Guess who got a Garmin Edge 305 for his birthday in November 2007! It was kindly purchased for me from GeoManGear in November 2007.
Garmin Edge 305 mounted on a Look 555
The Edge 305 is described by Garmin as a
GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer. With a wireless heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor
This is the set-up that I have as well along with a second speed/cadence sensor so I can use it on two bikes.
Initial Impressions | Field Experience
Initial Impressions
Initial Impressions [Updated March 25, 2008]:
- Audible alert is a waste of time. Is not loud enough to be heard when riding in windy conditions or in fact just riding;
- No ability to adjust volume;
- Reliability of the GCS-10 sensors really give me the ….. They are just not reliable;
- Manual is not that clear or informative;
- Easy to fit to the bike’
- Like the display options;
- Like the way it interfaces with Garmin’s MotionBased website and hence the information that is provided;
- Battery life = 11 hours seven minutes;
- I seem to be riding harder and faster or it is just giving me better numbers than my old Sigma BC1606L.
Field Experience
Update – April 1, 2009 – Went to ride home this afternoon and found the Edge 305 dead as. Could not get it to start up. Tried a soft reset (pressing mode + reset + power buttons together) but it didn’t work. Once I got home, I plugged into the computer and tried the soft reset again and it fired up and started charging. Seems that something went wrong with the charging this morning and it flattened the battery rather than charging it. Frustrating but.
Update – March 25, 2009 – The GCS-10 sensor on the Look 555 has not been working since Friday March 20, 2009 then this evening it just started working again! Go figure!
Update – March 16, 2009 – The unit was not recognising the GCS-10 sensor this afternoon so no cadence on the ride home. Really have no idea why it does this and it seems to reset itself on the next ride.
Update – March 12,2009 – Had to do a soft reset this morning to get the unit to fire up. A soft-reset is the holding down of the lap button + start/stop button whilst turning on the unit. Found the battery not fully charged either despite leaving the unit connected to the USB port for sometime overnight. Not sure what brought on the need for the reset.
Update – November 27, 2008 – Now published my open letter to Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd.
Update – November 19, 2008: Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd still has not replaced the Heart Rate Monitor strap nor the GSC10 Sensor nor have they contacted me. Frankly I can only conclude now that they are a dishonest organisation, lacking in integrity and that their staff just say whatever is necessary to get the customer off the phone.
I am now proceeding to formally notify Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd of my concerns with their lack of service and compliance with the Trade Practices Act 1976 and to give them 14 days to resolve the matter to my satisfaction or face a formal escalation of my response. I will also notify Garmin USA of my views of their lack of service.
Update – October 30, 2008: I emailed Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd on October 20, 2008 with respect to the issues with the heart rate monitor strap. As hadn’t got a response I phoned Garmin on Friday October 24, 2008 and spoke to John. John advised that he would follow-up the issue with Garmin US. As of Friday October 31, 2008 I had had no further news from Garmin Australasia, I phoned the support line and spoke to John. He now acknowledges that they are getting reports of issues with the straps (previously denied) and requested I send in the strap to himself for replacement.
Updated October 25, 2008: Had an opportunity to day to use the Edge 305 from start to finish on a ride of the Kep Track. The Edge 305 was turned on at the start of the ride along with my Garmin 60 CSx and it died (battery went flat) 11 hours and seven minutes later. During this time it was used only to track satellites. The cadence sensor the heart rate monitor where not used.
Update October 20, 2008: Still waiting for a new sensor from Garmin Australasia. It has taken five phone calls to now be told that a sensor is likley to arrive mid-November. Some three months later! Really very poor service from Garmin.
Today my heart-rate monitor strap has died. I have tried new batteries, re-scanned for it, ensured the connections are wet. The best I can get out of it is a low heart rate reading (so it is communicating, but not accurately) when the bpm should be a lot higher. I have emailed Garmin Australasia for advice.
Update September 5, 2008: During August 2008 I was without my Edge 305 for approximately two weeks as it died. Despite Garmin’s claims of the Edge 305 being waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards, i.e., all components are submersible in 1m of water for 30 minutes, my unit suffered water ingress from riding in the rain. Initial contact with Garmin implied this was my fault, however, a “generous” offer was made to allow me to return the unit to Garmin Australasia for inspection. Garmin need to train their staff properly and to ensure they are familiar with their own specifications!
I returned the Edge 305 and a faulty GCS 10 sensor to Garmin (it was reading cadence only, not speed) and received back a refurbished Edge 305 (not my own unit) and my old incomplete sensor. At the time of writing I am still waiting for Garmin Australasia to replace my faulty sensor. Not the best customer service.
Other than this hick-up I am very happy with the Edge 305, however, I tend to only use the data recording features. I am yet to explore the use the course feature, vitural partner and so on.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Tags: Edge 305,Garmin
Categories: Bicycle gear reviews
4 Comments »
Okay, had to run this plug for Travis Meyer and his older brother Cameron who have now both joined Team Garmin-Slipstream, the American professional cycling team with a focus on ethical sporting practices.
