Potential Commuter Bike Upgrade and Garmin 705 Edge

furrynips

Hi,

I've spent a fair amount of time trawling through reviews and forums and i'm just looking for a little 'direct advice'.

I'm currently riding a Giant Defy 4 which I got on cyclescheme last year, its my first 'commuter' bike and I use it for a journey or around 12 miles each way, mostly in an urban environment. I carry a fair amount of gear with me (clothing for work, locks, drinks etc etc) so I have two panniers on the rear rack.

Originally the bike had Michelin Erilium Kevlar 700x23c tyres, but they were absolutely dreadful, I was puncturing on average twice per week, and on bad weeks I punctured every other day. I changed the tyres to schwalbe marathon plus, which are 700 x 25 c (the maximum size that the defy can accommodate), and I haven't punctured to date, but I dread the day that I do, because it takes so long to change the tyre. It actually makes me nervous about taking the bike out for the commuter run.

I was browsing in the cycle shop recently (actually looking at a garmin 705 edge which i'm extremely tempted by, has anyone got one on another note?) and noticed the Kona bikes (Honky Tonk especially) and since then have been reading through similar alternatives (Giant TCX etc).

My cyclescheme expires at the end of the month and i'm considering applying for a new scheme and keeping the defy for recreational use. I've got a few questions that I was hoping some more experienced riders could help with:

I really like the Defy that I have, but having tried to sort out the puncture issues I seem to be stuck with either having the schwalbe's which are difficult to change, or having weaker tyres that puncture often. Are there any more solutions to the Schwalbe Marathons which are simple to change or is it really the case that I need to look into a new bike?

Shoudl I just stop worrying on the basis that a lot of marathon plus users very rarely punture?

Are the Kona and Honky Tonk bikes a better commuter ride than the Defy 4 that i'm currently on, and are they the most appropriate for my commute?

Finally, on a seperate topic, what are peoples thoughts regarding the garmin edge 705, is it really a tool only for a very committed tour cyclist or racer, or do commuters also get benefits from them that justify their price?

Thanks for your help and hope this isn't a repeat of a similar question elsewhere that I couldn't find.

fenboy369

Argh! Three mentions of the P word in one post. I was going to ride in tomorrow, but as The Fairy will now be in a foul mood, I'll take the Landy instead!
I'm looking at a new scheme soon, but I'll splash all the money on the bike and pick up a 705 for cash. They can be found a lot cheaper than retail from various places, so you gain more in reduced price than the tax gain, I've lost the links to the cheapy 705's, but I'm sure somebody will oblige.

lost_in_thought

I really like my Edge, it removes all the faffing on weekend rides, I just get on the bike and go, or if I want to plan a ride I'll do so online and download it onto the Edge. Or if I'm out on the bike and realise 'ooh I'm near to my friend's house in town X' I can get the Garmin to take me to town X. Also very handy navigating city centres.

The nav is really very good.

It also gathers lots of data (everyone likes data) such as HR, speed, cadence, altitude, which you can plot on graphs and learn more about yourself as a cyclist.

Great piece of kit. Il Principe is the one who usually gives us the cheap site link.... IP?


EDIT: as far as the pucture problems, it's really not a good reason to justify a new bike. Tyres get easier to change the more you change them, and there are various alternatives for puncture protection. 25c tyres aren't necessarily more resilient than 23c, and you must keep them pumped up.

However, if you just want a new bike, that's fine and dandy. You don't need to justify that round here.

Stuey01

Schwalbe marathon plus are not the only answer for fewer punctures, and is hardly a reason for buying a new bike. What tyres are going to be opened up to you with a kona honly tonk that you can't use now? they have the same size wheels don't they?

I have some 23mm vittoria rubino pro's and used them all winter with no problems.

goco

Armadillos! to be precise Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite (or any other armadillo). Still a bit of a pain to get on and off the wheel, but not a massive problem. The blurb says they are uncture proof - they're not, but they are way more resistant than normal tyres.

I've also read reviews or Conti Ultra Gator skins (?).....

changing your bike won't make much difference to which tyres you put on it....

Oddjob62

Love my 705. And after having to RMA it (sent out monday received new device thursday) I love Garmin as well

Bought mine from here
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/90 ... a3024e91fe

Oddjob62

lost_in_thought wrote:

EDIT: as far as the pucture problems, it's really not a good reason to justify a new bike.

Hang on... you're saying "Don't n+1" :?:

fenboy369

Oddjob62 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

EDIT: as far as the pucture problems, it's really not a good reason to justify a new bike.

Hang on... you're saying "Don't n+1" :?:

+1 Oddjob! Slap-Slap, see sense woman!

But I do like the idea of, "I've got a p********, I need a new bike" Just dont think Mrs Fenboy would...

lost_in_thought

fenboy369 wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

EDIT: as far as the pucture problems, it's really not a good reason to justify a new bike.

Hang on... you're saying "Don't n+1" :?:

+1 Oddjob! Slap-Slap, see sense woman!

But I do like the idea of, "I've got a p********, I need a new bike" Just dont think Mrs Fenboy would...

Hold on, hold on, I do also say:

lost_in_thought wrote:

However, if you just want a new bike, that's fine and dandy. You don't need to justify that round here.

Which I think just about covers it!

furrynips

cheers for the replies.

I like the idea of buying a new bike every time I puncture, sounds pretty sweet to me. But its not quite what I meant...

I had heard that schwalbe marathons and similar puncture resistant tyres are much easier to mount and dismount in larger sizes, plus my guess would be that a larger, thicker tyre would have a similarly corresponding level of protection? The honky tonk and similar bikes seem to have much better clearance for bigger tyres for less smooth terrain etc, i'm at my extreme limit currently with the schwalbe.

As for the garmin, i'm ridiculously tempted and have been for ages. I keep watching the 'shopbots' to see if they go down in price but they never seem to have massive reductions. The only thing that puts me off is whether i'll actually take much benefit from the data that it collects and the additional features it has? Do you find that it helps you generally regading training and cycling as opposed to the mapping functions. Can anyone compare it to the newer garmin model without mapping?

Cheers again.

redvee

Another thumbs up for the Handtec prices of Edge 705, in my case £292 for cad&hr.

Aidy

fenboy369 wrote:

But I do like the idea of, "I've got a p********, I need a new bike" Just dont think Mrs Fenboy would...

Haha, I had this thought on the way home, and logged in to post it - only to find that everyone else has already said it

symo

Bought my 705 from wiggle in the Garmin Slipstream colours. Cheapest way (with platinum discount) to get the cadence sensor thrown in. Love it, like for instance this weekend I went to the parents, used mater's laptop to access mapmyride, created a nice 55 mile loop to the peak distrinct via Matlock with a 'round the houses' route back for Sunday lunch. Guided me turn by turn (I actually leave the map screen on and follow it from there) and at the same time showed my HR and cadence on the same screen. Lovely tool. Plus if Metrigear make those power monitoring pedals cheap enough they will be ANT compatible so I can get power shown as well.

Edit: Forgot to say the road performance package includes the Garmin city nav maps too, which makes it a bit of a bargain.

il_principe

lost_in_thought wrote:

Great piece of kit. Il Principe is the one who usually gives us the cheap site link.... IP?

Been beaten to it but yes, Handtec. I did some calculations the other day and I reckon Handtec is cheaper that Wiggle Platinum by a small margin - maps included.

Stuey01

If you're not interested in the HR and Cadence and just want mapping (like me), then get the 605 to save some pennies.