I’m looking at various options for century rides and specifically next year looking to do a double century. That means a lot of waypoints and the less time I can spend lost the better.
So I’m looking for:
Moving map (updatable map much preferred)
Waypoints (the more the better)
heartrate monitor and cadence measuring preferred as I’ve already got both set up for my 310XT
Sweatproof/water resistant
Touchscreen irrelevant.
I’m mostly looking for the mapping capability so if there’s something that does the moving map better please bring it up. These two just caught my eye in a quick look. The 605 seems to be in the ballpark but I believe I lose the HRM and cadence. Not a real show stopper but I’d prefer them.
I have the 705. Its been great getting my out of jams when my intended route was closed or gravel. I have yet to play with the 800, but as I understand it, it is the same software as the 705 with the touch screen interface. If the touch screen is anything like the touch bezel of the 405, I would stay away. As I have said, I have no experience with the 800.
The 705 reliably records and displays my cadence, HR, and power.
I’m mostly looking for the mapping capability so if there’s something that does the moving map better please bring it up. These two just caught my eye in a quick look. The 605 seems to be in the ballpark but I believe I lose the HRM and cadence. Not a real show stopper but I’d prefer them.
I used to have the 705 and upgraded to the 800 last year and have been happy with both of them. I’m not really aware of any other cycling computers with this functionality, there are a few GPS units that can be mounted on bikes but they don’t support ANT+. There are a few smartphone-based software packages that can do it, but waterproof cases for them are pretty bulky and they’re dependent on Google to pull down the maps (ie if you loose your signal, you loose your maps).
As for the differences between them, the 800 has a much better interface (manipulating a map with the 705’s little joystick is a PITA - the touchscreen makes this much easier). It also has a faster processor, so it can redraw maps as fast as you can move it - whereas the 705 can take a frustratingly long time every time you pan or zoom it. If you’re just using the moving map capability, neither is really a big problem - but if you want to do any planning in the field (eg unplanned detours due to construction) the 800 is much better.
The 800 also has a much better mount for the bike (mechanically identical to the 310xt’s, but unfortunately rotated 90 degrees). The 705 uses a slide to lock mechanism with a little plastic tab that doesn’t inspire much confidence (never had a problem, but it always left me nervous). With that said, the one advantage to the 705’s mount is that it doesn’t need as much space on the sides so it fits between aerobars a bit better.
As for downsides, the 800’s screen is harder to see than the 705’s in direct sunlight. Both use transflective LCDs (ie it will work with the backlight or reflected light), but the 705’s was more biased toward reflected light whereas the 800 toward the backlight. The result is that the 800’s picture is a lot nicer, but it’s more susceptible to glare. The other downside is that the 800’s speaker isn’t as loud as the 705, so it’s easier to miss the beeps that it produces.