I have the Forerunner 305 and really dislike it but the Edge is supposed to have better elevation readings which is one of my major complaints. That said, I'm thinking seriously of taking the Forerunner back and getting the Edge 305 though I am hesitant about the latter part at least based on my experience with the forerunner.

The Garmin HRM isn't always accurate, especially going downhill. You can get big jumps in your readings if you wear synthetic jerseys and they flap in the wind (!). The HRM band is also way too big for me even at the smallest setting which means I have to tie a knot in it and so can't wear it if I am carrying anything on my back. Not typical for most people's training rides, I realize.

The Garmin software also leaves a lot to be desired and they are VERY slow to update it, including motionbased, their web-based software. BTW, I'd be very hesitant to sign up for that. I did and the site is down a lot, but worse I've gotten unnerving login errors from other accounts.

The good stuff...it's great to be able to look at a map of your rides, see totals, averages, etc. It captures just about everything, the accuracy just leaves a lot to be desired in the case of the Forerunner. They are really cool devices in theory but they are not without their bugs. I just don't know if there is anything better?

The Edge 305 has a barometric altimeter auto-calibrated by GPS, but I've still read a lot of reports of elevation jumping suddenly by thousands of feet, etc.

Can anyone confirm/deny these accounts?

But in short, a definite yes to the new bike deserves new toys rule!

Anne