Garmin

I never owned a Garmin before, but I'm getting back into cycling after a few years off. I plan to use GPX files to participate in cycling events and train for a century ride at the end of the season.

After using my Garmin 530 for a few months, I can't imagine riding without it. The navigation works great, and I appreciate being able to track my heart rate, cadence, and other metrics.

I prefer the button interface over a touchscreen, as I can't stand having fingerprints on the display. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's manageable and straightforward.

I would definitely recommend this device to anyone serious about cycling; it's a must-have.

When I saw the price drop, I decided to finally take the plunge and buy this. I have mine paired with my Edge 1040 and I am honestly amazed at how well this works. You can easily see when cars are behind you, how many there are, and also get a sense of how close they are. As soon as it senses a car, you get a beep and a red gradient overlay appears on the sides of my Edge, along with dots on the right side showing how many cars, relative spacing between them, and how close they are to you. If the car turns off before it passes you, the red gradient overlay turns green and then fades away. It's a very simple, intuitive and effective interface, that really doesn't take anything away from your normal display. I really regret not buying this a couple of years ago! Highly recommended.

I found this Garmin mount to be surprisingly heavy for being made of plastic, but it does feel rock solid and sturdy. Your expensive bike computer will be secure on this mount.

One thing I like about this bike computer mount compared to many others is that this mount is shaped in a way for aerodynamic benefits. The arm of the mount dips down from its handlebar clamp, so that when a computer is put onto the mount, the top surface of the computer is flush with handlebar.

The mount's arm is long enough to fit a fairly large Garmin computer, such as the Edge Explore 2, which I use.

Another thing I like about this mount is that it can have another device mounted on the bottom side of it in addition to the top. On the bottom, I have a Ravemen FR300 headlight attached, which specially fits into the Garmin-style socket.

This mount is a little expensive for being a relatively simple plastic product, but it seems that all RELIABLE mounts are pricey, and I couldn't find a better alternative to this one.

This is an update to my prior review. After a lot of frustration, Garmin sent me a replacement Edge 1050. The navigation functions work on the replacement Edge 1050. There are a few minor glitches. But, it has a lot of great features. When I set up the replacement Edge 1050, I did not transfer the settings from my old Edge 1000. So, I'm not sure if the navigation issues with the first Edge 1050 were because the unit was defective or because of issues with the transfer of settings via Garmin Connect. Based on the performance of the replacement unit, I would recommend the Edge 1050.