Award Winning Global Tri-Sport Shop
Now this is something totally new, if not entirely unexpected - a GPS - enabled unit that's far more than just a bike computer. If you're prepeared to put a phone-sized unit on your bike, you'll find fitting is extremely easy. Both bar and stem mounts are supplied, and then it's just a case of switching on and letting it search for satellites for a few seconds. (it even comes with a rear-wheel speed sensor for turbo use).Display options range from how many data fields you have on screen at one time (from 3-8), what each displays and what orientation you want on your readout. It captures all the speed, altitude, heart rate and calorie-burning info you need, and even collects 3D route info fro downloading. It comes with its own training software plus some free website trail offers. The only downsides are limited re-chargeable battery life, its bulk, and an over-enthusiastic calorie counter.
Every possible piece of bike/HR and route info imaginable
This new GPS-enabled bike computer is s seriously addictive piece of hardware. For start there's no wheel measuring or cablingf to faff about with - just zip tie on the stem or bar mount provided, clip on the mobile phone sized unit and give it a few seconds to lock onto local satellites for fix. Once home, the software provided lets you study your route and all the ride data in map, customisable, multi-layer graph or table form on a PC. It's even accurate enough to show different lines on the same trail in steep wooded valleys. The battery life is relatively short though and one unit we tried occasionally just wouldn't power up. These are minor glitches though.
Super comprehensive yet easy to use bike data logger/GPS unit
Garmin's new bike computer is a smart piece of kit. It works via GPS rather than from a magnet-tripped sensor and offers a massive amount of information.
Feature-packed and fully customisable - we love it.
The Edge 500 bike computer has no wires to snag or wheel magnets to move, no sensors to fail or ï¬ddly rubber shims to get knocked out of line.Instead it uses Global Positioning Satellite technology to feed you data: all the usual functions like speed, distance and riding time plus potentially useful numbers such as vertical gain and gradient.Crucially, what this GPS doesn't have is any mapping capability. That might seem odd, but lots of riders have been using Garmin's 305 and 605 GPS units for years, without making much, if any, use of the mapping function. If you know where you're going but want the ride data, then this is for you.The smaller, lighter Edge 500 model works like most other multifunction bike computers, but without the hassles of setup and signal dropout. Simply switch it on, set the data ï¬elds you want displayed on the easy-to-read screen, then ride - for up to 18 hours before recharging.The 57g unit comes with three bar/stem mounts in case you're a multiple bike owner, and a more pricey version includes a heart rate monitor chest strap and cadence sensor, so if training with science is your bag the 500 could be your new best friend - just download data direct to your PC.We'd have liked a rubberised outer to keep the unit safe from the hardships of life fixed to a mountain bike bar but, if you ride a lot and use speed/distance data regularly, then the Edge 500 is a worthy investment.
One day all bike computers will use GPS like the Garmin 500
Feature-packed and fully customiseable - we love it.