Just got one!--works great. the rechargeable battery is the best.

I looked at the Garmin web site for information. This thing looks extremely cool. It looks too good to be true.

Is there a catch? Loss of signal when you go under a tree? clunky? Inaccurate.

Why do I keep seeing these cool toys on this forum? This is the most expensive site I have never paid for.

I read this a few weeks back:

"Please be aware that the New Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS has been recalled by Garmin.

We have received initial shipments from Garmin that have shipped to our customers that have placed previous orders with us. These customers have been notified of the recall.

The nature of the recall is due to a problem with moisture accumulating under the display.

Garmin is currently addressing the problem.

A new release date is tentatively set for December 18th but keep in mind this is "tentative".

We wanted to make our customer's aware of this delay because we realize a great number of these units are meant for Christmas presents.

Thank you for your patience as Garmin is working diligently to release these units in time for Christmas.

Best Regards,

Rod Jordan
Senior Sales Representative
Online Marine"

EVERSINCE IT CAME OUT I GOT IN THE MARKET FOR ONE... ANYONE W/ NEWS REGARDING THE REVISION/RE-RELEASE?

Shony

Great! Like I don't look like a wanker as it is, soon, in addition to my rubber suit, pretty spandex hot pants, and bike antlers, I'll be wired for sound with my HRM, GPS, personal digital videocorder, and of course the boring old timing chip.

Let's see: Left wrist: HRM, Right Wrist: GPS, Left ankle: timing chip, Right ankle: GPS recorder(BodyLink style) Helmet: Jeff-Cam. Too bad cell phones and MP3 players aren't allowed or I could have something on each arm, too! Maybe duct tape my PocketPC to my thigh so that I could download mid-race data for analysis(Hmmm, based on an interpolation of training data, I could go .73 mph faster if I eat a banana right now!)

Okay, this is just sour grapes, because I'm wondering when the hell Polar is going to make an HRM with GPS built in so I can have everything in a single unit. I know that Timex has BodyLink, but I've been using the Polar HRM and software for 2 years and I like it.

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I've been using one for about 2 1/2 weeks now. I'll put a detailed review up tomorrow if anyone's interested.

BTW, regarding the supposed recall, I received an email from Garmin saying that is was just a rumour. If you use the search feature, you can find the tread where we discussed it.

According to Garmin that recall is totally bogus. Never happened.

Someone else saw that recall post and emailed Garmin direct to ask about it. Garmin replied there was no recall and the units were shipping.

FWIW I read on another forum a person received their Garmin from Online Marine recently.

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

Post that review. Can't wait to read it.

Lost in Florida,

post your review!



thx



-g

I've now been using the Forerunner for ~3 weeks now. So far I've been quite happy with it.

Thoughts: The watch unit is bigger than normal, but I wear it on my wrist and have no problems with the weight. I've found the accuracy of the unit to be excellent. Garmin says that the battery will allow 15 hours for every charge, but when I first charged the battery, it said 12 hours. The second time I charged it, it showed 13 and the 3rd charge it went up to 14, so I imagine I'll get that 15 hours on the next charge.

I found the navigation to be easy. Even w/o using the manual it is very easy to configure unlike Polar for example, whose navigation I find to be horrendous. Elapsed time, pace, and distance are all shown at once and are very easy to read as the numbers are quite large. These are default settings. You are able to customize it to include whatever info. you want to appear on the main screen. You can very easily set the unit to beep at set distances or time intervals and to record that interval. I have mine set to record mile splits automatically. You can also set it to beep at a set time or interval. I will usually use this to remind me it's time to turn around. You can also get it to beep above and/or below a given pace. I also use the auto pause feature so that I don't have to stop and start the timing each time I have to stop at a light.

All your workouts are automatically stored. Up to 2 years' worth of workouts can be stored in the watch at a time, although you can delete any workout at any time. All of the information for each workout is stored, including pace per mile(or K, or 800 meters or whatever lap distance or time you've chosen). Each workout is also automatically mapped and a map of each workout can be recalled at any time. You are able to zoom in or out of the map as well. On the map, there will be markers at the interval points you've chosen, so you can get a rough idea as to where the mile points lie. There is also a feature you can use to map points on your route. I tried to get lost once on some of the trails near my house and the map feature easily led me to my entrance point.

