Getting the most out of your Garmin

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sblack
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby sblack » Tue May 17, 2011 7:13 pm

Baldy wrote:Hey Shane, did ya try this code ? vamoscycling2011

5rides a month is no where near enough to get you addicted!

Of course they know what they are doing. There is a better than average chance I will become a paying member after my 3month trial is up.
Thanks Baldy, 3 months trial works out pretty nicely about now. By the time it's up I should have my tax return back so I can use some of my refund to purchase membership then.

edit: activated trial period and have now uploaded all my rides. It's gonna take a while to go through and put in all the details now.
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gooldin
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby gooldin » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:04 am

Using Garmin Edge 500 up Mount Coot-tha Timed Section

Gooldin

Fatrobo

PS dont forget to hit "view in metric" up the top right!


Hi guys,

Myself and my work mate recently bought a Garmin, I the Edge 500 and him the new Forerunner 310XT!

After completing the mount coot tha challene this year we both decided we would try and go up once a week on the way to work in hope of bettering our time! Needless to say, I only went up last week for the first time since!
Anyway, the idea is, now that we are both proud owners of these fine machines, is to use the Virtual Partner to race against ourselves to help us get quicker! Expectedly, I was almost a full minute slower than my time on the big day earlier in the year.

Has anybody else used a Garmin for this section only? I started and stopped exactly on the line. So it would be good to find something similar to race against also!

I noticed some differences between our two readings, if you look at my (gooldin) elevation chart, it is almost a dead straight line, where as his (fatrobo) is a little bumpy. Is this as a resulf of gps readings from two different modles, therefore having different levels of GPS accuracy resulting in different readings? Or could it be that there were less sattelite's on the two different days? Which one is correct?

Elevation chart accuracy is not massively important, however you will also notice a difference in the overall distance - given that we both hit start and stop as we crossed the lines marked on the road!

There is also a difference in the heart rate chart's, mine is a mass of small straight lines and his is a smooth curve - its almost like mine is only taking a reading every few seconds compared to his being constant!

Why does it show you this, and why are they different seen as he was moving constantly -
Time: 00:14:32
Moving Time: 00:14:15
Elapsed Time: 00:14:32
Whats the difference between the "Elapsed time" and the "Time"?
Then on my info the "Moving time" is 14.04 but "elapsed time" is 14.03..very strange! Surely the total "Elapsed time" should be equal to or less than my "Moving time"??

It will be good to see the second reading from both computers next week to see if they are consistantly incorrect/incorrect!

Here's hoping we can knock 3 mins off our time over the next year!

Any tips on using the Virtual Partner would be great!

Cheers

Gooldin

Fatrobo
Cheers,
Kev

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ValleyForge
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ValleyForge » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:38 am

gooldin wrote:Using Garmin Edge 500 up Mount Coot-tha Timed Section

Has anybody else used a Garmin for this section only? I started and stopped exactly on the line. So it would be good to find something similar to race against also!


Elevation chart accuracy is not massively important, however you will also notice a difference in the overall distance - given that we both hit start and stop as we crossed the lines marked on the road!

There is also a difference in the heart rate chart's, mine is a mass of small straight lines and his is a smooth curve - its almost like mine is only taking a reading every few seconds compared to his being constant!

Time: 00:14:32
Moving Time: 00:14:15
Elapsed Time: 00:14:32
Whats the difference between the "Elapsed time" and the "Time"?
Then on my info the "Moving time" is 14.04 but "elapsed time" is 14.03..very strange! Surely the total "Elapsed time" should be equal to or less than my "Moving time"??

Any tips on using the Virtual Partner would be great!
There is a fair bit on this thread about using the VP.

The altimeter isn't super accurate, the 800 is better. For more accurate elevation, use GarminConnect and hit Elevation Correction enabled.

Moving vs Elapsed is easy. You can set autopause to, say 5kph, so when walking/stopped at lights/peeing/traffic control the race clock isn't running. This is where the moving vs total time difference comes from.

And the erratic HR trace has had many posts about it. Check firmware updates for the 500, make sure the strap is tightish and perhaps enable smoothing if reading using TC.

And as to times, in 2 years have dropped 5 mins from the Cootha time, yet to crack 10 mins though (only 19 secs to go) on a round ride from Southbank & back.
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appleA
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby appleA » Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:06 am

The thread doesnt answer this question conclusively.

Using the Forerunner 305, can ride against the VP just for specific climbs while still recording the whole ride.

I want to use the Virtual Partner feature to time/pace myself up a hill on certain rides, but, this bit needs to be done mid ride.

