Steve reviews his Garmin 800 and Trek Cronus Pro

Up Paris Mountain

May 1st, was a beautiful Sunday. It was a comfortably cool, clear morning. A great morning to climb with the new bike, as well as put the Garmin Edge 800 cycling G.P.S. and training aid through its paces. So, up Paris mountain it was to be on a 32 mile, 1400 calorie burning ride. Just myself, the Garmin, and the new bike. The Trek Cronus Pro is part of the Gary Fisher Signature line. It can be seen at www.trekbikes.com under the Gary Fisher Collection tab. The bike sports the F.C.C., which stand for Fisher Control Column. It has a 25mm hub cap, which is much larger than the norm. This means shorter bladed spokes, greater strength, and the ability to corner well, and climb like a goat. The climb up Paris Mountain did seem a little easier than on the Madone 5.2, and the decent around the first hairpin turn was amazing. It was like the bike was reading my mind.

Those who know me best know that among my many shortcomings is the fact I get lost going to the mailbox. That is particularly sad since my bloody mailbox is screwed next to the front door of our modest condo. The GPS features of the Garmin Edge 800 kept me on course for a 31 mile ride, and got me home without calling my wife in panic. All, the while I measured my distance, total distance, speed, average speed, cadence, heart rate, average heart rate, calories burned, and elevation gain all on one screen. Other measurements I had on a second screen. One may have 10 different ride calculations on 3 screens for a total of 30 ride statistics, including climb and decent graphs. If you are not impressed yet consider this, one can connect to Garmin connect, create a free account after registering their Garmin, then download the entire ride statistics. You can then print it out, share it, save it, and even post the ride to facebook.

When you look at your ride you can see what amounts to all the above specs complete with color graphs of cadence, heart rate, it looks like an EKG, the route, and ascents, and descents, as well as other specs. You can even record the route you just did for future rides. If you are a premium user of www.mapmyride.com you can download maps to a micro SD card and follow those routes on your Garmin. The Cronus Pro retails for $3849.99 and the Garmin Edge 800 bundle with heart rate strap, and cadence attachment retails for $650.00 U.S. If that is a little steep for the Garmin Edge 800, and you do not need the GPS features consider the Garmin 500 which is significantly less expensive and offers many of the Edge 800 features.

Come see us soon at The Great Escape in Greenville, Anderson, or Spartanburg. Let us fit you and hook you up with the latest technology in cycling.

Till next time,
Steve