GARMIN 010-00447-00 Edge 305 Bicycle Monitor With GPS Whether you’re prepping for your next century ride or want a more accurate way to measure your performance on the trails, take your training to the edge with the Garmin Edge 305CAD GPS-enabled Personal Trainer and Cycle Computer. The Edge 305CAD is easy to use, requires no calibration, and features customizable screens and data fields to meet your needs. Measuring speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb, descent, and more, the 305CAD will help you to always know where you are and how far you’ve gone.
 Main menu. View larger. |
 Bike computer display. View larger. |
 Course with elevation profile. View larger. |
 The Edge 305CAD with the speed/cadence sensor is the ultimate GPS-enabled fitness partner for cyclists. View larger. |
The Edge 305CAD goes a step beyond its little brother–the Edge 205–with a built-in barometric altimeter and speed/cadence monitor. The altimeter delivers extremely accurate elevation readings, and a self-calibrating wireless sensor delivers speed and cadence data to the Edge 305CAD. The sensor mounts to your bike’s rear chain stay. A wheel magnet mounts to the rear wheel to deliver speed data, while a cadence magnet attaches to the crank arm to deliver pace data. In addition, the Edge 305CAD is compatible with the Garmin Heart Rate Monitor. This optional monitor delivers heart rate data via a chest strap equipped with a robust wireless transmission.
The Edge 305CAD is easy to use. Simply take it out of the box, snap it into the included bike mount, and hit the road. The high-sensitivity GPS receiver knows your position in tree cover and canyons, making the Edge 305CAD an extremely reliable navigation device. And with the customizable cycle computer, you can select from up to eight different data fields for continuous feedback. Garmin goes well beyond typical cycle computers by integrating GPS technology for basic navigation. In addition, the Edge 305CAD gives you the ability to overlay your ride data onto a course map and even “race” a virtual partner that makes training fun and helps push you toward your goals.
The included PC-based Training Center software gives you the tools to create workouts, manage and download courses, and create a detailed post-ride analysis that charts your performance and measures your speed, distance, climb, descent, and heart rate data against varying terrain, elevation, and other conditions. And with the Edge 305CAD’s built-in USB interface, it’s quick and easy to upload and download the information you need.
The virtual partner screen depicts a digital cyclist (representing your desired speed) in relation to your real-time speed. From this set of data the icons will show how far ahead or behind you are from your digital competitor. The Courses feature allows you race against a recorded course to try and match previously set speeds at every point along the way.
Training in urban areas can be tricky, and undesirable traffic can skew training data. To help remedy this problem, Garmin has included an auto-pause function that pauses the training timer when you slow down below a specified speed and resumes when you speed up again so you can focus on your ride, not on your data collection. And with the auto lap function, this smart little device automatically triggers a lap every time you pass a specified location or travel a preset distance.
With its sleek, waterproof design (the Edge 305CAD meets IEC 60529 IPX7 standards, which means that its components can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes), the Edge 305CAD is the perfect companion on any bike, and it attaches to either the stem or handlebars. This lightweight device (88 grams) is powered by an 800mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery and delivers an average of 12 hours of use per charge. The rugged case frames an easy-to-read, large, backlit display that makes it a breeze to view the data fields. So whether you’re racing against your virtual partner, fighting to shave precious seconds off your old record, or training for the next big race, the Edge 305CAD will help to monitor your progress and make you a better cyclist.
What’s in the Box
Edge 305 with speed/cadence sensor, bike mount, Training Center CD, A/C charger, USB PC interface cable, Quick reference guide, and owner’s manual.
Customer Review: Bike GPS
Product arrived on-time. Excellent price on Amazon (through Warehouse Deals versus current market price). Fairly easy to install. Have used on aggressive mountain bike trails (mounting method is solid) and on the road. Have also used it to navigate with - this is not going to give you Car GPS functionality. Any route you want to follow you will need to pre-load and use BikeRouteToaster or other application to make a .crs file - some fiddling required - the result is a black line you will need to follow (no map / other roads shown). I used it for Bike to Work week and followed a route through the center of Baltimore on quiet back streets - no problem - 1st time I used the unit out of the box. Happy so far.
Customer Review: The perfect bike computer for gadget freaks!
I returned to cycling after a 20-year hiatus last year. Being a dyed-in-the-wool sucker for gadgets, I had to get the Garmin 305 as my bike computer. Cyclist friends of mine made fun of its size, made fun of my desire to map my rides afterward, and generally mocked the device. I ignored them, and I’m glad I did.
The 305 has been a great training partner. Thanks to its data recording ability, I can really easily correlate perceived effort on a day’s ride with my actual performance in terms of speed, heart rate, and cadence.
Setting up all of the sensors on the bike was relatively straighforward (though the combined wheelspeed and cadence sensor setup was somewhat novel), and the directions were clear. You charge the 305 through its USB port. It comes with a separate power supply so that you can either charge it from a wall outlet, or from the USB cable connected to your computer.
On the bike, the display is large and clear. I’ve found it readable in any of the lighting conditions in which I’d be willing to ride the bike. The interface is relatively easy to navigate, though a bit puzzling to set up. Garmin’s origins in navigation show in a couple of funny places. One of them is the default data fields displayed on the device: your heading is shown by default in the five data field configuration that I prefer, but your heart rate isn’t. I was able to reconfigure it to display the fields that I watned to see, but I found the choice surprising in a product that is ostensibly aimed at athletes.
In use, I found that the GPS reception was generally good even in tree-shaded areas, but the startup process can sometimes be irritatingly slow. Data reception for the heart rate and cadence sensors has been glitch free.
In terms of durability, I’ve banged the 305 around quite a bit and ridden it in conditions that left other electronics begging for mercy (don’t ride in the driving rain without putting your mobile phone in a plastic bag). The 305 still performs like a champ thousands of miles later.
As a Mac user, I found the Mac support lame at first, but it has been steadily improving with Garmin’s release of their Training Center software for the Mac, a Mac version of their Web Updater tool, and improvements they’ve made to Mac support [...]. It’s still not perfect, but it’s very useful.
The ultimate endorsement of the 305 is that I’ll be replacing it soon. Garmin has announced their upcoming new generation of Edge cycling units, and the 705 looks too good to pass up. I’m hooked on the capabilities and insight that the 305 has given me, and I’m looking forward to even more with Garmin’s next generation.
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