I got a Garmin 201.
This thing is fun to use and very nice. Quite easy to learn with fun, informative software and easy downlads to your PC and laptop. Very cool.
All in all, for $150, this is a nice training tool.
I will wait for your “bitch” post on the rechargeable batteries.
I’ve used the 201 all season long and give it an A. Much better than the Timex. Use it both running and biking. I use it everyday for training, and use it for long distance events. Lowest price I found was through www.amazon.com. $117 + shipping.
Thank you very much for the tip on motionbased.com. That is super cool. My current desktop runs on Windows 98 believe it or not and my laptop is on Windows 2000 so I will be accessing the site from my laptop, an old military issue Panasonic Toughbook.
Super cool, thank you very much!
You can also try www.topofusion.com and www.gpsvisualizer.com (sp) to plot and download your GPS information.
Using the Forerunners 201’s “Interval settings” is like having a track right outside your door. Or setting it to MPH and bringing it with you when you bike so that you can track and plot elevation and %grade.
I like the 201 as well. I’ve had no problems with the battery life, since I rarely need it for sessions longer than 8 hours. The accuracy is good(although it gets hampered by rain and heavy tree cover, as do all GPS’) and the unit doesn’t get in the way.
The only problem I have had with it is that one time it froze, and I had to wait unil the battery dies for it to reset itself.
I also got it on amazon for ~$115, half the cost of my HRM.
Hi Tom,
DTS, thanx for mentioning MotionBased. Tom, hope you like your Geko 201. Battery issues have been a pain for many of our users, but we have found buying a set of 4 rechargeables and always rotating them for every workout seems sufficient. The Geko 301 definitely has more battery issues than the 201 so you should be o.k.
Regarding your computer, you can view MotionBased on just about any Windows PC. Just make sure you have Internet Explorer 6.0 for best results.
The Agent is used to retrieve the information from your GPS unit and send to MotionBased. The download for the MotionBased Agent does say we only support Windows XP/2000, but we are actually testing out the latest version of the Agent (1.1.0.6). This will fix the problems we had on Windows 98/ME and also some problems for people connecting through a USB/Serial converter. We will be updating the site information in a couple of weeks once we are certain the Agent works well.
So help us test it out on your Windows 98 machine. I think it should work just fine. Please let us know if you have any problems.
http://www.motionbased.com/support/download/view.mb?tile=support.download.agent
Look forward to seeing you on the TrailNetwork.
Regards,
Aaron
oh come on Tom, saying you got a Garmin 201 and leaving it at that is like you doing a review of a bike for your site and saying we tested a cannondale and not specifing the model.
cough it up Forerunner or Foretrex?
lol
I’ve got the Forerunner 201. I am leaving right now to do an 8 mile run with the unit and will upload that 8 mile run to the motionbased website- at least I’ll attempt it.
OK, see you guys in a couple hours…
Ah, how the heck do you get your Forerunner log into an .xml file format?
That appears to be required for the upload routine to motionbased.
use the Garmin Forerunner software and there is an “export to xml” option on the file menu.
Thanks JayC! Duh, it was right in the pull-down menu.
This motion based thing is SOOOOO COOL!!!
“Use it both running and biking.”
Do you find that it replaces a bike computer?
There’s a fairly extensive review of the Forerunner 201 here: http://www.competitiverunner.com/forerunner201_1.html
.
I do. And it’s accurate.