Satellite navigation company Garmin has introduced the 60g Edge 500, featuring a high-sensitivity GPS receiver requiring no calibration, and can be switched quickly between bikes, connecting wirelessly with ANT+ compatible third-party power metres.
The US$320/£199 Edge 500 was developed with feedback from the ProTour road racing team Garmin-Slipstream. When bundled with a heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor, Edge 500 has a suggested retail price of US$405/£249.
“It’s the perfect tool for training and racing for every facet of the sport – time trials, climbing, all-out sprints and breakaways," said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports. "Downloading data to Garmin Connect helps us replay the ride time and again to study the statistics, looking for any room for improvement for the next day. It also allows our fans and the media access to the riders’ data for any given day.”
The GPS-enabled Edge 500 tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent. For extra-precise elevation data, Edge 500 incorporates a barometric altimeter.
As well as being compatible with third party power meters, the Edge 500 combines more data by also pairing wirelessly with Garmin speed/cadence sensors and featuring advanced heart rate-based calorie computation when used with a Garmin heart rate monitor.
Including a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix that quickly acquires and maintains satellite reception, the Edge 500 also displays temperature readings, changes times zones automatically and alerts the rider if they’re moving but the timer is not running. With up to 18 hours of battery life, Edge 500 features a low-profile mount that fits easily on the stem or handlebars.
When paired with a Garmin heart rate monitor, Edge 500 tracks the micro changes in a user’s heart rate and uses that information to calculate the number of calories burned. In developing Edge 500 and its heart rate-based calorie computation, Garmin worked with Firstbeat Technologies Ltd., a technology company based in Finland.
Cyclists can track Team Garmin’s featured rides – or download, analyse and share rides of their own by participating in Garmin Connect, an online community that brings together millions of activities around the world.
Garmin Connect displays measurements such as time, distance, speed, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevational maps, as well as the popular Google Earth application. Garmin Connect users can search for activities in their area and try the routes for themselves by uploading the data to Garmin devices, which will then guide the way.
The Garmin Edge 500 has a USB interface for easy charging and data transfer.
For more information, visit www.garmin.com.
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