At last Garmin gets something right.

[Alaska Mike]

My last Edge 500 died today. The battery just doesn't hold a charge anymore, so I may try to fix it if I can source a battery, but it's had a long life for a piece of abused electronics.

I started using it again after one of my 520s died. I'll probably send that one in and see what kind of deal I can get on a new or refurbed unit.

My 800's screen shifted right a year ago and now doesn't respond to anything but the on/off button. I hated the touch-screen anyway, but maybe I'll send that brick in too.

So, since the only Edge 520 I found locally was still at retail (no thanks), I started looking at the Edge 530s. Seems like they have great battery life and have gotten some good reviews, but they're bulky, expensive, and loaded with features I'll never use.

I was about to suck it up and spend the money when I found took a look at the new Edge 130. Their older units below the 500 level had no ANT+ functionality, so they were little better than a cheap speedometer to me. The 130 is smaller than a 500 with the same size screen, pairing to a bunch of ANT+ sensors like the 520, a simple menu system, not a lot of onboard fluff, and it lists for $100 less than the 530. Score.

I was going to look at Wahoo, but I have a bunch of Garmin mounts on various bikes that weren't cheap and I don't really want to replace. Now that Garmin finally released a computer that looks to be a worthy successor to the 500, I don't need to.

Maybe I'll see if I can just swap my old broken crap for one or two 130s.

'Bout time, Garmin.

[joosttx]

I recently bought a 530. I am not impressed. I will probably sell here in a month or two when I give up on it. Garmin does have a lot more “unique” analytics that are interesting but I’m still seeing if they are worth anything. I still like the wahoo bolt more for a number of reasons.

[Alaska Mike]

Some people just love that Strava-ification on their screen. Me, I like to know what I'm doing at a given moment (time, speed, power, HR, cadence...), but would rather leave the analysis for later when I'm sitting at my computer.

Fiddling with a bike computer is how Lennard Zinn crashed into a light pole and trashed a fork. (https://www.velonews.com/2019/09/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq-when-the-carbon-fiber-coin-test-comes-up-short_500262) Lucky he didn't come out of it worse off.

Simple is better.

[fogrider]

I was going to look at Wahoo, but I have a bunch of Garmin mounts on various bikes that weren't cheap and I don't really want to replace. .

the wahoo works with garmin mounts turned 90 degrees, so it depends on the mounts you have...the nicer mounts have an insert that can be unscrewed and rotated. and those cheap strap on mounts just need to be rotated.

[superbowlpats]

Well Garmin has had lots of misses with their head units but man they got the Varia right. game changing situational awareness.

[Big Dan]

Garmin sucks.
Plain and simple.

[Black Dog]

My last Edge 500 died today. The battery just doesn't hold a charge anymore, so I may try to fix it if I can source a battery, but it's had a long life for a piece of abused electronics.

I started using it again after one of my 520s died. I'll probably send that one in and see what kind of deal I can get on a new or refurbed unit.

My 800's screen shifted right a year ago and now doesn't respond to anything but the on/off button. I hated the touch-screen anyway, but maybe I'll send that brick in too.

So, since the only Edge 520 I found locally was still at retail (no thanks), I started looking at the Edge 530s. Seems like they have great battery life and have gotten some good reviews, but they're bulky, expensive, and loaded with features I'll never use.

I was about to suck it up and spend the money when I found took a look at the new Edge 130. Their older units below the 500 level had no ANT+ functionality, so they were little better than a cheap speedometer to me. The 130 is smaller than a 500 with the same size screen, pairing to a bunch of ANT+ sensors like the 520, a simple menu system, not a lot of onboard fluff, and it lists for $100 less than the 530. Score.

I was going to look at Wahoo, but I have a bunch of Garmin mounts on various bikes that weren't cheap and I don't really want to replace. Now that Garmin finally released a computer that looks to be a worthy successor to the 500, I don't need to.

Maybe I'll see if I can just swap my old broken crap for one or two 130s.

'Bout time, Garmin.


