You bring up a salient point I had not thought of. A watch on the swim is not as important. It isn't like you stop swimming to check your pace. The swim is the swim. you can get the time after the race.

I have a Garmin 310XT and use it for everything. You can get the 310 pretty cheap now. About $150 to $180

http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/...heartratemonitorsusa

A Garmin 220 is about $250 alone, then you are gona spend another $200 on a Edge 500. If I werte you I would just go with a 310XT.

One thing I can't comment on is how it works with a powermeter. I want to pull the trigger on a powertap and that is one of the things I am wondering. How will the 310 work with the powertap on the bike?? Will I have to wait for it to synch or will I be able to blaze through swim bike and run on races and still see my mileage, speed and watts.

Let us know what you decide as I am in the same boat to a certain degree.

Have you contacted Garmin and asked about sending your unit in for a refurb unit? Should only cost you ~$100.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

This

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You can't fix stupid ..

I've sent them a request. Regardless, I am still wondering whether generally people prefer the "all in one" type of solution to the bike+run computer solution. I've really only worked off of one unit (first a Forerunner 305 and now a 910) but I'm curious if others have a different preference in training versus racing and why.

Thanks for the tip on the $100 refurb. We will see if they come through.

It works fine. The 310XT doesn't have "advanced" metrics like Normalized Power, but it reads power and cadence just fine from my power-meter (I use 3-sec rolling average). You pair the two, and then as soon as you reach your bike and switch the 310XT to "Bike" mode, it will look for the meter and find it as soon as it's broadcasting.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I have exactly what you describe, an Edge 500 on the bike and a 220 for running and the swim is the swim (no data). I've never used an all in one watch but I've never felt the draw to one. I'm very happy with the 500 + 220 combination.

Do you use GPS on the watch for the run? I have the exact same setup. However, I normally race without GPS on the run but thinking about doing GPS on the run for my next race. The problem I've found though is that the FR220 only has a 10-hour battery life with GPS enabled (and I'm not a sub 10-hour finisher). It seems the only solution is to start the race with the GPS off and then enable it mid-race (e.g., during T2); but I think this requires me to stop the timer and change the setting. (Correct me if I'm wrong). I can do this in about 10 seconds and the GPS is really fast, but it will make my watch time slightly off from my actual time.

if you don't mind the large size of the 310xt, it works great for running and cycling, I really enjoy mine and like the various clever screens i can setup for a specific workout

I only use the 220 for the run. It sits in transition waiting for me to get off the bike and I put it on there. Since it caches the satellite locations, it locks on in about 3 seconds and I'm good to go.

I have exactly that combo (Edge 500 & FR 220). I actually use the 220 as a stopwatch for the whole race (sprint & oly) and I have no desire to upgrade to an all in one watch. Personally I prefer having the edge right there on my handlebars and I like the smaller form factor of the 220 to run with.

Gotcha. Thanks. To the OP, these would be the tradeoffs to keep in mind. Even if this doesn't appeal to you, consider a FR220 anyway for general run training. It's crazy comfortable.

I use my Garmin 310XT for Ironman level racing...does everything from swim to bike (with power) to running with no issues. Turned it on just prior to the swim at IM MOO, and it was fine throughout the whole thing. For shorter races my Suunto Ambit 2S does everything as well, although it is prone to power drop outs. But, it also nicely fills in as a day to day watch as well.

Spot

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

In a tri, when do you turn on the run watch? (especially in the case of indoor t2 such as B2B or Wisconsin)

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Janyne

I have used the 310XT across all 3 successfully since 2010 (?). Have the Quick Releasse so I have it in my cap on the swim, on my H. For the bike land on my wrist for the run.

Has always worked great.....until IMWI. Forgot to take it off the bike as I was coming into T2. Handed the bike to a volunteer and that was the last I saw of it for the day. Realized it coming out of T2 and had to run by feel. Really bad move....was running WAY too fast (like 1 min / mile under my goal pace) and blew up at mile 11.

Now that was only one race out of many and it is normally not an issue since the bike is right there in transition. Just a mental error on my part in Madison.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Well I only race sprint/ oly but I start it at the beginning of the race. I usually lap once I exit the water, right after mounting (edge for the bike so not too concerned here), right before dismount, and once exiting transition. At that point I try to lap every mile.

Thanks for the info.

I use an Edge 500 and a FR210. I much prefer the two individual units over my 310xt. In training i can just use the designated device for whatever sport i'm training that day.

For race day, turn on Edge before i leave for the swim (ensure auto shut off is not enabled).
Obtain satellites in transition on 210 before leaving for swim, then shut off.
As soon as i get into T2 i turn on the 210 and it typically has the satellites acquired before i'm done putting on my shoes and taking off my helmet (20 seconds). For a shorter tri you can just leave on in transition when you leave for the swim start.

I used it at IMMT last year and was worried about the change tent/indoor issue. I just turned it on as soon as i got my bag. It was pretty quick to acquire satellites after i got out of the tent towards the run start. If you lose 100m or so, oh well. The watch is just way more comfortable than the 310xt and i'm not worried about battery life.

I also used to wear a cheaper timex to keep overall race time and swim time but gave up on that because I didn't really see the value. Rarely would knowing my overall race time change anything i'm doing.

That's helpful. Thanks.

I'm using 910XT + Garmin 800 on the bike. I just like having the extra data fields on the 800. Also I've heard of people having issues with data corruption with the 910XT after full IM length. I used the 910XT for the swim, stopped and reset after swim, used the 800 for the bike, and then the 910 for the run. I also forgot to turn off the 910 after the swim but it still had enough battery for the run and finish. I'm an average finisher. Just over 13.5hrs for IMWI.

I use 910xt and 810 I start and use 910 in Multisport mode on race day but still cycle with my 810 running. I like to see all the other metrics while on the bike.
In training I use watch for swims and runs but 810 exclusive on the bike. I enjoy the additional info I get from the separate bike computer.

J

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You can't fix stupid ..

I use 910xt swim and run. Just picked up edge 800 for bike. When I send in my 910xt for the annual refurbish exchange, I'll dump it for a GPS running watch. I really like having a dedicated bike computer.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Also on the 910/800 combo here.

Was on just 910 until i got a powermeter and then wanted a better dedicated display. Use 910 for the whole race in multisport mode just turned inside my wrist on the bike now instead of on the mount. 800 gets used for the bike and also all I take on bike only rides now.

I've had no issues with my 910 at all ever that I can recall so I have no complaints or reason to change. Style wise I like the fenix2 better but no reason to upgrade at this point nor downgrade to a run only watch.