garmin edge 705

dmcmylor

John Stevenson

Apologies for spelling your name wrong on the previous post.

John Stevenson

The files in the Edge's history folder - on my Edge at least - are TCX format.

How are you creating the GPX files that won't upload to Bikely?

dmcmylor

John Stevenson

Success !
I have found the TCX files in my Garmin and used the conversion website and it has worked perfectly when loaded into Bikely.
Not sure how, but I was able to download a GPX file from my Garmin, clearly it didn't contain enough info for the map websites to use.
Thanks for all your help.

a_n_t

yackers1 wrote:

Wilier,

Do you have City Navigator on DVD or SD card?

I only have it on SD card but will go for a quick blast tonight and try to get it on TC and see if I can achieve the same data you get or struggle like dmcmylor.

I downloaded it then just copied the relevant uk map to my sd card.

John Stevenson

dmcmylor

You're very welcome - I'm glad it's working for you.

rpmk

I'm looking at 705 and would like to ask a quick question about the altitude / gradient info.

I've looked at the manual (on the Grarmin website) and it says that one of the customisable data fields is the "grade", but seems to seems to suggest that it would show the grade for the ride . I'm interpretting this as: a 20km with a climb of 1000m would show 5%, whereas that 20km climb after a 20km flat ride - so 40km in total - would show 2.5%. Have I got that right? (ignoring the maths perhaps!)

What I'm after is something that'll tell me the gradient of the hill I'm struggling up is a 15%, 9%, 5% or whatever ... can the 705 do this?

Thanks,
Richard.

bjlyons

Richard,

It shows the current % gradient not the average across the ride. It's supposed to be fairly accurate thanks to the GPS and pressure sensor inside. It does however take a few seconds to update (as you would expect).

Hope that helps.

rpmk

Thanks bjlyons, confirms my thoughts that this is the GPS / bike computer for me!

rpmk

Thanks bjlyons, confirms my thoughts that this is the GPS / bike computer for me!

bjlyons

That's OK, I've had the unit for a week now and I find it a great tool for training and logging. If you have any questions then feel free to post here or PM me and I'll do my best to answer!

musto_skiff

Ok Chaps,

You've had these gadgets for some time now do you still rate them?

What is the best combo to buy?

I believe I want 705 + HRM + Speed/Cad. + what Map option?

What software is recommeneded for route planning and logging rides?

bjlyons

I've been really happy with mine. I've moved to a new area recently and it's been great. I had one ride where the GPS data didn't record properly or got corrupted, but other than that it's done its job well.

I'd recommend the City Nav DVD, the detail is good and it allows you to use the maps on your computer for creating routes and on the Edge. There is a free option I believe, though I haven't tried it.

For planning I like using courses from bikeroutetoaster.com when I want to see upcoming climbs, and keep to a set pace. When I just want to plan an endurance ride I'll plan a route using the Garmin software. I'm on a Mac so I use Bobcat which I think is the same as MapSource for Windows, this is where the Garmin City Nav maps are used!

Software for logging rides I think is down to how much detail you want in terms of analysis and data stored. I've tried everything I could find and have settled for Ascent which is for the Mac. I liked Training Peaks but it was out of my budget and seemed a bit more geared towards power training.

musto_skiff

Thanks for the reveiw.

I was looking at this bundle.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Garmi ... 360035897/

Would the European Road mapping on MicroSD card be enough in the way of maps for raod riding?

Philip S

bjlyons wrote:

I've been really happy with mine.

I'm on a Mac so I use Bobcat which I think is the same as MapSource for Windows, this is where the Garmin City Nav maps are used!

I've got a Mac as well, and was under the impression that there were compatabiity problems with the 705 - I was wrong by the looks of things!

How much do you think you need to spend in addition to the unit and cadence/HR bits and bobs to get a useful 705? To be honest, I was just thinking about getting a Cateye V3, but the fact that the Garmin has all the extra capabilities is tempting me. I fear it will be an extra £300 compared to the V3, which makes me think it may not represent value for money for me... (although money isn't everything...)

musto_skiff

I have taken the plunge & ordered. I'll let you know how i get on.

What desk top sw is favorite. The Garmin Connect website or the Garmin Training Centre?

bjlyons

I think Garmin Connect will be better than Training Centre once it's finished. For now I'd use GTC or Motion Based. I also copy all my history files from the Edge onto my computer every week in case I want to import them all into a new app at some point. It may be worth looking at Sport Tracks too.

I've only used the City Nav Europe maps and they are great. The free option is Open Street Maps, I haven't tried these but from what I've read they are pretty good but do not allow the Edge to carry out auto routing. I've also heard that older Garmin maps will work that can possibly be found at online auctions a bit cheaper. The base map that comes installed on the unit for free is rubbish and won't allow you to see anything but major A roads.

Good luck with your units!