This sounds a lot like Stockholm Syndrome. ;)

[madsciencenow]

Well Garmin has had lots of misses with their head units but man they got the Varia right. game changing situational awareness.

Completely agree on this! I hope other head unit makers offer support for the Varia. The Lezyne units look like a crazy good deal but they don't support the Varia which is a deal killer for me.

[CAAD]

Garmin sucks.
Plain and simple.

That's helpful.....




I have been using Garmin computers for years. Sure some issues but Garmin always took care of it. Bike a rear tab during a rough gravel section. That edge 130 is a solid unit, simple to navigate the screens, connects to everything, good battery life. I would use the 130 full-time but I travel a lot with my bike and the round trip routing on my 1030 is where it's at.

[LJohnny]

Completely agree on this! I hope other head unit makers offer support for the Varia. The Lezyne units look like a crazy good deal but they don't support the Varia which is a deal killer for me.



I have not used Wahoo cycle computers, but now that they support the Varia radar, I am ready to give them a try.
I also absolutely love my radar and the main reason I kept using the Garmin head units was because of this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[dem]

Garmin is definitely like being in an abusive relationship - if you need something specific they only offer, you're pretty much stuck - no matter how crappy it is. I just had to move my new $600 Garmin Motorcycle GPS out of my line of sight, because they decided having random pop-up windows 100 times per ride was a good idea, with no way to disable it.

Stripping away the fluff on the 130 will hopefully eliminate the annoyance and hopefully lead you to a happy path. They seem to get crappier as cruft accumulates.

Even DC Rainmaker had his own Garmin rant: "Garmin's Biggest Competitor Is Their Own Software Instability" https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/competitor-software-instability.html

[kohagen]

Completely agree on this! I hope other head unit makers offer support for the Varia. The Lezyne units look like a crazy good deal but they don't support the Varia which is a deal killer for me.

Wahoo supports the Varia. That was one of the selling points for me.

[unterhausen]

This sounds a lot like Stockholm Syndrome. ;)this spring I was riding along thinking about getting a replacement for my 800 and it just locked up because I had ridden too far. Which I knew was a very real possibility. Why was I thinking of getting a new one again? But here I am with an 830. I credit Wahoo for making it a much better device than it would have been if garmin had no competition.

[Spaghetti Legs]

FWIW my 800 is still going strong after 8-9 years. I’ve yet to run the battery down on a ride (knock on wood) including leisurely century rides.

[OtayBW]

Garmin is definitely like being in an abusive relationship - if you need something specific they only offer, you're pretty much stuck - no matter how crappy it is. I just had to move my new $600 Garmin Motorcycle GPS out of my line of sight, because they decided having random pop-up windows 100 times per ride was a good idea, with no way to disable it.

Stripping away the fluff on the 130 will hopefully eliminate the annoyance and hopefully lead you to a happy path. They seem to get crappier as cruft accumulates.

Even DC Rainmaker had his own Garmin rant: "Garmin's Biggest Competitor Is Their Own Software Instability" https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/competitor-software-instability.html
I tend to agree with this, but mostly with regard to upload function. I just replaced the dog-ears on my Edge 500, which were ground down to nubs after many years. Still rolling good!

[Big Dan]

That's helpful.....




I have been using Garmin computers for years. Sure some issues but Garmin always took care of it. Bike a rear tab during a rough gravel section. That edge 130 is a solid unit, simple to navigate the screens, connects to everything, good battery life. I would use the 130 full-time but I travel a lot with my bike and the round trip routing on my 1030 is where it's at.

Glad is working out for you.
When the battery goes you will need to line up and buy another one.
If that's what you like then go ahead.
I expect more than 2 years of service.
Papa always told me not to fight with my money.

:eek:

[Mr. Pink]

Speaking of Garmin, I started a thread a month or so ago about my 810 battery dying, and, instead of replacing the battery, as suggested here, I simply turned down the brightness of the screen to just tolerable in sunlight, and, voila, a much more longer lasting battery.

[FlashUNC]

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

A riding buddy is stuck in the Garmin walled garden: power pedals, radar, head unit. It's a weekly guessing game on which happens to be broken or not working at any one time.

