I bought a Garmin 705 Edge primarily to monitor cadence (RPM) and for the maps. It includes a heart rate monitor as well.
First, I'm disappointed that the Garmin 705 Edge is not tracking my cadence accurately. I manually calculate cadence for 10 seconds and multiply by 6. The Garmin reports 4 to 10 RPMs LESS than what I count. I've tested several times and the Garmin is never the same as what I count.
The Garmin calculates speed accurately. I know this because I also use a $50 Bontrager bicycle computer and they report the same MPH.
The Garmin 705 Edge also calculates calories burned at a much higher rate than my Polar Heart Rate Monitor. The Garmin is not using heart rate as part of the calculation as well as other BMI information in order to calculate calories burned accurately. Calculating calories burned accurately must include: height, weight, age, gender and heart rate. The Garmin only stores age and weight. The Polar Heart Rate Monitor stores all of the required information.
I spent $379 on the Garmin 705 Edge only to discover that I need to spend another $79 if I want detailed maps. The maps included only display main routes and highways - no streets. The main routes and highways are exactly where I DON'T want to ride.
All of your rides are stored on the Garmin and easily uploaded to the PC or Mac software application for permanent storage. The software allows you to correlate the various metrics, like cadence and speed, heart rate and cadence.
* Read my review of of the Keiser M3 Indoor Spin Cycle Stationary Bike.
Read about cycling cadence indoors vs. outdoors.
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