Garmin Edge 305 Questions (merged)

[smokedtitan]

Well that all makes sence now, thanks for all your input. Now its time to train harder and get my numbers down.

[silkworm]

Originally Posted by 1080P

Pretty normal for the Garmin, it samples once every 6 to 7 seconds and measures in a straight line from point to point, where you might actually be on a turn and traveling a greater distance. Remember in math that the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line? Same thing with G outs, ups and downs, left and rights.... a wheel sensor measures actual of what you roll, a GPS unit averages what you travel, and a lot can happen distance wise between 6 or 7 second measurement points besides an assumed straight line.

I'm under the impression that the Garmin measurement interval is smart...ie it changes to once every 1 or 2 seconds when you start to make erratic movements...

[smokedtitan]

Originally Posted by Burner

don't even get me started on how inaccurate the calorie count is on the Garmins... total junk feature the way they implemented it. It had me burning only 300 calories for a 3 hour climb... they calculate calories based on how fast you're traveling, not your heart rate... so if you're only going 3-4 mph up a steep climb, it thinks you're taking it easy and not burning any cals.... stoopid, it's not even the slight bit useful.

(and this is on a 705)

So when I rode Fullerton on Sunday it showed I burned 795 calories, should it actually be more then this. Anyone know what the average calorie burn on 1 lap of the loop is?

[genusmtbkr5]

Originally Posted by smokedtitan

So when I rode Fullerton on Sunday it showed I burned 795 calories, should it actually be more then this. Anyone know what the average calorie burn on 1 lap of the loop is?

That would depend on how hard you push. Everyone will burn calories at different rates. Your pace and heart rate will have a lot to do with that as well as the weight of you, the weight of your bike and your age.

[Jordansrealm]

Does anyone know if the Garmins have a learning intelligence to them? I ask because after riding probably 30 rides wearing the heart monitor I now ride without it. The calories burned are almost identical no matter if I wear the HRM or not. Usually within 100 calories or less. At times I miss knowing my HR but as far as calories burned it doesnt seem to matter?

[Burner]

Originally Posted by Jordansrealm

Does anyone know if the Garmins have a learning intelligence to them? I ask because after riding probably 30 rides wearing the heart monitor I now ride without it. The calories burned are almost identical no matter if I wear the HRM or not. Usually within 100 calories or less. At times I miss knowing my HR but as far as calories burned it doesnt seem to matter?

that's because the Garmin doesn't use HR to calculate Calories burned, so wearing it is irrelevant.

[1080P]

Calories burned is a function of your riding weight, the weight of your bike, distance traveled, and vertical climbed, ie a measurement of work performed. Obviously going and lifting weight up a hill increases the work and the calories burned, going down it, not known, probably a function of time. To my knowledge, there is no corrections for the difficulty of the riding surface and rolling resistance, another consideration if you ride in sandy areas. It is an estimator, not an exact science.

[andygua]

I just got my new Garmin 305 and was wondering if there's a good free software for mac? Garmin training center really sucks, and I've seen Ascent but that's not free...I know there's a freebie for Win...is there an equivalent for mac users?

Thanks!

[Abui]

Originally Posted by silkworm

I'm under the impression that the Garmin measurement interval is smart...ie it changes to once every 1 or 2 seconds when you start to make erratic movements...

The Garmin computes your position every second and accumulates distance every second. The smart function saves the best approximation of your track over a variable interval.

[GeoMan]

Originally Posted by 1080P

Calories burned is a function of your riding weight, the weight of your bike, distance traveled, and vertical climbed, ie a measurement of work performed. Obviously going and lifting weight up a hill increases the work and the calories burned, going down it, not known, probably a function of time. To my knowledge, there is no corrections for the difficulty of the riding surface and rolling resistance, another consideration if you ride in sandy areas. It is an estimator, not an exact science.

Good point!

How do you factor in temperature (being hot or cold affects calories burned) or a strong headwind, for instance? It is always going to be an inexact science, IMHO.

[katonk]

I think the idea is that as riding conditions worsen, your heart rate goes up. That should factor into the calorie calculations. Obviously when you have a strong tailwind you're not pedaling as hard, so your HR drops. Same thing with extreme weather, hills, adrenaline and weight.

It's kinda crazy to me that the Edge doesn't do this. Or am I misreading this? I don't yet own one.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by katonk

I think the idea is that as riding conditions worsen, your heart rate goes up. That should factor into the calorie calculations. Obviously when you have a strong tailwind you're not pedaling as hard, so your HR drops. Same thing with extreme weather, hills, adrenaline and weight.

It's kinda crazy to me that the Edge doesn't do this. Or am I misreading this? I don't yet own one.

The Edge does calories with or without the heart monitor. For Garmin the easiest programming is to ignore the HRM. (If they used HRM imagine the questions when people compared calories with and without the HRM. ) Calories are fluff anyway, if you're training based on heart rate then concentrate on heart rate.

Your experience, appetite, and weight can guide you on calories. If you want to see calories based on HR then strap on a Polar HRM.

[davidB]

Anyone else have a problem with their 305 turning off after going through some bumpy sections? Mine seems to turn itself off coming down a fireroad or some singletrack, but not all the time. Does garmin do returns/repairs?

[BrewMaster]

Sounds like you have a bad connection in there David. Mine doesn't do that.

[Chewyeti]

Originally Posted by davidB

Anyone else have a problem with their 305 turning off after going through some bumpy sections? Mine seems to turn itself off coming down a fireroad or some singletrack, but not all the time. Does garmin do returns/repairs?

mine did that going down the church hill at fully.

It hasnt done it in a while, and garmin said they would warranty it

[davidB]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

Sounds like you have a bad connection in there David. Mine doesn't do that.

I think i read somewhere that it has something to do with the battery coming disconnected. I know i'm not the only one who has this problem, i just can't remember if I read it here or mtbr

going to go hunt down garmin CS now

you guys know if they'll replace the screen too? mine tends to get scratched when I flip my bike over

[newpos]

total ascent on my garmin at the end of my ride is about 300-400 ft less than it is when i load the ride into motionbased... what one is more accurate?

[quaestionis]

Originally Posted by newpos

total ascent on my garmin at the end of my ride is about 300-400 ft less than it is when i load the ride into motionbased... what one is more accurate?

The Garmin itself and the Garmin Training Center software are far more accurate than motionbased. Motionbased is highly inflated. Don't know why.