Customer Reviews

Garmin Edge 305 Bicycle GPS Navigator with Heart Rate Monitor and Speed/Cadence Sensor

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

The 305 is a neat item, and very clean to install. Satellite reception is excellent, even in dense forrests and far superior to my Garmin GPSMAP 60CS. The stem mount is very clean with rubberized mountings, with a supplied wedge for proper viewing angles.

The cadence and speed pickups are neatly packaged in one sensor on the rear tire, and the cadence magnet is unobtrunsive. Installation documentation is very clear and accurate.

The software for downloading rides is very good, although it lacks some functionality that is available in Garmin's other products (waypoint and route management), and you cannot erase the unit from your PC. No big deal there. Seeing your actual ride or hike track on a map is pretty cool.

It has multiple (3) bike profiles, so more than one bike use is possible. If using this only on one bike, then bike 2 can be used as a secondary information screen for trip data, like average speed, average cadence, average heart rate, etc., things that you won't want on your primary biking screen.

The one item that is missing, and I was surprised about is that the 305 does not have a persistant odometer. It does have a ride trip meter, and there is no separate data field that keeps track of your total mileage. You can do this in the PC based software though. I prefer a built in odometer function for routine maintenance on my bike, when I hit 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 mile cycles per year. I'm working with Garmin tech-support and they admit they sort of, kind of, missed it. That's the primary reason why I gave this item four stars.

Battery life is another concern, especially when the unit is searching to pair up with the heart rate and cadence sensors. If you turn off those features, it consumes less power. For most one day rides, the unit is fine. It would be great if Garmin put a solar cell on the front of the unit where all the black is.

If you really like GPS and capturing as much data as possible about your ride, heart rate, cadence, timings, grades, maps ... this is the unit for you! Enjoy!

Update:

Battery life is a serious issue with the Edge 305! I am getting no more than five hours out of an overnight charge and that is with just the cadence sensor. I have asked Garmin Tech Support about this three times, and the answers are disappointing. If you ride long, I cannot recommend that you go with the Edge 305 until they correct the battery life issue. I'll update you with Garmin's responses!

Simply put, I love this product. It's kind of like the Swiss Army Knife of bike computers, employing every metric the serious cyclist needs to tailor and hone their workouts. The only piece of data missing is wattage (you reading this Garmin!) which would be great, but probably very costly to integrate.

I love the customization and the complete wirelessness of the computer. It basically makes all other bicycle computers obsolete by comparison. Installation is a breeze without any of the pain in the ass calibration required from virtually every other bike computer on the market. It just works right out of the box.

The Edge 305 has a Virtual Training partner that will make you a stronger, faster rider. It also includes interval training and which is a blast to use and for the real tweaks, an advanced training feature where you can set up your own grueling workouts -- a real bonus for the masochists among us!

One thing to note is that there are mounts for two bicycles in the box, so there is no need to order an additional bike mount if you intend to make the Edge 305 a duel use computer for your road and mountain bike. This kind of mitigates the relatively high price the computer goes for in that you can have one computer for two different bikes.

I haven't experienced any of the battery issues mentioned in some of the other reviews, which I suppose is a testament to my wussy 4 -5 hour rides, so that shouldn't be an issue for most people.

And finally, after years of ignoring a huge market, Garmin wised up and is implementing Macintosh OSX support which while not included in the box, will be available on-line within the next couple of months (Thank you Garmin!!).

I read a bunch of reviews before buying my Edge. I was prepared for it to not be perfect but went ahead. My impressions are:-

Surprised (for good)
- Following a pre-loaded course is a really useful navigation feature. I recently did a 60 mile loop on unknown roads without stopping once to look at a map (I downloaded the route from motionbased.com and converted it to a CRS using some software I found on the motionbased forum).
- Heart-rate monitor suffers from far less interference than my Polar did. Particularly I found the Polar got thrown by bus power cables overhead and other things. Haven't had an issue with the Edge losing the signal like this.
- I really like the ability to customize the screen to show as little or as much data as you like. Also to have multiple setups you can switch between.
- I was impressed by just how small the unit is.