You can't write "I hope you get it right this time!" on your money when you buy their stuff. Time to switch to something else.

[joosttx]

Simple is better.

You must get a Wahoo if this is a mantra of yours.

[Gummee]

That's helpful.....




I have been using Garmin computers for years. Sure some issues but Garmin always took care of it. Bike a rear tab during a rough gravel section. That edge 130 is a solid unit, simple to navigate the screens, connects to everything, good battery life. I would use the 130 full-time but I travel a lot with my bike and the round trip routing on my 1030 is where it's at.
...and I've been using Garmins for years and haven't had one problem. At the moment, I have a 130, a 220, a Fenix 3, and a 935. Guess I've drank the kool-aid. The only reason I've sold 2 500s, a 510, and a 520 is to upgrade to the next iteration.

I've got a 130 on the bike now. Does everything I want except workouts. If you have workouts loaded into your Garmin Connect account, they're useless with the 130.

M

[chiasticon]

biggest Garmin gripe for me is their "auto-upload" rarely works on my 520. and lots of times it won't connect to my phone, requiring me to un-pair, restart, and re-pair both devices. or it will be paired to the phone the entire ride, then won't upload the ride. infuriating. oh, and why the hell does it stay on the entire time it's charging? weird.

other than that, I've had no real issues with them. used the Edge 500, 800, 810, 520 and Forerunner 230.

[CAAD]

Glad is working out for you.
When the battery goes you will need to line up and buy another one.
If that's what you like then go ahead.
I expect more than 2 years of service.
Papa always told me not to fight with my money.

:eek:

Just like the 1000 I took it apart and replaced the battery. 1030 battery is already available. Batteries die in every device, no way around it. I consider it maintenance. These devices get used for hours, drained, charged, repeat. That battery has to put up with a lot.

[madsciencenow]

biggest Garmin gripe for me is their "auto-upload" rarely works on my 520. and lots of times it won't connect to my phone, requiring me to un-pair, restart, and re-pair both devices. or it will be paired to the phone the entire ride, then won't upload the ride. infuriating. oh, and why the hell does it stay on the entire time it's charging? weird.







Why is Garmin the only company that can’t figure out BT and WiFi? It’s seriously infuriating!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[joosttx]

Why is Garmin the only company that can’t figure out BT and WiFi? It’s seriously infuriating!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

truth.

[unterhausen]

Why is Garmin the only company that can’t figure out BT and WiFi? It’s seriously infuriating!
my friend threatened to throw his 830 in the ditch because of the BT issues. Apparently they don't know how to deal with BT on iOS, because it has always just worked on my Android phone. But he figured out a workaround, which involved not trusting Garmin. I don't really understand how wifi is supposed to work on my device. I'm not sure it's worth it, I might just leave it off.

[m_moses]

It seems computer choice has gone tribal.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[madsciencenow]

Wahoo supports the Varia. That was one of the selling points for me.

I have a 1030 and bought it before the newest wahoo unit came out. This said, I like the touch screen and the navigation on the 1030 too much to give it up. My comments were more based on my 1000 and family members with various other garmin units. The 1030 is a big improvement on the 1000 and other units I've used. I recently got a new iphone and it was a bit of a hassle to set it up but eventually I figured it out.

What's the draw for the Wahoo over the Lezyne? The Lezyne seems to have the same function minus the Varia integration.

[unterhausen]

It seems computer choice has gone tribal.
this would make more sense if a considerable percentage of Garmin users didn't hate them. My conclusion before I bought the garmin is that there are no good choices, so I went with what I know. I don't see anything wrong with that. The current Garmin lineup seems to be better than what Wahoo is offering. And I know a number of people personally that have had enough problems with their wahoo units that they have gone back to Garmin. The kind of problem that requires buying a new GPS. I have always been a little reluctant to have a gps at all, I don't want to have to replace it until it's really outdated. Garmin has always had some stupid things wrong with their firmware that they fail to address. I can live with that if the thing works, even though it's frustrating.

