Wireless Bike computers - what are the options?
Discussion
I just bought an Edge 500, with all the bits (cadence sensor, heart monitor, wheel speed sensor) for £170 on ebay. There are deals there. It's not that much more than the 200, but you can monitor other stuff, and it is backlit, and you get to use Garmin Connect with it (their website for uploading it all).
It's worth looking at
It's worth looking at
I got a 200 for Christmas, it does have a back light and I leave mine on its lowest setting. I normally ride 3 hours or so and it uses about 20% of its power. Easy to use and you can upload your rides on to Garmin Connect. I personally didnt see the need to measure everything as am not a serious street racer. Great piece of kit though and would highly recommend.
Reardy Mister said:
Does the 200 not offer the Garmin connect facility?
Sorry I worded my post badly - yes it does. In fact, as I have done, you can upload any file to Garmin Connect (I had a program on my iPhone called CycleMeter for example that I could do it with).What I meant to say was that with the 500 you can connect ANT+ accessories such as the heart rate monitor, cadence etc and therefore the graphs and analysis with garmin connect is even more fun/interesting
I have a Edge 500 with the H/R monitor, cadence sensor and speed sensor - great bit of kit, easy to sync with Garminconnect, MapMyRide and most importantly Strava!!
The question comes down to what you want to use it for. When I bought mine I was only using it to record my tracks and getting better at riding/training, for which its excellent. However, I recently started doing XC on the MTB's and the Edge does not support navigation, so I have just bought a Garmin Dakota - excellent bit of kit for MTB navigation and route tracking. It does not have all of the fitness features of the Edge and it not as straightforward to sync with the online fitness centres but is a good bit of kit.
I now use the Edge 500 on my road bike, and the Dakota on my MTB's.
My advice would be, if there is a slim chance that you might want a fitness computer and navigation aid in the future spend a little extra now and go for the Edge 800, if you are only ever going to use it for training and recording your route then splash out on the Edge 500! I bought both devices from Handtec, they were the cheapest for new kit on the net.
The question comes down to what you want to use it for. When I bought mine I was only using it to record my tracks and getting better at riding/training, for which its excellent. However, I recently started doing XC on the MTB's and the Edge does not support navigation, so I have just bought a Garmin Dakota - excellent bit of kit for MTB navigation and route tracking. It does not have all of the fitness features of the Edge and it not as straightforward to sync with the online fitness centres but is a good bit of kit.
I now use the Edge 500 on my road bike, and the Dakota on my MTB's.
My advice would be, if there is a slim chance that you might want a fitness computer and navigation aid in the future spend a little extra now and go for the Edge 800, if you are only ever going to use it for training and recording your route then splash out on the Edge 500! I bought both devices from Handtec, they were the cheapest for new kit on the net.
Viperzs said:
Ah.They look good, I like the compass graphic. Ive gone and bought the Edge 200 now anyway. Not that keen to have the ride further complicated by HRMs and etc etc at this stage.
How far, where and how fast are all Im interested in really.
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