I've had one for about a year now...first bought it prior to going to Moab, UT for mtn biking...being able to upload all the info onto the computer was awesome.  I never had any problems with it.  I did just recently sell it to my dad and bought the Forerunner 305, as I wanted to use GPS for running as well as cycling and carrying the Edge in my hand wasn't much fun.  The Forerunner you get the advantage of being able to strap it to your wrist but the units screen is smaller so you can see less data per screen.....give and take.  Garmin has a comparison ability so you can compare the different Garmin units.

I've played with some of the other sites beyond what you get for free from Garmin...if you are pretty serious about wanting to set courses see what other people have set and be a geek use some of them as they are pretty cool.

All in all I was happy with the Garmin

~Gregg Magnus

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From: oregonyankee@comcast.net
To: "Marcroft, Brian" <brian.marcroft@garmin.com>,'Charles Mann' <fixie_99@yahoo.com>, obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Experience with Garmin 305 Edge
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:48:25 +0000

I rec'd the Garmin Edge 305 Bundle (HRM + Cadence) for Christmas.  It is very easy to install and use.  It does take some getting use to navigating the screens - the instructions are not quite as thorough as I would like them.

 

The unit is excellent for training.  You can input training routines - including complex drills based on time, HR, Cadence, etc, to the desktop software and upload it to the Edge.  The desktop software give you enough data to keep you busy analyzing each ride.  There are other programs you can use with it - Cycling Peaks and Motion Based have specific Garmin tie ins.  Another cool feature - upload to Goodle Earth and you "fly" you cycling route.  No real practicality but very cool.

 

Check my blog below - I wrote up my initial experience recently.

 

Peter

 

--
Bored? Boss not looking? Surf over to my cycling blog at:
www.OregonLive.com/weblogs/bikeblog/

 

 

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Marcroft, Brian" <brian.marcroft@garmin.com>

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I haven't had any problems with any of the units I've tested, including preproduction units.

 

The data is transferred from the Edge to your PC via a mini USB cable that plugs into the back of the unit. This also charges the Edge while it's hooked up the PC. The Edge is shipped with a Garmin specific program, training center, that you can use to log all your rides with or you can use the web based site, motionbased.com, to do that. It's a fee based site but also offers a free subscription with slightly less features.

 

The HRM has worked flawlessly. It uses ANT wireless protocol to transfer data from the chest strap to the unit. Because of this you don't get same interferences that you might have experienced with other HRMs.

 

The Edge was developed as a GPS based cycling computer and doesn't have the same navigation functionality that you'll find on other Garmin units. So using the Edge for anything other than cycling would be difficult. Sorry about that.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Brian

 

---

From: Charles Mann [mailto:fixie_99@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 1:33 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Experience with Garmin 305 Edge

 

I'm thinking of purchasing a Garmin 305 Edge to serve as my cycling computer, HRM, etc, and I was wondering if those with this model can share their experiences (I've heard mixed reviews of this unit).

 

Have you had any problems with it ?  Is it easy to download the information to your computer ?   Does the HRM portion work well ?

 

I like the idea of having a GPS for other activities that I do, so this unit may serve both purposes.

 

Thanks In Advance for you input.

 

CM

 

---

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See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.

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From: "Marcroft, Brian" <brian.marcroft@garmin.com>
To: 'Charles Mann' <fixie_99@yahoo.com>, obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Experience with Garmin 305 Edge
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:19:53 +0000
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