieve either of these with the 305 Edge.

In summary, yes the Edge 305 is full featured and bloody convenient for multiple bikes. After you get the unit turned on, the on bike features even work pretty well. The great letdown comes when you want to download, analyse and share all that data you collected out on the road, or heaven forbid do some planning before you hit the road to take advantage of a GPS platform. If you are prepared for multiple workarounds on the SW side of things the Edge 305 is still a great option, if not its power (and potential) is wasted and you'd be better off with a Polar or similar speedo.

Edge 305 Firmware 3.20

Training Center Version 3.2.3

Hope this helps.

Ron

Ps. I wouldn't even think of dropping money on an Edge 605/705 until these SW issues are sorted. More bug testers and actual cyclists involved in the next SW edition please Garmin.

Sorry Steve, I'm not a Mac user so can't provide much assistance though I do see the Garmin Training Center now supports 'MacIntels'. Would love to hear feedback from anyone on the Mac version of the software.

http://www8.garmin.com/products/trainingcenter/

To some degree I think many GPS units suffer from the same issues as cell/mobile/wireless phones (international nomenclature gets confusing) - a near majority of items returned as 'faulty' had no issues other than a poorly designed interface [poorly designed meaning average intended user is unable to access function set].

However as you indicate, GPS manufacturers also have to contend with completely unrealistic expectations of their products which just exagerates the 'user' problem.

Ron 

For a large part I agree and with a few caveats highly rate feature set of the 305 as per the original post. But my 'review' (term used lightly) focuses on areas which I felt weren't well covered in the main cycling/GPS tech sites.

There is clunky (interface, function access), and then there is an immature product (buggy software/firmware). The number of forums threads (Motion Based et al) certainly confirms the latter.

 

I certainly think the onus is on Garmin to make a product that is usable out of the box for the population they are marketing the product to.

 

Hopefully this will be all of limited relevance as MapMyRide and SportTracks2 mature and we can forget about Garmin Training Center for good!