Garmin Edge review

Wednesday, June 3rd 2009 - 22:45 CEST - Comments: 0

T his time I am reviewing a device made for the serious cyclist; the Garmin Edge 705 HR. The many possibilities of this advanced bike computer specifically target this group. Navigation software can also be used, however; that is not the core value of this device. The Garmin Edge is a training device, supporting training sessions. Not only in its ability to register performance like speed, distance and heart rate, but also to plan workouts.

• Read our full Garmin Edge review.

 

Garmin Edge review - Design of the Garmin Edge 705 HR

The fact that we are dealing with a sporty device is obvious. All superfluous items have been left out, the material feels solid and the Garmin Edge 705 HR has a beautiful and neat design. On the front, two buttons can be found along with a mini joystick right below the monitor. The buttons serve to start and end speed measurement and to calculate lap times. The red button serves as reset button. It's too bad that the 'reset' letters are in red too which makes it difficult to read. The so-called joystick is located between the buttons and is used to scroll through menus and as Enter button. Furthermore, there are two more buttons to zoom in on the map page and a button on the right side of the Garmin Edge to call up the main menu. The main menu can be called up at any time, so time is not wasted flipping screens.

 

 

Garmin Edge test - Bike computer with GPS navigation function

The main difference between a luxurious bike computer and the Edge is the GPS function. This costs an additional 200 Euros (approximately). You then have a fully built-in navigation option. There is not that much room on the 'dashboard' of a bicycle. In this case, we only need one device for all these features. Although there are currently many enhanced bike computers, they lack the ability to plan routes or to find locations. During cycling trips, entering a waypoint as your starting point is often done to allow you to cycle around carelessly through the area. Points of Interest also provide all kinds of handy background information.

 

 

Garmin Edge 705 HR review

Bike computers that can only measure speed and distance have been outdated for several years now. Today, these devices can track all sorts of data from our cycling trips. And Garmin even took it one step further. GPS functions have been added to a device that is not much bigger than a speedometer. To what extent this is a useful enhancement is assessed in the following Garmin Edge 705 HR review.

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