Yesterday Garmin announced a new cycling GPS. The new unit is called the Edge 500. It was designed based on feedback from Team Garmin. It will give competitive cyclists the information they need while training and racing without weighing them down.
It weighs much less and is more aerodynamic than the Edge 705. It also looks much smaller than the older Edge 305. It uses a new mount that is low profile and appears easy to swap from one bike to another.
The Edge 500 also works with the Garmin ANT+ heart rate monitor strap and cadence/speed sensor. It also works with 3rd party power meters that support ANT+. They claim that there’s improved calorie counting when using heart rate. That would be nice but I’m skeptical since I’ve never seen any calorie counting that seemed anywhere close at least for me.
The Edge 500 doesn’t include the maps and routing of the Edge 705. It also doesn’t include the ability to setup workouts like the 705.
The MSRP for the Edge 500 is $249.99 by itself and $349.99 when bundled with a heart rate monitor strap and speed/cadence sensor. That’s not a bad price considering just downloadable Polar cycling heart monitors cost nearly that much not many years ago.
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– UltraRob
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Tags: cycling, gear, GPS, mountain biking
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My question is this Rob…why bother with this when you can get the Forerunner 310xt Watch that you could use for gym time, running, and whatever else compared to being limited to the device just being for your bike? The 705 is obvious….maps….but the 500 I don't think solves anything. I'm personally just going to upgrade my Forerunner 305 to the 310xt myself. What would I gain from going to the 500 instead?
The Garmin Edge 305 with heart rate monitor is the best value in a cycling computer on the market today. If you don't need the super fancy color maps then you can get all of the other data you could possibly require to improve your cycling and save hundreds of dollars over higher-end models.