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REVIEW: Garmin Edge 705 (Part I)

In case this wasn’t already apparent, the primary reason my cycling blog is titled “Bike Geek” is that I love reviewing the juicy details from my bike rides made possible by cycling computers. My choice, since getting serious about cycling in early 2006, has been Garmin GPS-enabled cycling computers. I started with a Forerunner 201, upgraded to an Edge 305HR and recently replaced the 305 with the new Edge 705.

Uploading information about my rides and having a single location to review all of my rides each year has had a powerful side-effect. The juicy details and cycling data inspires me. Being able to see how many miles I’ve ridden last week, last month or last year helps me set new fitness goals.

But wait…you’re not reading this to learn about my personal feelings on cycling computers. You’re here to get my take on Garmin’s new Edge 705. So…without further adieu…

Garmin Edge 705 on my Felt F75 Road Bike

Garmin Edge 705 Review (Part I)
While I’m still getting acquainted with the Edge 705, I’ve logged about 150 miles with unit and have made the following insights:

Display: The new, larger color display is gorgeous. Improvements include removing the “title bar” present on the Edge 305 and using every pixel of this larger screen for displaying data fields that you select. The display is easy to view, without backlighting, during the day. For early morning or night rides, just a click or two to engage the backlight provides plenty of clarity while providing long battery life.
Battery: So far, it’s handled 2-3 hour rides with very little battery drain (including about an hour of riding at night with the backlight set to “stay on”). I see no reason, at this point, that the unit would not meet its stated battery life of 10-15 hours.
Maps: Let’s say that again. Maps! I purchased the Edge 705 with a preloaded City Navigator 2008 map card. The ability to see where you are and to actually navigate using the Edge 705 continues to impress me. I could see this feature getting some really serious use by bicycle commuters. In Part II of my Edge 705 review, I’ll focus specifically on the mapping and navigation capabilities since they’re worthy of much discussion.
Size/Weight: The Edge 705 is physically larger than the 305 and a tad heavier. Kudos to Garmin for making the 705 compatible with the 305 mounting system.
Usability: Usa…what? This is a measure of how intuitive and user-friendly the device and its internal software is. Here the Edge 705 scores BIG. The inclusion of a “joystick” type input device makes entering information, changing data, etc. much easier than the 305. Nice touches include customizing the color scheme of menus and having the ability to actually NAME your various bike profiles (instead of just “Bike 1″, “Bike 2″, etc.).

More to come in Part II of my review.

Is the 705 perfect? Nope. It’s a new device which means it is going to have some “growing pains” as Garmin engineers listen to customer feedback and fix bugs/tech glitches that are sure to crop up. Garmin’s already fixed a screen lockup issue with firmware 2.2 and is sure to be investigating an issue with the cadence sensor’s auto wheel size feature which is having some issues after the lastest firmware update. Fortunately, Garmin has a solid track record of identifying and fixing issues quickly.

Bottom Line: The Garmin Edge 705 is a cycling “supercomputer” that offers a robust feature set that will appeal to a wide-range of cyclists.

Part II of my Garmin Edge 705 review is now available!

39 Responses to "REVIEW: Garmin Edge 705 (Part I)"

Garmin says:

June 5, 2008 at 9:54 AM

Great review, thanks for the feedback. It might be worth you bookmarking the Garmin Blog as we put up to date news and product info on there very regularly.
JoeBruin88 says:

July 7, 2008 at 4:58 PM

I enjoyed reading your review. I’m thinking of getting the 705.
1) But I wanted to know what your opinion was on the HRM monitor features of the unit. I tried a Garmin Forerunner 405, but I returned it because the HRM was not accurate.

On one of my rides, it stated that I had burned 600 calories in a half hour, which was physically impossible at the cadence I was doing.

2) Does the 705 tell you how many calories you burn?

3) Does it keep an overall odometer for the bike that it’s mounted on? Or does it only tell you total distance per ride?

I appreciate your responses.

Thanks again.

