Garmin warning!

[gnat23]

I know the Garmin GPS bike units have been a favorite toy of myself and several others on this board, so I figured I'd give a heads-up:

The Edge, apparently including the 205, 305, and 705, have a bit of an engineering flaw in which it will spontaneously turn off during a ride.

When it first happened to me, I thought it was my own fault. Turn back on, it talks to the mothership, hit start and keep going. But it has started happening more and more often now, to the point where it happened three times in the first twenty minutes of a charity ride. On the same ride, my boyfriend's 305 turned off *seven* times. And this is his fourth or fifth time sending it back to Garmin now.

A bit of net research has shown this not to be isolated to just us, either (so no local black-hole arguments here). A bit of a net hunt found that vibrations cause the battery contacts to disconnect, and that if one wishes to void their warranty fully, you can take it apart, clean and "refresh" (i.e., bend) the springs a bit, and try to waterproof it again with rubber cement. I don't trust myself well enough with small electronic bits to do it myself, but it's an option when you don't have anything else to turn to. http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/in...=6566.msg42076

The other option is to call Garmin and sit on hold for 30+ minutes, talk to customer service who says if you've had it more than a year, then it'll cost $99 to repair, or you can hold 20 minutes again for tech support, who then waves the fee. Weird. Anyway, you mail your toy in and wait for the refurb to show back up which will likely have the same problem sooner or later.

I'm mostly ticked for the following reasons:
- I wish Garmin would admit that this is a problem. There's no mention of it on their website, and since the 705 is starting to do it, there appears to be no idea of them, you know, fixing the root cause. We're not talking about mountain biking over jumps or logs, either, this is road bikes on pretty smooth stuff; are they really not designed to handle normal vibrations?

- I wish customer service was better. Or I wish there was another company's product that had the same functionality but better customer service so I could speak with my cash.

- I wish that I had some confidence that sending it in for refurbishing and feeling naked for 1-2 weeks without any data gathering really fixed it. Or that I could have an excuse to upgrade to a 705 and not only have COLOR MAPS! but also something reliable.

- You really haven't lived until you've been on a long ride, realized that the thing's turned off again, and you almost turn around and go back because you're so mad at the device. You start noticing that it's rather flat on top with rounded edges and wonder how many times it would skip across that lake right there... Do you keep futzing with it, wondering how many times you can sanely accept turning it back on during a ride or resign to the punishment of sending it in at the prime of the season?

Oh yah, did I mention that the calorie-counter resets when this happens, and that it's pretty random as to which parts of your segmented ride it keeps when it downloads to the computer? Grr.

-- gnat! (I miss my broken toy)

[Mr. Bloom]

Wow! One of the guys in my pace line on RAIN had the problem...I was thinking it was isolated, but alas, there does seem to be a pattern.

I'd be furious. We were just talking the other night about how numbers oriented I am...and I too would feel naked if I didn't have my numbers...

One of TrekJeni's friend said that they also don't warrant against damage from a driving rain, has anyone had problems due to rain?

[Mr. SR500]

I've had good luck with mine, over 7,000 miles and no problems to speak of. I'm sorry you are having problems. Hope you get it repaired to your satisfaction.

[7rider]

I've had good luck with mine, over 7,000 miles and no problems to speak of. I'm sorry you are having problems. Hope you get it repaired to your satisfaction.

Same here (well, just shy of 7K, but getting there soon!). My problems are all of the "user error" type.

I seem to have more issues with the Training Center software on the p.c. I just upraded to the newer version (v. 3.4.3) and I don't particularly care for it.

[Aggie_Ama]

I wonder if they are working on that? My husband really wants me to get a Garmin but I am leery of spending $600 on a bike computer (we have been looking at the 705). I have a $40 Cateye, not exactly an investment of this magnitude.

[HoosierGiant]

DH just waited two weeks for his replacement unit to show up, for the very issue you mentioned -- it would randomly turn itself off on rides. Very frustrating because he never knew what portion of the ride statistics it would retain once he turned it back on after realizing it was AWOL. He didn't have any issues with Garmin customer service, but then he has a little bit of leverage -- this is the second time he's had to replace a unit, although I don't remember what the first time was for. So, yes, he's actually on his third Edge 305 because you never get yours back, just a refurbished unit.

He's the numbers-driven, data guy, so I understand your anxiety over riding 'naked'. On the other hand, I like having access to the data while I'm riding, but couldn't care less once I'm done. Crunching the numbers doesn't entice me, and I'll often wait to download a week's worth of rides at a time. Ironically, my Edge 305 has been the reliable unit to this point. We often ride together, on the same cruddy chip 'n seal roads, so it's a mystery as to why his unit is cantankerous and mine is well-behaved.

The only issue I've had is that I'll plot/download a course and discover part way through the ride that the virtual training partner has decided to mutiny -- frozen in both time and space, with directions for home locked tightly in its tiny little brain. Gulp! And it only happens on rides over 60 miles. Not the best of circumstances for little ol' directionally challenged me who can ride a road numerous times and still not recognize it the next time I see it...

[SouthernBelle]

As to surviving in the rain, I've never trusted electronics to survive in that. So I have a sandwich bag and a rubber band in my saddle bag for just such an occasion.

[BikeDutchess]

I have the exact same problem with random turn-offs and it's driving me nuts. I'll have to find time to deal with customer service because I don't trust myself to fiddle with the "innards".

[F8th637]

As to surviving in the rain, I've never trusted electronics to survive in that. So I have a sandwich bag and a rubber band in my saddle bag for just such an occasion.

I've ridden with mine in the rain and it still works great!

[SadieKate]

I seem to have more issues with the Training Center software on the p.c. I just upraded to the newer version (v. 3.4.3) and I don't particularly care for it.

Helloo-oo!

SportTracks

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ht=sporttracks

[Fujichants]

I got the 305 for my BF and the only issue he is having with it (so far) is that the calorie reading is completely off. He seems to burn thousands more calories than me - and that was never the case when he had his Polar.

[limewave]

DH has had problems with his since I got it for him 2 years ago. We assumed it was some kind of reception problem, good to know it's not just us! I'm calling customer service today.

[Tokie]

Sorry to hear about your demon Garmin. I have odd problems with mine, my husband's - never! I say that my Garmin hates me. This summer I got the auto shut off problem too, on my tour from Wyoming through South Dakota. Then I noticed that it never shut off while my bike was at rest (eating yet another another truckstop meal). My mounting plate had a teensy bit of play in it. We replaced the plate, rock solid, but it will still shut itself off if I am on some really really washboard road. Next time I'm riding on super rough stuff, I may secure the Garmin in my pocket to save my frustration. tokie

[smilingcat]

From the sound of things, if it is losing connection intermittently from the battery, a quick way to fix that is to add a "super cap" across the battery terminals. It would add about $1.00 to the production cost. Why don't one of you suggest that to Garmin when you talk to their rep.

Sometimes, a simple solution is the best. Sometimes, engineers just can't see the obvious. I should know I work with whole bunch of the most pig headed/obnoxious/sutbborn men I've ever known.

smilingcat

[dachshund]

Well darn. I've had mine a month and it's done this once already. Now I know what creates those maps that have a long straight line in them, which I see on motionbased sometimes. So maybe it isn't something that develops over time.