Bad side
- Software is nowhere near as good as the Polar software for recording training activities. Particularly I could find no way to correct bad data points without going in and editing the XML files from the device. Also the Polar software gives week by week graphs showing aggregate training time in different zones, etc which is not so clear with the Garmin software and non-existent in motionbased (as far as I've found).
- The calorie calculator seems pretty dubious based on feedback I've read elsewhere. I've ignored it.
- Creating new courses / routes is a pain. It's fine if you want to ride a course you've ridden before, using exactly the same directions. For new courses though I had to create a route on GoogleEarth Plus and then convert it to a GPX (using freeware) and then convert it to CRS (using more freeware). The end result was excellent but it took a lot of fiddling. There is also a CRS creator out there but it didn't seem easy to edit / save courses mid-creation with that.

On a side note, make sure you use the speed/cadence sensor. Before I mounted it I tried using just the Edge unit for speed. It's fine until you ride through an area with tall buildings and your speed drops to 0 mph.

All in all I'm impressed.

Took it out for my first real ride that was 5 hours total and 4 hours riding time. By the end, I had 1 bar left on the battery meter. This is a real ;problem if your into long rides like Centuries and Double Centuries. There is no way you can take this device on a 12-18 hour without it shutting off on you.

I would rate it a 5 out of 5 as a bike computer. Love the fact you can populate the fields with whichever element you choose; heart rate, speed, etc. The heart rate monitor was good as well.

It weight less than the Ciclosport HAC4 for those weight weenies who might imagine this device as a boat anchor.

The lousy battery life relegates this a toy for me however, as I really want need this device to stay on for the 12 hour+ rides.

I admit to being a bit of a tech-junkie and have previously purchased a several HRM and GPS-enabled bicycle computer systems. The Edge 305, which I have owned for three months, is the first one that I felt was worth the investment. It strengths are: user configurable displays, high contrast screen with backlight (last several hours for night riding), user-friendly downloads with fast USB communication/charging, very lightweight (~ 3oz), with secure mount/dismount, very straightforward button/menu system, waterproof (haven't tested this yet).

The 'Training Center' software is excellent, with a full set of graphs and maps, much easier to navigate than e.g. Ciclosport or Cambietta software. Ride histories are downloaded automatically as soon as the USB cable is plugged in. Even better, there's a website (motionbased.com) that one can upload rides and get complete reports, including overlaid Google maps, weather, and lots of statistical information about the ride (HR, speed, grade etc). Note that motionbased.com charges a monthly user fee (currently $8/month). The ride history storage is quite good - in the 'smart' recording mode, a data word is recorded every 10 seconds. There are 13,000 storable points, so it should be possible to record about 36 hours of ride data before a download. This would be handy for multi-day trips when a computer isn't available.

Nothing is perfect in life. Here are the issues I have found so far with the Edge.

1. The battery life is close to 9 hours, definitely not the advertised 12 hours. I completed a 200K brevet last weekend, which took 9:10 with stops (the Edge was left on). About 20 minutes before the end I got a 'low battery' warning' but it kept running to the end. Note that I don't have a cadence unit, which probably decreases the battery life. The Edge was fully charged before the ride.

2. The 'grade' display is useless. It bounces around +/- 5% on hills. I think the unit is sampling too fast - Garmin will likely fix this in a firmware update soon.

3. The map display is simply a track history, and does not display actual map information (roads, towns, etc). It's handy for out-and-back rides, since you can see approaching turns on the return trip, but it would be terrific if one could load map data. (Note that positions are recorded and the route is displayed on a 'real' map after download to the 'Training center' or motionbased.com software.)

4. Although there are two bike mounts included, they are at different orientations (90 degs apart) so if you have 2 bikes with the same setup, you'll have to buy another mount ($15).

Great little device but the battery dies after about 7 hours without even using the heart rate or cadence monitors - not anywhere near the 12 hour life as advertised. Probably OK if you don't ride much but it's a pain for me. The screen is very small making it difficult to view data while riding. Nitpicks aside - viewing ride stats on motionbased.com and google earth pretty much make up for any shortcomings but the battery life is a real downer.

I have the 305/Cadence/HRM bundle. With a few exceptions, I believe this is a very good cycle computer for tech junkies or for people who like to keep very detailed training stats. In addition to the normal speed (current/average/max), distance and time data from a standard cycle computer, you get point in time data throughout your ride. The included training center software allows you to review this information and get a very detailed analysis of your training--probably more than most of us need. Nonetheless, it's fun to go back and look at your speed, cadence and heart rate during that killer hill--even if you're not training at an elite level.

You can compare your performance on the same course over time and see if you're improving and also see the areas that are causing problems. For a more detailed analysis with better maps, you can use the Motion Based web service. Although it is subscription for the advanced features, you can review your last ten rides in detail for free. Motion Based is also a good source of previously recorded courses uploaded by other users if you are looking for new routes.

