Garmin 705 Edge ~ Anygood

Andrew_J

Keep finding myself looking at these devices, must admit I like a gadget.
But these do seem quite usefull for navigation etc.

Has anyone used/brought one?

willbevan

In a short answer yes, i would recommend one to anyone.

In a longer answer, if you have the previous model without mapping, 205/305, unless you need the mapping or ability to read a 3rd party ANT + power meter unless you have the money burning a hole in your pocket i wouldn't bother.

I was not going to bother buying a 705 till my 305 died, which it did recently after i slammed it in the boot, 3 times :S

Bought one and been very happy with it, the basemaps are crap so if you want the navigation you will need to buy maps for it (either in a bundle or seperetly, Metroguide maps dont have routing but you can get a program to enable them, its what im using)if you want it to auto route round roads like a car Sat Nav. Sat Nav is very basic but good, better in the UK if you leave it thinking your a car and say avoid highways.

From what i've seen the UK Topo maps are awful though if you want offrode, nothing compared to say the memroy map ones.

grahamcp

Hi Andrew,
You'll find numerous threads if you do a search.
I really wanted to want one, but in the end I came to the conclusion that there were just too many reported glitches to justify the high price.
So I'll wait for it to become bug-free before I part with my hard-earned cash!
May be worth considering the older version (305 I think) - obviously not as fancy display but much cheaper than the 705.
Graham

Andrew_J

Thanks willbevan can you use the memory map ones with it?

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Mad One

I've had a 705 for about 1 month now & think its fantastic. Would definatley recommend. Have found no glitches with it so far & have covered 500+ miles with it. The online reports you get through 'Motion Based' are excellent too.

a_n_t

Grahamcp wrote:

there were just too many reported glitches to justify the high price.

firmware update 2.3 sorted mine out!

northpole

I bought a 705 in the last week or two.

Initial problems - the unit would not accept a charge. Garmin advised I needed to let the battery drain, which I did, and the unit then died! The cadence magnet was missing from the package and when I returned to the shop, the other unit they had on display was missing both cadence and speedo magnets!

Be sure to check the box contents before leaving your shop. And if there are other glitches yet to reveal themselves, my strong recommendation would be to buy from a shop you can easily access rather than on-line!

Replacement unit and bits all now in place and it seems to work fine with a very clear display.

As others have stated, the base map is rubbish and you do need to buy it with the city map chip which appears to work well - I've only switched it on and peeped at it as I've cycled along - could become a dangerous distraction with all that information available!!

Peter

spasypaddy

ii used mine for the first time yesterday and its an incredible piece of kit, the first thing i did when i got it was upgrade the software and it was simple. Everything on it i love so far, havent found any problems whatsoever. Stunning bit of kit. Had the 205 and just fancied treating myself to an all singing all dancing piece of kit. I got the complete package, HR + Cadence and im glad i did, means i dont need my other bike computer any more which i did with the 205.

willbevan

Andrew_J wrote:

Thanks willbevan can you use the memory map ones with it?

Short answer - no they are in a propriety format for memory map.

Long answer - maybe, i am looking at some python scripts at the moment that supposedly can convert the files to other formats, if thats the case might be able to then convert them to a format garmin can read, only just started looking into this..if anything else would neeed to be done, but it wont be routable, doubt it will be viable to create an overlay either but shall see.

Also not sure if its against the license that comes with the memory map files, need to check that to before i even try and convert them.

Will put a post up if i do manage it with instructions etc as obiviously wouldnt be legit to then distribute them :S

grahamcp

a_n_t wrote:

Grahamcp wrote:

there were just too many reported glitches to justify the high price.

firmware update 2.3 sorted mine out!

Oi, you're tempting me now and I've already spent too much money on bike kit this week!

willbevan

I have had mine only a short time, but not had the numerious isses i saw reported on the motionbased forums, like charging problems and the issues when using the GSC-10 cadence sensor, nothin but happy with it!