[zzy]

I brought out my Garmin for the TA century for the first time in over a year. It was critical for the mapping. Once I started the ride I opened the saved course, which took the damn thing nearly 9 minutes to 'calculate'. Then it promptly crashed, wiping out my ride thus far and forcing me to hard reset the device. It was 6AM and I was seriously not having a good morning. Took all the restraint I had not to chuck it at the first car that cut me off.

I would do anything for someone at Google to make a GMaps bike specific app. You could reflash old phones into perfectly capable GPS units. I cannot believe in 2019 we're stuck with godawful software that's barely any better than the earliest car GPS units and the computational horsepower of a TI-83.

[azrider]

Long time Garmin user.

Started with Edge 305 (remember those) and had to ship it back to Garmin twice during ownership because of battery issues. Add to that the middleware is absolutely abysmal

Upgraded to 500 and was pleasantly surprised. After about two years I had to ship it back also and am coming up on 2 years again and feel like I'm on borrowed time. They STILL haven't figured out API because I CONSTANTLY get asked to fix connection issues but whatever.

Bought a Fenix1 watch and sent it back to Garmin because it was malfunctioning. They were nice and sent me a Fenix2 but after about 6 months the thing wouldn't take a charge any longer so it's now an expensive paperweight......

I think as soon as my 500 craps the bed I'm done with Garmin forever. They really really really do suck.

[joosttx]

I brought out my Garmin for the TA century for the first time in over a year. It was critical for the mapping. Once I started the ride I opened the saved course, which took the damn thing nearly 9 minutes to 'calculate'. Then it promptly crashed, wiping out my ride thus far and forcing me to hard reset the device. It was 6AM and I was seriously not having a good morning. Took all the restraint I had not to chuck it at the first car that cut me off.

I would do anything for someone at Google to make a GMaps bike specific app. You could reflash old phones into perfectly capable GPS units. I cannot believe in 2019 we're stuck with godawful software that's barely any better than the earliest car GPS units and the computational horsepower of a TI-83.

Take a look at The Karoo Hammerhead.

[echappist]

$200 for the Edge 130 isn't cheap though...

There are less expensive options (e.g. Lezyne).

As for me, I've had a helluva time with my Garmin products. Edge 500 bought in 2011 crapped out in 2012, only to have the replacement crap out in 2013. The third unit had a button that would not function, and I had to jam some paper in the button to make sure the pressing of the button actually triggers something.

It wasn't a long term solution, and moisture leaked in, b/c I opened the casing. Alas, replaced it with an Edge 520, which has worked decently well (though most of that has been indoor use).

[benb]

I'm on my 4th season with my Edge 1000.. it probably hasn't given me an issue in 2 years.

Maybe a couple issues last year but they were probably my fault with building routes. REALLY minor compared to stuff that happened in the past.

Took them a while but the current firmware has been really solid for a long time now.

Uploads to Garmin Connect are lightning fast compared to the past too. Usually my activities are uploaded and ready to view on Garmin Connect, Strava, and Training peaks before I get my helmet & gloves off and take the GPS off the bars.

I wouldn't wish a Google bike GPS on anyone. You think Garmin is bad... Garmin has had some poor software quality in the past but they value you as a paying customer. Google would not view you as a paying customer if they shipped a GPS. It would be broken and they wouldn't care, they'd stop updates really fast. There would be no tech support, they'd expect other customers to provide that for free on a forum they setup. The amount of money required for google to give a damn about support in the long run is orders of magnitude more than a bike GPS costs. Only way they'd do it is if it showed ads while you're riding. Google has some enterprise products.. they treat you like cr*p even when you're spending 6-figures a month with them. It is slowly getting better over the past 10 years but we're talking slowly, and that's for customer paying absolute megabucks compared to consumer products.

[Alaska Mike]

This sounds a lot like Stockholm Syndrome. ;)

More like battered wife syndrome.

"I know it looks bad, but they're really trying this time. I think we can make it work..."

[kramnnim]

I should start buying lottery tickets, I have recorded around 100,000 miles with various Garmin units and can only remember one error that caused me more than mild irritation.

