Garmin Forerunner 305

sfuller

I have been given one of these and have a couple of questions to anybody who knows....



I understand these can be used on both running and biking sessions; for the biking sessions, what do I need so it can calculate speed, cadence and cals accurately?



For run sessions all I need is the watch, right?



thanks

SuperCaz

You can use the garmin on the bike in the same way as you can for running, but it will only calculate speed and distance, just like on a run. Make sure you have it on bike mode, btw, otherwise the calorie bit goes mad as says that you have burnt something like 3000 calories!



If you want to measure cadence then you need to buy an additional bit that you clip to your wheel. You have to set it up on the garmin in the same way that you set up the HRM the first time you use it. Again, you need to set the garmin to bike mode otherwise it won't try to talk to the wheel bit.

fixiebob

I have been using mine for 4 months now great bit of kit you should put it on bike mode when on the bike but if you forget it will still give you an accurate speed it wont give you cadence and when you download your session it will log it as a run albeit a fast one.

It can also be set to multisport so you can use it for running off bike training and duathlons can include your transitions cadence sensor which by the way has nothing to do with your wheel is around £40.

sfuller

the cadence sensor is attached to the crank surely? thanks for the info. can this be used to swim in..... i.e in a triathlon?

artik

I havn't ever used it for swim - I know people do put it under their wetsuit or even under cap during the swim. I keep it on the bike and then run with it. The only thing to be wary about is giving it enough time to locate satellites, before you use it - turn it on and sit it outside for 5 mins or so before you go.

The 305 is an ugly beast but it is a fantastic way to keep an eye on all your run/bike stats - heart rate, cadence, transitions, gps etc, etc.

It also charts it all, allows you to create interval sessions, run against a virtual partner - I like it lots!! It has changed the way I train.

Jonbrown

On top of running and biking I use my 305 whilst kayaking- nothing too aggresive (concerned may smash lens against a rock) but it still gets fairly wet perhaps 25% of time in water although usually not too deep. All I do is put a strip of insulation tape over the small holes either side of the contacts (also covering the contacts as I'm a bit concerned that if I'm in the seathe salty water may short out across the contacts). I've been using it in the water for over a year without any problems. I'd be happy swimming with it for say 1500m but as it's such a lump it would be a pain in transition trying to get wetsuit off.

sfuller

so really the best thing to do is to just leave it with the bike really and use for the bike & run part.... thanks