Gates are a disappointment

yzf1kr
4 days ago

We had planned to use Gates for downhill racing – exactly the kind of purpose they should be perfect for. Unfortunately, they fall short.

  • Setting them up works.
  • Riding them works.
  • But… there’s no way to compare runs unless you manually write down times. That makes the feature almost useless in practice.

What’s missing:

  • The ability to compare repeated runs automatically.
  • Support for sections instead of just full runs. In I rarely ride top-to-bottom at full speed.. Often we only run parts at race speed and take breaks, sometimes we repeat a tough section,shuttlle/walk back up to try again.

As it is now, Gates feel very rudimentary and don’t offer much practical use. With some improvements, though, this could be a powerful tool for MTB training and racing.

Anyone else struggling with the same limitations?

  • +1 4 days ago

    Hey yf1kr, could you explain more what you mean by automatic run compare? This is something designed into Garmin Connect for your review after the ride. In-ride, there is also the timing gates summary page which offers a view of your best times for each split as well as the current splits for that run. Is it that you can't past full run data in a live setting? I would love to understand more what you envisioned it would be doing.

    You are correct a limitation of the device currently is that you can't "session" a single split in the middle of your gates over and over without riding the rest of the gates as this would create a huge table of empty values for the rest. You would be better off setting a smaller subset of gates if your intention was to just 'race' a single section. 

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to steflund

    Maybe I am using the whole Gates feature the wrong way, but honestly there is no manual or guide anywhere — not even in reviews — that explains how it is intended to be used.

    My typical race weekend looks like this:

    • Day 1: Trackwalk + practice (this is where I set my gates and ride them)
    • Day 2: Practice + seeding run (ride gates)
    • Day 3: Practice + race (ride gates)

    How should I use the Edge MTB to compare all the gate times across 3 days?

    • Where is the overview? On the Edge itself there is no table, only per ride. Am I supposed to keep one single activity running for 3 days straight?
    • How can I check my gate times between runs (e.g. in the cable car or during lunch break) without scrolling ride by ride?
    • In Garmin Connect, I don’t see any separate table that shows all gate times in one place — only per activity, which is of little use for racing/training.

    Right now, the only way I can get a complete picture is to manually create a table with all gate times from all rides over all 3 days. There seems to be no automatic way to collect or compare gates across sessions.

    At this point, Gates feel more like a gimmick than a usable training tool.

    I do understand your technical point about sessioning a single section — yes, I could make a separate set of gates for that. But the bigger issue is the lack of an overview and comparison across multiple runs and days.

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to yzf1kr

    Great idea! I need a table with Timing Gates in Garmin Connect that can be viewed live. Something based on the same principle as the Strength Training feature in the premium account

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to yzf1kr

    You are correct that a current limitation of the implementation is that the timing gates are designed for a current activity's data only. There's still lots of benefit to see the performance differences between laps in a single session (line choice, tire pressure changes, suspension setup) that come from just one ride. 

    To your second bullet question - you can navigate to the split summary page when gates are active. It shows your current run data against your best splits from that session. I think that's what you're asking for checking timing between runs? Or have you seen that and are hoping for something different?

    We do appreciate the feedback on the day-to-day comparisons, it would certainly be another valuable enhancement to the gates feature.