Just what I expected
WEDDING Garmin Edge Cycling Neutral Color
I just bought the Edge 500 today to replace my four-year-old Garmin Edge 305. Wow! The size feels like a regular (non-GPS) device: I can't believe how much smaller it is, compared to the 305.
I turned the unit on in the car after I bought it, while I was parked in a parking garage, and it locked on a signal in less than 10 seconds. My 305 would take one minute or (often) longer to lock onto a signal (sometimes, never) when sitting out on the curb!
The Garmin recognized my old heart rate monitor (came with the 305) instantly when I paired it, and then recognized and paired with the cadence/speed device (also bough with the 305) without my even asking it to pair! Perfect!!
I love the feature that will beep an alert if you start moving and haven't started recording your waypoints. Brilliant.
I will update my review after a month or two with the device.
Category Article silver heels
I was looking for a reliable, water resistant, bike computer that has no wires and actually works. I have used a variety of wireless units in the past with mixed results. I bought two of these to put on a new, high-end, tandem. We didn't want wires hanging on the bike. The functionality of a GPS can be difficult for many. I understand that. If you want maps and route guidance and such, you might want the 605 or 705. I have some experience with the Garmin screen technology on those units. I cannot see the screen well enough. For me the software is intuitive, but I hate to say it will be easy for anyone else. I have been using hand held and automotive GPS units for years. This is just another evolution. In the end this one is the right size and gives me the features I want. I got the one without the cadence sensor and without the heartrate. I just need a few basic functions. This one does it without too much bulk.
This little GPS system takes all the best elements of a bicycle computer and puts it into one small, easy-to-use device. It's basically ready to go once you get it out of the box and put it on your handle bars, and it being a GPS system is much more accurate than any bicycle computer. Plus it allows you to use garminconnect where you can store all your data and previous routes and rides, as well as see your routes on google earth. This is an excellent way to analyze your progress and reach higher goals since you can set goals on the website where it'll give you a percentage of your goals completed.
Any information you would like to know while on your ride is equipped on this device (traveling time, distance, time of day, speed, average speed, cadence, HR, elevation, percent grade, temperature, calories, elevation gained, elevation lost, vertical climb speed, and a couple dozen more), and it's fully customizable to allow you to place on the screen what information you want to see during your ride. This is what bicycle computers were supposed to be like all along.
The Garmin Edge 500 is just what I expected it to be. I think it was the most anticipated GPS/cycle computer from Garmin. It's small and pretty does the all the things (and some more) that you expect a cycle computer to do. To begin with the size of the computer was a little larger that what I expected it to be, but having said that, it fits perfectly fine on my handle bar stem and note I have a short stem (80 mm). I did my first ride with it a while ago and it was pretty much ready to go from the box it arrived it in. It did not have any difficulties acquiring sattelites, and easily paired with the Garmin Heart Rate monitor and the Bontrager Duotrap cadence/speed sensor. Did not see any drops in signal during my ride, something that I would see with the previous Garmin that I had. You have three screens which you can 8 fields of data per screen. So you can monitor 24 data sets real time during your ride. There are far more options than I can list here, just to keep it short it's a plenty.
I personally am upgrading from a Forerunner 50 and I think this is just great! I think that everyone will be pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of this device except for the Edge 705 owners who will feel it is a downgrade for the lack of maps (which it is).
I really like my new Garmin Edge 500. It was very easy to install and the mounting system, on the stem rather than handlebars, is a big plus. Its very easy to customize the three viewing screens with the data you want to see. You can choose from one to five data fields per page. My recommendation is 3 or fewer. When using the auto scroll feature the Edge will change screens about every four seconds and that is not long enough to find data if the screen is too busy. I also recently had a crash on my bike (broken clavical for me) but the Garmin did not come loose from its dock and perhaps because of its stem mount location, escaped unscathed. Highly recommended from a 20+ season cycling veteran.
I just bought the Edge 500 today to replace my four-year-old Garmin Edge 305. Wow! The size feels like a regular (non-GPS) device: I can't believe how much smaller it is, compared to the 305.
I turned the unit on in the car after I bought it, while I was parked in a parking garage, and it locked on a signal in less than 10 seconds. My 305 would take one minute or (often) longer to lock onto a signal (sometimes, never) when sitting out on the curb!
The Garmin recognized my old heart rate monitor (came with the 305) instantly when I paired it, and then recognized and paired with the cadence/speed device (also bough with the 305) without my even asking it to pair! Perfect!!
I love the feature that will beep an alert if you start moving and haven't started recording your waypoints. Brilliant.
I will update my review after a month or two with the device.
I downgraded this unit dramatically due to Garmin changing to Bing maps last year. Garmin ignored hundreds of message board complaints and never clearly explained their reasoning. I know, I know, Microsoft paid them).
But Garmin recently changed their website where you upload your workouts and see the maps) and allows a choice of Bing or Google maps. Finally.)
I love this unit. I have lost 20 pounds and become a lot better bike rider by examining the data here. This unit is indispensable to me.
And, good for Garmin for responding.
(My original review below...)
Visit the Garmin Connect forums and look over the user complaints for Garmin's recent switch to Bing maps in place of Google Maps. A huge downgrade from Google maps especially if you live outside the USA) and absolutely no choice between Google and Bing.
A huge step down for Garmin.
I have owned and used this product for exactly 12 months, during which time I recorded 160 hours of use and just over 2200 miles of riding, mostly on a mountain bike. I don't have a single negative thing to say about the product. I have done rides as long as 10 hours and never had any battery life issues. I recharge through the USB after downloading my rides to my MacBook Pro. Never had any issue downloading data, never lost any data, never had any issues with upgrading software either on the device or the laptop. I had a very negative experience with the Garmin "soft" heart rate monitor strap, but after replacing that with the cheaper/older model, have had no issues with questionable heart rate data.
I experimented with heart rate zone alarms, and while the feature seemed to work as designed, I found the alerts distracting and turned them back off.
I use only 2 of the available screens. One is configured to show current speed, current heart rate, and ride distance. The second shows ambient temperature, trip duration, clock time, and average trip speed. These were easy to configure, and once set up, I haven't found a need to change them or wish I had other data displayed. Because I often ride off-road in sketchy terrain, I never bothered with a cadence detector.
I use the device on two bikes, one road and one mountain, and find switching the settings for the two to be reasonably straightforward. The mount has been trouble free and stable, even when slamming around on rocks.
I bought the device to help manage exertion levels on multi-hour rides - to ensure I don't go out too hard, as well as to help me understand trends in ride speed and heart rate over time. While I can see that the GPS sometimes produces questionable current speed readings, I feel that it is accurate enough for my needs. At this point I am probably at about $2.50 per ride, but if it continues to work for another year, it will be down to half that, which will make me satisfied with the value received for what I paid.
This is a great bike computer if you use the cadence sensor with it. The Edge 500 uses the wheel sensor to supplement the GPS if the GPS signal is lost under tree cover. Without the wheel sensor it can read as much as 20% low on mileage if you ride in tree cover. With the wheel sensor its spot on no matter what.
The elevation data is not very accurate either. If you turn on "Elevation Correction" in the [...] software then its much better but still not great. If I ride the same route several times I notice that the peak elevations are off by 10's of feet sometimes even with elevation correction "on". With that said, its still good to give you a rough idea of how much elevation change you experienced.