I have read from some people how they LOVE their Garmin 305. I had a chance to purchase a New Garmin Edge 305 with HR/Strap/Cadence for $200 but did not. Next day someone else bought it. Other than letting me know my exact location on the bike, (I haven’t got lost on my bike since I can remember) what does the Garmin (big screen) have over other bike computers? I just installed a Cateye Strada wireless and it seems to be fine.
Cool toy, but you don’t need it…
FYI… Most of my toys eventually end up in the bottom drawer after awhile.
don’t need it! but you’ll love it!
don’t think of it as a navigation device… the 305 isn’t one (for that you need the new 605 and 705)
the extra stuff you get with this over a regular computer includes a bigger display with up to 8 data items showing.
but for me the winner feature is not training related… but for pleasure. it tracks your route for you and you can show the route in google earth afterwards
with my forerunner i now have snapshots of routes i have biked/run all around the world… it is like a photo album momento.
also… load the data up to motionbased and you can dot race. this shows you a dot following your progress against anothers on a set route… this really gives you a vsiual idea of how pacing varies between yourself over different days or, as i did, against a fellow competitor in a race who just beat me… i could look at their race strategy and see how it differed from mine. (of course you can do this simply by comparing splits… but where is the fun in that? haha
Stop trying to convince me, damn it, I’m wavering.
I like that photo album momento idea, I hadn’t thought about that.
I have a forerunner and got it for a decent discount at a marathon expo. I would get one if you can get a good deal.
You probably don’t want the 305. You probably do want the new 705, which
will also display your power data for some of the power meters as well.
(I don’t remember which ones 
)
I love my Forerunner, which I use as my bike computer as well.
-Jot
Don’t NEED it, but it’s nice to have. In my case, I got one for Christmas, and the main benefit for me is that I do several of my weekly runs on hilly fire roads and singletrack around my house, and I vary my route nearly every time, sometimes deciding on the fly to take a different route. I would never know how far I was running, so I could never get a grip on my exact pace. Now, with the Garmin, I have a good handle on all of that and it’s helping me figure out how to pace certain parts of the courses I run.
I have also been using the HRM which I’ve never used before, so I haven’t really analyzed that data, but will in the future.
I just checked out the 705, looks pretty sweet. I don’t understand how people who win the lotto complain about how it ruins their lives. I would just shop online all the time.
Anyone know when the 705 will be out? Last I heard was 1st quarter of 08. Anyone “in the know” with an exact date for the 705 release?
Anyone know when the 705 will be out? Last I heard was 1st quarter of 08. Anyone “in the know” with an exact date for the 705 release?
The new scheduled arrival date from Garmin for these units is February 27, 2008. These units are very much anticipated and I highly suggest you pre-order
Anyone know when the 705 will be out? Last I heard was 1st quarter of 08. Anyone “in the know” with an exact date for the 705 release?
The new scheduled arrival date from Garmin for these units is February 27, 2008. These units are very much anticipated and I highly suggest you pre-order
Okay, who has the best deal? I guess I better start doing my research, again. 
I am having problems loading the data into google earth. I downloaded the latest version of “training center” and google earth and when I hit the “view all data in google earth” button both programs crash and lock my computer up. Am I missing something?
can’t help with that i am afraid… i avoid TC totally now and stick to SportTracks (and also I use my free motionbased account)
I got it to work in motion based. How do you like SportTracks?
at first i found the sporttracks interface to be confusing… so i didn’t go back. but now i spent a bit of effort (and the new ST2 version is much more intuitive) and really enjoy it.
in fact i will probably becoming a donator shortly
is it perfect? no… but it is heaps better than TC.
i am also interested to see how garminconnect works out in comparison to motionbased.
Yes, seems very confusing
It looks to me like it is more for analyzing your overall mileage of cycling/running compared to analyzing individual races/paces/comparisons, is that what you use it for? Just to plot your weekly mileage and resting heart rate and stuff?
there is more than enough info to analyse individual sessions, but the problem is in finding the options…
in the summary box there is a down arrow, click on that and you get access to splits, hr, speed etc
i use it also to monitor my weight and equipment useage/mileage (for example… one pair of trainers is up to 436km, so i am considering moving those to the treadmill and getting a new pair for the road - at my weight 500k of road useage is more than enough)
i haven’t tried any of the bolts ons you can get for ST yet, but some look interesting.