[garywatt]

Morning all

Anyone have any advice on the Garmin Forerunner 50?

Pretty cheap in price, looks good but does it live up to expectations? I am currently using the Nike+ Sportband and while it looks good I am now beginning to wonder about its accuracy. Never have the same run distance information.

I am no pro at running, only started last November so don't want anything flashy or expensive. Just something to record distance etc.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Gary

 

[twinkle toes]

Have you tried using mapmyrun.co.uk you wouldn't need to buy anything then?

or if you are insisting the garmin 305 is a wicked piece of kit and I believe it has come down quite a bit in price due to the 405 being released.

:d

 

[Obigone]

Hi Gary, can't say much on the Garmin 50 never had one, but I recently upgraded my 101 to a 205. If your not bothered about pc connectivity the 101 is fine for basic gps I had mine for a couple of years and I think you might pick up one off fleabay for the £50 mark!:d

 

[garywatt]

Hi guys

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, I started out using mymaprun and still do now and then. I take it the distances there are accurate? I like gadgets and stuff but not desperate to get a Garmin yet. Will keep watching the pricing of the other items too.

Thanks again.

Cheers

Gary

 

[Dan_R]

I am assuming the Garmin 50 has no GPS? How does it work out what distance you have run?

 

[Hrun]

Is not the Garmin 50 a footpod based system the same as the sportsband. If so there is no reason for it to be any more accurate.

How far out are you? Mine is about 40 yards over 5k. I assume mapmyrun is a line based drawing thing. A few yards here and there if it cuts a corner or you did and the inaccuracies add up.

How accurate do you need to record? Over 100m I can see the need. But over a 10k training run I just run a bit over to make sure I have covered the distance.

 

[Dan_R]

How do these footpod systems work then?

 

[Hrun]

The sportsband has a sensor that fits in the base of a Nike+ trainer or a pocket attached to your laces on other trainers.

The sensor is a pedometer and an accelerator. Using these measurements the sportband calculates your speed and distance. This relies on a constant pace and stride for accuracy which can be improved by doing measured runs and adjusting.

Where it struggles is in the real world we do not pace consistently. Hills, energy etc all affect your pace and stride leading to incorrect readings.

I would not measure a race with it but in training a few yards short or long doesn't matter to most people. And it is only 40 quid

 

[mcf]

I've just switched from the Nike Sportband to the Forerunner 50 (with footpod and heartrate monitor). The Sportband is not very well built (display started whimping out after a couple of weeks), so I switched based on price mainly. Altogether cost about £70 for the full kit.

So far, seems stable over a known distance and the speed, pace calculations seem to be more precise according to my regular run. The Nike+ one being far more erratic.

The Forerunner 50 also records your cadence and speed, and the Garmin Connect web site is sorta like the Nike+ one, not as fancy, but pretty good.

Big plus, the Garmin actually has a light!

 

[d87heaven]

Just got a forerunner50 and its excellent! But then i am a man so the gadget factor will soon wear off!!!

 

[marcopogo]

Got a Garmin Forerunner 50 in April. Calibrated on a track walking it was 100% accurate. I was amazed. However as I started to slow jog the accuracy went down. Today I measured 5.85 on a 4.5 jog on the High School track. I will need to recalibrate for running.

 

[beasty1711]

its all down to stride length, which will be different going up hill, to downhill, to walking..

it might be worth doing it over a longer distance, so it has more data to average out

 

[Gilad]

I warmly recommend the Garmin 50 although I agree the calibration process is quite tricky. It took me a while to get it right and yes it is based on the your strides so anything that can change these will affect the distance reported.

 

[LFC_SL]

I picked up the successor the FR60 yesterday and still have a few days left at the gym so I was on the treadmill today calibrating the foot pod :|

It seems to have settled on being 20-30 meters under the distance given by the treadmill but about 0.4km faster than the speed of the treadmill. Not sure how it manages to give a lower distance if it thinks I am going faster :huh:

Saying that when I uploaded the data to Garmin Connect it appears to be roughly accurate... technology