At last Garmin gets something right.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

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]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

M

[azrider]

Originally Posted by Gummee

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by joosttx

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.