I have been a long time Garmin Forerunner 201 owner, and have used it on my bike for a couple years now. I am not overly excited about owning it, as it is too big, and has poor battery life. Lets face it, the Forerunner series was meant for running (and that is what I originally used it for). Not too long ago Garmin released the Edge 305, which was a GPS based device similar to the Forerunner, but made for biking. With the inclusion of Cadence, heartbeat monitors, and more biking-centric features, the Edge got a lot of attention in the cycling community. Here is a breakdown of the Edge 305 features:

• Easy-to-install—no calibration required. Just snap it in the included bike mount and go
• High-sensitivity GPS receiver—knows your position even in tree cover and canyons, making it extremely reliable for navigation
• Highly efficient ANT wireless protocol—provides superior battery life and reliably transfers your performance data to the Edge 305
• Customizable cycle computer—shows up to eight different data fields for continuous feedback
• Virtual Partner™—lets you “race” a virtual competitor, making training fun
• Courses—let you “race” against a recorded course to try to match previously set speeds at every point along the way
• Auto Pause®—pauses the training timer when you slow down below a specified speed and resumes when you speed up again so you can focus on your ride
• Auto Lap®—automatically triggers a lap every time you pass a specified location or travel a preset distance
• Training Center software—gives you the ability to create workouts, manage and download courses, and create a detailed post-ride analysis that charts your performance

A huge downside to all of these great features is the battery life, which many claim won’t make it on a 2 day ride. Also, an even more depressing point is the price. At $433 for the 305 with cadence and HR sensors, this is one expensive gadget. I would be hard pressed to put a cyclocomputer on my bike that costs nearly as much as the bike itself. It has lots of great features, but many of these features can be found on a device that costs less than $100.

Get all the details on the Edge 305 here [Garmin.com]