# Any bay area rider who uses Garmin GPS?



## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

I'm thinking about getting Garmin Edge 305, and I was wondering if there's anyone here from the bay area that uses one? I'm curious to hear how well the GPS signal work on the tree-covered mountain roads like Old La Honda and Kings Mountain.

K-Zero


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## bkm (Aug 22, 2005)

*Edge 305*

I have the Edge 305 and it works pretty well. Occasional receiver drop-outs but it recovers quickly.

If you want a sense of the quality, go to trail.motionbased.com and search rides in the relevant areas. For example, I did a search for "honda" and found http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/1310203 (and many others)

Note: the altitude feature on the 305 is significantly more accurate than that on the 205 due to the use of a barometric altimeter.


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## wchane (Aug 8, 2006)

edge 305 user here. works well on both trails, i haven't seen it lose connection out on those trails but have seen it lose out in spots around redwood city and under/within urban areas with overpasses, tall buildings, etc. 

pretty happy with it's performance. it does have its quirks but keep the firmware updated, and don't expect miracles. the most annoying thing on it is the battery life, other then that when it loses connection fun stuff happens, like 500mph sprints over 100 miles.


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## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

Get one. It is great, and the signal is always pretty good.


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## smw (Mar 7, 2006)

I ride there all the time and have'nt lost signal. I love the garmin. However my cadence went out yesterday.:cryin:


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

I have a Garmin Edge 305. The only place on the peninsula where I regularly lose the signal is Pescadero Road. I don't ride much down near Santa Cruz. Some of those canyons may give the GPS some trouble. I don't think the tree cover is thick enough to cause problems on OLH or Kings.


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

*When the signal drops off...*

...does the cadence/speed sensor kick in as a back-up? Or does it just stop recording all data until it re-aquires a signal?

Thanks for all the feedbacks you guys!

K-Zero


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## smw (Mar 7, 2006)

K-Zero said:


> ...does the cadence/speed sensor kick in as a back-up? Or does it just stop recording all data until it re-aquires a signal?
> 
> Thanks for all the feedbacks you guys!
> 
> K-Zero



It continues to read.


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

You can check out my local ride history with my Garmin Edge 305 here. You may find some routes familiar to you. There are road routes (including King's Mountain, Tunitas Creek, Rt. 9, Metcalf, etc.) and MTB (Demo, Saratoga Gap).

Any more questions feel free to reply or PM me.


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

Also FYI you can jump over to the MTBR forums, where there's a dedicated forum for GPS, lights, and computers. There's a raft of Edge info in that forum. MTBR forum member GeoMan sells Garmin GPSs at great prices and is one of "us".


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## K-Zero (Feb 7, 2004)

This is great stuff -- you pretty much covered all the places I currently ride, plus places I'm planning on riding to prepare for a century. Thanks!

I ordered the Edge from amazon late last night, so I'm hoping to ride with it this weekend  

K-Zero


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## rmp (Aug 25, 2004)

How much battery life are you guys getting on your Garming 305s?

Can I get a full day (9-10 hours) of riding in on it?


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## bkm (Aug 22, 2005)

I get 8-9 hours max. This is the weak point of the unit IMHO.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Is it true that there is no odometer? Only trip meter?


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

scottyperkins said:


> MTBR forum member GeoMan sells Garmin GPSs at great prices and is one of "us".


Meaning better than the $274.49 price on Amazon.com?


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## rmp (Aug 25, 2004)

jasonwells4 said:


> Is it true that there is no odometer? Only trip meter?


I don't have my Edge yet, but tracking distance is certainly a function that GPS is capable of (I've been using GPS to test cars (data acquisition) for years now). 

Oh, I see what you mean - total distance. I don't know that. Sorry.


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

jasonwells4 said:


> Meaning better than the $274.49 price on Amazon.com?


I'll let GeoMan answer for himself on the price options, but if you ask around he gets great props on service, and is a member of this here community so he knows his stuff. Not sure you'll get any of that from Amazon, but you'll have to decide for yourself.


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## rmp (Aug 25, 2004)

*From Geoman*

For $300 delivered (roughly) from GeoMan I received:

Edge 305
HRM Kit
Speed/Cadence Kit
and a 12V plug-in adapter for my car.

I also bought the battery extender kit he sells (4-AA) for $15

He literally had the thing in the mail within hours (maybe 1 or 2?) of when I placed the order and I received about 4 or 5 update emails every step of the way.

he's tried to answer all of my silly little questions too.

:thumbsup:


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

jasonwells4 said:


> Is it true that there is no odometer? Only trip meter?


The way I accomplish this is by summarizing the activities that I pull into the Garmin training software. Given the volume of data you can accumulate on the Edge, it's not really practical to store historical activity indefinitely. Pulling it off the device and summarizing on the PC is your best bet.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

I think I might just use a basic Cateye wireless in addition to the Garmin. That way, I will have a persistent odometer and still get speed and distance if I leave the Garmin home(or battery dies).


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## Lutarious (May 10, 2004)

*wireless*

Will using mre than one wireless scew things up? (cateye adn the cadence feature on the Edge) I think my old wireless computer had a conflict with my HRM. They never seemed to work at the same time....


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## scottyperkins (Jun 18, 2007)

Lutarious said:


> Will using mre than one wireless scew things up? (cateye adn the cadence feature on the Edge) I think my old wireless computer had a conflict with my HRM. They never seemed to work at the same time....


I use a Suunto HRM at the same time as my Edge 305 is tracking and I've never had a problem. Can't comment on the Cateye cadence or speed sensors, though.


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