[sonicCows]

The battery on my Edge 500 is dying and I bought a battery replacement kit. Haven't gotten around the replacing it though, I've just been using Strava on my phone instead.

[Alaska Mike]

I usually get a couple years out of a Garmin, but have been luckier with the Edge 500s. The one that finally died was probably 8 years old. I had other ones from the first couple years of production which I passed on to friends, and for all I know they're still going strong.

The Edge 305 I had was less robust, as was the 800. Last night I was able to revive the dead 520, but I'm not inclined at the moment to trust it again. Something may have gotten in the USB port (I ride in the rain often), but I think it will be dedicated to the trainer until I get a solid track record from it.

To be honest, the functionality of the basic 130 is really all I want. We'll see how it stacks up over the long run.

[SoCalSteve]

I have a 1030 and bought it before the newest wahoo unit came out. This said, I like the touch screen and the navigation on the 1030 too much to give it up. My comments were more based on my 1000 and family members with various other garmin units. The 1030 is a big improvement on the 1000 and other units I've used. I recently got a new iphone and it was a bit of a hassle to set it up but eventually I figured it out.

What's the draw for the Wahoo over the Lezyne? The Lezyne seems to have the same function minus the Varia integration.

The 1030 is pretty amazing! I’ve had pretty much every iteration of Edge devices and this one is really thought out and just does everything well.

[Gummee]

Long time Garmin user.

Started with Edge 305 (remember those) and had to ship it back to Garmin twice during ownership because of battery issues. Add to that the middleware is absolutely abysmal

Upgraded to 500 and was pleasantly surprised. After about two years I had to ship it back also and am coming up on 2 years again and feel like I'm on borrowed time. They STILL haven't figured out API because I CONSTANTLY get asked to fix connection issues but whatever.

Bought a Fenix1 watch and sent it back to Garmin because it was malfunctioning. They were nice and sent me a Fenix2 but after about 6 months the thing wouldn't take a charge any longer so it's now an expensive paperweight......

I think as soon as my 500 craps the bed I'm done with Garmin forever. They really really really do suck.

So you're basing your opinions on at least 3 generations old stuff.

M

[azrider]

So you're basing your opinions on at least 3 generations old stuff.

M

Ha....what a perfect example of “seeing what you want to see”.

You read that and say I’m basing it on old product.

I read that and see someone who has sent multiple products back (regardless of generation) and a “technology” company with an inability to solve a software problem that’s affected every generation of product they’ve ever made.....but yeah.....whatever you say there pal

[peanutgallery]

Been using garmin and selling garmin product for more than 10 years, nary an issue, personally. For those with an issue...call in. Top notch customer service

If you bought yours used/ebay? You get what you deserve. Buy new and you're golden. Though you paid $599 for your VHS in 1986...life moves on :)

[joosttx]

Been using garmin and selling garmin product for more than 10 years, nary an issue, personally. For those with an issue...call in. Top notch customer service

If you bought yours used/ebay? You get what you deserve. Buy new and you're golden. Though you paid $599 for your VHS in 1986...life moves on :)

I bought my 530 two weeks ago from REI. After taking a break from Garmin for more than two years. I am trying to find a benefit over the Wahoo bolt but I cannot other than there are some downloadable data screen there look interesting.

I have 3 very frustrating criticism of the 530.

1) set up is very hard. I cannot follow the logic of the screens and setup. It just seems haphazardly designed. Then the data screens OMG, why cannot this all be done from an app from my phone like the Wahoo.

2) upload is buggy. Thus far, I have about a 50% success rate with wireless upload. Wahoo- you complete the ride and it uploads 99% of the time.

3) data screens: When I ride I like to see only the details I want. The seconds on a clock are annoying the decimals on other data fields are cluttering and useless. There is no rounding configuration which I would love. Also, the data fields don’t line up the way I want them to. I like to see lap time on top, below power and power zone side by side, below that hr and hr zone next to each other. In order to get this configuration I need to add two more metrics on the data screen thus cluttering my screen.

