Sandbox Syburgh

This product has amazing specifications. It measures (or is capable of measuring) just about all the data I possibly want for a ride, and works very well as an instrument.

I’ve done a few fitness rides with it and I am very disappointed with its usability. Until its arrival I had a Garmin 60CSx clamped (rather unfashionably) to the handlebars on my training bike, so the GPS aspect of the Edge 705 is not much of a change for me.

Some comparative observations:

1. 60CSx and Edge 705 have similar accuracy, and make similar mistakes (e.g. both think I am 375 ft below sea level at my desk)
2. Battery life is similar (about 10 hours), though the 60CSx uses 2 AA cells and the Edge has an iPod style (non-replaceable) Li-ion battery
3. Edge weighs much less
4. Edge has better designed bike mount (for me the 60CSx mounts seem to break every 1,000 miles due to stress. Fortunately they are inexpensive)
5. Displays are similar dimensions (Edge is smaller: about 1 cm less height, 0.5 cm less width)
6. Edge has wireless “ANT+” sensors for heart rate, cadence, and speed. These wireless sensors have required no configuration and worked flawlessly so far

There is one major deficiency, the font used to display measurements on the Edge 705 is much harder to read than the 60CSx.

On the web this may be a legitimate question of taste but on the road the light/narrow font used on the Edge is less legible. There is plenty of empty space on the display but the Edge does/cannot make use of it because of the font.

Decreasing the number of fields displayed offers more vertical space, which just creates huge areas of fallow real estate around a narrow bit of data in the center of the screen. It helps legibility less than one would hope to view fewer data elements.

The font is not configurable on either unit, but for me the Edge has been a step backward in usability for this rather trivial reason. I know it’s possible for Garmin to offer a more generously proportioned typeface in a software release, but the anticipated 3 year life of this product (Owners Manual, page 61) suggests that Garmin are probably hard at work on its successor and will not make such a noticeable change to the Edge 705.

I do like the great functionality of both Garmin GPS products, but the interface for the Edge leaves me very disappointed. Hopefully someone else will get into the expensive cycle computer market soon, or maybe Garmin will improve their UI.