Map Detail
As I've read in other reviews, the Edge 705 base map is better than the 305 but no where close to what you would suppose from an all-in GPS unit. If you want to obtain map detail on your PC and you GPS unit, don't buy the micro SD card but rather buy the DVD version. I've confirmed from Garmin that if you buy the DVD version, map detail may be viewed on your PC and the 705. All you need to do is copy the DVD to a micro sd card which you may insert into the unit.
A comparison of the Edge 705 and Garmin 60 CSx for bike navigation
For me, a bike GPS is primarily interesting because of the possibleness of navigating while riding the bike. Having speed, cadence and distance selective information is nice, but you may get that for a fraction of the price without the hassle of having to do not forget to keep your bike computer charged. Any Cat-Eye will run for at least a year on a set of batteries. This Edge 705 will need to be charged at least weekly if you are an avid rider.
I like to go out for rides in a random direction and then use the GPS to guide me home. I likewise like to plan rides conservatively at home on the computer, download them to my navigation device and ride a route with turn by turn directions, not necessitating to ever consult a paper map for the duration of the ride. I don't download performance (speed, cadence,heart rate) selective information to my computer an make an analyzation of it. I just don't care regarding that data. I don't use the heart rate monitor. I employed to use heart rate monitors but no longer am training gravely sufficient to care.
I also find that having a mapping GPS on my bike is entertaining. I get to watch the map as I ride and find out the names of parks and other huge green areas around me.
The idea of having turn by turn navigation on my bike has long appealed to me. I purchased a GPS 60 CS when it initial came out, and then upgraded to the Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigatorwhen it came out (but more sensible GPS reception). To get navigation with that device, I had to buy the city navigator DVDs and plan my routes using Mapsource on my PC. The 60CSx only comes with base maps.
Mapsource is functional but primitive and rough around the edges from a user interface perspective. Nevertheless, it gets the occupation done. The 60 CSx is a wondrous turn by turn navigator on the bike. The screen is easy to read and gorgeous large. The device is waterproof and mounts to the bike with a solid, if more or less large, bike mount kit.
I purchased the 705 because it promised the same basic navigation features of the Garmin 60 CSx but in a much littler package, and with an integrated cadence sensor.
The 705 is much littler and lighter than the 60 CSx. But to get to that size, the battery in the 705 is rechargeable and not field replaceable. What that means is that I need to make sure the device is charging the night before if I want to ride. The 60 CSx takes AA batteries. Not only may I ride at a moment's notice, but if the batteries are near the end of the their life, I may ride with a spare set and just keep on going.
The 60 CSx calculates routes significantly quicker than the 705 does, even even though the 60 CSx is a 2 yr old design at this point. That for the most part does not matter, except when you go off route and need to recalculate the route.
Most glaringly, the 705 only supports 100 waypoints. Yes, you read that right. Only 100 waypoints. Why? I have no idea. It seems like an idiotic limit. I don't recognise what the limit is on the 60 CSx, but it is big sufficient that I never hit it.
Routes invented in Mapsource use waypoints. In fact, when you download a route from Mapsource, you are in truth downloading an ordered set of waypoints. The Garmin device recalculates the route each time you ride it. This normally works out fine because the routing engine in Mapsource is the same or similar sufficient that the actual route is the same on the computer and the device. At least that was unfeigned for the 60 CSx.
For the Edge 705, I have had more or less more trouble with my workflow. Sometimes for the duration of a ride, I will get a bad cue to take a turn that I know is not needed. I only know that because I planned the route on the computer. I will skip the turn and the Edge 705 will recalculate.
I don't recognise if this problem is actually a problem with the Edge 705 or because of divergences amidst the routing engine on the computer versus the 705.
There is also the conception of course points and being capable to plot a route that includes course points. To my knowledge, such courses require you to manually stay on course by looking down at the map, versus get cued for each turn. If you go off course, you are expected to find your way back to the course. This holds no interest for me and I don't use the feature.
I suspect that Garmin expected me to use the course point feature because there is no crazy 100 course point limit built in - or so I hear. I have never developed a course, only a route. And routes use waypoints.
The 100 waypoint limit is actually not a big problem for me. Most routes include less than 40 turns, even when they are 40 miles long. And hence, I just upload the route I am presently using. But that is a bit of a hassle I will admit.
I purchased the 705 without maps built in and likewise purchased the current US city navigator DVD. That was a bit of a nightmare. First, the software claimed to be mac compatible. So I tried it on a Mac. But the map loader would only load 400 megabytes of maps onto the device because that is what the software thought I had available for use on the device, even though I had installed a 2 GB micro SD card.
The mac install does not include Mapsource route planning software so plotting routes is not possible!
Finally, I gave up and booted my PC and used Mapsource with my 2 yr old maps and was capable to deal with the 705 just as I had the 60 CSx. But if those maps worked, I did not even need the new DVD. Oh well.
As anybody who is genuinely into Garmin productions knows, computer software is not their forte, and that is putting it mildly. Nevertheless, they have outstanding merchandise and their clients put up with all sorts of nightmares to get their solution working. But you have to be an ardent to want to try.
Overall, I am happy with my Garmin 705 Edge on my road bike. But if feels like much more of fussy bike-specific device where navigation is a feature equated to my Garmin 60 CSx.
My Garmin 60 CSx is a survivalist device. It is built like a tank, may run for a limitless time as long as you carry your weight in batteries, and greets you with a huge bold "Ready to Navigate" after it gets GPS lock. Those words in all likelihood best describe why I love the 60 CSx so much. At the end of the day, I want a navigation device on my bike. The Edge 705 is a "bike computer" with navigation. There are compromises there.
Other differences. The 60 CSx has no commence and stop buttons. After you reset it, it is running and the clocks are ticking. This is largely fine for me, peculiarly because it also calculates the intermediate speed while moving. On the other hand, the 705 has a start/stop button. That may be applied manually to commence your clock when you are ready, or it may be set to automati begin and stop when it detects movement. I don't actually prefer one methodology over the other.
The 60 CSx has tons of other cool stuff including sunrise and sunset tables, a geocaching mode, one button marking of weypoints, and a committed find button that brings up close by way points. The 60 CSx also a magnetic compass, making it utile for Geocaching and getting your bearings while standing still. The 705 does not have a compass.
Note that I would consider the Oregon series of GPS widgets for bike navigation, but the word is that they are not almost as readable in daylight.
If you look at the reviews of the Garmin 60 CSx, you will see that it is one of the most beloved merchandise Garmin has ever come out with. They can't get numerous clients to upgrade to the touchscreen Oregon gimmicks because persons love their 60 CSx so much. That is amazing giving careful consideration to that entering an address on a 60 CSx is like winning a game of Asteroids and having to enter your initials with the roller ball. People of a sure vintage know what I mean.
I would consider getting a 60 CSx if you don't own one and want one device for hiking and biking. They are dirt cheap now and still as terrifi as the day they were original released. It's likewise interesting that Garmin still sells the thing. Why? Because persons buy them. Go figure.
