Garmin geeks info please?

koreanbaz

As I do the odd 5k and 10k runs with friends and family, I'm after a Garmin that I can use on both the bike and when running etc.
I'm not after total info when cycling, it's a hobby not life and death.
So I'm after something that shows miles cycled by Gps I guess, and miles run. With a wrist HR, not a strap,
Running friends have the Forerunner 235 and one has the Fenex 3 HR.
Is what I need out there please?
I struggled to find what I needed on the Garmin site, but I am old and decrepid.

kingstongraham

Forerunner 235 will give you what you need as long as you don't want to connect it to a power meter.

I have a Forerunner 230 which is the same thing but without the built in HR monitor (I use a Scosche optical HR monitor around the upper arm), and I use it for running and for cycling when I'm riding the bike that doesn't have a power meter and am not bothered about seeing stats while riding.

buckmulligan

It's not surprising that you can't make sense of the Garmin website, they release a new model almost every month! The big question is how much money do you want to spend?!

I've got the fenix 3 and use it for swimming, cycling, running, triathlon, duathlon, hiking, skiing, you name it. I'd totally recommend it and they do a wrist-based optical HR version if that's important to you. A step below this is the vivoactive HR, still a solid unit, optical HR but misses some of the multisport features and WiFi syncing IIRC, but a much smaller, sleeker design.

If you're purely looking for running and cycling, I'd look at getting an Edge 520 bike computer and a separate running specific watch (Garmin do LOTS of these e.g. Forerunner 235), purely because a watch isn't always easy to see or comfortable on a bike but YMMV.

Check out some of the reviews on dcrainmaker.com, he's basically the unofficial Garmin PR guy and has very in-depth reviews into all of their stuff.

mrb123

If you only want one unit, one of the Forerunners is probably your best bet. You can edit the activities once you're done them to ensure your bike rides show up as rides rather than runs. You can also get a little mount that enable you to fit the watch easily to your handlebars.

As said above though, if you can stretch to it, a dedicated cycle Garmin such as an Edge 25 plus a Forerunner watch for running would be preferable.

mrb123

Also, the units that have Bluetooth or Wifi connectivity to the smartphone app are a major advantage in my view as you don't have to mess about with firing up your computer in order to upload your rides/runs, they just ping automatically to your phone and thus appear on Garmin Connect (and Strava).

kingstongraham

MrB123 wrote:

If you only want one unit, one of the Forerunners is probably your best bet. You can edit the activities once you're done them to ensure your bike rides show up as rides rather than runs. You can also get a little mount that enable you to fit the watch easily to your handlebars.

As said above though, if you can stretch to it, a dedicated cycle Garmin such as an Edge 25 plus a Forerunner watch for running would be preferable.

Forerunner 230/235 uploads to connect/strava as a ride if it is a ride. No editing required.

koreanbaz

I knew this was the place to ask. 8)

bflk

BuckMulligan wrote:

It's not surprising that you can't make sense of the Garmin website, they release a new model almost every month! The big question is how much money do you want to spend?!

I've got the fenix 3 and use it for swimming, cycling, running, triathlon, duathlon, hiking, skiing, you name it. I'd totally recommend it and they do a wrist-based optical HR version if that's important to you. A step below this is the vivoactive HR, still a solid unit, optical HR but misses some of the multisport features and WiFi syncing IIRC, but a much smaller, sleeker design.

If you're purely looking for running and cycling, I'd look at getting an Edge 520 bike computer and a separate running specific watch (Garmin do LOTS of these e.g. Forerunner 235), purely because a watch isn't always easy to see or comfortable on a bike but YMMV.

Check out some of the reviews on dcrainmaker.com, he's basically the unofficial Garmin PR guy and has very in-depth reviews into all of their stuff.

I use a TomTom Cardio runner on the wrist with optical HRM. I find it a bit more relaxing NOT to have a unit on the bike constantly showing my average speed. Occasionally I glance at it to see how far I've gone but its mainly for post-ride analysis.

Before I got that I used to ride and run with an Edge 200, I got quite used to holding it in my hand, ran a 10 mile race without any problems.

Silly Old Hector

Have a look at the Vivoactive HR ;-)