Garmin 500? Heartrate belt compatibility?

thechangingman
thechangingman Posts: 61
edited December 2010 in Road buying advice
Just trying to finalise this year's Christmas prezzie from my wife...

I am thinking of getting the Garmin 500.

My cycling context: I ride 3/4 sportives a year, I train as hard as I can on a set programme and all of my training is done with my home as my base. I ride 3/4 times a week and do about 2,000 miles a year.

Is the Garmin right for me? Also, can I use my Polartec heartrate belt with the Garmin? I am looking forward to accessing my cadence info, as I've not done so before and feel it could be useful...

Are the Amazon deals the best out there?

Any help/advice/insights gratefully received...
"There's more to life than bikes you know, but not much more..." (with apologies to Morrissey)

Comments

  • Chrissz
    Chrissz Posts: 727
    Your Polar strap will not work with the Garmin (I have both).

    The Garmin is a very useful tool if you like post-ride data analysis, but not much cop for navigating with.

    As to if it's right for you - why do you want one? What features do you need/want?
    http://coastalcommando.wordpress.com/
  • thechangingman
    thechangingman Posts: 61
    Thanks for info...

    I want to know my speed, av. speed, distance travelled, cadence, climbs, heart-rate - those are the main issues...
    "There's more to life than bikes you know, but not much more..." (with apologies to Morrissey)
  • le_boss
    le_boss Posts: 183
    if you want navigation go for the edge 800, if you dont then go for the edge 500. both are class.

    you might find some eratic heartrate readings using the garmin straps (i have a few times) so this is one way around it:
    http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/solu ... pikes.html

    anyway, which ever you chose im sure you wont be disappointed!
    enjoy!
  • glasgowbhoy
    glasgowbhoy Posts: 1,341
    I got a 500 pack with cadence sensor and HRM for £170 from Fawkes cycling.
    That was the black one. I think the blue one is about £150 for the package.
  • Chrissz
    Chrissz Posts: 727
    I got mine from Fawkes as well - cheapest around and they had the silver/neutral model I wanted.
    http://coastalcommando.wordpress.com/
  • irturner
    irturner Posts: 41
    Er which Fawkes did you buy from ?
    They seem to be charging £205 for the bundle which is about the same as amazon.
    Heartratemonitor.co.uk at £185 are the cheapest.
    Note there are some issues with the 500 though the only one I've noticed is where the latest update (pre installed on my 500) messed up altitude calculation so claims I'm 10-20 foot higher up when I get home than I was when I left :roll:
  • richa
    richa Posts: 1,632
    Awesome bit of kit.

    £175 at Handtec.
    http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/23 ... ed-cadence
    Rich

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