I went from an edge 510 to this and couldn't be happier with it. I haven't ridden on the road with it yet so I can't speak for how the road mapping works, but on the trails, it is awesome. It has the trails preloaded on the device so it tells you what trails are coming up at as you approach splits in the trail. That means no more stopping to use the trailforks app on my phone to make sure I am going on the right path for new trails I haven't ridden. One thing my 510 has that I haven't figured out on the 530 is the ability to label specific bikes. I'm not saying it doesn't have it for sure, I just haven't figured out how to do it or not does have it. I ride MTB, road, fat, tt, and cross and have sensors on all my bikes. On the 510 I would select which bike it was and the sensors would sink up as long as I didn't forget to do it before I started the ride. Speed was always recorded at least by GPS, and by the sensor if I had one on that specific bike, if I forgot to select the bike it would recognize the cadence or power sensors for example and wouldn't record that data. So far what I have noticed on the 530 is the bike choices are set up more like genres like road, MTB, gravel, etc. I am hoping that since I have paired all the various sensors to the unit that it will automatically connect to the sensors once I get going. It is winter now so I am only riding my fat bike so I haven't been able to determine if that is the case. I will admit that I haven't invested much time into playing around with it because I just assumed it would work like the 510, well it doesn't so I need to put some time into learning more about it. The Bluetooth seems to have better functionality than the 510 especially with call and text notifications.
The Edge 530 has been excellent--it provides really usable data, the ability to customize screens to give me just what I want to see while I'm riding, and easy connectivity with HR strap and my trainer when I use it indoors. It has been an excellent training tool and a way to log my workouts, let my family know where I am on the trail, and more. The bundle gave me everything I needed to outfit three bikes--my mountain bike (with the MTB-specific mount) as well as a road bike and my tri bike.
Takes a bit to learn how to quickly get the information from it that you want while out on the trail, but once you use it a few times it becomes easy to use. I use it almost exclusively mountain biking. Love the trail forks feature. On the road the navigation/map function is quite useful, but I've only been on the road a few tin times with it. GPS is much more accurate than my phone which is helpful on the mountain bike due to all the tight turns as compared to being on the road. Very happy!
The Garmin Edge 520 Plus has been the most important item I have purchased for my bicycle. I ride around 16 miles a day, and I has improved my skill and speed on the bike. I love that it keeps a record of every ride so that I can track my progress. I also like that I can read incoming texts while riding.
Unfortunately I had an accident one dark morning on a isolated bike trail, where I dropped a chain, cracked my carbon fiber frame, and injured my right knee. When I came to a stop the Garmin sent an emergency text to my contacts, alerting them I had an accident, and before I could get up from the ground I received a phone call from one of them. It was really reassuring that I could get help if I was total disabled in a crash. I'm riding again and will always have my Garmin with me.
I highly recommend other bicyclist get a Garmin Edge 520 Plus, because it could save your life.
Very stylish. Loaded with lots of stuff I'll probably never use. I believe that Garmin is phasing out support for 500 so I decided to upgrade to the 530. I had great success with the Garmin 500. It had just the right amount of basic functions. The 530 has all the 500 has and lots more, more than I really need. I can link the 530 to my IPhone and get my ride results immediately. That I like. It's a little bigger and heavier, but it has a very nice look on the bike.
I've had a Garmin 500 for some time, about 5 years, which has worked just fine with no issues. But... the 530 gives me so much more, especially nice is the routing. Yet then there are the other stats, training options and status updates which are great too. And simply put, I don't mind the setup even though it takes a little time to figure out. I've even configured the Activity Profiles individually by bike (4) as well as for the specific activities such as Indoor Training, so I can break out the data more easily.
Believe it or not, I had still been using my trusty old 500 because I so disliked the 820. It was difficult to read in bright sunlight and it constantly changed pages and settings when I dripped sweat on it no matter how I tried to tweak the settings! A friend implored me to get a new 830, assuring me that it was vastly improved over the old 820. I took his advice and must admit that he was right. Not only is the screen noticeably larger, it is also easier to read in bright sunlight. The touchscreen is way more usable and it boots up three times faster. The sweat-dripping thing is still a problem, however. I'm either going to have to quit working so hard, or reposition the unit so it is more out of the way.
Ordered this as an upgrade so I could track my interval workouts with better data. The touch screen is so nice, it makes using the unit so much more easier. Automatically uploads data to Strava so I can check out how I did verses my last ride on the route.
I mainly purchased this for navigational purposes, but also use it on local rides. Interface is user friendly and easy to get accustom to. Climb profile is a neat touch! Navigation has been pretty spot on. Happy with the purchase
I've had a Garmin Edge 530 for a few years but passed that one on to my wife when her Edge 520 stopped holding a charge. I debated whether to go with the 830 but I'm happy with the choice after using it for a few weeks. The touch screen is easier to manage compared to the multiple buttons on the 530, and it has worked reasonably well in rain and during the last part of the winter with full finger gloves.
