Garmin Edge 605 vs. Garmin Etrex Vista Hcx

[cheadle hulme]

It doesn't *show* POIs by default, as when you got to a village or town there would be lots of clutter - the screen would be covered in them, there's cash machines, garages, hotels, everything.

Mine does. I've loaded a few POI files (campsites, bikeshops, Lidl's) and they all show up on low zoom. Only custom POI files do this mind. And if I declutter the map most of them go.

Btw, if you have loaded POI files, you can search by file. When in the search POI screen, hit the menu button and press select database". You'll then get a list of POI files loaded and the searches are much quicker.

 

[Joe24]

Ahhh right, cheers Bonj
The 205 might be what i go for, im sort of after it more for training with slight navigation, but with limited funds its not so easy.
I would like a HCX with the city navigator in it though, but think that will be too expensive.
(birthday preasent to myself as my mum wont get me anything for my bike, she instead wants to get me a camera, which i wont use)

The 205 i think will fill my needs though, the other thing i was to be able to do on it is to save a route that i do, like when i go into Derbyshire on a ride, so i can store it and do it another time.
Im guessing the 205 can do this, or would it be better for me to add the route in manualy?

 

[bonj2]

example: the red dots are the points connecting the line you have drawn on the route plotting software.
i bet you can guess where having the unit on 'follow roads' mode is going to take you, and where you would see to go with the unit on 'off roads' mode.

 

[Joe24]

example: the red dots are the points connecting the line you have drawn on the route plotting software.
i bet you can guess where having the unit on 'follow roads' mode is going to take you, and where you would see to go with the unit on 'off roads' mode.

I get you Bonj, the unit will take you on the curve of that road, whereas the ofroad mode will take you on the line instead.

Thanks Bonj

 

[bonj2]

Ahhh right, cheers Bonj
The 205 might be what i go for, im sort of after it more for training with slight navigation, but with limited funds its not so easy.
I would like a HCX with the city navigator in it though, but think that will be too expensive.
(birthday preasent to myself as my mum wont get me anything for my bike, she instead wants to get me a camera, which i wont use)

The city navigator you can get extra at a later date. It's a separate add-on and can be used with eithe rthe etrex vista OR the 205 - BUT if you get it on DVD and 'unlock' it to one unit, that copy of city navigator can't then transfer maps to any other unit!
If you use it without city navigator, then you will still be able to see roads when creating routes 'cos you can use bikehike. And the screen at any point will display the part of the line you created that you're currently on, it just won't show the roads as well. For isntance if your route went left at a cross roads, when you get to it you won't know whether it's left at a cross roads, left at a T junction, or just left off the main road, but you'll know it's left.

It will show major roads, but only really major roads - and don't EVER use follow roads mode on the unit without the full maps loaded onto the unit! I experienced this when on an audax and i had forgot to transfer the south wales bit of the maps, so south of abergavenny i had no roads and since i'd drawn a route that wasn't particularly conducive to using off roads mode on the unit, i couldn't see the line. so i told it to direct me to 'anywhere in chepstow', where next control was, which i knew was about 20 miles away, and it tried to take me about 100 miles west and then back east down the M4!

The 205 i think will fill my needs though, the other thing i was to be able to do on it is to save a route that i do, like when i go into Derbyshire on a ride, so i can store it and do it another time.
Im guessing the 205 can do this, or would it be better for me to add the route in manualy?

It can do that.
if you like the 205 go for that, it's ok - it's slimmer than the etrex and is quite a nice unit. But i didn't think it was any cheaper?
If you get problems with it corrupting the recordings or turning itself off i'm sure you could raise a support call with garmin and they'll probably sort it. In hindsight that's possibly what i should have done but i did want the replaceable batteries as well and had someone willing to buy it.

 

[bonj2]

I get you Bonj, the unit will take you on the curve of that road, whereas the ofroad mode will take you on the line instead.

Thanks Bonj

yep. when you plotted the route you didn't intend to take the left turn, but the line you've drawn strays slightly over the boundary that defines that road - if you used the unit in 'follow roads' mode, it would tell you to take that left turn, but if you used it in off roads mode, it doesn't tell you anything - you just look at the line - which you would see goes straight on.

 

[Joe24]

You can have city navigator on the 205? How does that work

Im going to look at the HCX tomorrow to see if i can get one into work and get a good discount on it.
Hopefully i can, not going to be till the end of sept till i can get one anyway, but better to start looking around now.

Thanks for the help bonj

 

[CopperBrompton]

So, what advantage does the 605 have over the HCx

The 605 is more of a training aid; the HCx is more focused on navigation.

A big advantage of the HCx is battery-life. It gives almost 24 hours on a pair of Eneloop AAs, and of course you can carry spares with you for a longer tour.

