gps watch (or not!)

Chalky76

hi,

ive ben trawling the internet to find a watch which also has a compass, gps, heart rate monitor etc. I came across the garmin edge but after checking the features, discovered it doesn't actually tell the time! Obviously it needs to be waterproof and fairly rugged. Anybody have any suggestions?

As i'd also like something which monitors speed / distance travelled, am I best getting a simple sports watch and then buying a device for all the other features separately? If so, any recommendations?

Thanks

cjw

Chalky76 wrote:

hi,

ive ben trawling the internet to find a watch which also has a compass, gps, heart rate monitor etc. I came across the garmin edge but after checking the features, discovered it doesn't actually tell the time! Obviously it needs to be waterproof and fairly rugged. Anybody have any suggestions?

As i'd also like something which monitors speed / distance travelled, am I best getting a simple sports watch and then buying a device for all the other features separately? If so, any recommendations?

Thanks

Garmin Edge does tell the time. You can customise all of the displays to show any fields you want. On my main screen I have;

Time Elapsed
Speed
Distance
Time of Day
Heart Rate
Cadence

Mog Uk

Or if you want to wear it on your wrist / handlebars then the Garmin Forerunner 305 does all that....

Cunobelin

The Garmin EDGE is NOT a GPS!

It is a training aid with limited GPS facilities. It is incompatible with most mapping software without conversion.

By all means use it as intended and it is superb, but do not expect to upload or download routes, tracks etc on to normal mapping software.

cjw

Cunobelin wrote:

The Garmin EDGE is NOT a GPS!

It is a training aid with limited GPS facilities. It is incompatible with most mapping software without conversion.

By all means use it as intended and it is superb, but do not expect to upload or download routes, tracks etc on to normal mapping software.

It is a GPS! But mainly a training aid.

It does pretty well with Memory Map and the GarminTraining Centre can export it's route to Google Earth. Admittedly if you plot a route on Memory Map, you have to convert it (pretty simple though) to import into the Garmin Edge, but I do this all the time and it is not difficult. I do agree though, it is not a simple as a 'pure' GPS unit.

SOunded like the original poster was mainly after a training aid with GPS functionality. Which the Garmin Edge is.

BubblinSergeant

If you happen to own an edge or forerunner try http://www.mapmyride.com/create it uses google maps to plot maps and auto converts the files to Garmin format.

You can set navigation waypoints both on and off road, plus add speed markers for training sessions.

Hope this helps anyone.

NWLondoner

BubblinSergeant wrote:

If you happen to own an edge or forerunner try http://www.mapmyride.com/create it uses google maps to plot maps and auto converts the files to Garmin format.

You can set navigation waypoints both on and off road, plus add speed markers for training sessions.

Hope this helps anyone.

cool

this site looks great

xcracer

Can you actually navigate with the Garmin Edge 205/305 or the Forerunner?

I was thinking of getting one. I see you can get the Edge 205's dirt cheap now.

cjw

Yes you can. It's OK but not great as you don't get amp display. But you can show the route.

forgotrafe

I've got an Edge 205 and MemoryMap - seem to work well together (both latest versions) without conversions. At least not for routes/tracks/waypoints, MemoryMap doesn't do courses so you need to convert for them.

Today I tried using it with http://www.marengo-ltd.com/map2/ which seemed to work well and might well do for the charity cycle in Ireland I'm doing. Also going to check out the mapmyride site mentioned earlier.

The only thing the Edge doesn't do, which I wish it did, is show your current position as a National Grid Ref. That's a great feature if you just want to go exploring with a map, rather than follow a pre-defined route. Plan was to put my Etrex Summit on ebay to fund the Edge purchase - but now I think I'll have to keep both. One for exploring and one for training.

Rafe