Garmin Edge 705 review

I have used my Garmin Edge 705 for a little over a week now. I upgraded from the Edge 305. When I first received my 705 the instructions stated to charge it before using it. The 705 came with a half charge so I didn't think it would take that long to fully charge it. 2 days later it was charged. Garmin Support told me "The expected time of charge is around 3 hours. The problem you see is a software bug. Let the unit run completely down and once you charge it next time it will show the correct information." Since doing this the charge times are back in line.



Using the 705 is very similar to the 305. It uses the same handlebar mounts heart rate monitor and cadence sensor. The 705 is slightly larger in size and uses a `joy stick' located between the Lap and Start/Stop buttons for navigating the menus. So those with the 305 should have no problems adjusting to the 705.



Mine came with the pre-loaded Navigator maps. Using Garmin's MapSource you can download waypoints and routes to the 705. The 705 has an auto-routing feature to guide you from waypoint to waypoint. It has three modes to adjust your route from point to point (Car/Motorcycle Bicycle and Pedestrian). Using the Bicycle mode my routes went waaay out of the way and added many unnecessary miles. Even though I told it to avoid unpaved roads it tried to route me down several. If you miss a turn it will re-route you back on course. It would be best to use a third party mapping software and download more precise waypoints/routes to the 705. In Car/Motorcycle mode it looked to route fine.



The battery life is very long (about 15 hours)! I left it on overnight and woke up to it still running. My 305 had problems with turning itself off when going over bumps. The 705 has never experienced this problem. The 705 is also faster to lock on to satellites than the 305.



Overall I am satisfied with the 705. It would have received 5 stars if not for trying to route me way off course in Bicycle mode and the initial battery charge issue.

More detail ...

Just what I expected

The Garmin Edge 500 is just what I expected it to be. I think it was the most anticipated GPS/cycle computer from Garmin. It's small and pretty does the all the things (and some more) that you expect a cycle computer to do. To begin with the size of the computer was a little larger that what I expected it to be but having said that it fits perfectly fine on my handle bar stem and note I have a short stem (80 mm). I did my first ride with it a while ago and it was pretty much ready to go from the box it arrived it in. It did not have any difficulties acquiring sattelites and easily paired with the Garmin Heart Rate monitor and the Bontrager Duotrap cadence/speed sensor. Did not see any drops in signal during my ride something that I would see with the previous Garmin that I had. You have three screens which you can 8 fields of data per screen. So you can monitor 24 data sets real time during your ride. There are far more options than I can list here just to keep it short it's a plenty.



I personally am upgrading from a Forerunner 50 and I think this is just great! I think that everyone will be pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of this device except for the Edge 705 owners who will feel it is a downgrade for the lack of maps (which it is).More detail ...

Garmin Edge 500 Cycling Computers. Sharpen your cycling performance with Edge 500 a lightweight GPS-based cycling computer for performance-driven cyclists. Loaded with data Edge 500 tracks your distance speed location and elevation with high sensitivity GPS.. Item Specifications; Color:Black/Silver; Wireless:Yes; Heart Rate:Optional; GPS-Enabled:Included; Cadence:Optional;

• Garmin ConnectTM compatible (online community where you analyze categorize and share data)


• Garmin Training Center® software compatible


• Customizable screen(s)

More detail ...