Ive been looking for a local shop that sell the HCx, but i cant find any, anyone got a clue?

Bought mine online.

Ben

 

[andrew_s]

+1 for Andy's maps. I've updated mine a few times.

Do I tell you Andy if I spot any spelling mistakes?

you log on to OpenStreetmap and correct the mistake yourself. Same if there's a missing road or similar.

 

[oxford_guy]

The 605 is more of a training aid; the HCx is more focused on navigation.

A big advantage of the HCx is battery-life. It gives almost 24 hours on a pair of Eneloop AAs, and of course you can carry spares with you for a longer tour.

I had a hands-on look at both the eTrex Vista HCx and the Edge 605/705 in some local stores today, I have to say that, other short-comings aside, the Edge 605/705 beats the HCx hands down on aesthetics, quite apart from just looking much cuter, the unit (but not the screen) is quite a bit smaller (especially less thick) and the controls are better laid out from a cyclist's point of view (also probably better from a driver's point of view, if using in a car, though I think the Vista HCx would be a better fit in the hand for hiking etc.). Also, the included mount for the 605/705 allows you to fit it on the stem without having to hack a mount together...

Given that you can recharge the Edge 605/705 from AA batteries using an adaptor like this the non-removable internal battery is less of an issue for touring. So, I'm now again torn between the 605/705 and the HCx...

The long-term life of the internal battery is an issue, of course, but I'm going to try to get in touch with Garmin to see if its possible to send the unit in to have the battery replaced if it wears out. The problems that bonj encountered with the 605 are, of course, a concern, but I'm wondering if firmware updates would fix some/all of these? What version of the 605 firmware were you running? As far as I can tell from reports, the latest 2.8 solves many (though not all) problems that earlier versions had. There's a summary of the firmware improvements here: http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_edge705-firmware-upgrades_en.html

 

[Joe24]

Im torn between the vista hcx, the 205 and the 605.
Depending on if my work can get them in and what price for, depends which one.
The problems Bonj has are a concern, which puts me off the 605.

How is the 605/205 better for training?
Im going towards the vista hcx more at the moment.

Question is, if i get a vista HCX or a 205/605, can i use them instead of my bike computer and just get rid of the bike computer?

The non rechargable batteries in the hcx puts me off aswel.

 

[oxford_guy]

Im torn between the vista hcx, the 205 and the 605.

The 205 is cheap, but has no built-in mapping

Depending on if my work can get them in and what price for, depends which one.
The problems Bonj has are a concern, which puts me off the 605.

How is the 605/205 better for training?

The 605 has a "virtual partner" built in that you can race against. The 705 adds cadence and heart sensors and has a barometric altimeter (in theory, more accurate than GPS-only)

Im going towards the vista hcx more at the moment.

Question is, if i get a vista HCX or a 205/605, can i use them instead of my bike computer and just get rid of the bike computer?

You could, but I wouldn't use either the HCx or 205/605 for daily use, partly because of the charging issue. I've just bought a VDO X2DW computer for everyday use.

The non rechargable batteries in the hcx puts me off aswel.

Well you can buy rechargable AA batteries, no?

I'm still torn between the two, though the better aesthetics and mounting options for the 605/705 are very appealing!

 

[Joe24]

The 205 is cheap, but has no built-in mapping
Yes i know
The 605 has a "virtual partner" built in that you can race against. The 705 adds cadence and heart sensors and has a barometric altimeter (in theory, more accurate than GPS-only)
So the only bit that helps training is the virtual partner? Ill soon loose interest in that
You could, but I wouldn't use either the HCx or 205/605 for daily use, partly because of the charging issue. I've just bought a VDO X2DW computer for everyday use.
What are the charging issues?
Well you can buy rechargable AA batteries, no?
Yes
I'm still torn between the two, though the better aesthetics and mounting options for the 605/705 are very appealing!

The thing that still puts me off the 605 is the problems that Bonj had. And ofcourse the price.

 

[Will1985]

The 205 has a virtual partner as well!

If you want it for "training", then the 305 and 705 are the ones to go for. I find the barometric altimeter very variable even when doing circuits, and it doesn't add much to the experience...it can tell you where you've been (which can be done by upload 205 data to bikely), but both can tell you the elevation profile ahead if you upload a course to the device.

 

[Joe24]

Well, i can see me uploading routes to it, but when out on club rides recording those into it aswell.
The virtual partner i think may be useful when doing a TT.
The cadence sensor/hrm i dont really need, i know about what cadence im doing and ive never been hugely interested in my heart rate.

It all depends on if i can get them ordered into work, then ill make the decision i think.
If not, then the 205 will be what i go for i think.

I do like the idea of it being able to tell me where to go, and if i need it to just take me home when im lost, but maybe this will make me abit too lazy and too reliable on it?

Whats the charging issue on them?