[dem]

Been using garmin and selling garmin product for more than 10 years, nary an issue, personally. For those with an issue...call in. Top notch customer service

If you bought yours used/ebay? You get what you deserve. Buy new and you're golden. Though you paid $599 for your VHS in 1986...life moves on :)

I've owned:
Forerunner 305, 910XT, 920XT, Edge 500, Edge 510, Edge 520, Zumo 665, Zumo 595LM - so roughly $4000 of Garmin product, all purchased new.

I've reported dozens of bugs, issues, etc. None have ever been fixed. Every firmware release was worse than the previous - maybe fixing 1 thing, introducing 5 more. This is exactly DC Rainmaker's experience too.

In the end, Garmin's "support" offers the only solution they have which is "send you a new one" - they are worse than useless. They will, however, send you a shiny refurb (which sucks if your unit is brand new) to resell when you're sick of it.

Here's my Wahoo support experience:
Report a bug related to 3 second power display that only happens with my Powertap (not my other 3 power meters)
They remotely enable logging on my device, I do a ride and send them logs
3 weeks later - new firmware comes out to fix my bug

[R3awak3n]

I bought my 530 two weeks ago from REI. After taking a break from Garmin for more than two years. I am trying to find a benefit over the Wahoo bolt but I cannot other than there are some downloadable data screen there look interesting.

I have 3 very frustrating criticism of the 530.

1) set up is very hard. I cannot follow the logic of the screens and setup. It just seems haphazardly designed. Then the data screens OMG, why cannot this all be done from an app from my phone like the Wahoo.

2) upload is buggy. Thus far, I have about a 50% success rate with wireless upload. Wahoo- you complete the ride and it uploads 99% of the time.

3) data screens: When I ride I like to see only the details I want. The seconds on a clock are annoying the decimals on other data fields are cluttering and useless. There is no rounding configuration which I would love. Also, the data fields don’t line up the way I want them to. I like to see lap time on top, below power and power zone side by side, below that hr and hr zone next to each other. In order to get this configuration I need to add two more metrics on the data screen thus cluttering my screen.


Those are all fair complaints. I have no problem with 1 and 3 but can u derstand why you do and I think both of those could be improved a lot.

2 I have the same problem. Uploads suck indeed. The damn device refuses to connect to your phone. The best way is to connect wifi. With wifi I have got it to be pretty good at uploading when I get home. If just phone connection its a crapshoot because half the time the damn thing is not connected to phone.

They have work to do but the 530/830 are solid and to me the best garmin so far (although my 1000 was very solid). The battery life on these new devices is awesome. They load stuff super fast. Touch screen is good. They pair devices quick and reliably.

The best thing garmin ever done though is the varia, what an amazing little device for those that ride by themselves

[happycampyer]

I usually get a couple years out of a Garmin, but have been luckier with the Edge 500s. The one that finally died was probably 8 years old. I had other ones from the first couple years of production which I passed on to friends, and for all I know they're still going strong.

The Edge 305 I had was less robust, as was the 800. Last night I was able to revive the dead 520, but I'm not inclined at the moment to trust it again. Something may have gotten in the USB port (I ride in the rain often), but I think it will be dedicated to the trainer until I get a solid track record from it.

To be honest, the functionality of the basic 130 is really all I want. We'll see how it stacks up over the long run.I have two Edge 500s that are around the same age and haven’t had any issues with batteries, etc.—maybe I should start buying lottery tickets with kramnnim. I recently purchased the 530 so that I could have maps (for D2R2). If I hadn’t owned the 500, the setup would have been torture, and in retrospect I wish I had gotten the 830. The touchscreen would make the process much easier. The only device I connect to my Garmins is a heart rate monitor, and I download data via a cable, etc., so I’m the opposite of a power user.

[Big Dan]

50/50 at best.
I deserve an apology from the dude the called me out.

