Garmin 200 500 or 800?

[craven2354]

Hello guys and girls

I'm just wondering which of them is the best for my circumstances

I ride about 70-80 miles a week not commuting

And am looking to do some long touring kind of rides in 2013 as the 800 has maps that is the one I'm looking at
I plan on it being a Christmas gift but is the 800 worth the extra £120 or so extra

Also would you recommend the hrm and cadence sensor with them or just the system on its own?

 

[ianrauk]

In a nutshell.

The 200
If you just want to log your rides and/or follow a preloaded bread crumb route/course.

The 500
If you want the above: But also want to have HRM & Cadence readings

The 800
If you want all of the above: Plus full colour mapping & more.

Recommend the HRM & Cadence?
Well it's up to you. Will you find the information it provides useful?

 

[SquareDaff]

I have the 800 - ultimately I needed the maps - otherwise I would have gone for the 500.
Personally I find the HRM and Cadence useful - but each to their own.

 

[bobones]

I've never felt the need for maps, but couldn't do without cadence and HRM so the 500 is perfect for me. The 200 doesn't have ANT+ so that rules out extra sensors. The 800 maps might come in useful if you're lost, but you can also upload courses to the 500 and follow them with turn-by-turn prompts.

Decathlon sell cheaper ANT+ cadence and HRM so you could save some cash with these. I believe it is £16 for the cadence sensor and £22 for the HRM strap.

If you think the maps will be useful then get the 800 otherwise the smaller package and better battery life of the 500 might be preferable.

 

[Lee_M]

I have the 800 and find the maps really useful since I do a lot of random routes round essex and it helps me get home!

HRM I rarely use, cadence I use just to check how consisten Ive been

 

[Lee_M]

If you think the maps will be useful then get the 800 otherwise the smaller package and better battery life of the 500 might be preferable.

Depends on your ride time, but my 800 battery comfortably outlasts my legs

 

[Gary E]

Same as Lee_M above. I love my 800 as I have absolutely no sense of direction

It gives you tons of data, some of which is useful (distance, time, Av speed) and loads of stuff that's not so useful (to me) but is however quite interesting. I was very interested when I saw my average heart rate going down as I cycled more and also tried a few rides with high cadence versus low cadence.

As for the battery life I've found that to be excellent, I've done a few all day rides and come home with plenty of power remaining (in the 800, not my legs!)

 

[2wd]

Can I throwing your thoughts on the 705 please as I want one which has maps

 

[Gary E]

I have the 705 too (on my other bike) at first I kept the 705 when I got my 800 because I couldn't get the hang of the new one (they don't operate in the same way so I found it a bit annoying having to re-learn how to do stuff).
But now I'm up to speed I love my 800, the screen is bigger and it's a bit less glitchy (the 705 has crashed a couple of times, but that could just be mine).
To be honest there's not much to choose between them and if I'm honest the 705 was more than I needed for my level of riding. But remember Garmin don't make the 705 anymore so they will become harder to find.
Also, being a bit of a tart, the 800 looks a bit nicer with the carbon styling and it's got a higher number so it must be better

 

[Grayduff]

Any comments on the 305..just got one from Ebay...

 

[Robwiz]

Decathlon sell cheaper ANT+ cadence and HRM so you could save some cash with these. I believe it is £16 for the cadence sensor and £22 for the HRM strap.

Decathlon cadence sensor now £16.99 and HRM is £29.99.

 

[craven2354]

Do any of the garmins stop when you stop or is it more like a timer? As this could make a significant difference to avg speeds as I ride around the city . If not when I upload my rides to strava(which is possible right?) will strava count it as a whole ride or as stopped/moving times

 

[Rob3rt]

All of those Garmin can be set to auto pause when stationary or when below a pre-set speed, i.e. you might like to set it to stop when below 2 mph so it doesn't start again if you move the bike a bit.

However your average speed will not change, you are still going to cover the same distance in the same time, however you will now be recording what is referred to as moving average.

 

[lpretro1]

Have had an 800 since May and it is very good. I bought the bundle with the OS maps - well worth it as i use it on and off-road. Used it touring in Spain (bought a City Navigator map card for £34 for that) and it was just as good.

 

[smokeysmoo]

My 200 does all I need and does it brilliantly, and as it will only have cost me £80 brand new when I eventually get a cheque from Garmin it was excellent VFM.

FYI, NotThatJasonKenny of this parish has a brand new 605 he may be selling if you're interested.