Garmin Edge 500

[BrettGG]

Name of product
Garmin Edge 500 incl Cadence/Speed Sensor and HRM

Where bought and price
Highly Tuned Athletes http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au in Hampton Melbourne – Sponsorship but RRP $399

How it is used
Used on all training rides.

Description
Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 4.8 x 6.9 x 2.2 cm
Display size, WxH: 3.0 x 3.7 cm
Display resolution, WxH: 128 x 160 pixels
Weight: 56.7g
Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: up to 18 hours

The unit measures your speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent, and records this data for your review. For extra-precise climb and descent data, Edge 500 also incorporates a barometric altimeter to pinpoint changes in elevation.

Another awesome feature is the Courses feature which allows you to compare successive rides over the same route and analyse where your improvements are or where you need to improve.


Positives
The size is almost the same as a regular cycling computer.
It's really lightweight and unobtrusive on your handlebars.
The lack of cabling and messy mounts makes it really attractive.
The Edge 500 is really simple to install on your bike and can literally be done in minutes.
The Cadence/Speed Sensor is a single unit that sits on the left chainstay and is really small and compact.

Negatives
My only gripe with Garmin is not actually about the unit but rather the lack of a printed manual. There is a complete user manual on the CD but no printed manual to page through.

Additional notes
The ease of use and simplicity of this unit makes it such a great cycling tool. The fact that I can now gauge my performance and improvement using so much data has given me another reason to get out on the road (like I needed another reason)

Recommendation
I would recommend the Edge 500 to anyone looking for a new cycling computer or anyone serious about monitoring their improvement on so many levels. Although I never paid for this unit I had every intention on buying one before I was sponsored with this unit.


OVERALL SCORES

Quality

Performance

Value for money

[HAKS]

Would love to see some pics of it on the bike to get an idea of size (just the headunit) etc. Cheers

[MichaelB]

Brett, just saw one of these at the TdU village and it looks great.

With the 305, it has 2 'pages' of data that is customisable (up to 8 data sets per screen), but it seems like the Edge 500 has 3 'pages'.

Is that true ?

Also, how many different data sets can you show on the one screen ?

Cheers

Michael B (happy 305 user)

[BrettGG]

Brett, just saw one of these at the TdU village and it looks great.

With the 305, it has 2 'pages' of data that is customisable (up to 8 data sets per screen), but it seems like the Edge 500 has 3 'pages'.

Is that true ?

Also, how many different data sets can you show on the one screen ?

Cheers

Michael B (happy 305 user)

Hi Michael

Yeah the Edge 500 has 3 customisable pages and each page can hold up to 8 different data sets as far as I can remember for the manual.

I will check again and let you know.

How long is the TDU village open for as I am on my way down for the last 3 days of racing?

[HAKS]

Good to see they have made more screens available. The 2 on my edge 705 aren't quite enough. I like to have one set up with current ride data and the other lap data. Would love a 3rd for workout info etc.

[MichaelB]

How long is the TDU village open for as I am on my way down for the last 3 days of racing?

I think for the whole thing.

The Village itself is some marketing stands mainly, and some viewing to the bike area of the mechs, although I don't know how muw access.

Thanks for the confirmation re the scgeens on the 500

[im_no_pro]

[mod hat]

Please remember the reviews section is not a discussion forum - see about this section.

Note: This is not a classical discussion forum so no replies - except if you are making a review of a bike / product already reviewed.

If you want to know more about the unit, may I suggest heading over to this thread. Locking this temporarily, will reopen in a couple of days to allow other users to review this unit if they wish (which can be posted in this thread)

[/mod hat]