Friday 2 March 2012

Testing my Garmin Edge® 200 GPS CYCLE COMPUTER‏

Garmin Edge® 200 GPS Cycling Computer



I recently picked up a Garmin Edge® 200 GPS Cycling Computer from a French sounding bike shop based in Scotland!

> http://www.veloecosse.com/productdetails.asp?productid=20477

I was lucky and picked it up for just under a hundred pounds (£99.99), but their current price is still a good offer


Image of the GARMIN EDGE 200 GPS CYCLE COMPUTER

The 200 is the most basic of the GPS units, but I really only wanted a computer to keep track of my routes and not some of the other fancy stuff a cyclist may want. This was particularly for my soon coming LEJOG (Paul and Ash's LEJOG Challenge) ride in April.

So far I have only used the unit twice, but I have been impressed by the ease of use and the relative speed in which the GPS signal is picked up before starting.

I have also been really impressed by all the infomation gathered for tracking, which can be seen in the Garmin Connect area of the Garmin web site (http://connect.garmin.com/). My ride information can be seen at the following address:

http://connect.garmin.com/ashwarp

After the initial use, the only critisism I'd have is that the unit doesn't stop tracking when you slow down/stop at traffic lights etc. so this makes your average speed seem slightly worse than it actually is. However, this may just be a lack of knowledge on my part after initial use and not reading the user manual in too much detail (I'm a man!), so there may be a way of doing a quick pause in such circumstances.

For a comparison, I had my old (wheel magnet based) wireless computer on at the same time. As the Garmin's GPS based they don't interfere with each other. As per my previous comments, the only negative is that the old computer stops (standby) pretty quick at traffic lights etc., so that (other than acceleration/deceleration) your clock stops and the average isn't affected. The Garmin needs to pick up GPS, so it can't really switch off. The average on the old one was 19.5 mph on my first ride, where as the Garmin unit clocked it at 18.9 mph. However, my total distance was slightly out as well, so I am starting to think that I had the wrong circumference set on the old wireless computer.

In brief, so far so good. I'm definitely happy with the purchase. A bit more use required and a bit more knowhow needed on my part. Also, this may not be important to everybody, but the unit comes with attachments for 2 bikes. I have (a lot) more than 2 bikes, so priced up another mounting kit. For the few bits of rubber and plastic, which in reality must only cost a few pennies to make, the price was about fifteen quid! I will continue to look to see if there is a cheaper alternative.

Garmin on the Garmin Edge® 200

Bring new life to every ride with Edge 200. This GPS-enabled cycling computer tracks time, distance, speed, location and calories burned. The Edge 200 is ideal for training, everyday and touring rides or any adventure you want to relive later at Garmin Connect™ — our free website for data analysis, mapping and sharing.

Easy to Use

We know you just want to get out and enjoy your ride without fussing over gear and electronics, so we made Edge 200 extremely easy to use. There’s no set-up required — just pop it onto the included bike mount and you’re ready to roll. You even can use it on multiple bikes.

GPS-enabled

Edge 200 features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix® satellite prediction to calculate your position faster. That means when you turn it on outdoors, it finds satellites quickly so you can get on with your ride. It also alerts you if you’re moving but the timer is not running. Edge 200 has an Auto Pause feature so it will stop the timer when you’re not moving, then restart automatically when you’re rolling again. You also can set alerts for distance, time or calories to make it easier and more fun to achieve your goals.

How Far and How Fast

Whether you ride for fun, fitness or to feed your competitive edge, you’ll love seeing how far and how fast you rode. Having this data at your fingertips provides motivation and inspiration to keep you going. Edge 200 stores up to 130 hours of ride data and sorts your activities so you can quickly look up the fastest, longest or last ride.

Challenge Me

Edge 200 helps you bring new life to old rides with Courses, a feature that lets you challenge your times on previous rides. A digital cyclist shows your speed relative to your past performance, along with an indication of how far ahead or behind you are. You also can download rides from other Garmin Connect users for a virtual competition.

Garmin Connect

Join a worldwide network of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts at Garmin Connect. Once your ride is done, upload it to the site to see the path you travelled on a map, analyse it, share it and view more detail like elevation. Use Garmin Connect’s new Course Creator feature to plan new rides or convert a past activity into a Course.

> http://www.garmin.com/uk/edge-series


Finally, if you want a bit more detail, this "Garmin Edge 200 In Depth Review" is excellent!


> http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/08/garmin-edge-200-in-depth-review.html