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They sent me a refurbished unit. I had my Edge 305 for less than a year before it started having problems. I thought this might be due to excessive vibration.so I tried to come up with some different mounts to remedy the problem. After 3 weeks I called to find out the status of my RMA.at which point I found out Garmin had LOST my unit. I called Garmin the very next morning and they have agreed to send me a new "in the box" unit. The next spring the power issue became overwhelming and I contacted service for repair.
It worked that first day. The unit just simply powers itself off during high speed descents and rough road patches. The refurbished unit arrived on a monday. To their credit, even though I was about 3 months past warranty, they agreed to cover the repair. I FedEx'd my unit and was told there would be a 10-day turnaround. On Tuesday, the GPS would not acquire any satellites and was worthless.
However there will be another 10 day lead time.
Very pleased with my Garmin. Biggest disappointment is that I thought it had a standard heart rate sensor, so I was very disappointed to find it did not.Very easy to install & woks great on my road bike & while hiking. Not sure of its accuracy as the assent & decent do not match over the same route.
Have also used it to navigate with - this is not going to give you Car GPS functionality. Excellent price on Amazon (through Warehouse Deals versus current market price). Product arrived on-time. Any route you want to follow you will need to pre-load and use BikeRouteToaster or other application to make a.crs file - some fiddling required - the result is a black line you will need to follow (no map / other roads shown). Fairly easy to install. Have used on aggressive mountain bike trails (mounting method is solid) and on the road. I used it for Bike to Work week and followed a route through the center of Baltimore on quiet back streets - no problem - 1st time I used the unit out of the box. Happy so far.
Being a dyed-in-the-wool sucker for gadgets, I had to get the Garmin 305 as my bike computer. Garmin's origins in navigation show in a couple of funny places. You charge the 305 through its USB port. In use, I found that the GPS reception was generally good even in tree-shaded areas, but the startup process can sometimes be irritatingly slow. I ignored them, and I'm glad I did.The 305 has been a great training partner. Thanks to its data recording ability, I can really easily correlate perceived effort on a day's ride with my actual performance in terms of speed, heart rate, and cadence.Setting up all of the sensors on the bike was relatively straighforward (though the combined wheelspeed and cadence sensor setup was somewhat novel), and the directions were clear. I returned to cycling after a 20-year hiatus last year. I was able to reconfigure it to display the fields that I watned to see, but I found the choice surprising in a product that is ostensibly aimed at athletes.
It's still not perfect, but it's very useful.The ultimate endorsement of the 305 is that I'll be replacing it soon. One of them is the default data fields displayed on the device: your heading is shown by default in the five data field configuration that I prefer, but your heart rate isn't. Garmin has announced their upcoming new generation of Edge cycling units, and the 705 looks too good to pass up. I've found it readable in any of the lighting conditions in which I'd be willing to ride the bike. Cyclist friends of mine made fun of its size, made fun of my desire to map my rides afterward, and generally mocked the device. Data reception for the heart rate and cadence sensors has been glitch free.In terms of durability, I've banged the 305 around quite a bit and ridden it in conditions that left other electronics begging for mercy (don't ride in the driving rain without putting your mobile phone in a plastic bag).
It comes with a separate power supply so that you can either charge it from a wall outlet, or from the USB cable connected to your computer.On the bike, the display is large and clear. The interface is relatively easy to navigate, though a bit puzzling to set up. The 305 still performs like a champ thousands of miles later.As a Mac user, I found the Mac support lame at first, but it has been steadily improving with Garmin's release of their Training Center software for the Mac, a Mac version of their Web Updater tool, and improvements they've made to Mac support [.]. I'm hooked on the capabilities and insight that the 305 has given me, and I'm looking forward to even more with Garmin's next generation.
It has even helped me find my way home when I have gotten out in an area I am not as familiar with. I recently purchased the Garmin Edge 305, w/cadence, plus I added the heart monitor a couple weeks later. This is a great tool for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of their effort and cadence. A little expensive but worth every cent. Still awesome. I have found very quickly that by focusing on my cadence and heart rate, I have improved my overall times and have become even more efficient on my bike.
One negative is the battery life is truly only about 6 -6.5 hours, so for the longer rides I have left my Cateye on my bike so I have some reference for speed, mileage etc. I commute daily on my bike and I do 350 - 450 miles per week, with weekend centuries. Must have for anyone who really wants to track results, understand effort, maintain data and improve performance. The ability to, customize the display, set up interval trainings, upload rides to the computer, analyze the ride as a whole or part and compare to other days is outstanding. I would recommend the Garmin to anyone who wants to become serious about cycling, get the most out of their time on the bike, and improve their performance. another is the unit will go to "sleep" if left for more than a couple of days, but by holding both the Mode and Reset button for 30 seconds it will "wake" the unit back up.
Ride Strong.
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