Stuck on a Giant

Another really basic question I'm afraid.

As I'll mainly be riding in the UK, mainly on the roads but with a bit of off-roading, which map package should I go for?

I thought the Topo one would be better as it's OS based and would show contour lines and also footpaths and bridleways so would be good for the off-road element as well as on the road. Does the navigation function (e.g. getting me home if lost) still work with this map? Or can I have both the Roadmap and the Topo loaded at the same time?

Enlightenment would be much appreciated - LBS is doing packages with 15% of RRP, and Mrs G is showing an interest so could easily be tempted v soon!

Thanks

musto_skiff

If I start off using the Garmin Training Centre; can you then upload all the data to the Garmin Connect or do you end up starting again?

Horton

I've had one for a couple of weeks but only managed to get out 3 or 4 times. Garmin Connect definitely looks a lot more flash but isn't completely finished. As for Training centre, it's less user friendly but is still very functional. At the moment, I'm using both (in case either my computer dies, or Garmin have to wipe their servers doing an update for connect (unlikely I know). As for using GTC then uploading to Connect, from what I can see and I haven't looked too deeply, you can only upload from your Edge at the moment as it doesn't give you the option to upload from your computer, but given the Edge's memory capacity, you'll get quite a lot of rides in before you start overwriting old rides and by the time it's finished it may have a patch to upload from GTC... Who knows?

musto_skiff

Ta ... I'll work with GTC then whilst they finsh the GC ...

Horton

No probs, be sure to have a look at your route on Google Earth as well (there's an option from training centre under the View tab to view in google earth and you can even save them onto that as well) I checked one of my rides the other day and it even showed the half mile stretch where I was on a pavement rather than on the road. There's a lot of witchcraft in such a small box! Cheers

musto_skiff

I got a mini SD with European raod maps with my unit.

Are the maps only available to the 705 when the card is inserted or has the unit now downlaoded the data from the card onto the until meaning I can now remove the card?

Horton

You need to keep the card plugged in to use the map. No great problem, but be a bit careful if you decide to upload a route that you've done on your computer - DO NOT save it onto the card because you could end up overwriting the map on the card and being a micro SD, there's no "Lock" to stop you doing it. If you do decide to work out a route online and load it onto your Edge, when you plug it into your computer, look for the Folder that says Garmin then has a GPX folder amongst others as it'll open both your Edge and also the memory card. It's not rocket science, but it took me a few goes to work out what I was doing and I'm normally quite good with gadgets - the manual did help, but it's pretty basic and assumes you already know how the thing works.

musto_skiff

Bit crap that you could trash your maps ... so thanks for the top tip ...

Is it possible to make a back up of the SD card on the PC just in case the card does get mashed ina moment of carelessness?

Horton

I'm not sure to be honest - don't see why not though - if you have a look on the card, there's a maps.IMG or something similar that's about 1.4 gb so I guess you could just copy it to the Hard Drive (although I have no idea if that would be against the terms of the license...) The only way to see if it works would be to get a blank micro SD card, copy it to that and see, although I have a sneaky suspicion that something somewhere will be copy protected... Let me know if you try it and it works

musto_skiff

As per the instruction I have plugged it in to charge before my first ride ... says 3 hours.

After 3 hours the battery indicator still shows about 60% charged.

Out of the box it was probably about 10%

How long does it usually take to take a full charge?

Edit: seems this is the issue

http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index ... pic=8359.0

pjm-84

I've taken the plunge as well.

First ride and I've noticed a few glitches and I've already patched the software. I've just changed the record mode to a second so I'm hoping that resolves the speed / grade issues. However has anyone resolved the calorie issue. For 4hr 20min ride it had me down for burning 5600 calories ... yeah right! Just wondering about knocking 40kg of my 100kg user weight to get a more realistic figure. Would this work?

musto_skiff

So far so good, nice bit of kit.

I have given up with the Garmin Connect website as it's too slow.

Is it possible to have better base maps in the GTC? The GC is based on Google maps but the GTC seems to be based on it's own very low detail map. Is it possible to link this in with Google maps?

Also the calories seem very high; e.g. 35 miles in 2:05 gives 2100 calories.

Can that be right? (Iam using the HRM strap)

bjlyons

Hi as far as I know you need a DVD version of a Garmin map for more detail in GTC. I agree GC is rubbish at the moment, I am hoping it suddenly transforms into something amazing within the next couple of months. I won't hold my breath though. You could have a look at motion based if you haven't already.

The calorie calculation is known to be inaccurate, something to do with Garmin not licensing a correct formula.

pjm-84

I've knocked my user weight down from 100kg to 60kg (If only real life was that easy!) and the calorie count is more comparable with my Polar over the same course. Going to shed 5kgs more and compare it again.

Software seems pretty pants. I was looking at Motionbased last night but was very slow.