Garmin Edge 705 HRM Outdoor Fitness GPS with Heart Rate Monitor

Executive Summary: If you are looking for a complete solution to HR, power, Cyclo computer and GPS with great usability, Garmin 705 is for you. The 705 retains the 305's ability to record data indoors as well as outside. Additionally, the 705 is compatible with the 305 rear wheel speed / cadence transmitter. Mapping is good, but roadies rarely need directional assistance. Basic cyclo computer functions are perfect and are easy to configure. Great user interface and controls - on and off the bike. Easy to see and adjust the color screen's intensity. No problem with interference from other HR monitors or other Garmin users.

Down side (the reason I rated this a 3 and not a 5):

1) (Not Garmin's fault) Power Tap is not yet compatible with the ANT+ communication protocol and the Quark power meter (which IS compatible) will not work for Shimano & Campy cranks. Major disappointment! Cannot test the power meter integration.

2) Motion Based / Garmin Connect data upload sites: While Motion Based was an adequate site to collect and analyze ride data; it was never as good as the Polar software / Web site. Garmin is in the middle of moving its fitness uploads from the Motion Based website (supposed to happen in May?) to the Garmin Connect website. Either Garmin / Motion based are completely inept at web site development management or they have not resourced the project appropriately. Garmin connect has a slick appearance but still lacks the meat of Motion Based and when compared to Polar is completely inadequate for analyzing ride data. The site lacks a GREAT deal of data reporting and presentation features to make it useful to even us amateur cyclists.

3) Garmin needs work on its drivers for the 705 - Windows Vista in general and the 64 bit version in particular. (I did not downgrade them for this; I was dumb enough to buy into Microsoft's hype and choose Vista 64). No clue on how the drivers work for Mac.

4) Still no ambient temperature available measurement available on the 705. In fact the Motion Based feature that associated weather with a particular ride was not activated for the first three weeks I had the 705. One day, out of the blue it started working - but only on the Motion Based Site; it is still not there in any form for the Garmin Connect Site.

Bottom Line: Garmin has done its job in creating a great combo HR, Power, cyclo computer and GPS receiver. Arguably, the greatest selling point of the device is the ability to integrate power data with other cycling data; unfortunately Garmin partnered with high end provider (SRM) and the new low cost provider (Quark) for power data instead of driving a natural relationship with the more popular Power Tap. Additionally, they have not invested enough resources to create even a reasonable data collection site / software to adequately use all the data collected by the 705. My recommendation is buy it, go without integrated power until Power Tap get its act together and invest in the Training Peaks software to upload the wealth of meaningful data that is collected by this wonderful device.