GPS for Cyclists

Team Garmin GPS Data Online

As we reported last week, Team Garmin has equipped each of its riders with Garmin Edge 705 GPS units for the 2008 Tour de France.

They are now publishing this information through MotionBased, the leading GPS statistics and training website. For example: David Millar's Stage 1 from Saturday.

You can see how Millar's speed and heart rate changes during the day, and also compare them against the elevation profile of the stage.

MotionBased is a public site, open to anyone to log and share their GPS training and racing information, and is free for all but its most advanced features.

Team Garmin to use Edge 705 GPS in Tour De France

There can be no greater testament to the true value of the Garmin Edge 705 GPS than to see it on the handlebars of the members of Team Garmin in the 2008 Tour de France. Although professional cyclists are of course under pressure to use their sponsors' products they are too obsessive about weight and function to allow something on their bikes that they consider superfluous.

According to Garmin's official blog, the Team Garmin riders will be using Edge 705 units with custom maps of the race's daily stage routes, with Saris power meter wheel hubs providing power data. The Edge 705 GPS is compatible with a range of power measurement hubs and crank sets that use the open ANT+Sport wireless standard to transmit data.

What makes the Forerunner 305 'Multisport'?

The multisport capabilities of the Garmin Forerunner 305 aren't just marketing hype or "product positioning"!

As Garmin blogger Peg explains in Forerunner 405 or 305 � which is best for multisport?, the 305 has both hardware and software features that make it ideal for running and cycling, or indeed for tracking any active sport, including skiing.

On the hardware side, the quick-release mount lets you unclip it from your wrist and clip it into a bicycle handlebar mount, or vice versa, instantly. When you are cycling with the Forerunner it can be recording and displaying your cadence and wheel-speed (useful both outside and when on a stationary "turbo" wind trainer), while when you are running on a treadmill it can also receive data wirelessly from the optional Foot Pod accessory.

On the software side, the 305 allows you to switch activity types with a single button press, and also lets you decide whether to include a transition time (e.g. the bike to run transition in a triathlon) or not.

If you are a dedicated cyclist the Garmin Edge 705 may be a better choice, but for the runner, triathlete, or other multisport enthusiast the Garmin Forerunner 305 is the clear winner.

Take your Garmin Edge 705 hiking, skiing, etc

Although the Garmin Edge 705 is a "cycling" GPS, with a set of advanced features carefully selected and designed for the serious cyclist, it draws on Garmin's history of producing a wide range of GPS models, and is remarkably versatile.

It is lightweight and small, and, of course, is fully functional whether it's mounted on a bike or not. The 2.2" display is one of the largest for a Garmin GPS of this size, and the sleek case design makes it easily pocketable. The street maps and turn-by-turn directions work just as well when you are walking or driving as they do when you're cycling.

The battery life on the Edge 705 is rated at 15 hours, which means it's perfect for all "day" activities such as hiking, geocaching, and skiing, although since the battery is not removable you would have to be careful in using it on a multiday backpacking trip, just firing it up for tricky navigation areas, to find a campsite, or to check on progress.

The 705 works with nearly all standard Garmin maps, on memory card or on DVD. Although we ship our 705 units with full street maps of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, if you venture further afield it's just a matter of ejecting the included memory card and inserting a new one. Garmin has a wide range of street, topographic, and marine maps. The topographic maps in particular are very useful when hiking, and indeed can be very useful when mountain biking too.

Finally, and here we're "tooting our own horn" a little, the Edge 705 works great with our SnowRanger GPS ski resort trail maps. Since it's rugged, highly water-resistant, and rated down to a temperature of 5°F (-15°C) it's a perfect unit to ski with. The trail maps look great at that big screen, and it tracks every run and lift ride for you to upload to our Snow Days community and share at the end of the day.

Here's another take on the versatility of the Garmin Edge 705.

Who's using Garmin fitness GPSes? Jake's Journal and Onto Fitness Blogs

Garmin staff publish a variety of blogs, and one that is frequently updated and packed with interesting information on Garmin's cycling and running GPSes, such as the Edge 705 and the Forerunner 305, is Jake's Journal.

Recent posts include Many cheers for Team Garmin, regarding the renaming of the world-class Slipstream cycling team to Team Garmin, and Forerunners are Runner's World favorites, on Runner's World (US) and Runner's World UK's raves over the new Garmin Forerunner 405.

Another useful blog there is Onto Fitness, a more general collection of articles, including many of the Jake's Journal posts. Recent topics include In Jenna's shoes about top triathlete Jenna Shoemaker's use of the Edge 705 and Forerunner 305 and 405 in her training, and Edge 705 helps us reach new heights regarding taking some Edge 705 GPSes out on some very rugged trails in the fast-rising mountain bike Mecca of Fruita, Colorado.

Can my Garmin Edge GPS guide me on a loop ride?

A GPS helps you get from A to B, usually with a choice of "shortest" or "quickest" route, and, on cycling-oriented units like the Garmin Edge 705, with scenic options like "avoid highways". So how do you use your GPS to guide you around a loop ride, where the destination is actually the same as starting point?

We recommend two approaches:

1. Use points-of-interest (POIs) along the loop.

Start off by picking a destination that you'll come to in a few miles and set the GPS to head towards it. As you approach it, choose a second destination that is further up the route, and so on.

Good locations will generally be apparent from whatever source of information you are basing the ride on--guide book, paper map, online maps, directions from local bike shops or other riders, etc--and can be manually entered into the GPS before the ride, or located and transferred from your PC (see below). If you have our Edge 705 with the US maps then you can simply pick them out of the millions of POIs in its preloaded database.