A workout feature allows you to define a workout and the 305 will alert you at predetermined times to change your effort to meet the plan. Simple workouts can be programmed directly into the unit. More complicated workout structures can be created using the included software and downloaded to the unit for use. I haven't tried the `virtual partner' feature that simulates riding against another person by showing how far ahead or behind you are at any given time.

Other nice features:
- User configurable data fields for the main screens allow you to arrange the layout the way that makes sense for the way you train and ride.
- Auto pause can be set for a dead stop or for a user-defined speed. When paused, time and distance `paused' is recorded providing both riding time and total time for any workout without the need to use a stopwatch.
- Good backlight for night/low light use.
- Can be configured to display heart rate as beats per minute or per cent of max.
- The speed/cadence sensor backs up the GPS for speed computation when there is no satellite signal (such as indoors on the trainer). Since it uses the GPS to establish speed and distance, there is no need to configure the wheel size--even for the magnetic sensor. When the GPS is working, it auto calibrates the wheel size so it is set when the GPS signal drops.
- Auto lap on distance or when passing a specified point on the route.

Things that could be better:
- The included software does not provide for creating courses (routes) from scratch, and its ability to edit a previously recorded course is limited.
- No persistent odometer.
- Although it is possible to program up to 8 data fields on each of the two `bike' data screens, once you go above four fields the field sizes shrink making them more difficult to read.
- [Update] No indicator of whether the current speed (on the speed display) is ahead or behind the average pace--a common feature on most cycle computers.

Cons:
- Built-in battery is not user replaceable, and may not last long enough for endurance rides.
- The GPS `map' is simply a track of your route--no actual map is provided. If you get off course, it's better than nothing, but not by much.
- I agree with other reviewers that the calories burned estimation algorithm is not the best.

Conclusion-A very good training tool with a star off for the limitations of the software and the minor imperfections in the feature set.

UPDATE:
Several people have commented on battery life being significantly less than the 12 hours advertised. I recently did a five hour ride and noted that the battery indicator was showing 50% at the end. This would translate to roughly 10 hours using both the cadence sensor and the heart rate monitor. Though less than the advertised max, I find it acceptable as I would only expect to get maximum battery life under ideal conditions. Ten hours is more than enough to last me through a century. I have updated to the most recent software version(3.10) and that may make a difference. I plan to do a double century this summer and purchased the Lenmar PPU1700B (other similar devices are available from various manufacturers) as an auxiliary power source to extend the battery life for the duration longer endurance rides.

UPDATE (6 months in)- I have had only one significant annoyance with the 305--the battery life on the cadence sensor is too short--it's as if the unit never turns off and drains the batteries in no time. Other than that, the unit works flawlessly and the actual battery life of the unit itself is reasonable for all but the longest rides. The Lenmar PPU1700B works great as an auxiliary power source (I put it in the a small handlebar bag and route the cable back behind the handlebar to the 305). Despite the issue with the cadence sensor, I continue to recommend this product.

I have owned this unit for a few weeks now and my comments are:
Pros:
**Extremely accurate display of speed (My Cateye Double Wireless is also on my bike) Easy to read.
**Stem mounting is rugged. I was a bit concerned that this would be awkward but I like it better than units that mount on the handle bars. Also, the angle of my stem at least makes for easy, solid button manipulation and viewing.
**No magnets or other sensor mounting required. The unit comes with two mounts, so you can easily switch between two bikes. Because of the GPS, you are not required to mount a wheel sensor. I think this is a real plus. I bought the HR and wheel/cadence sensor 305 unit but have yet to use them. Looking back, I probably would have purchased the 205 instead of the 305 because of the simplicity and clean mounting, I'd imagine this would be great for mountain bikes as well, where mud can be an issue.
**The software interface is quite impressive. You can view your route plotted against the map. Haven't explored all the options, but software was easy to install and GPS unit data was easy to upload via USB.
Cons
**Battery life When it comes to battery life, it's kind of like a cell phone. They say 12 hours, continuous use but I have yet to experience. All I know, is that I have to remember to charge it the night before I go out to avoid a nasty surprise. On the plus side, it will seem to continue to function on low battery for quite some time. I have yet to lose data because of battery failure.