First of all I'm a tough rater. I don't give five stars unless something is nearly perfect, so don't take 4 stars as a bad sign. This is a great computer overall.
First, some positives. This computer does everything I could ask for. Strava live segments work well, though sometimes segment starts appear when I'm just passing on an adjacent road or trail. Pairing power meters and other devices is seamless. and the data quality is very good. I have the system set to upload rides automatically when I hit the stop button, and they uploads are done faster than my garage door can open. The screen may not be like a top-of-the line phone, but it's a huge upgrade from any bike computer I have had before. The customizable data screens are old news, but really useful, and easy to configure once you get through the first time.
On the negative side, Garmin's software has a few weak spots. At first the computer battery totally drained several times. This wasn't exactly a battery life problem. The computer was getting into a state where it looked off but was actually using full power. Getting the beta firmware solved this. Oddly, the improved firmware hasn't been rolled out to production, though months have passed.
Another one-time problem was updates to the GPS software. It auto-updated during a ride, causing about half of the ride to lose data. Not the end of the world, but it was disconcerting since it was only my 2nd ride or so.
Smaller issues crash detection is a nice idea, but I have triggered it falsely a couple of times, once while simply accelerating from a stop light. I'm not THAT fast. Sorry, everyone, I'm not going to crash myself intentionally to see if it works in that case. The sharp turn warnings have never been useful. The tone either comes after you have already passed the apex, or just before when it would be unsafe to look down to read the message.
This is not really a pro or con, but just be aware that some functions are several levels deep in the menu system. The touch feature is generally very good, but some things may be nearly impossible when flying down a rough road or trail.
I bought a 520 a year ago under the impression I could fully navigate. After several months of training, I finally felt my fitness was now up to actually level to download maps and explore.
I went to the Garmin site, punched in "520", said there was map for that model, so after taking my $20 I got a link.
The link didn't work.... huh. I called Garmin and found out I needed the 529 PLUS to get real (sorta) navigate.... grrrr.
At that time BTD had a sweet sake on the 530, so i went for it and so happy i did!
Just the mere fact that it does everything the 520 does but FASTER (better processor) and last literally ALL DAY LONG even while navigating and the back lighting on!
It tells me when a call comes in, tracks and reminds me to drink and eat and has a bigger screen.
The ONLY thing I'm disappointed with is it doesn't display text msg's even though it's capable (though that's an Android thing more than this unit).
One last thing. I borrowed my buddy's 830 to try out the touch screen before I decided which one i wanted (the 830 and 530 are the same, but the 830 is a touch screen). Like many have said about the 830, once the display gets wet, you're SOL getting it to respond to touch, plus all the touching makes the screen unreadable in the sun... bleh!
Go for the 530 and you'll be in Garmin bless! :)
Replaced my 10 year old Garmin 800 Edge with this unit. works fine! I do miss the swipe and touch capability of the 800....but not the 800 price. Does all you expect a Garmin head unit to do. the bluetooth link up to the Iphone is nice - no more running to the laptop to upload data. comes with the incident notification feature - which does work, based on personal experience. A good value if you want a Garmin unit and are willing to use some slightly older tech.
I have used a Garmin 820 for years and the 830 is a huge upgrade. The screen is much more responsive, the battery life is so much better and the screen is sharper. If you like the 820 you will love the 830.
I purchased this to replace a garmin 800 that died on me. This has more options than the 800. I appreciate it linking with my phone to show texts and emails. I'm still working to get courses and routs set up, but it gives warnings and turn information that is great. Still lots to learn, but am glad I purchased it.
I have owned a Garmin 520 for several years. One too many mtn bike crashes probably did it in. Anyway, my biggest complaint with the old 520 was battery life, especially in cold temps. I didn't want a bigger computer, so I took a gamble with the 520 plus. Battery life is exceptional (8-12 hours average) and am really enjoying the navigation features. I have it synced with my wife's cellphone number so she can track my riding, thus giving her peace of mind that I'm not dying on the side of a road or trail somewhere. All in all, I am very pleased with the features and the price was the lower than anyone else offered.
I have a road profile for my road bike and another profile for my gravel bike. The unit came with two mounts and I have one on my road bike and one on my gravel bike.
The road profile includes average speed in addition to distance, time, and speed. The gravel profile adds temperature and time of day to the parameters. My only concern is that with my sunglasses prescription I don't have a reading lens and I have to limit the number of parameters displayed so they are large enough to read. Not a complaint since there is flexibility in the number of parameters and size of the boxes for the information displayed.
All in all, very pleased with the product. Now that I am wearing winter gloves, I can say that the buttons are really easy to use!