2. Find or create a "route" on your PC and transfer it to your GPS

A GPS route is a predefined path that you create on your PC using mapping software or find online, and then download to your GPS. You tell the GPS to guide you along the route.

You can create the route using commercial software such as Garmin MapSource or National Geographic Topo!, or free software such as EasyGPS. You can also find routes that other people have created at communities such as MotionBased TrailNetwork and Trails.com.

You can also now find POIs and download them to your Garmin GPS directly from Google Maps.

Wired Reviews Garmin Edge 705

Respected tech magazine/website Wired recently awarded a 9-out-10 rating to the Garmin Edge 705.

In a fairly in-depth review Wired praised the maps and directions, GPS satellite reception, and the integration of the Edge with training sites such as MotionBased.

Your Edge 705 is HOW MUCH?

Although you need to click to see the price of our Edge 705 (since we're offering it at such a low price we have to abide by Garmin's strict "minimum advertised price" (MAP) policy), when you do see our price you might not realize what an incredible bargain it is. That's because Garmin has made the 705 available in three different packages:
- Edge 705 + heart rate monitor (HRM) (SKU 010-00555-20)
- Edge 705 + HRM + speed/cadence sensor (SKU 010-00555-30)
- Edge 705 + HRM + speed/cadence sensor + US Street Maps (SKU 010-00555-40)

When you see ostensibly lower prices for an "Edge 705" on other sites, check carefully what you're actually getting. Our price is just a buck or two off the very best price on the Web, when you consider that we include FREE ground shipping. We're the experts and we only stock the best.

We believe that the Edge 705 is such a breakthrough in cycling GPS design and features that it only makes sense to get the full package. This is a cycling computer that is going to last you years, so spend a little bit more now and get the right accessories for it.

The speed/cadence sensor not only means you can view and record your pedaling rate throughout your rides, but also track your effective speed and distance when winter comes and you need to put your bike on your indoor wind ("turbo") trainer.

The street maps provide turn-by-turn routing across the entire US, with cycling specific features such as "avoid major roads." They also provide a detailed database of millions of points-of-interest, so whether you're trying to find a winery during your Napa tour, or suddenly in dire need of calories during a long training ride, your Edge will find you the closest and give you the directions to get you there.

Now why would you buy a cycling GPS and choose to NOT get that capability?!

Is the Forerunner 305 waterproof?

One question we get asked a lot is "can I wear my Forerunner while swimming?" It's of obvious concern to triathletes.

The Forerunner 305, like most Garmin GPS receivers, carries a waterproof rating called "IPX7". Garmin say "An IPX7 designation means the GPS case can withstand accidental immersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes." In practice this means that an IPX7 GPS is likely going to be just fine if it's used in the rain, or if you dunk it briefly during a cross-country run or mountain bike ride. But neither we nor Garmin recommend swimming with your Forerunner.

In a triathlon it makes sense then to have the Forerunner already mounted on your bike (theft concerns permitting) ready to go after your swim. At the end of the ride you can use the quick-release feature to instantly transfer it to your wrist for the run.

GPS verses Cyclometer-Pros and Cons

Although GPS is a smoking-hot buzzword right now, it would be a little unfair to tout the benefits of a cycling-oriented GPS without at least mentioning the pros and cons verses a more traditional electronic cyclometer.

Vendors such as Avocet and Cateye have been making cycling computers for decades. (Anyone else old enough to remember the original 1983 Avocet? A breakthrough for its time, and still smaller than many modern devices. Mind you, this writer is old enough to have had a mechanical trip computer (we called them mileometers) back in the day. But I digress...) A sensor on the front or back wheel measures the revs-per-minute (RPM) of the wheel, the size of the wheel is programmed into the cyclometer, and simple arithmetic does the rest. Modern computers may include some of the same features as a sports GPS, such as a heart rate monitor (HRM), PC/Internet interface, and a cadence (pedaling rate) sensor.

Pros of a GPS
- No sensors need to be attached to frame or wheels for basic operation
- Records your actual route for later review
- Detailed street maps on some models (and nearly all models will at least point you in the right direction)
- Multi-activity (running, hiking, driving, boating, skiing, etc, depending on the model)
- Numerous websites where routes and stats may be shared

Pros of a cyclometer
- Longer battery life
- Accurate speed and distance calculations, regardless of dense tree cover or tall urban buildings which can occasionally interfere with satellite reception
- No startup delay (GPS may take 15-30 seconds to get a satellite fix at the start of a ride)
- May be slightly cheaper

The balance is strongly in favor of the GPS, and the simplicity and power of the technology is stunning. Even though this writer has been using GPSes for years, I still get a thrill from uploading a ride's recorded track to my PC and viewing it in 3D in Google Earth!

GPS "breadcrumb" Tracks

One of the great features of (nearly all) GPS units is their track recording or "breadcrumb" capability. As you move it records your position every few seconds, and when you get back to base you can view this track on your PC and even upload and share it on the Web.

If your GPS has a heart rate monitor or a cadence (pedaling rate) sensor you can also save and view this information for your activity too.

Whether you're a serious cyclist or triathlete following a training regime, or a casual rider wanting to share where you've been, this record is invaluable

Do I need the Speed/Cadence sensor?

Although Garmin call it the "speed/cadence sensor" that name is slightly misleading since the GPS itself measures your speed as you ride. The sensor is needed to measure your cadence (pedaling revs per minute).

However the sensor also measures the speed at which your bike's back wheel is moving. Out on the road this is not useful information, since the GPS measures speed much more accurately, but this feature comes into play if you use your bike on rollers or an indoor wind trainer.