.: What’s Bruin :.

So I rode with my new Garmin Edge 705 for the first time today. I really like it. There is one thing that bugs me, and that is the calories that it states that I burned.

The bike shop where I bought my bike set up the unit and mounted it for me, and they entered my profile information correctly. I weigh 176 lbs, and my bike weighs 22 lbs. For the first leg of this morning’s bike commute to work, I wore my Polar F5 HRM in addition to the Garmin. Granted, I know the Polar does not account for the weight of the bike, and maybe other things the Garmin does.

But typically for my morning commute (about 11 miles, 45 minutes total), the Polar tells me that I burn about 375-450 calories. The Garmin, on the other hand, says that I burned 948 calories, which is a little more than double what the Polar indicates.

I know that I probably do burn a little more with the additional weight of the bike factored in, but it seems unlikely to burn double the amount.

I’m tracking calories because I’m manage my weight with a calorie/food/exercise database called MyFoodDiary.com. (I’d like to lose four more pounds.)

I’m going to use the Garmin measurements for a few days and see if my weight management is significantly affected. With more calories burned, I have a larger allowancce for meals, etc. so I imagine that if I tend to eat a couple of hundred more calories than normal, it may retard my weight loss.

Any thoughts about the Garmin HRM feature? I had a similar experience with the Garmin Forerunner 405, and ended up returning it for a refund.

I’ll probably keep the Garmin regardless because I like the other cycling computer features, but I think the HRM feature is probably one of the weakest features this unit offers.

Gerry

Tags: Cycling, Fitness, Life

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing to let you know how pleased I am with the new road bike (2008 Specialized Allez Elite) I purchased from the Solana Beach Store.  Additionally, I want to commend the efforts of one of your employees, Dan (sorry, I don’t know the last name, but he works on the sales floor).

My first experience with B&L was last week at the April 14th Triathlon 101 meeting.  Dan greeted me when I came in the store.  I must have looked a little nervous and timid since I don’t know much about bikes.  But Dan made me feel welcome, and immediately I felt comfortable as I waited for the meeting to start.

Even though I decided not to pursue getting involved in triathlons, I went back to B&L on April 19th to have a used bike checked out that I was considering for purchase.  Dan again helped me, and provided a fair and objective assessment of the used bike.  He did not give me a sales pitch for a new bike, and even said that the used one would probably work well as a first bike for me for a few years.  Dan also spent a considerable amount of time helping me select and fit cycling accessories like shoes, pedals, and a helmet.  He worked patiently with me, explaining things.  As a novice, I never once felt talked down to or like he was too busy to help me learn more about all this cycling stuff.

Ultimately, I decided not to buy the used bike, and made up my mind to dive in to cycling and get a new bike.  Trek Bicycle Superstore in Vista is about 10 minutes from my home.  But I have to tell you that they are very rude and arrogant.  They act like they are always too busy to help (even though many times there are personnel just standing or sitting around doing nothing).   Every time I walk into that store, I feel like a moron for asking questions because their body language communicates to me that they have to condescend to answer my “lame” questions. 

So ultimately, based on my experience working with Dan, I chose to drive to Solana Beach, which is about a 45-minute to an hour commute from my office downtown to choose a bike from your store.  And of course, I wanted Dan to help me.  My fitting appointment was at 4:30 PM on April 22nd, and Dan patiently finished helping me complete the purchase of the new bike and assorted accessories at 6:30 PM. 

Since my purchase only two days ago, Dan has helped me on the phone numerous times.  I seem to have a million questions that pop into my head.  His customer attentiveness and service are exemplary.

I can’t say that I won’t ever go to Trek again since it’s so close to my house.  But it would only be to throw them a few dollars here and there for assorted things.  As far as major purchases of bikes and such, I will keep my business with B&L in Solana Beach.

Thank you, and please extend my praises to Dan at the Solana Beach store.

Sincerely,
JoeBruin88

Tags: B&L, bike, Cycling, Fitness, Life, Trek