Garmin Edge 705 Bicycle Computer and GPS Navigator with Heart Rate Monitor and Speed Cadence Sensor
Trainer. Navigator. Edge 705 pushes you to do your best, then shows you the way back. This GPS-enabled cycle computer knows no limits. Edge 705 comes with a built-in basemap, plus it has a microSD card slot for adding map detail and storing workouts, courses and saved rides. Also included are a wireless heart rate monitor to measure your heart rate and track your heart rate zone and a speed/cadence sensor to monitor your pedaling cadence and wheel speed as you ride, both operating with Garmin’s innovative ANT + Sport wireless technology. Edge 705 automatically measures your speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent, and records this data for your review. Connected to your computer via USB, you can then download your workout data, analyze it and store it. You can even share it wirelessly with other Edge 705 buddies without being near the computer. When it comes to the curve of workout technology, Garmin takes you to the Edge.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars except that it….
A super training aid. Except, the instructions are vague at best and it is not intuitive to operate. I would have expected that it would come supplied with the detailed city streets map card rather than the base map, it is after all the top of the line for exercise usage and most athletes would prefer to avoid major streets and see the neighborhood streets.
All in all a top notch product and worth consideration for those who want to track their training history. Be prepared to spend a fair amount of time learning the nuances of this item.
Dave in Albuquerque
5 Stars It’s useful for running, cycling and automobile, but you have to buy it with the SD data card
This is very easy to use, if you buy it with the SD card it’s plug and play. It also measure power (watts), but you will need a power sensor, there are some available for this.
4 Stars Garmin Edge 705 review
I have used my Garmin Edge 705 for a little over a week now. I upgraded from the Edge 305. When I first received my 705, the instructions stated to charge it before using it. The 705 came with a half charge so I didn’t think it would take that long to fully charge it. 2 days later it was charged. Garmin Support told me “The expected time of charge is around 3 hours. The problem you see is a software bug. Let the unit run completely down and once you charge it next time it will show the correct information.” Since doing this, the charge times are back in line.
Using the 705 is very similar to the 305. It uses the same handlebar mounts, heart rate monitor and cadence sensor. The 705 is slightly larger in size and uses a `joy stick’ located between the Lap and Start/Stop buttons for navigating the menus. So, those with the 305 should have no problems adjusting to the 705.
Mine came with the pre-loaded Navigator maps. Using Garmin’s MapSource, you can download waypoints and routes to the 705. The 705 has an auto-routing feature to guide you from waypoint to waypoint. It has three modes to adjust your route from point to point (Car/Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Pedestrian). Using the Bicycle mode, my routes went waaay out of the way and added many unnecessary miles. Even though I told it to avoid unpaved roads, it tried to route me down several. If you miss a turn, it will re-route you back on course. It would be best to use a third party mapping software and download more precise waypoints/routes to the 705. In Car/Motorcycle mode, it looked to route fine.
The battery life is very long (about 15 hours)! I left it on overnight and woke up to it still running. My 305 had problems with turning itself off when going over bumps. The 705 has never experienced this problem. The 705 is also faster to lock on to satellites than the 305.
Overall, I am satisfied with the 705. It would have received 5 stars if not for trying to route me way off course in Bicycle mode and the initial battery charge issue.
5 Stars Great little box!
I have had GPS on my bikes for years, yet they all lacked something: namely they were fine for handheld use, but were really lacking in their use on bicycles. Sounds kind of dumb, I know, but they just did not perform as well as you might think. They go overboard on details, but do not give you the info you need.
Recently I got back into riding and decided to take another look at GPS. The 705 caught my eye. Yeah, it does a lot of wacky stuff that I seriously doubt I will ever use (such as sending data back and forth between units), but it seemed that it would do everything that I did want it to do. And it does.
For one, it keeps track of three bikes. I know that is not a lot for some, but it is great for me, as I have a MTB and a recumbent and am thinking about a road bike at some point. This is an important feature just so you can more easily keep track of bike maintenance. Each of the three bikes has a separate odometer, so this feature alone makes it a snap.
There are lots of other cool things it does as well, with the help of the MotionBased and Garmin Connect websites. The Garmin Training Center software is pretty good as well and that lets you keep tabs on your own computer.
My only real wish for this thing would be the ability to ignore certain roads. It will ignore major roads when computing routes, but there are a few roads that I try to avoid (because of idiot drivers) that are not major roads. Not that this is that much of a problem as going a different way would cause it to recaclulate the route.
All in all it is a really nifty gadget.
4 Stars Garmin Edge 705
This is a very nice product. However, if I did it again I would buy it with the maps. The basic maps are terrible. Also, make sure you read the manual with it. If you set up your wheel size manually it will not record the distance (maybe a glitch). The software Garmin provides on-line is nice, but I expect the best and this isn’t it.
