Garmin Edge 205/305 Questions

[oxford_guy]

Hi - I'm starting to consider it might be worth getting a GPS unit for cycle touring, but am not sure I can justify the expense of the Garmin Edge 606/705 (though they're very tempting...), the Garmin Edge 205 and 305 are much cheaper, however I'm wondering how useful these would be without on-screen maps - maybe I'm missing something, but how can these help you navigate if they don't have maps?

Also - as far as I can tell, the main difference between the Edge 205 and 305 is that the 305 has a barmoetric altimeter and shows elevation data on sceen - is this worth the extra cost? Does the 205 show the gradient (e.g. "12%") that your cycling up? Thanks!

 

[Will1985]

They can't help you navigate unless you preload a route line. You can put down markers such as home and work etc to point you in the general direction.

The 305 can also work with a GSC10, but that isn't really relevant for touring. I find the barometric altimeter on the 705 a bit variable depending on the weather when you turn it on from day to day.

 

[therams]

I use the 305, download routes from map my ride and they are quite easy to follow. It certainly lets me set off into the unknown, with out fear of getting lost.

You can also get it to "point" in the direction of home, something that I have also had to rely on a few times!

The 305 is only worth it (over the 205), if you are going to get the cadence and heart rate monitor IMHO.

 

[Darryl]

I realise that this is backwards but I find the data my 205 stores really useful after a ride to show where I really went and use a combination of a paper map and a downloaded route to find my way.

I havent noticed a gradient option