GarminEdge 500 Neutral(Return to Product Page)

I had a couple of friends introduce me to the Garmin Edge 500. I was told of all the features it has and how it would benefit me. I bought the computer, cadence sensor and heart rate strap. I wanted the computer in the neutral color so I bought each component separately. Installation and set-up took a little time but this is much more advanced than your typical entry level computer. I've used it now for a couple of months and it was definitely worth the investment. I'm using cadence during my rides and keeping an eye on my heartrate is a definite plus. Features like elevation gain and loss and calories burned adds to the list of helpful info this unit provides. Downloading the ride info onto Garmin Connect is easy and shows very helpful information with maps and graphs.

Definitely a must-have accessory.

The Garmin 500 is super user friendly; easy to upload to Ride with GPS and Garmin Connect. I found it easy to pair with my heart rate monitor (Bontrager ANT I already owned). The Garmin is just so easy to use. Wish I would have bought one a long time ago, it's nice to be able to just plug it into the computer upload and charge all at the same time. No more wasting money on replacement batteries like I did with my other bike computer. It is a little slow in acquiring the satellite.

It's nice to know I still have the option to upgrade to Speed&Cadence Sensor kit later without having to buy a new Garmin.

This GPS works great and is easy to read and set up. I found the bike mounts work for me and have had no problem with them. The Garmin does not vibrate or budge. I have it mounted to my handle bar on my road bike and stem on my cross bike.

I received my edge 500 as a gift and while I was skeptical at first I have grown to use it to track fitness progress. While it won't show you where you are going (you should know that before the ride, right?) the Edge 500 will calculate calories burned, heart rate, elevation gain and loss and other useful functions. The display is a bit small for my aging eyes and at speed you should be paying attention to your line, but at home the details are revealed.' Wow did I really just climb 2500 feet and burn 800 calories?' It's motivational. If you live in the wooded mountains you may get some crazy readings for a moment or two but it averages out. Check the 'use local terrain' function in Garmin connect for a more realistic idea of elevation gain. I found it to be quite different from the uncorrected data. I use the Edge 500 for important or epic rides but not everyday. You may want to look into a more secure aftermarket mount. I've read of these popping off handlebars at inopportune moments. Some Team Garmin bikes have been seen with their computers zip tied to the bars.

I've owned the Garmin Edge 500 for a few months now, and I really like it. I had been using iPhone apps (BikeBrain and MapMyRide) that were pretty good, but this setup has a few problems. First, I don't have an easy way to mount it on the bike, so I can't look at any data until the ride is done. Second, it burns the battery very quickly, so on a long ride I could actually run out of power. Third, the GPS location and speed measurements are not very accurate (the sampling rate is too low).

The Garmin unit solves all of these problems. The display is easy to see while riding, the battery lasts a very long time (after a century it was still at 65%), and the GPS never loses me. In addition, it's a lot easier that the iPhone for uploading the data to various riding web sites, like RideWithGPS. One minor quibble the calories estimate (if you care about this number) seems quite high, but that's not surprising since it's based on so little information.

Great product , easy to use, enjoy using it with strava

Great product and very easy to use even for the technically challenged

I use the 500 to keep track of my bike outings and heart monitor records. I am not in training for competitive events so I do not record cadence info. It is great fun to upload this data to Garmin Connect and see your trips on a map. I wish it were possible to display more than one trip at a time on the map, but I haven't figured out how to do that. I have not yet made enough trips to learn much by analyzing the data, but that is just a matter of time. The battery life is more than adequate as I never have to charge it because it replenishes itself during each upload and always seems to be at 100%. I have to depend on memory to kn ow what the buttons are for as I cannot read the labels without reading glasses, but the data display is easily read and page switching is easy and straightforward. You can prepare a trip ahead of time on Garmin Connect and then follow the trip with the 500. This seems to work pretty well but is not quite as good and the Garmin GPS I use in my car.

I've been using the Edge 500 for about three months now. I've found the additional data that is available through it it to be usefulinsightful in training and conditioning. The head unit is also compact and relatively affordable.

My only complaint is that it seems to be somewhat quirky at times. For example, the clock on the unit I purchased was off two hours as a result of the installed time zone map. I went through multiple iterations with Garmin tech support to get it reset, all with not success. I finally decided to delete all the datafiles on the unit and freshly restart it. That solved the problem, but I probably spent three hours collectively getting to that solution.

Also, I have found that a major trip with my bike to a new area of riding (say 1,000 miles from home) can result in errant or no data collection. I now do a hard reset of the unit prior to a first ride in a new location to try and pre-empt this from happening. It's disappointing to finish a big ride and then find that you either have not collected data, or that it is fragmented due to intermittent satellite reception.

I'll stipulate that these problems may be the result of pilot error, but I generally don't have a problem with technical things or electronics in general. Regardless, the Edge is, and will continue to be, a great addition to my bike. I haven't integrated power as a data source yet, but will add a Quarq crankset to the bike in the near future.

I was hesitant to purchase such an expensive cyclecomputer, but now I ask why didn't I do it sooner. Primary uses are Speed, Heart Rate, Time and Distance.

Likes easy to set up, using GPS for speed not a problem and makes transfer across bikes easy. Display is large and crisp, Tons of additional data that I now use, i.e. HR zones, % Max HR, Lap times, and elevation. Power and charging cycles are not problems at all, if you upload rides to analyze data on a regular basis.

Dislikes Standard stembar mount, purchased a K-Edge mount which is more substantial. Garmin site for uploads could use some work. Premium price.

Overall Great success with this unit, you get what you pay for and more.

I've found the Garmin Edge 500 to be a simple to use piece of equipment. The absolute best thing is the claimed 18 hour battery life (I'll put it to the test this weekend). I really like how you can program the different style of screen displays.