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A cool gadget but beware of shabby software
As a bike computer, it works kind of OK.

It displays two screens of data, each screen can be custom configured to show up to 8 fields. For those 16 fields (8 + 8) you get to chose which data item to display and the list is impressively long - speed, average speed, average speed per lap, max speed, cadence, altitude, etc, etc. 49 total. So how do you fit 49 data items into 16 fields to be displayed on the screen? Well, you can't. There is no way to cycle or scroll through the data. So you'll never be able to see any of the remaining 33 data items. Not unless you go into setup and reconfigure the display to show a different set of 16 items. Totally lame.

As for the display itself, numbers could be bigger and/or more legible, the font is horrible. Example: on my first ride I was trying to read my speed and saw "195." What the heck is that number? Then I understood, it was "19.5 mph." The 1/10 digit is the same size as the other digits (on a good bike computer it would be smaller) and the dot is hard to see while riding a bike.

Goddess forbid I wanted to read my power or cadence or whatever while riding at 30 mph in a tight bunch of racers banging elbows with each other. The display could be much more legible (for instance by making use of colors). In comparison my Powertap computer looks primitive but does a much better job displaying the numbers I want to see. The Powertap aside for it is an expensive device, there are cycling computers that cost 1/15th of the 705's price but execute basic cyclocomputer functions much better.

As a GPS the Edge 705 falls flat on its face.

Sure it'll do basic GPS functions, like navigate you to a destination. It's even intelligent enough not to send you on an interstate on your bike. But finding a destination point is challenging unless you know the exact address. Trying to find a point on the map is, if perhaps not quite hopeless, certainly tedious. The screen is small and the map is rendered pathetically ugly and stupidly unreadable. As for zooming and scrolling, it is painfully slow. Calculating a route takes an age. Arm yourself with ample patience and goodwill when operating this thing, it looks and feels like a GPS from the stone age. Something as basic as orienting the map north or according to your direction of travel requires that you go into setup - there is no quick and easy way to do it.

As for trying to program a custom ride into this unit (a cue sheet) and have it give me turn by turn directions, it has been a total fiasco for the first 12 hours of trying (the route would look fine in whatever mapping software I was using but once in the Garmin it would inexplicably become a succession of U-turns)... until I got advice online to try Bike Route Toaster. That actually worked pretty well on paper. Why on earth couldn't Garmin provide such a tool to those that have paid quite a bit of money to buy one of their products? Oh, I get it! They want you to use MapSource which requires the purchase of City Navigator on DVD at an extra expense of $100 or so (even tho the Edge 705 model you just bought comes with City Navigator on a micro SD card). Brilliant.

So how does it work on the road? So and so. It's prone to recalculating your route which would not be a problem if it did it promptly. But it doesn't - it can take minutes. Or it'll simply crash (sometimes repeatedly) and you have to reboot it. And if while it was taking all its time recalculating the route you have been riding in a direction it didn't want you to ride, then it will start recalculating all over again. As for following a route (a cue sheet you have programmed), it just doesn't seem to work all that well more often than not. But you can just display the course on the map and do your own navigation without depending on the Edge to tell you where to turn. That actually works much better... but after loading a dozen routes my device consistently crashes 100% of the time. Why can't this device actually work and give you accurate turn by turn directions I'll never understand?

In a pinch you can also use your Edge 705 in a car and it does have a routing profile just for that purpose (it won't avoid highways as in bike mode). But inexplicably Garmin has failed to include a simple suction cup attachment so I'm not exactly sure how you are supposed to use it in a car other than holding it in your lap. Stupid.

As a power meter... well I'd rather not try. The Edge 705 is ANT+Sport compatible and can be paired to a power meter - for instance a new or upgraded Powertap hub. But here again the Edge is far from perfect. To begin with, it'll record your power data (or any other data for that matter - location, speed, etc) only if you have started the timer. In addition, at the recording interval of 1 second (which is what you need in order to get meaningful data for WKO+), it'll record for only 4.5 hours. Finally, it'll apply some custom algorithm to the data it saves so when you import it into WKO+ you will not get accurate numbers. So I've decided to save myself $100 on upgrading my Powertap hub to ANT+Sport standard and I'll just keep the Powertap computer on my handlebars because the Edge 705 is not a viable replacement.

So far I have mixed feelings about the Edge 705. Sure it's a cool gadget and having a GPS on your handlebars is fantastic (I don't have a car so finding places on my bike is important to me). But Garmin could learn how to do software better because what they have delivered miserably fails to match the potentials of this unit and crashes all the time to boot. The only people that could possibly give this unit a 5-star rating are those that haven't tried to use any of the more advanced features.

As for the so-called "owner's manual", it completely fails to document the majority of this unit's features leaving you totally bemused. Tech support is equally useless in my experience - after I complained about a couple of issues, they declared my unit "defective" and sent me a replacement one with the exact same problems. How smart is that? BTW, as I later found out, the unit was not defective, the software was. And still is.

So, simply stated, the biggest problem of the Edge 705 is that it is a niche product without any competition whatsoever so Garmin can get away with delivering inferior software that hasn't even been debugged. I can only wish Apple would come out with an iBike GPS and teach them how it's done.

If you don't need a bike computer with GPS functionality right this very instant, you would be much better off waiting for a more mature product to come along. Otherwise you have no choice but the buy the Edge 705.

Verdict: 2 stars out of 5, ample room for substantial improvements. Any device whose users go to online forums to compile long lists of issues and bugs is a device that should be avoided if anyhow possible.

Wife really likes it
My wife really likes this. She wouldn't let me install the cadence device though.... She didn't want to change the appearance of her bike. SHe downloads the info to her computer and keeps track of all her rides. Began with a PC but recently transferred everything to her Mac, now that Garmin discovered that Macs exist.... About the same time that PC users discovered that Vista PCs are shi......... If you use Vista, you should be aware that Garmin has the same software for Macs now. Get it. You won't be sorry

Garmon 705 bike computer
Very easy to use.A real help for the avid bike rider who wants their heart rate data,their cadance and ascent imformation

Coool unit!
Should have gotten the faster shipping because I *love* this unit! It is great fun to see the way your heart and cadence interact with the map. Do I need this? No! Do I think it is a great way to be a geek and have fun? Yes!

My only complaint with Garmin is that they need to get their new service online. They've owned MotionBased for awhile now and they are supposed to be making a "free" version available that will allow unlimited uploads. They need to get this done more quickly.

Only other nit is that you shouldn't bother with the non-street map version. It galls me that you have to spend another $100 for a unit that should have maps built-in already (let's face it... The Edge 705 is *not* an inexpensive toy!). Without the maps, the granularity of the GPS mapping data is pretty much useless. It only has the most major of streets.

Device ok, beware of Amazon pricing policy
Beware of deceptive Amazon pricing policy. I purchased on 8/26 at $649.99 from Amazon. I needed to pull up item today (9/1) on Amazon.com to get order details so I could write Garmin for City Navigator SD card instructions (City Navigator SD card does not come with any instructions) and was shocked to see that the same item is now being sold for $100 less. I called Amazon customer service to inquire about price guarantee. I was told that if Amazon itself is not selling product at the lower price, they will not provide price guarantee. So, buyer beware, whatever price you see Amazon offering might not be the best pricing they offer on their site, and if they under-cut their pricing a moment after you place your order by posting a lower price of another re-seller, it's your loss! Just bad Amazon pricing policy and a bad Amazon branding policy that creates a lousy Amazon buying experience. Take this risk into consideration as you buy this item.