Who needs a Garmin these days?

[stewie911]

why buy canon when you have cellphone camera

why have pc when you have laptop

why laptop when you have blackberry

...

[Grebel]

why buy canon when you have cellphone camera

why have pc when you have laptop

why laptop when you have blackberry

...

 

Because a Canon takes better pictures. Your PC can do a lot more than your laptop and the same applies for your Blackberry.

 

A cell phone will probably get some of the data you need but a dedicated device will get you that much more.

 

All depends on what you need

Edited November 5, 2010 by Grebel

[Eldron]

I enjoy my Garmin Edge 500. User friendly and the battery life is great, 15 hrs + It has so many readings you can choose from. The Garmin Connect website is extremely useful as well, especially the reports future.

 

Amen brother. The Edge 500 is the best bike computer I've ever used!

[Zeps]

I love my 500, it also looks much better on a road bike than a 305/705 .... having said that the 305 has a feature or 2 that is better than the 500 despite it's disadvantage in size!

 

When you warranty a 305 with a 500 they actually tell you that the 500 is a 'slight' downgrade in features

[jatho]

Thats where you all wrong! You need to analyze your data as you ride!

The more experienced you are the better you understand your cadence & HR vs distance & elevation, etc.

 

Does your phone do Cadence? Dont think so!

 

I don`t see the pro`s using these devices in there pockets??? They are mounted on the handle bars for a reason.

Oh, one other thing, your phone ain`t IP65/77 rated, which means it aint waterproof! Good luck using this on your handle bars when the weather turns ugly or when you ride through a river!

 

If you are in a pack keeping up with the fast guys;

a ) you dont know what your HR is

b ) how much distance/elevation is left?

c ) how long you can keep your HR up there before fatigue/lactic acid start to build up.

 

It`s all about sticking with the pack, checking distance, HR, ascent and then planning if you can stick it with this pack, join the next pack or drop back to another pack.

 

Technically speaking, a device does not have to have an IP65 rating to be waterproof, an IP65 rating means the device can be submerged up to a depth of 1 meter without leaking, dont think this is a requirement for the average road cyclist, put your cellphone in a plastic bag and problem solved.

 

I ride a cheapo CS200 that gives me speed, distance & HR and I'm able to ride at a very competitive level and the last thing on my mind is that I'll get dropped and then have to ride with a group that catches me, if I had all the fancy stuff you ride with and this was one of my concerns, I'd probably look at another sport to be honest.

 

In my opinion, for the average amateur cyclist cadence and power reading is nice but not essential, unless you're a pro cyclists you dont need all the fancy stuff, the fact that you can do the mapping etc... in a cellphone is brilliant as far as I'm concerned, especially if it costs you nothing to do this.

[david16v]

Technically speaking, a device does not have to have an IP65 rating to be waterproof, an IP65 rating means the device can be submerged up to a depth of 1 meter without leaking, dont think this is a requirement for the average road cyclist, put your cellphone in a plastic bag and problem solved.

 

I ride a cheapo CS200 that gives me speed, distance & HR and I'm able to ride at a very competitive level and the last thing on my mind is that I'll get dropped and then have to ride with a group that catches me, if I had all the fancy stuff you ride with and this was one of my concerns, I'd probably look at another sport to be honest.

 

In my opinion, for the average amateur cyclist cadence and power reading is nice but not essential, unless you're a pro cyclists you dont need all the fancy stuff, the fact that you can do the mapping etc... in a cellphone is brilliant as far as I'm concerned, especially if it costs you nothing to do this.

 

Touch screen cell-phone in a plastic bag, now that`s a good one!

Garmin edge 305 is not all that fancy!

 

Like I said different strokes for different fowkes!

[david16v]

Technically speaking, a device does not have to have an IP65 rating to be waterproof, an IP65 rating means the device can be submerged up to a depth of 1 meter without leaking, dont think this is a requirement for the average road cyclist, put your cellphone in a plastic bag and problem solved.

 

I ride a cheapo CS200 that gives me speed, distance & HR and I'm able to ride at a very competitive level and the last thing on my mind is that I'll get dropped and then have to ride with a group that catches me, if I had all the fancy stuff you ride with and this was one of my concerns, I'd probably look at another sport to be honest.

 

In my opinion, for the average amateur cyclist cadence and power reading is nice but not essential, unless you're a pro cyclists you dont need all the fancy stuff, the fact that you can do the mapping etc... in a cellphone is brilliant as far as I'm concerned, especially if it costs you nothing to do this.

 

Why is it that all the training programs, they refer to cadence and HR?? Now if it was not that important, then you dont need to look at it!

 

Different cadence/hr according to interval/endurance/strength training!

[Azonic]

My phone isn't a touch screen. Nokia E52.

 

In all my time on the bike, the fittest I have EVER been was just riding my bike as much as possible, just enjoying the sport. No training programs, no power monitors. Just head out with two chocolates in your back pocket and have a blast. And yeah, I have represented my province for many years, I got my various SA medals, even a few in downhilling. Never a training program though.