:p

[unterhausen]

I cannot believe in 2019 we're stuck with godawful software that's barely any better than the earliest car GPS units and the computational horsepower of a TI-83.
I really don't think it's all that easy to do GPS software. I'm curious how much money Google had to throw at just the navigation problem to get it to work. Garmin certainly has that figured out for the most part. The issues I have problems with are usually related to stupid memory management schemes that really do seem they should be easy to fix. Or at least, they are important enough that they should be fixed.

I am pretty sure the crashing is related to the fact they can't do memory management. And they recognize that the most important part of any gps is keeping track of ride data, because we are all stravaholes. I have often thought that I would be happy if they didn't save any data at all from my ride. I like to have the data, but there are a lot of times I would lose that if it meant that the navigation was 100 percent reliable. The data collection clearly is where all the bugs are, and probably why google is so much more reliable. Google just doesn't do it.

Having said all that, the Ride with GPS app navigation works fine, their data collection works fine. Too bad it kills the battery on my phone. And I can't hear the cues.

[Alaska Mike]

I have two Edge 500s that are around the same age and haven’t had any issues with batteries, etc.—maybe I should start buying lottery tickets with kramnnim. I recently purchased the 530 so that I could have maps (for D2R2). If I hadn’t owned the 500, the setup would have been torture, and in retrospect I wish I had gotten the 830. The touchscreen would make the process much easier. The only device I connect to my Garmins is a heart rate monitor, and I download data via a cable, etc., so I’m the opposite of a power user.

I hate the touchscreen. I much prefer buttons for accessing functions. Then again, I’m not much for mapping and that sort of stuff. Getting lost is half the fun.

[dem]

Having said all that, the Ride with GPS app navigation works fine, their data collection works fine. Too bad it kills the battery on my phone. And I can't hear the cues.

This is one of the reasons I love the ELEMNT/Bolt - it is actually "dumb" navigation, it just uses ridewithgps cues. No dynamic routing. Draw your route on RWGPS, and it follows it exactly.

The new Wahoo Roam attempts to do real nav, I have not used it, but that is definitely a much harder technical challenge (and frankly falls under the "if you really need that, you're stuck with garmin" category)

[madsciencenow]

I’d be interested in how the Roam does navigation. The lack of a robust navigation feature is why I went back to Garmin.

I actually prefer the touch screen. It feels more intuitive to me but maybe it’s just what I’ve gotten used to.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fkelly]

I used a Garmin 800 for 8 years. Still going strong but I've switched to using my Samsung S8 phone with Android with the Ride with GPS Android app. It recognizes my Bluetooth HR monitor (Garmin model) and Garmin speed sensor (again you need Bluetooth version or rather the Dual one) and my Stages power meter.

If I want it to, it will give turn by turn instructions for a course downloaded from rwgps. You can run it in handlebar mode so the screen and map stay on (uses about 40% of battery in 2 hours) or auto turn off the screen (it will still wake to give directions) and use maybe 20% of battery in 2 hours. I suspect that if I was an ultra rider I could get an external battery to extend the battery life ... but I'm not: 2 to 4 hour rides are all I manage.

A couple of times lately I've had GPS signal crap out during a ride and I'm tweaking some settings at rwgps suggestion to minimize that.

When I get home from a ride I give the ride a name and click save. It's on the web site before I can get up to my computer on the second floor.

Phones and battery life are only going to get better and better. The screen and maps are already way better than Garmin.

[weaponsgrade]

I had a Garmin 800 and recently bought a 530. I took a hard look at Wahoo. The most important criteria for me was mtb navigation. And for that, it seemed like Garmin came out on top. The Garmin setup UI sucks. Setup requires navigating through a ton of menus and submenus and clicking lots of different buttons. At least it's just a one-time thing. Getting the device to pair with my iphone sometimes requires closing and restarting the app. I can't seem to find a way to associate a bike with an activity profile. I'd like to be able to track the miles I put on my mtn bike, gravel bike, and road bike. In order to do this, the only way seems to be going into an activity after it's already been uploaded and changing the gear (bike) from the default.

