Jeff,
Thanks for the response.
Mike, Motionbased is owned by Garmin so you won’t get much there other than a sales pitch 
As long as the questions get answered, I’ll listen to the pitch 😀
We’ve actually posted a number of extensive reviews of the Edge GPS units on our blog – you can get to most of these posts by looking at the GPS page.
Actually I read the reviews before I posted this and I guess now that I am getting more educated on the subject, I should go back and re-read them.
The main thing you need to know is that the Edge 205 and 305 units do not accept (or include) basemaps of any kind. If you want basemaps you’ll need a 605 or 705. As far as I know these don’t have removable media so you’ll need a DVD to load the maps via USB.
I think I want basemaps. or at least the TOPO maps. I need the reference points to help me. sometimes, especially in the fall when all the leaves are down, there really is no trail as it is covered.
If you really want basemaps but don’t want to pay for a 605 or 705, I’d recommend looking at the GPSMap 60C series. These are all color units and they accept mini SD cards for the basemaps (you can also load via DVD). These units are a bit bulkier and really aren’t made for cycling but they do sell handlebar mounts for the series.
I have a few GPS’s: a Forerunner 205, Edge 305, GPSMap 60Cx, Magellan eXplorist 400, and eTrex Vista (and have owned others, including the Edge 205). Anyway, bottom line is I ALWAYS take the Edge 305 with me on the mountain (and road) bike. That should tell you something. And I don’t plan on buying a 605 or 705 until the prices come waaaay down.
Since the Edge 305 does not have basemaps or the ability to add them, I think that answers the question on that model. A friend of mine says the GPSMap 60c is slow. Do you find this? Since you always bring your Edge, I guess you don’t use it for directions, do you onlly use it to record where you rode? ( via trackpoints?)
I’m on the list at Garmin to get a 705 test unit so hopefully I’ll get a chance to at least try one in the near future.
Do you know when you might be getting it to review?
I guess in a perfect world I’d love to be able to download the google world map of the area I’m going to ride and the GPS unit would show me an overview of a downloaded trail with the map in the background.
or better yet the satellite map
Then be able to zoom into the detail
I guess I’ll have to wait for the internet enabled view for those features…
Thanks again for the response.
Mike