Can I enable this VP for just the hill section only, and still record the entire ride data (getting to the hill & back)?

My ideal thing would be to have these routes/courses ALL stored, and the VP auto turn on when I get to those climbs. (like the Edge 705 does) If you load it from the start of the ride, the VP wont necessarily be starting the climb at the same time.

Also, is there a software program to keep history of this segment/course so you can see your progress over time?

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ValleyForge
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ValleyForge » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:43 pm

appleA wrote:The thread doesnt answer this question conclusively.

Using the Forerunner 305, can ride against the VP just for specific climbs while still recording the whole ride.

I want to use the Virtual Partner feature to time/pace myself up a hill on certain rides, but, this bit needs to be done mid ride.

Can I enable this VP for just the hill section only, and still record the entire ride data (getting to the hill & back)?

My ideal thing would be to have these routes/courses ALL stored, and the VP auto turn on when I get to those climbs. (like the Edge 705 does) If you load it from the start of the ride, the VP wont necessarily be starting the climb at the same time.

Also, is there a software program to keep history of this segment/course so you can see your progress over time?
No, the thread sure does answer the question. About page 2 or 3.

And as posted earlier - Strava will look after your times over a segment.
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paladin
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Data Field setups

Postby paladin » Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:02 pm

I know this question has been asked about a year ago, but I am really interested in what data field setups people use.
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snark
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby snark » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:17 pm

The main screen on my Edge 500 has just speed, current ride elapsed time, cadence and heart rate.

The second screen has the same fields, as well as grade, heading and maybe one other value. The last has time of day, temperature and some other data fields that I never use, and hence can't recall! I pretty much never use anything but the first screen.

Cheers,
Simon.
Phil Liggett, TdF 2011, Alpe-d'Huez: "I reckon tonight in hindsight he may have won the Tour de France tomorrow."

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ozzymac
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Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ozzymac » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:22 pm

Any secrets on getting the cadence sensor to work.

Thought it was a flat battery after changing it across to the new bike, but so far I haven't had any luck in getting it to work again.

Cheers


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gururug
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby gururug » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:28 pm

ozzymac wrote:Any secrets on getting the cadence sensor to work.
Get the sensor and the magnet as close as possible ( 1.5-2mm ). Test with your bike upside down first. THey have a really low proximity tolerance

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ozzymac
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Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ozzymac » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:53 pm

I have it as close as I can get it without it touching. It registers on the Garmin at startup, just not getting any readings. There is no reset button or anything is there?

Cheers


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gururug
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby gururug » Thu Mar 08, 2012 12:11 am

Hmmmm.... are there two lights on the sensor, 1 for cadence 1 for speed. Maybe the speed magnet is triggering but not the cadence pedal magnet.

Low battery on sensor?

You could try "re-pairing" within the unit setting although I doubt this is the issue.

Maybe try and pair it with someone elses sensor to see if your sensor is faulty.

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ValleyForge
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ValleyForge » Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:05 am

It might have been mentioned before, but push & hold the button/LED on the sensor until the colours cycle. Then spin wheel & crank and then re-pair using the ANT+ menu.

I've found them actually not that fussy regarding separation - the wheel magnet works best if it passes near the end of the wheel sensor, and the crank sensor works best if the crank magnet lines up with the impossible to see in the dark black line on the sensor.
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NotFlyingScot
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby NotFlyingScot » Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:05 pm

500 v 800

From a previous post, "The altimeter isn't super accurate, the 800 is better."

In simple terms, how do they differ such that the 800 is "better"?
FPR Jubilado Bludger

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ValleyForge
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Location: Brisbane

Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby ValleyForge » Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:13 pm

NotFlyingScot wrote:500 v 800

From a previous post, "The altimeter isn't super accurate, the 800 is better."

In simple terms, how do they differ such that the 800 is "better"?
The altimeter in the 500 just isn't very accurate. Garmin acknowledge it on Garmin Connect where you can "correct" the 500s altitude errors. I read it was due to poor integration/inaccurate temperature & pressure settings on that model. Incline seems to be accurate though.
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toolonglegs
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Re: Getting the most out of your Garmin

Postby toolonglegs » Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:24 pm

I laugh when looking at a race with laps and the altitude slopes up or down during the duration of the race.

I nearly got a Garmin 500 but then remembered that if you pair it with a powertap you can actually check the offest torque or zero with a Garmin...is this right?.
I see powertap now have (or are about to release) a new Joule with GPS ... as I want another power meter later in the year I might wait.

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