The Climbpro feature seemed like a really neat thing. The idea is to show you in real-time the profile and grade of a climb and distance to the top. Unfortunately, it only seems available if you're following a pre-loaded course. The device also doesn't seem to handle deviations and re-routing from a pre-loaded course very well. I went mtn biking yesterday at a place I know well with a pre-loaded course that covered about 90% of the trails I was planning to ride. I kept getting a message to make a u-turn even after I had rejoined the course. Eventually, the u-turn message went away but it was annoying.

The one saving grace are those trail maps. I've gone mtn biking in some new to me places and it's awesome to be able to look at the map, see the trails with their names, and your location.

[joosttx]

I've owned:
Forerunner 305, 910XT, 920XT, Edge 500, Edge 510, Edge 520, Zumo 665, Zumo 595LM - so roughly $4000 of Garmin product, all purchased new.

I've reported dozens of bugs, issues, etc. None have ever been fixed. Every firmware release was worse than the previous - maybe fixing 1 thing, introducing 5 more. This is exactly DC Rainmaker's experience too.

In the end, Garmin's "support" offers the only solution they have which is "send you a new one" - they are worse than useless. They will, however, send you a shiny refurb (which sucks if your unit is brand new) to resell when you're sick of it.

Here's my Wahoo support experience:
Report a bug related to 3 second power display that only happens with my Powertap (not my other 3 power meters)
They remotely enable logging on my device, I do a ride and send them logs
3 weeks later - new firmware comes out to fix my bug

Just called Garmin Support because my 530 will not connect with my phone. "Hold time greater than 1 hour". POS product POS support from my experience.

[robertbb]

I'm still happily using an Edge 500. They do absolutely everything I need and nothing I don't. They are reliable and the only real issue with them is the battery life (but batteries can be replaced fairly easily and cheaply). I have two units, both in silicone cases, on rotation.

The 130 is not a true successor as it doesn't show TSS/NP/IF which are key metrics worth knowing about if you want to know how hard you went (or have gone thus far) on a ride.

Surprised nobody mentioned Bryton computers. Their new Rider 420 (due to drop on the next few weeks) looks to be a modern take on the Edge 500...

[R3awak3n]

Just called Garmin Support because my 530 will not connect with my phone. "Hold time greater than 1 hour". POS product POS support from my experience.

what phone?

[joosttx]

what phone?

iphone 7. I finally got it to work. After it sync my ride this morning, I found out that I had no power and had a consistent 91bmp for my entire ride up and down Tam.

I think what made garmin connect recognize the 530 was when another Bluetooth device became discoverable along with the 530. Basically, I am doing electronic voodoo to make this thing sync.

[kramnnim]

Just called Garmin Support because my 530 will not connect with my phone. "Hold time greater than 1 hour". POS product POS support from my experience.

Didn't they offer to call you back when it was your turn in the queue? Still a long time to wait but at least you don't have to sit listening to hold music.

[joosttx]

Didn't they offer to call you back when it was your turn in the queue? Still a long time to wait but at least you don't have to sit listening to hold music.

Nope. When I got the recorded voice saing it was over and hour I just waited on hold for 2 minutes before hanging up. Also, the chat was not operational due to high volume.

[Mr. Pink]

I am reminded of this:

Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.

https://youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4

[unterhausen]

it's true that the most frustrating thing about my edge 800 was that the potential to be an amazing device was obvious, and it was great most of the time. It was just that it would crap out when I really needed it. If all you do is 20-45 mile loops and want to record your ride, it's wonderful.

[joosttx]

I am reminded of this:

Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.

https://youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4

Wahoo makes me happy. Garmin is just a $hitty product. Kinda want to go to work for them bc I think it would be easy to fix their problems.

[azrider]

Surprised nobody mentioned Bryton computers. Their new Rider 420 (due to drop on the next few weeks) looks to be a modern take on the Edge 500...

Thanks......never even knew these existed. They look pretty snazzy.

https://media.giphy.com/media/XreQmk7ETCak0/giphy.gif

[glepore]

Not a fan of their headunits, but the doggone Varia is brilliant. Didn't see the use until I tried it-focus forward, and know whether its one car or 4 ... amazing and liberating.