I was looking at an Edge 305 with a Heartrate monitor. The Etrex 30 can do this too, with an ANT+ sensor, but can also load OS maps, and can be used off the bike, for ski-touring etc.
Any users of either care to comment?
I've got the etrex 30 and was using it on the bike with hr and cadence. Works fine with garmin connect but doesn't upload direct to strava if that is important. Bulkier than the 500/800 and a bit fiddly to use on the move.
I have a 20 and love it. Depends what you want out of it though. They're very good in terms of navigation. The Edge units are better for training though, imo, which might interest you if you;re thinking about heart rate? One is not better than the other, just different.
I have the etrex 20 and think it works great. I followed this guide to set it up. Page 3 of the guide shows you how to organise the pages so the you can flip between the map and the trip computer with one button click.
http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lw3_0.htm
another Etrex20 user. V happy with it but you need to figure out your priorities. The Etrex are more multi-activity friendly, bulkier as designed to be handheld and use easily replaceable AA batteries. As theyre not bike specific they tend to lose some of the training-specific functionality, and use a completely different software to support them -Basecamp not Garmin Connect (at least for the 20), which might be a factor.
Munqe-chick has an 800, and talking to Connect is important for her as she has a Garmin GPS running watch (AND a Garmin Swim watch!) so she can log and review all her training and activities in one place. It also works with ANT+ cadence, and uses the same sensor unit to work with a wheel magnet so she can record her turbo trainer sessions. Does the 30 'only' talk to HRM?
The only negatives to me are the brick-like bulk when mounted on the road bike and using only Basecamp instead of Connect.
I have an Etrex 30, but I'm not into training, just riding. Works great for my needs as I have full UK OS maps on it. I think you could do better these days though, as the Etrex has its own little quirks.
I'd avoid all the Garmin base camp/Connect online stuff (except for soft/firmware updates) as frankly it is utter pants. Garmins reputation is based on the hardware and customer support, not on the software.
Hth
Marko