There is a feature called virtual partner that you can use to make sure you're on pace. You either select distance and time, pace and time, or distance and pace. A screen showing two men, one on top of the other will appear. As you progress, it will show your distance relative to the pace man you've selected and below that it will say something like "you are 187 feet behind." You can toggle back and forth between this screen and the main screen at any time. A nice touch is that they included 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon and marathon as pre-set distances. I'd like to try using it in a half mary or something. It would be nice to be able to know at all times exactly how much in front of, or behind goal pace I am.

For all the non-English speakers out there, you can set it to one of 14 different languages.

Whenever it is unable to pick up a clear signal it will troubleshoot by asking you questions like, "Are you inside?", "Have you moved over 500 miles since last use?", etc...

I can't comment on the software, as it's supposed to be available sometime this month.

For Gary and others interested in using it on the bike, there is a bike mount available but I haven't used mine on the bike. I just don't see the need as I have a computer I love. Perhaps I'll use it on my mountain bike to keep from getting lost on complicated trails.

I've only used the Timex Bodylink system once, but there are a few differences I can comment on:

• Timex includes heartrate
• Garmin is much cheaper(probably because of the above)
• Choice of a larger watch unit or an arm-strap unit.(I personally couldn't stand running w/ something around my arm, but that's me; others have no problem with it).
• Garmin includes mapping technology
• virtual partner feature

I'm sure there are many others, but as I say, I don't have extensive knowledge of the Timex unit.

Negatives:

• Each time use use the unit, you have to wait for it to pick up satellites. After the first use, this usually takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute each time. No fun if it's cold outside. Strangely enough I ran with it in Dallas when I was on vacation and it picked up satellites automatically even though I had moved several hundred miles since prior use.
• I'm not a velcro guy
• Large watch unit for a small woman. Positioning it on the forearm might be better for a particularly small woman.
• Software isn't ready yet. They say Jan-Feb but you never know with these things.

Positives:

• The unit is extremely accurate on flat courses
• 15 hours use per charge
• Large screen with data that is very easy to see
• Easy navigation
• Mapping technology
• Virtual partner race pacing

Awsome review, thanks for posting it. Now I'm sold...

Brett

Not an expert on either of the systems but I have a passing familarity with GPS systems... I'm not sure why people are having problems in hilly terrain since GPS can and does provide altitude information.. The trick is that you have to have 3 sat's to make the solution work... Do these units limit the number of sat's they can accept?.. if so it seems that it would be an easy software change to allow for a 3D solution.

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S 36

Having used and taught lots of other troopers how to use the Militray version of GPS, here's my take on:

Hilly terrain - GPS sats are all medium earth orbit sats and are constantly rising and setting, if whilst in hilly terrain you have a limited number, less that the 3 limit, directly overhead then you'll experince a positioning slow-down, as terrain is masking additional sats in your visible hemisphere (think of standing in the middle of sphere - flat you see everything, hills will limit total visible area) So it has nothing to do with change in elevation just visible area.

# of sats used - PSN-11s (mil spec GPS) can see up 11-ish sats at once but it picks the top 3 or 5 (based on options set) based on signal strength. So it's realy a function of the unit, (i.e, # of sats you can use is probably related to how much $$ you paid for it). Put GPS is getting to be way-cheap technology.

Jim

thanks for taking the time. where did you get it, and would you recommend the retailer?

just bought mine on Amazon for cheap!

Now that Xmas is over, they are more readily available. When I bought mine, everyone was out except for Staples, so I had to pay MSRP. Now you can find them in the $120-$130 range.

Staples did ship superfast, though.

I want to get one of these. I already have a Polar heart rate monitor watch. The way I look at this, I can either

a. get a Garmin Forerunner 201, and wear 2 watches (my Polar watch for the heart rate, and the Garmin for the speed/distance), and a heart rate strap

or

b. get a Timex Bodylink, and wear 1 watch, a heart rate strap, and a arm GPS unit. (and give/lend my Polar watch to my wife)

So... what would you recommend?