Gerry
Justin says:

July 8, 2008 at 2:11 AM

Gerry,

Thanks for visiting my cycling blog and for the kind comments.

1) I am very satisfied with the heart rate monitor features of both the Edge 305 and Edge 705 units that I’ve logged many miles with. Many folks forget that the owner’s manual mentions wetting the sensors on the heart rate strap in order to ensure the most accurate depiction of your heart rate. You can use water or better yet a sports-related gel that is made to best conduct electrical pulses from your heart to the sensor.

2) The 705 does tell you how many calories you burn. I think it does overestimate this number a tad. That said, again, proper setup is important. Is your profile properly setup with your bicycle weight, your weight, etc. That all influences the calorie burn figures.

3) The 705, in particular, keeps an odometer for each bike profile you setup and also lets you name that profile. This is a nice new feature the Edge 305 does not have.

Have fun!

Justin
Richm says:

July 11, 2008 at 3:22 PM

Hi
Wondered whether you have used the 705 in the car much? Although I have survived 26 years of driving in the UK without a gps, I can see the advantage in unfamiliar cities and Europe, so I’m thinking of using the 705 for occasional in-car use, but have read elsewhere that it’s a bit of a pain ITA.
JoeBruin88 says:

July 11, 2008 at 3:37 PM

I don’t think the Garmin 705 is ideal for the car because I think its sensors to receive data are geared towards bike installation.

For the vehicle, I use a Garmin nuvi – I forget the model number. But the nuvis are for vehicle and or walking around I suppose.
Justin says:

July 11, 2008 at 5:34 PM

Rich,

I’ve read about folks using their Edge 705′s for automobile use. I think it can be used for this purpose but would not recommend it for the following reasons: 1) the Edge 705 processor isn’t nearly as fast as say a Garmin NUVI/Streetpilot. That’s because at bicycle speeds you don’t need blazing recalculations. 2) the Edge 705′s default mode is routing FOR bicycles. It thus tries to keep you on back roads, etc. instead of major streets or highways. I THINK there’s a way to switch it to motor vehicle based routing…let me check that and I’ll get back to you.

Bottom Line: While the 705 has the will and the capability, it would probably not function as an EFFICIENT automotive navigation device.
JoeBruin88 says:

July 16, 2008 at 3:03 PM

So I rode with my new Garmin Edge 705 for the first time today. I really like it. There is one thing that bugs me, and that is the calories that it states that I burned.

The bike shop where I bought my bike set up the unit and mounted it for me, and they entered my profile information correctly. I weigh 176 lbs, and my bike weighs 22 lbs. For the first leg of this morning’s bike commute to work, I wore my Polar F5 HRM in addition to the Garmin. Granted, I know the Polar does not account for the weight of the bike, and maybe other things the Garmin does.

But typically for my morning commute (about 11 miles, 45 minutes total), the Polar tells me that I burn about 375-450 calories. The Garmin, on the other hand, says that I burned 948 calories, which is a little more than double what the Polar indicates.

I know that I probably do burn a little more with the additional weight of the bike factored in, but it seems unlikely to burn double the amount.

I’m tracking calories because I’m manage my weight with a calorie/food/exercise database called http://myfooddiary.com. (I’d like to lose four more pounds.)

I’m going to use the Garmin measurements for a few days and see if my weight management is significantly affected. With more calories burned, I have a larger allowancce for meals, etc. so I imagine that if I tend to eat a couple of hundred more calories than normal, it may retard my weight loss.

Any thoughts about the Garmin HRM feature? I had a similar experience with the Garmin Forerunner 405, and ended up returning it for a refund.

I’ll probably keep the Garmin regardless because I like the other cycling computer features, but I think the HRM feature is probably one of the weakest features this unit offers.

