I made a virtually Jimmy-esque bargain on a slightly used/highly loved Garmin Edge 500 cycling GPS over the weekend. I didn't steal it from the guy - he was slobbering, I just wiped his chin - and we both left the deal feeling we got the best of it. Win/win.
Garmins are fairly simple to set up and run, which is fortunate as this one did not include English instructions. Once again, my interest in history bailed me out. How? It's because I love history I studied German. The Garmin had German instructions, ergo I had usable directions. Sure, I could download English, but this was funner. Win/win/win.
The Edge was easily mounted to my favorite steed, "The Truth" (my black-and-white Kestrel Airfoil). I'd already put a ride on it Monday afternoon, the day I received it, and noted a few changes I wanted to make to the setup. In particular I wanted to have the ability to stop time when the bike stopped for a break. That was easily corrected by setting autopause to kick in when the speed dropped below 2.5 mph. Why not zero? Because mobile GPS's are not precise instruments, and it's possible a lower setting might have detected satellite searches as movement. By setting a slow speed below a reasonable riding speed, I overcorrected for a possible problem. Worked like a charm. Win/win/win/win.
There are 5 possible screens for use, which you cycle through using the Enter button. Each screen is customizable from approximately 20-30 options. Each screen can display up to 5 options. Pretty neat! I set up 4 of them with a variety of purposes, including heart rate, speed, time, distance, grade, calories... the list goes on. Win/win/win/win/win.
The only problem I had was getting the Edge 500 to sync up with my Garmin software on my computer. It just wouldn't. I already have the software set up for my 910, so it should have been a snap. I wound up having to manually search through my Garmin directory for the particular file to upload to Garmin Connect and Beginner Triathlete. This is well beyond the capabilities of the average user. Major loser.
I have been running the GPS and bike computer side-by-side. The lag on the GPS is slightly longer, and of course the distance always winds up shorter, but in truth no two computers ever display exactly the same either. I'm sure the bike computer is far more accurate in instantaneous speed change, but who's to say which is more accurate on total distance - one is dependent on radio connection, the other on satellite. Also, the bike computer's accuracy largely depends on being successfully calibrated. I figure the difference is insignificant so I won't sweat it.
The one final thing I think I want to set is mile split alerts. It's nice to see how speed varies over a course, and to match that speed with terrain changes. That's for next time.
Forty-two miles tonight with a stiff WNW wind, 18 mph average. Not an easy ride, but not too hard either. Looking to ride again on Saturday.
Garmins are fairly simple to set up and run, which is fortunate as this one did not include English instructions. Once again, my interest in history bailed me out. How? It's because I love history I studied German. The Garmin had German instructions, ergo I had usable directions. Sure, I could download English, but this was funner. Win/win/win.
The Edge was easily mounted to my favorite steed, "The Truth" (my black-and-white Kestrel Airfoil). I'd already put a ride on it Monday afternoon, the day I received it, and noted a few changes I wanted to make to the setup. In particular I wanted to have the ability to stop time when the bike stopped for a break. That was easily corrected by setting autopause to kick in when the speed dropped below 2.5 mph. Why not zero? Because mobile GPS's are not precise instruments, and it's possible a lower setting might have detected satellite searches as movement. By setting a slow speed below a reasonable riding speed, I overcorrected for a possible problem. Worked like a charm. Win/win/win/win.
There are 5 possible screens for use, which you cycle through using the Enter button. Each screen is customizable from approximately 20-30 options. Each screen can display up to 5 options. Pretty neat! I set up 4 of them with a variety of purposes, including heart rate, speed, time, distance, grade, calories... the list goes on. Win/win/win/win/win.
The only problem I had was getting the Edge 500 to sync up with my Garmin software on my computer. It just wouldn't. I already have the software set up for my 910, so it should have been a snap. I wound up having to manually search through my Garmin directory for the particular file to upload to Garmin Connect and Beginner Triathlete. This is well beyond the capabilities of the average user. Major loser.
I have been running the GPS and bike computer side-by-side. The lag on the GPS is slightly longer, and of course the distance always winds up shorter, but in truth no two computers ever display exactly the same either. I'm sure the bike computer is far more accurate in instantaneous speed change, but who's to say which is more accurate on total distance - one is dependent on radio connection, the other on satellite. Also, the bike computer's accuracy largely depends on being successfully calibrated. I figure the difference is insignificant so I won't sweat it.
The one final thing I think I want to set is mile split alerts. It's nice to see how speed varies over a course, and to match that speed with terrain changes. That's for next time.
Forty-two miles tonight with a stiff WNW wind, 18 mph average. Not an easy ride, but not too hard either. Looking to ride again on Saturday.
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