Ok, I really love this gadget. It's great to have heartrate, speed, distance, cadence, grade, and averages all on one unit. After a ride, you can review, graphically, the entire data for the ride. Also great to have your entire history of rides on your computer. But it takes a fair amount of effort to keep that history. The software just randomly loses your history from time to time--so you have to back up frequently. This is not just me--check out the forums on Garmin's sites, and you'll see that everyone seems to experience these glitches from time to time. Calorie calculation is, well, bizarre---I don't really need exact calorie counting (though the forums at Garmin's site certainly suggest that others do), but I'd like it to at least serve for comparison purposes. Not so--the same exact ride, with very similar speed, can show up with dramatically different calories burned. Another glitch has even earned its own acronym of JFS--jersey flap syndrome, when certain synthetic jerseys, at high speed, interfere with the heart rate monitor sensor, causing impossibly high heart rate readings (no, my heart rate did not actually go to 265 on that downhill section).
The unit also interfaces with Garmin's web-based program, Motion Based--- a very interesting concept that lets you look at your own and other people's rides, and search for them using key words. You can then download these rides to your unit and follow them on your bike using the course map. That's a really cool idea---essentially a community created trail guide, but it could be better. The ability to comment on these rides would be nice---much like this Amazon review system, users could choose or modify routes that are posted according to their own purposes if comments were permitted. It would also be nice to search for rides by GPS coordinates (this is Garmin, after all) but right now that doesn't appear possible.
If you back up frequently, it is nice to compare one ride (say a favorite route early in the season) with another (same route later in the season). You can watch your heartrate lower as you train from ride to ride. But as I mentioned above, you will lose this ability if you don't back up often. You also have to occasionally reset the device, or it will begin to misbehave both in interfacing with your computer and on the bike. Recently, my unit has developed an irritating habit of shutting off mid-ride--though turning it back on keeps the mileage count going , the elapsed time after restart is mysteriously, almost randomly, altered--completely messing up average pace. You get some, but not all of this data back when you upload to motionbased (as opposed to using the training center software), but it's still no longer accurate once it shuts down. Again, reading the forums, this shutting off appears to be a common problem.
Transferring non-Garmin GPS routes to the unit, for use as a course, should be a lot easier. There are free third party programs out there on the Web that are useable, but it's difficult and hit and miss. One would hope that future upgrades will allow for easy transformation of the relatively few GPS coordinate files out there (e.g. .tcx) to Garmin's .crs format. Following a course (once it's successfully loaded) is really cool--zoom in and out on the map, and race the person who initially rode the course virtually. It's easy to convert a course you've ridden to a stored course to ride again, a little more involved, but not difficult, to use someone else's ride from the Motion Based website--it would just be nice to download a course from the several other GPS sites and use it as a cue sheet for a new ride.
Honestly, I've had my Edge for 3 months and I've enjoyed it tremendously. I will continue to use it, and really wouldn't want to do any significant ride without one. (I believe I could send it back to Garmin to resolve the shutting-off mid-ride issue, but I'm waiting until the weather isn't so nice for riding before giving it up for a few days--I'd really miss it). But its software is finicky, and you have to use the user forums on Motion Based from time to time to figure out how to get the thing unstuck or on or reset or backed up. The Motion Based Trail Network idea is absolutely killer, but I fear that with Garmin's apparent weakness in the software area it will be a long time before they start to really exploit its potential. And it's not the only source of GPS routes out there, but the only source that is readily useable with the unit (though a bit of tinkering around on line helps thios a bit). Let's hope they hire some good software developers and make this thing really fly.

I've only used it a couple times since receiving it 3 or 4 days ago. So far, it is great. The best computer I've purchased, with all the bells and whistles, the easiest to use also. I was using a Polar s720i and it is nice also but not as user friendly either on the road or at home. The Edge also will allow for battery changes on the heart strap, cadence/speed sensor and the main unit is rechargeable. Can't say that for the Polar.

The Edge is self-calibrating for wheel size so you literally put on the speed/cadence sensor, 5 minutes to install, strap on the heart monitor, get on the bike and go. There are lots of ways to set up the screen for the items you like to view while riding, speed, cadence, almost anything you can think of is viewable.

I especially like the "virtual partner", it is great to "race" against yourself on a course you made. Sometimes you don't have a riding partner, now I always do.

While I have not had the battery life problems others have had, I also haven't been on any long rides yet, just got it, so really can't give my opinion on that. The only drawback I have had so far is that you can't upload maps to it from Garmin's other products. Although, your tracks are viewable through Garmin mapping software used on other products, I have an eTrex Vista C also.

Overall, pricy but feature loaded, I love it so far and all in all, it's not much more than Polar's 720.