 

If you need to strap yourself yourself into a rocket ship to measure your current speed, cadence, HR, power and a thermometer up your ass to measure your core temperature, and you're NOT a TdF level rider, then I find it rather silly. Possibly a little wanna-be-ish. No offence, just my opinion.

 

My wife rode Track SA's a few weeks back and got a medal there. No power monitors, no cadence monitors.

 

JATHO, completely agree with you. I'm getting GREAT data out of my phone, I can see what my heart rate was at each location when I get home, and plenty other data. And, doesn't didn't cost me a cent.

 

Woofie, agree with you to. Got 2x road bikes at home and 2x MTB's, and enough computers to kit most of them out but I choose not to. Most courses we race, we pretty much know the area and know where the start and end is. What's more important, to know that the finish is 9.765km away, or knowing that you need to gas it for another 15 minutes?

[jatho]

Why is it that all the training programs, they refer to cadence and HR?? Now if it was not that important, then you dont need to look at it!

 

Different cadence/hr according to interval/endurance/strength training!

 

 

I agree with you, I never said HR is not important nor did I say cadence wasn't but given the option I would opt for HR. The point I was making is as an amateur cyclist most of these things are nice to haves not need to haves, I dont have cadence or power meter output (apart from on my IDT) and I dont think I'm a worse cyclist for it, would I like it? hell yeah, would I be a better cyclist if I had this? probably not.

 

I always ride with my cellphone in my jersey, have even had a crash with it and have never had any problems with my phone, so yeah, I recon the bag trick works.

[JasonW]

I will probably receive my iPhone 4 early next week, but I just have one concern. about using the iPhone for mountain biking.

 

How robust is it? What happens if you take a tumble or fall in a river crossing(water damage)?

 

Is anyone using an iPhone for mountain biking?

 

The screens do crack quite easily and cost R 750 to replace (speaking from experience!).

[Tankman]

 

When you warranty a 305 with a 500 they actually tell you that the 500 is a 'slight' downgrade in features

 

Like what downgrades?

Interval training is the only one I know of.

That is one function I never used on the 305 anyway.

305 cant take power meter, doesnt have temp, battery life and all those flippen disconnecting issues. Ant+ Whoever told you the 500 is a slight downgrade is smoking something or works at Avnic!

[Minion]

Why is it that all the training programs, they refer to cadence and HR?? Now if it was not that important, then you dont need to look at it!

Difference between training and racing.

 

When I train, I want to know what my power and cadence are 'live' in order to meet my goals for the session.

 

When I race all I want to know is time elapsed and distance left. Everything else is just a distraction that slows me down and demotivates me. I'll analyse the power etc. afterwards. This post-race analysis is one of the great benefits of a GPS: if I remember I felt bad going through Suikerbosrand or just before turning onto a certain road I can use the GPS data to cross-reference. Previously I'd have to try and remember times and distances, rather than landmarks.

[jatho]

Difference between training and racing.

 

When I train, I want to know what my power and cadence are 'live' in order to meet my goals for the session.

 

When I race all I want to know is time elapsed and distance left. Everything else is just a distraction that slows me down and demotivates me. I'll analyse the power etc. afterwards. This post-race analysis is one of the great benefits of a GPS: if I remember I felt bad going through Suikerbosrand or just before turning onto a certain road I can use the GPS data to cross-reference. Previously I'd have to try and remember times and distances, rather than landmarks.

 

You hit the nail on the head Edman, when I'm racing I want two things: Elapsed time and Distance, everything else is really irrelevant and like you point out a distraction, I'll occasionally check my Heart Rate when I'm hammering it or maybe chasing a break down so that I can watch that I dont end up bonking later on in the ride but generally your body tells you when you're pushing too hard and you should be able to pick this up without an electronic device.

[MtbO]

Some of us aren't allowed displays on our GPS for competition, so we have to get something other than a nokia.

[chris_w_65]

I love my 500, it also looks much better on a road bike than a 305/705 .... having said that the 305 has a feature or 2 that is better than the 500 despite it's disadvantage in size!

 

When you warranty a 305 with a 500 they actually tell you that the 500 is a 'slight' downgrade in features

 

 

Is there anything a 310XT can do that a 500 doesn't?

 

I know the 310XT doesn't have temp and the 500 does.

[latentree]

Phew, whatta thread,

 

my 2 cents: I do Nokia 6710 navigator, and although the keys are very unpredictable and the zoom slider gives you gray hair, I keep it & use ST a lot, + love to take pictures while cruising around & can later see where they were taken. As i'm no podium finisher and rather watch where i'm going, real time data is not an issue. Also found a race is very rarely the distance given at briefing, so exact distance done is not saying much.It does it's thing inside my camelback and on being rather lost at times,has helped me to the nearest tar road.

ST community i also find interesting, pics from guys all over the world, some taken at places only MTBers can appreciate.

In short: one device, many features, all of which dedicated pricier units can do better, but works for me.