Buy Garmin Edge 205 GPS-Enabled Cycling ComputerGarmin Edge 205 GPS-Enabled Cycling Computer Product Description:
- Monitor Emphasizes Form Factor, Feature Set & GPS Sensitivity
- Includes Highly Sensitive GPS Receiver For Accurate Data
- Sirf-Stariii Receiver For Great Reception In Challenging Conditions
- Lightweight & Waterproof
- Monitors Vertical Profiles, Climb & Descent, Altitude, Speed, Distance & Time
Product Description
Take your ride to the next level with the Edge 205 Garmins GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer. Perfect for touring and the trails, the lightweight Edge is the ultimate fitness partner. With the easy-to-use Edge 205 on your bike, you always know where you are going and how far you have gone. The Edge 205 measures speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent, plus much more. 205 features include: Easy-to-install - no calibration required. Just snap it in the included bike mount and go High-sensitivity GPS receiver knows your position even in tree cover and canyons, making it extremely reliable for navigation Customizable cycle computer shows up to eight different data fields for continuous feedback Virtual Partner lets you race a virtual competitor, making training fun Courses lets you race against a recorded course to try to match previously set speeds at every point along the way Auto Pause 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 Auto Lap automatically triggers a lap every time you pass a specified location or travel a preset distance Training Center software gives you the ability to create workouts, manage and download courses, and create a detailed post-ride analysis that charts your performance With its waterproof, sleek design, the Edge is the perfect companion on any bike, and attaches to either the stem or handlebars. Its rugged case frames an easy-to-read, large, backlit display that can show up to eight different data fields along with altitude and a map view. Included Training Center software gives you the ability to overlay your ride data onto a course map. It offers interactive analysis tools that measure your speed, distance, climb, and descent against varying terrain, elevation and more. Create and schedule custom workouts or use workout templates and download to the Edge. Cyclists: get your Edge from Garmin
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
Addressing accuracy concerns...
By D. Morrison
I got my 205 this weekend, and after reading reviews here, I was concerned about the accuracy, especially when elevation is involved. To this end, I left my Cat Eye Mity 8 on the bike for the first ride so that I could compare the two. Before I actually used the Edge on the bike, I updated the software from the Garmin website. There are two updates you need to install - the GPS firmware, and the device firmware. The ride I went on was a 33 mile road loop, 5000ft to 6150ft, with a 6 mile, 3% average grade hill.Speed: I was worried that the speed of the GPS would lag, but it updated as fast as the Cat Eye, and was more precise, since the Cat Eye only shows speed in increments of 0.5 mph above 20 mph.Distance: The GPS recorded a distance of 33.32 miles, and the Cat Eye recorded 33.66 miles. I think that matching each other within 1/100 of a mile per mile is pretty amazing. On the open road (in NM roads can get pretty open), GPS accuracy was reported as 8ft to 10 ft - that's less than two bike lengths.Elevation: The elevation seemed more or less accurate, and the curve drawn in the software is very smooth. The percent grade seemed very accurate, and matched percent grade that I calculated using TOPO! elevation profiles.Calories burned: Without a heart rate monitor, I think this estimate is bunk. It's unclear if it uses percent grade in the estimate, and I have a hard time imagining that I burned 2000 calories on that 33 mile ride. On the other hand, it's a great excuse for a post ride burrito.Software: The software (on my Mac) is easy to use, and displays information in a useful manner. It is a one step operation to make a route into a course, and one more step to put the course on the GPS. When you "Do the Course" (Garmin's term), it shows you a map, a compass, your virtual riding partner, or an elevation profile. Note that there is no elevation profile when you are not "Doing a Course", but that seems OK to me - after all, you can look behind you to see what you just climbed up. You really want a profile to show you how close you are to a summit or flat, and that is only possible when the entire route is known ahead of time (i.e. a "course").Issues: There are some issues. Just like my old ETrex, the map never centers itself well on the screen. The Lap and Start/Stop buttons are sensative, so you need to be careful not to hit them if you do something like stretch over the stem while riding. The USB port cover is indeed a pain to get fitted correctly. The screen is harder to see, especially in dim light, than my Cat Eye is.Other Notes: The Edge 205 comes with two bike mounts, so don't order two extras for three bikes, like I did. Also, the water bottle that comes with the 205 is twist open to drink, so it's not a bike bottle. Sort of dumb, but then who buys this thing for the bottle?Bottom Line: I have no regrets about buying the Edge, and no regrets about getting the 205 rather than the 305. I'll be taking my Mity 8 off the bike tonight.
107 of 120 people found the following review helpful.
A GPS that cannot tell you where you are!
By Michel4388
Starting with some positive comments, the unit itself (hardware) is nice, it's slightly larger (thicker) than a standard mobile phone and feels sturdy. The screen is clear (but small) and buttons feel nice and are well placed. The unit has the new SirfStarIII technology for increased sensitivity, e.g. under tree cover, and my limited experience until now is that the reception is indeed good.So not a bad unit, but it should be understood that this unit is set up as a trip computer, and not as a navigation unit (although it does have some navigation options). It has some nice options like racing a virtual partner, which are well documented on the Garmin web-page. What the web-page does not make very clear though is:- It cannot give you the current position!!!- It does not have WAAS/EGNOS for better location precision- It does not have the "Upcoming turn feature" that the Geko hasAs a trip computer it has the following limitations:- The speed it gives fluctuates significantly more than with a normal (simple) cycle computer with a wheel sensor.- The height fluctuates so much that the grade it gives is completely useless (note that the Edge 305 should be better as it has a barometric sensor as well). Also, the total ascent and descent will systematically be too high. In a test I left the Edge for two hours in the same place, and had it record every second. Minimum height was 51m, maximum height 84m, total ascent 215m, total descent 218m, and maximum speed 3.5km/h.The included Garmin training center software works okay, but is very limited:- You cannot combine tracks (to upload to the Edge e.g.).- You cannot compare more than two tracks.- It only exports data in Garmins own (and uncommon) .hst file formatAlso note that if you want to overlay your track onto a map, you will need other software. The user manual (printed out) isokay but also very limited.The Edge comes with a rechargeable battery that is not user exchangeable (tip: instead of using the car-charger, it may be possible to use a universal USB car charger and the supplied cable at a fraction of the cost. Note however that I have not yet tested this).I mainly bought this unit to map mountainbiking tracks in order to be able to combine the best trails into some nice routes, and then use the Edge to find the routes. Using some third party software, this is possible, but it should have been much easier. I assumed I would be able to use it together with a map while hiking, and was very (and unpleasantly) suprised to learn that I bought a GPS that cannot tell me where I am.I am still hoping that Garmin can do an update of the firmware (I am using version 2.30 now) such that the unit gives the current location (ideally with an option for different grids). Without this option, two stars is all it gets from me.
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful.Very cool, very useful, and very informative
By Andrew Kent
I was a bit dubious about swapping out my regular cyclocomputer, especially for the extra dollars. Could something like the Edge 205 really give me that much more than the distance, speed, and time information I usually acquired with my $30 computer? Well, after a few rides with the 205, I can say that I'm a fan. The thing went on in a jiffy, works like a charm, and gives me all sorts of information I didn't have before. Wonder why that hill is so tough? Well, dummy, it's 13% grade. Didn't know that before. Wonder how much of that ride was spent ascending? Oh, about 1/3. Didn't know that before. How much climbing did I do on that ride? Oh, about 2,500 feet. Didn't know that before. And all this from a ride I've done at least a dozen times, and one I consider to be a "throwaway" training ride. A very cool, useful, and informative device. Well done, Garmin.
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Falls a bit short of my expectations
