Philadelphia Mountain Biking Association - Forums

I was thinking of getting one of the Garmin GPS systems (either the Forerunner 305 or the Edge 305) for using on my various bikes/rides. Does anyone out there have any experience using either of these units in Wissahickon? They both have really good reviews on MTBR.com but I wanted to make sure they worked in Wiss before laying down the cash...

Thanks
Stew

I have the Forerunner 201.

I've never taken it to the Wiss, but like many GPS units, it does sometimes lose satellite contact under a heavy tree canopy. If there are breaks in the trees it picks it up again pretty quickly. I think over long distances I still get pretty good accuracy. Over short areas I don't always see consistent speeds. It does have a "smoothing" function so the drops are less noticeable.

It doesn't do well in a valley situation when you are at the bottom of a valley with steep sides. I think in many locations at least one of the satellites is not straight above you and tend to be lower on the horizon. In a steep valley it can't see it well. In Wiss this might be a problem. Not sure. I would think it would be the same with any GPS though.

I'm heading to the Wiss tomorrow, so I'll bring along and see how it does and post comments here.

Surprisingly, I found I ended up using it a lot for just doing speedwork when running. If you don't have a track nearby, it's great for marking short distances and timing workouts. 

You can see some of the tracks I've output here: http://flickr.com/photos/ezraw/sets/72157600559388082/

Mine doesn't output in a standard GPS format, but there are some really nice tools you can stitch together to output maps. I saved some relevant links here: http://del.icio.us/ezraw/gps

Ezra

i have a 60csx (same GPS chip as the forerunner). it is amazing even in heavy tree cover. mine doesn't seem to have ever lost it's signal even under heavy trees.

neat toy. i heard with the forerunner you can even race yourself when you reride a course you already have in the system.  :o

Hey,

So here's what I found. I got the weak signal message about 20 times doing the loop of Wiss. Most places it wasn't a problem -- it picked it up again almost immediately. At the very north of the park, I lost the signal for about 10 minutes. You can see the track here:

http://flickr.com/photos/ezraw/811142990/

Note at the very north part how there is missing data -- the straight line across the creek.

Ezra

Thanks for all the feedback. I think with the "high sensitivy" chip in the 205/305 models, there may not be too much of a problem. When I get one, I'll let you guys know. I'll have to re-post so I can figure out how to output to google earth and such -- apparently this is one of the capabilities of the newer models.

The 305 seems to be the unit that consistently receives the highest marks for signal strength. After much reviewing/feedback we're now stocking the 305's at Wheel Wright in Abington.  When riding in hilly terrain, signal strength has less to do with the "sensitivity" of the antenna, and more to do with the number of satellites the antenna is able to lock on to at any given time. Some of the more inexpensive units are only able to lock on/keep track of the required three satellites, while the more expensive ones like the 305 are able to be locked onto the required three, but then also have several others available to immediately switch over to should the signal from one of the three be lost. This way you don't get the gaps in data that are common when riding with the less expensive units in hilly terrain.

I've used a Forerunner 301 and a Legend Cx in Wissahickon and other places for about a year. I've had the same experience with occasionally losting signals as others have with the Forerunner, although it still gives a pretty good GPS track.  The Rally in the Valley maps were made from tracks from my GPS, and didn't have too many long straight lines which would indicate a loss of signal. 

If you get one of these units, download SportTracks from http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/  It logs all of your rides, showing distance, time, elevation change and Google Earth images of the ride.  It will also let you create .GPX files, which can be imported into Topo USA and other mapping programs.  Amazing software, and free.

Also - anyone interested in using GPS with mountain biking should check out http://www.mtbguru.com/ and his blog at http://blog.mtbguru.com/. 

Jon

I have used the 305 for 1.5 years, and have never lost a signal in "canopy" of trees in Wissy, French Creek, White Clay, etc. Love the fact I can buy cheap mounts and move to one of 3 mtbs and 1 road bike without fussing with magnets, wheel sizes, etc, etc,

...with free shipping from Performance Bike. Same features as 305, but no wireless interface capability for cadence or heart rate options

makiT

Are you stocking the Edge 305 or the Forerunner 305 or both? I'm still trying to decided between the two. The Edge seems a bit bulky, and you can't use it (at least very effectively) for running, hiking, or anything but biking.

I use the Edge. The forerunner is more for all-around. Think it is color option also.  -- LOVE THE EDGE --

I've the 301 forerunner and have been very happy with reception in deep cover.  We've a good selection at REI and offer gps clinics thru our Done in a Day Adventure program.   Buy with confidence with our 100% satisfaction guarantee - you can't lose.

Karl

The only other difference is that the 305 has a  barometric altimeter whereas the 205 does not, so the 205 uses math to calculate your altitude which turns out to be pretty useless. I have the 205 and wished I had sprung for the 305 if only for that reason.

-pete

I've been using a Garmin EDGE305 for about 9 months now.. I have a bunch of Wiss rides in it.. it is very cool and worth the money.. You can get one for like $200 on eBay.  I'll post a link from a recent ride so you can see what it looks like..

YEa it is cool. I don't have one  >:(

FWIW I've been using SportTracks instead of Garmin's Training Center software and find it to be much better -- plus you can export to the free version of Google Earth, so you basically get the benefits of the pay-version of Google Earth without actually paying for it.

There are definitely some bugs and dificiencies with SportTracks but so far it's the best I've found. The one thing I would *love* to be able to do is export the Edge data to an Excel spreadsheet so I could conveniently log my ride data in my own format, graph stuff my way, etc. If anyone comes across something like this please let me know. If I had time this would be a good project but I just don't have the time to even look into writing something like that right now.

-pete

Well, SportTracks' file is an XML file in your My Documents folder.  You can read it directly into Excel 2007 by renaming it to .XML from .GPX.  The track data doesn't come across well (not sure why - I don't know a lot about XML) but the rest of the data appears to be readable. 

I'm sorry..what?   

Ok. I know I want one.

I didn't realize that, cool. Maybe I'll poke around in the file and see what I can extract from it -- thanks

Here's a link to one of my rides in Wiss from last Thursday using the Garmin Edge 305.

Try using the Map Player as you can watch the little dot ride and stop and replay the ride... 

Almost too much technology...  Warning Warning.. Geek Factor is HIGH... ;D

Pretty Cool though..

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=84739&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=3433625