Quick! Question about Garmin 305

[sundial]

How do I change it to bike 2? :confused:

[Mr. Bloom]

Mode to MAIN MENU (three clicks for me)

Settings

Bike Profile

[sundial]

OK, thanks!

Hubby was setting up his Tricross for the ride today and I couldn't find any info in the Garmin FAQ's. Do you still like your Garmin? Does the battery wear down fast? Does the display quit mid-cycling?

[Mr. Bloom]

I still love it and I'm having no problems with it.

I have heard of others have a problem with it quitting in the middle of a ride...and I think there was a thread about that relating to batteries being shaken loose from contant bumps...warranty?

I have had a problem with the cadence counter and finally just removed it...

[sundial]

The reason I ask.....I have a Polar that is becoming problematic. I have been toying with getting a Garmin 705 but I'm not the techiest kid on the block. :o

[OakLeaf]

Apparently there are known issues with the cadence sensor. Mine quit working for a couple of weeks this winter. It wasn't the receiver, because it was picking up another guy's cadence sensor just fine. I tried four different batteries and it still didn't work. Sometimes the setup light would flash when the crank went by; sometimes not; one time it flashed for no apparent reason when the crank wasn't even moving. So I called Garmin and they sent me a new sender, no questions asked.

Then before I could install it my old one started working again - although it has quit briefly twice more, I'm still using it. :o


ETA: The cadence sensor is the same across all the models, but the known issues with the 705 are different from the ones with the 305. On the 705, there was a firmware issue with random shutdowns that's been resolved. On the 305, it was a hardware issue.

I haven't actually used the 705 on a long enough ride yet for the unit battery to become an issue - is that what you mean? The longest I've had it turned on was about 8-1/2 hours. On my old 301, the predicted battery life of about 13 hours was pretty accurate. Both of them will charge overnight with a USB battery pack on multi-day rides.

I just started tracking sender battery life (I love SportTracks), so it'll be a while before I know how many hours they're good for. But so far, I've burned up two cadence sensor batteries by forgetting to park with the crank turned away from the sensor. :rolleyes: For the HRM on the 301, I would guess I've been getting pretty close to Garmin's predicted 180 hours, maybe a bit less; but the 305/705 have a different HR strap, so that may be different.

I find the 705 very easy to set up and use.

[Mr. Bloom]

Well that's still a good deal...the cadence counter costs $60...and now you have 2!


The reason I ask.....I have a Polar that is becoming problematic. I have been toying with getting a Garmin 705 but I'm not the techiest kid on the block. :o

Garmin 705? I'm jealous!

[sundial]

So I called Garmin and they sent me a new sender, no questions asked.

On the 705, there was a firmware issue with random shutdowns that's been resolved.

I haven't actually used the 705 on a long enough ride yet for the unit battery to become an issue - is that what you mean?

Oakleaf, thanks for the info. Polar service is rather ridiculous--you have to pay a min. of $25 just to change out a $2.00 battery and pay shipping both ways. :mad: As for the random shutdowns on the Garmin, that's what I was wondering and I guess it's been resolved. And I was wondering what the battery life was on a long ride. When you find out, let us know. :)

[Mr. Bloom]

Last year, my battery lasted for the 8 hour long RaIN ride...with some time left.

[OakLeaf]

Garmin service is some of the best in the business. DH has lots of time with tech support on the auto/mc units and always speaks very highly of them. This is my first experience with them.

While I had them on the phone, I asked about a new USB port cover for the 301, which is over three years old. It's just a rubber cover and it had broken off. From my experience with other companies, I was expecting that most likely a replacement cover wouldn't be available and if it was, I'd have to pay for it since it was a discontinued unit, two years out of warranty. Garmin sent me two of those for free, too. :):)

[sundial]

I want the Garmin Chipotle team (http://www.velonews.com/photo/85295) color. :cool: