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Garmin 205

esr

Monkey
Nov 12, 2001
180
0
ontario,canada
Hey,

Just ordered one though it would be interesting to track my progress on the same course ove r a whole season.

Anyone use one for downhill yet what sort or results did you get?
 

Superdeft

Monkey
Dec 4, 2003
863
0
East Coast
have a look at motionbased.com, its possible to upload your data and get charts/graphs/statistics. A good online tool for garmin hardware and training
 

esr

Monkey
Nov 12, 2001
180
0
ontario,canada
Ya,

Im really excited to use this tool.

Even if just to do time practiced runs at races.

and hey ill have trouble getting lost
 

Banshee Rider

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
1,452
10
Two guys I regularely ride with use the 205 and 305. Although the 205 was originally my GPS of choice since it had all the basic features I wanted, but didn't have the heart rate monitor and hefty price tag, I quickly changed my mind. On xc rides with both owners, the 205's elevation measurement was consistantly off by considerable ammounts, and if it ever dropped below a certain speed (like on very steep, long, slow climbs) then it stopped reading and the ride time/average speed/etc. were all thrown off. The 305 however, was far more accurate and overall seemed like a much nicer unit. It could have been chalked up to a faulty gps since I don't have numerous owners of the same gps on the same ride, but I have a feeling the 205 cuts a few more corners than just a lack of heart rate monitor for the pricetag.
 

Rick205

Monkey
Jun 20, 2006
200
0
My 305 has the heart rate monitor and cadence sensor - when it looses GPS it just gets info from the speed sensor on the wheel so i never loose average ride time etc, its all wireless too so very neat.

Not tried it on my DH bike but couldnt live without it now for xc and road.

Rick
 

ska todd

Turbo Monkey
Oct 10, 2001
1,776
0
I tried using the 305 a bit for DH but it doesn't read accurately enough for tracking DH runs. The fastest you can have it uplink is 1 sec. This isn't fast enough for a DH race track. Because it will sometimes loose GPS signal in dense trees or weather, it is hard to really use it as a tool for comparing times run vs run. You can't accurately see different line choices affecting times since the the GPS resolution is only up to 3 meters. Lastly, the standard mount is not solid enough for use on a DH bike. On the bar it is awkward and prone to being ripped off from a crash. On the top tube and you hit it w/ knee pads and you cannot access the controls to start/stop.

Overall, EXCELLENT tool for XC and road, just not yet for DH. I'd say either those moto timers or the watch/wands are your best bets for DH personal DH timing.

-ska todd
 

esr

Monkey
Nov 12, 2001
180
0
ontario,canada
Well my area isnt dense forest pretty open and I ore wnat it to track the run etc and give me a chart to look at to see progression etc over a season.