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Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.

Hard to say. It might come down whether you'd prefer to run with something on your arm or 2 watches. Personally, I love my forerunner.

The garmin has more features(obviously minus the hr), but it might be nice to have all your info in one unit as w/ the Timex.

Another thing to think about: the garmin can be used as a bike computer as well, complete w/ elevation and % grade features. I saw 2 people at the Palm Springs Century yesterday who were running them as bike computers. If you're interested in that, ask Gary Tingley about it(aka TimeTrial.org), he uses his as a bike computer. gary@rotorcranksusa.com

Also, if you do a search, I did an update to my original review.

Another thing to think about: If you get the Timex, you might earn bonus points w/ the wife for giving her your Polar.

Thanks for the review! I'm thinking of getting one, have actually downloaded and read the manual, but I still can't find the information I'm looking for; maybe you've managed to discover some of the following things:

1. Does the Forerunner calculate distances on a 2-D or 3-D grid? For instance, if you climb 100 feet up a 60 degree slope, does it show that you covered 100 feet, or just 50 (the horizontal displacement)?

2. I know it can display altitude information, but can it calculate total feet climbed throughout a ride (or run)?

3. Does it have the capability of downloading maps, like all other Garmin GPS units? (this feature is never mentioned in the manual, so I presume the answer is no).

By the way, I sent Garmin an e-mail asking all the above questions, but never got an answer from them -- hopefully their products are better than their customer service.

Thanks in advance for any insights,
John

I think this link will answer #1: http://www.slowtwitch.com/...date%20garmin;#68555

I think the answer to #2 is no.

Not sure about #3.

If you have the $ go for it. I got mine about a month ago off of Amazon.com for $125 delivered. Works great. Wear the Polar HRM on the left arm and the Forerunner on the right. Totally geeked but it is a fun tool. I ran with it this morning in -5F weather with no problems and two weeks ago in -7F. Both times it and the HRM were clicking along fine.

I have had one problem with it - on the third run it just froze up. No combination of buttons would work. Called Garmin and a super courteous guy worked through a couple of things and then told me to just leave it until the battery ran down. Fixed the problem and no more complaints. VERY happy with it. Can hardly wait until I can get out on the two tracks and single track and find out how far I've been running the past few years.

One thing that you will find, is that the ave pace is different than just pure distance time. It is usually slower because it keeps track of the time at specific paces. A bit bruising to the ego but the truth can set you free.

Larry Etter

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Larry

Don't be afraid to ride too long or too hard. That's what cell phones are for. Rich Strauss

yes, I use it as a TT pacing computer using the Virtual Partner, I know how far or ahead I am of my goal, combined with HR I think it is an option to riding with a power meter as you get instant feedback on how close you are to your race goal via GPS.

I also bought the bike mount and will get a review up as soon as I get a chance.

It is an awesome device!

amazon.com is where I got mine

" b. get a Timex Bodylink, and wear 1 watch, a heart rate strap, and a arm GPS unit."

When running, I wear my Garmin Forerunner on my arm, just like the Timex. It includes a strap extender so that you can do this easily. It is not necessarily that easy to read, but mostly I am tracking my distance and I only occasionally look at my pace. I wear my Polar on my wrist.

Seems like the comparison is pretty even: wrist, arm, chest for the Time, wrist, arm (or other wrist), chest for the Polar/Garmin combination.

Ray

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Ray

Thanks to Jaylew and everyone else for your input. I ordered the Forerunner, and will wear it on one arm, and the Polar on the other. Of course, I'll look like a geek, but that's part of the fun. If I get a calculator watch to go with this, then I'll be a geekdom immortal.

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Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.

I just got mine this weekend and I'm dying to use it, but I can't for the life of me get the initial GPS signal to register. I have left it out in the middle of the yard for 30-45 min., no trees or buildings blocking it, but no luck.

Any tips? The FAQs on the Garmin site don't address this, so I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong.

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Dave in WI
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"What you once were isn't what you want to be anymore" - Wilco