Gerry
joelprice.com says:

July 16, 2008 at 4:35 PM

“Garmin has a track record of identifying and fixing issues quickly.” I hope so. I’m having issues with the Autopause/Resume problem others are complaining about on the Motion Based forums. If you get this problem it will certainly sour your opinion on the 705. I’ve talked with Garmin support and they basically have no idea why it’s happening. Basically they are replacing the unit but I have to pay shipping. Kind of sucks after spending $600 for a device that worked for less than a month.
JoeBruin88 says:

July 16, 2008 at 6:53 PM

Joel,

I have not experienced the Autopause/Resume problem yet… knock on wood. But how do you turn Autopause off (in case I want to do that)?

I bought my unit from REI. They have a lifetime 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
joelprice.com says:

July 16, 2008 at 10:34 PM

Actually Autopause/Resume problem is is a result of a software problem when using it with the cadence/odometer sensor. Even turning off the Autopause the problem persists. The only work around is not to use the sensor and rely on the GPS to calculate your speed. However, it’s not as accurate as using the sensor when working correctly.
JoeBruin88 says:

July 16, 2008 at 10:37 PM

Thanks for the further info Joel, but I was asking how you turn off the Autopause in my previous comment.

I can’t seem to find out how so if you know, that would be great to give me a quick how-to on turning it off on my unit.

Thanks,
Gerry
joelprice.com says:

July 17, 2008 at 1:59 AM

JoeBruin88 – Sorry. This is how you turn off auto pause on the 705 … Menu button > Training > Auto Pause/Lap > Select the "Auto Timer Pause" drop down and select "Off"
JoeBruin88 says:

July 17, 2008 at 2:34 AM

Awesome. Thanks, Joel. I just checked my unit, and it was already set to OFF.

No problems with this issue on its first day, but I am not convinced that I burned as many calories as was indicated by the unit. It states that I burned more than double what I normally would burn using a Polar HRM.
Justin says:

July 17, 2008 at 2:43 AM

Gerry,

I suspect that the actual calorie burn you experience is probably somewhere between what your Polar indicates and the inflated value from the 705.

To my knowledge, Garmin fitness devices do not take the heart rate information into consideration when the calorie calculation is made. The calories listed only take into consideration speed, weight, time, etc.

Hopefully they’ll include a more accurate calorie counter in a future firmware update.

So, in a nutshell, the heart rate monitor is working fine. Your Garmin’s just not taking it into consideration when calculating your calories.

While I too consider this a bit of a drawback, the number of incredible features in the Edge 705 far outweigh this.
Justin says:

July 17, 2008 at 2:45 AM

Joel,

I originally used my Edge 705 with the default setting of Auto Pause turned off. Earlier this week I turned the feature on.

It is working fine for me. I’ll check the Motionbased forums to get details on what some folks are experiencing.

So far, so good. When I stop, it beeps and pauses the timer. When I start, it beeps and the timer resumes.

I’m on firmware 2.20 I believe.
joelprice.com says:

July 17, 2008 at 4:45 AM

Justin – I have the same firmware, everything worked great for about three weeks, if I try to use the sensor to calculate my odometer it goes crazy, triggering the Auto Pause and calculating about half the miles I actually rode. My local bike shop replaced the sensor but the problem persists. Others are complaining about a similar problem, talked with Garmin support today and they have no clue what’s going on but will send me a new unit. I do have to pay to ship back the old unit, which kind of sucks, but at least I’m getting a new unit.
Anonymous says:

July 26, 2008 at 7:15 PM

Hi!

I bought my 705 a couple of weeks ago and I’m not impressed. My altimeter is stuck at 4290 ft. after hiking on Mt. Baker. I live on the ocean and it will not change no matter what I do. This glitch severely messes up my ascent/descent #’s on my bike. VERY ANNOYING!!!

The myGarmin info. is not user friendly and takes forever to upload any info. and I have a cable internet connection.

I just reported these issues to Garmin so depending on how timely their repsone is and how effectively they can quickly solve their problems will determine my feelings on Garmin. However, right now I don’t appreciate paying over $500 for a product that does not work 100% out of the box. I’ve wasted hours searching on the net on how to fix these issues when I should be out riding.
Justin says:

July 27, 2008 at 9:40 PM

Anonymous,

Have you tried doing a “hard reset” of your Edge 705? I have been told that to do this you hold down the MODE button while powering on the unit.

