I am thinking of buying a Garmin 705 to replace a PT cpu but was concerned that the 705 has been out for two years. Anybody heard of a 705 replacement/upgrade coming from Garmin? I was hoping for something a bit slimmer with better mounting hardware. I routinely miss time things a bit.
Ha, awesome post. Be ready to be flamed by people who have no standards.
There is an ANT+ receiver that you can plug into iPhone but I haven’t seen anyone post about it. Tom A posted about it. That guy knows everything.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/power_meter_on_Iphone_P2241191/
EDIT: Just to comment on the 705. It’s okay. It has 8 customizable readouts but the mapping function is not very good and you have to buy the maps (shell out another $100 or buy from ebay.) The frontal area of the 705 is really, really big. There is a thread on here about straw lengths from aerodrink bottles. I estimate the 705 is like having 4 additional straws on the bike. It records data really well. Normally I enjoy Garmin Connect but it’s been down for a week now. 
Garmin invested heavily in that product. When I asked your same question to a staff member at the Garmin Showroom in Chicago, they had not heard of anything and they thought it would be a while before it is replaced. In my opinion it is a great product. I like mine a lot.
I would imagine their big launch this year was the 310
.
I’ve had mine for a few weeks - paired to an SRM. I gotta say that I really like it as:
- No wires/magnets…very clean. No fuss with different wheels, magnets slipping, changing wheel circumference…
- Zip tied the base to the stem - easy on and off - VERY EASY. Better mounting hardware??? What am I missing?
- Its not that big. I thought it would be, but its smaller than my old ergomo…Yes its bigger than the trim PT computer. Behind an aero bottle on the stem, I figure that it doesn’t see any wind.
- Screen VERY customizable - # of fields so you can just see a few things or even up to 8. You have 2 screens so max of 16 things to look at. Too many if anything. I like seeing current watts, average watts for ride, average watts of current lap at the same time…
- I don’t use the map stuff at all so no comment on that.
- I haven’t tried any WKO interface so no comment on that.
- Easy menus to navigate. You don’t need to memorize button sequences…
- Heart rate and power pick up so far has been flawless (knock on wood).
Dave
REI has them right now at a reduced price for Labor Day Sales: $519.99 (versus $649.00). I believe it’s the deluxe bundle that includes everything including the maps.
So I guess I should have waited two days to post as both Saris and Garmin announced new products today. Both the 500 Edge and the joule look great.
I saw those posts and thought instantly of this thread…
Dave
I have one for two years now - I dislike it more and more all the time.
The constant software updates seem to ignore the major issues and cause as many new ones as they fix.
Garmin’s bundled software is pretty bad. Unintuitive, terrible graphs and map display/views are poor. In general it is a poorly designed GUI.
One good software engineer could come up with better software in a matter of weeks - many have!
After spending extra money on the maps one discovers that -as a stand along GPS device- it’s pretty much useless. One must prepare routes on a PC and download them to the unit. So -as I discovered last year- when you go on hilidays with your bike you must also take your PC with you.
Heart Rate pickup is very bad for me - I find the strap has to be uncomfortably tight to behave ‘flawlessly’.
If the HRM worked properly it would be a very good cycle computer, so I have just ordered a Suunto ANT+ Heart Rate strap to see if that performs better than the Garmin one… if it doesn’t then the lot goes on eBay.
Did you find that the Suunto HR strap was picked up by the 705?
I’m thinking about getting a Suunto watch and compatibility of the HR strap across devices is a big issue for me.
Thanks.
When I last used Suunto they came with Polar HR straps.
I found a good trick last night - after over a year of frustration.
I was preparing for a ride on the trainer and while looking for the Garmin strap I came across a bottle of contact lens cleaner. I decided to wet the strap with that instead figuring that the salt content might help conductance. Hey presto It did!
When I got my 705 I was surprised not only how big it was but also how heavy it is. I purchased to be the head unit for a Quarq.
I am thinking of buying a Garmin 705 to replace a PT cpu but was concerned that the 705 has been out for two years. Anybody heard of a 705 replacement/upgrade coming from Garmin? I was hoping for something a bit slimmer with better mounting hardware. I routinely miss time things a bit.
Slimmer, smaller, better mount and longer battery life looks to be promised with this one. No maps though.
Edge 500 https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=160&pID=36728
Sorry, just to confirm, did the polar strap work with the garmin?
Sorry, just to confirm, did the polar strap work with the garmin?
No - I got the Garmin strap to pick up my HR with the use of contact lens solution.
Polar will not work - it uses a different protocol.