Currently on my road bike, I have a Cateye Strada and a Polar HRM watch. That way I have speed, and my HR. I mainly use that bike for spinning. Works fine.
But on my tri bike, I have a Cateye computer on a little plug mount between my tribars, but there is not room to mount anything else. I could wear a HRM watch, but that would be hard to see without constantly flipping my wrist.
I want to try to keep my HR in Z1/Z2 on my upcoming Ironman. So I am looking at buying a new computer with an HRM. I have considered mounting my Garmin Forerunner 305 up there, but for regular use, it would be a pain to have to keep it charged, and taking off, and putting it back on.
A few computers I have been looking at:
Polar CS100b (I already have a Polar HRM strap)
Cateye V3
Garmin Edge 305.
The Polar CS100b is the cheapest at about $72. But some people have reported issues with the speed sensor not working. I am guessing they installed them incorrectly. The buttons are supposed stiff too.
The Cateye V3 I can get for about $123. It had cadence which would be nice. I like the display layout. It has calories, but supposedly the number is screwey.
The Garmin Edge 305 appears to be a bike version of my Forerunner 305. I can get a refurbished unit for $170. I like my 305. The unit would be easier to put on and take off the bike. But unlike a regular bike computer, I would have to make sure it is charged each ride. I would get data I can DL into the computer which would be cool. But other than an initial look, I don’t do much with it. I have read a bunch of reports of the unit shutting off when people hit bumps. That would not be cool.
The Garmin 705 would be cool, but much more expensive.
I am currently leaning towards the Cateye V3.
I would love to have a full blown power meter, but I can’t afford that.
I have a trek incite that works nicely for the price. It does cadence/HR/altitude/temp/speed/etc.
I got mine 1/2 off, but worth looking into.
http://store.trekbikes.com/jump.jsp?itemID=959&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1,2,393&iProductID=959&bShopOnline=0
Comment by Jayson — July 10, 2009 @ 11:35 am
I like the design of Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver that is less bulky than its predecessors. It is so small that it can be easily mistaken for a watch. The GPS functions are wonderful and I found the gadget locking on quickly to the satellites and start indicating my position almost instantaneously at the push of a button. Of course, it does not have maps and visuals, but one cannot expect so much from such a small device.
Comment by Garmin Forerunner GPS — December 25, 2009 @ 10:16 pm
I have both the Garmin Forerunner and the Edge 305. However, I and ALL of my friends who have the Garmin Edge 305 have to return them every 4 to 10 months becuz they regularly become defective. I have returned 7 of them. The good thing is that Garmin doesn’t dare peep. They just accept the units and send out a refurbished replacement. They KNOW how crummy the quality control was on that model. I like the Garmin Edge 305 becuz of what it does. But, I hate its unreliability. As for a power meter, ibike, which I have, is by far the best deal, BUT do NOT get ANY of them except for the LATEST generation. The previous genereations have probs that were all rectified in the lastest models.
Comment by kim — January 3, 2010 @ 2:26 pm
Bike Traks are the only shop in the UK with these V3 Cateyes in stock!
Comment by Cateve V3 — November 24, 2010 @ 8:53 am