Also, Garmin just released firmware 2.30. It is supposed to fix the Auto Pause and Cadence sensor issues that have been reported by some users.

Hope this helps…

Justin
JoeBruin88 says:

July 30, 2008 at 8:39 PM

I’ve been using AutoPause recently (v. 2.1), and it works just fine for me.

Anyone ever use the 705 for a run? I really like the “turn-by-turn directions” when you create your own routes, and I was thinking that it may be used while running.

I just need to find an armband or some way of carrying it while running without it bugging me. Like I want to be able to look at it ocassionally to know where to turn or see where I’m at.
Anonymous says:

August 5, 2008 at 7:11 PM

Any recommendations about where to purchase the Garmin 705?
Anonymous says:

September 20, 2008 at 4:52 PM

Has Part II of the Edge 705 review been posted? I couldn’t find it.
Justin says:

September 22, 2008 at 4:10 AM

Part II of my Garmin Edge 705 review is now online.

I purchased my Edge 705 from REI since Amazon.com drug their feet and didn’t have it available until a few months after it was released.
jay says:

September 24, 2008 at 1:37 PM

1) Can Edge 305 HRM be used with 705?

2) Are the actual GPS coordinates available once the unit has acquired the signal (yes, for geocaching)?

3) How is the screen color w/o the backlight? Does it switch over to looking like the 305 does? (That is, monochrome w/ darker letters?) Or is it still color, just not lit?

Thanks for the great review. I would have loved to see about 10 pictures of the unit, including the mount and the microSD slot. Would still love to if you’re so motivated.

Thanks.
Justin says:

September 25, 2008 at 11:25 AM

Jay,

Thanks for visiting!

1) Yes, the Edge 705 uses the same HRM that the 305 does so it’s just a matter of pairing the HRM with the 705.

2) Yes! On the main menu you can select “Save Location” and scroll down to the lat/long field where you can enter new coordinates, change the map symbol, etc. Very similar to what you’d expect from a handheld GPS or car GPS.

3) Screen color w/o backlighting is full color and is quite readable, especially when the unit is angled towards the sun. For my morning commutes, I use about 1/4 to 1/2 backlighting and the display is brilliant!

I will shoot several photos soon including some of the specific shots you’re interested in. Note that the mount for the Edge 705 is the same mount used by the 305. My mount on both bikes is the mount I had been using for the 305 (so I just threw the new mount into the 305 box when I sold it!!). Big thanks to Garmin for doing that!
jay says:

September 25, 2008 at 12:18 PM

Thanks for the reply! I too have a 305 now, and am trying to decide if it’s worth the upgrade. I can’t think of a logical reason to do it… just that I want the larger screen and the microSD use of the 705. I know I will never use a powermeter, and I don’t even use the cadence/speed sensor I have with the 305.

So in your opinion, having had both, do you consider the upgrade worthwhile?

Do you use the Garmin software or Sporttracks (I love Sporttracks)?

Thanks!! I found pictures of the SD slot on some other site, so don’t go to the trouble unless you just want to throw them on your site. Thanks!
ToddHend@gmail.com says:

January 30, 2009 at 9:00 PM

I just got my Edge 705 and it looks like I’m experiencing the same issues that some of you are with the HRM and calorie counting. The 705 reflected that I burned about 400 calories in 16 minutes which is more than double of what other units report. I have used various polar units and they are all pretty consistent. Based on my average calorie burn I should be burning about 190 calories in that time so the calorie counter is way off. I double and triple checked the setup to make sure I had everything correct and I do – I guess it’s just one of those things I’m going to have to live with unless they update the unit.
JoeBruin88 says:

January 30, 2009 at 9:11 PM

Garmin calorie counting stinks. On my 705, I’ve turned off the HRM. For HRM and calorie counting I use my regular HRM, the t3c by Suunto.

