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Worth upgrading to Edge 305 from 205?

847 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Destroy 
#1 · (Edited)
Got a 205 for Xmas. Seems neat but have yet to actually use it. Winter here.

How useful is the heartrate monitor and improved altimeter?

I live in WI and the trails I ride on are usually very quick, short hills of say 20feet of steep climb, crest hill, go down other side then small 60 foot flat with then say a 40ft steep hill, got for flatish section of 300ft, rinse, repeat varying feet measurements, etc, etc. Max hill climb or elevation change is probably like vertical of 150feet or so.

Will the 305 be able to accurately record my heart rate and the corrisponding small altitude changes in such riding conditions under a thick wooded canopy?

Or should I just keep the cheaper 205 and assume both these Edge units will only get 'close round about figures' regardless of which one I have.
 
#2 ·
Generic non-commital answer :)

Hey- you must've been good this year for Santa to deliver that! I gotta figure that out one of these days!

I recently got a 305, but ditto on the winter here in North Idaho, so I've only gotten 2 rides out of it. From what I can tell, it's definately got the accuracy to meet your concerns. Check out the postings of one of my rides for yourself: http://rekibnikufesin.motionbased.com

I guess the answer to the second part of the question regarding the usefullness depends on the level of geek-dom to which you measure yourself. For me, it's just an average (and novelty factor), I don't really worry about it beat-for-beat, just staying within a range.

Hope that helps.
 
#3 ·
I just got a 305 after long deliberation between it and a 205. I got the 305 mainly for the improved altimeter since I already have a heart rate monitor. (I've not used the heart rate monitor much for mountain biking, but it's been useful on the road.) Have only had it on one test walk with the heart rate monitor so far, but I can already see some advantages to having the two coupled. For example, you can plot grade and heart rate on the same graph to see how they are related - which is pretty interesting.

Now, whether that is worth it or not does depend on the level of geekdom you aspire to:D
 
#5 · (Edited)
Well from what I can tell looking at tons of charts, NEITHER of these are going to be sensitive enough to accurately map out the elevation terrain I usually ride on.

+/- 10 meter accuracy doesn't cut it for the many quick steep hills around here.

All the charts I've looked at have random spikes and are not very smooth or accurate. Should be ok or decent enough for road riding but mountain bike riding is not this devices forte.

Gives great approximate altitude to give you an idea but not accurate enough to truly analyze data to extreme geekness.
 
#6 ·
The other thing to check is how often it logs the data (if you're worried about plotting trails). I found that a buddy's 301 only updated the position around 1/sec, which is way to slow to plot technical trails here in the Midwest (unless you're walking them). So it may not be enough to get what you're looking for.
 
#7 ·
Rekibnikufesin said:
Hey- you must've been good this year for Santa to deliver that! I gotta figure that out one of these days!

I recently got a 305, but ditto on the winter here in North Idaho, so I've only gotten 2 rides out of it. From what I can tell, it's definitely got the accuracy to meet your concerns. Check out the postings of one of my rides for yourself: http://rekibnikufesin.motionbased.com

I guess the answer to the second part of the question regarding the usefulness depends on the level of geek-dom to which you measure yourself. For me, it's just an average (and novelty factor), I don't really worry about it beat-for-beat, just staying within a range.

Hope that helps.
That's a great route for broad elevation changes but resembles nothing like the quick, exacting elevation demands my mountain biking trail would require.
 
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