I currently own an iAero III and am considering the purchase of the Garmin Edge 705. I was curious about the following:
For which of the following scenarios or use cases will I need the Garmin Firmware update:
Transmitting Power from iAero (yes)
Speed and Cadence on the Edge using iAero sensors and without the Edge sensors (unsure)
Speed and Cadence on the iAero using Edge sensors and without the iAero sensors (unsure)
I was unsure about the last two. But since both use ANT+ Sport for wireless transmission, I was thinking/hoping that it would be a case where both devices would be paired with a single sensor and not have to have duplicate sensors on my bike.
I have a Pro, but there is not that much different.
The 705 Garmin has the speed/cadence sensor and the iBike picks them up just fine - I use the HR sensor, too. The Garmin grabs the iBike Power readout - with the Garmin unlocked on the iBike.
A full blown Garmin 705 and the iAero with the G option will leave you with only one sensor setup on your bike. Extra wheels? Just put another magnet on a spoke.
Not sure about the other way as far as the Garmin reading the iBike sensors - would not be surprised if they did work, though.
Even though Garmin owns the ANT+Sport technology, and Garmin sells us the wireless sensors we use in the iBike, Garmin has chosen NOT read the iBike sensors!
So, to have the cleanest setup with the fewest sensors, I would need to use Garmin sensors for speed and cadence and have the Garmin and the iAero both paired with these. Is that correct?
Out of curiosity, is this (Garmin not reading the iBike speed/cadence sensors) specific to speed and cadence? The reason I ask is that I have a Forerunner and have used iBike's Heartrate with the Forerunner since I purchased my first iBike.
The HR strap is pretty much a universal strap so you can mix iBike, 705 and Forerunner straps without a problem. You can't use Polar straps BTW.
The cleanest setup is a Garmin sensor with the "G" firmware upgrade. Garmin uses one sensor for both SPD and CAD and it's called the GSC-10. You could actually buy the garmin sensor separately along with the "G" firmware upgrade and never own the 705 itself. Now that's a neat and simple setup.
The 705 is more a toy than anything else. It's fun to look at the GPS points and see the power during that section but there's not much REAL advantage to a 705. Importing the 705 data into WKO yields large voids where there are pauses and the elevation gains are grossly overstated. Even the power data stored on the 705 is overstated because the 705 does not average in non-pedaling time correctly. Importing a 705 ride file into Garmin Training Center is useless because it doesn't display any power data. Even in SportTracks (my personal favorite) the data is best analyzed when importing the iBike data directly just as you would import the iBike csv file directly into WKO.
If you're looking to ride preset courses, look at detailed maps, get directions etc. then the 705 is a great tool, but if you're looking for a unit that will give you more tools in your training toolkit the 705 is just bells and whistles. Don't get me wrong, I love my 705; it's just more icing on the training cake.
Sorry for taking this post beyond what it was intended for.
Last edited by racerfern on Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
I have to agree - a Garmin Spd/Cad sensor and the iBike HR monitor is the simplest choice and probably best for overall cost effectiveness and training utility format.
Each of the Garmin pieves can be purchased separately - look around - Amazon has them - your bike shop may also - but probably at list price.
The best choice for adding the 705 is if you have an Apple Mac computer as you can get a shareware program called Ascent - far better than the Garmin Trainer.