With respect to GPS, Garmin rules.
Tomek says:

February 14, 2009 at 11:58 AM

Agree I wonder why they at Garmin dont use hr for calories calculation… More on that on http://www.gps4sport.com/gps-advices/garmin-edge-and-calories/
Anonymous says:

February 22, 2009 at 11:46 PM

Keep in mind that none of the Calorie counters are that accurate. It’s just like maximum heart rates, it’s not a one size fits all type of function. Depending on the efficiency of your muscles for the sport you are undertaking, the amount of calories will vary (even if everything else equal – i.e. weight and HR). Thus I might weight the same at the beginning of the cycling season as in the middle, but due to increased metabolic efficiency I burn less calories at the same effort level later in the season.

That being said, I would be very cautious of using the calorie values from Polar or Garmin.
Anonymous says:

February 26, 2009 at 12:12 AM

Hi
Can anyone confirm that 705 DOES have a cumulative odometer for each bike profile?
I’ve seen several reviews state this but Garmin tell me it does not.
One of my pet hates in the 305 so don’t to spend the bucks and still have another computer just for odo.

thanks
Justin says:

February 26, 2009 at 1:46 AM

Yes! The Edge 705 keeps a separate odometer count for each bicycle profile (up to 3, I think). I have a profile for my Valencia, my Felt F75 and my GF Tassajara mountain bike.

A GREAT feature in my opinion.

I wish they’d ad that feature to the 305 via a firmware update.
Tomek says:

March 13, 2009 at 7:57 PM

Simple solution for calories problem

http://converter.gps4sport.com

convert and see in Polar’s free software (Polar Precision Performance http://www.support.polar.fi/downloads/ppp/pppsw4/installationfile/Setup.exe) how much calories You burn.
OperaPixie says:

March 14, 2009 at 7:09 PM

Thanks for the review. I’m trying to decide between the 605 and the 705 and haven’t really been able to figure out what the big differences are between them. Can you, or someone on this blog, tell me more?
Justin says:

March 14, 2009 at 7:16 PM

Welcome to the blog, OperaPixie!

The Edge 605 is very similar to the 705 but does not have a heart rate monitor or support for a cadence sensor.

If you don’t need either of these which certainly might be the case if you’re using the bike for commuting and don’t care about training in certain heart rate zones, etc. then the Edge 605 may be the perfect fit.

The operate identically with the exception noted above.
Graham says:

June 1, 2009 at 9:24 PM

Another difference between the 605 and 705 is the altimeter. The Edge 705 has a barometric altimeter, the 605 uses GPS to determine altitude. Since GPS is notoriously poor at determining altitude, if that information is important to you I would opt for the 705. (The 205 and 305 have the same issue.)
Justin says:

June 2, 2009 at 3:29 AM

Graham,

Actually, the 305 – like the 705 – has a barometric altimeter. So, in this fashion, the 205 & 605 are similar in that they do not.
Jeff says:

August 5, 2009 at 5:10 AM

I'm really happy with the 705. I just with the Backlight settings did not reset (back to default) every time the unit is turned off. I want my settings to remain consistent!
jerri says:

August 26, 2009 at 3:47 AM

Hello! I am new to this blog, and i can see that this particular post is rather old, but I just got my Garmin (with my Felt ZW2) today and i was a bit concerned about the distance. I rode about 3 miles but the disstance stayed stuck at 7. the shop set it up for me, so is there something i should check? I looked and there wasn't anything i could find wrong.

thanks
Justin says:

December 21, 2009 at 1:17 PM

Jeff,

Your settings should not reset when turning off the unit. I have my backlight setting set to "Stay On" since I commute in the dark. I've never had a problem with the unit not keeping that setting. Consider doing a reset of the unit and/or updating the firmware.

Jerri,

Is there a cadence sensor on your bicycle? If a cadence sensor is present, the Edge 705 will use information from that device and if it is setup inappropriately it might be a source of this problem you're experiencing. Also, make sure you hold down RESET at the beginning of every ride in order to make sure you clear out mileage from any previous rides you've done on the same day.

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