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.
Screen about the same size As my old u it maybe a smudge larger but not noticeable and easy to view
Touch is pretty spot on
Processor is much faster than before
The jumps feature is kinda fun
The climbing results are nice too
Along with trails maps very cool feature
They claim better battery life but Im not seeing it.
The segments portion is a little clunky if you dont use strava
Overall its an upgrade worth getting
I got my 830 coming off an 810. I debated long and hard between it and the 530, as the only difference is touch-screen vs buttons. And, after several months, I can say I made the wrong choice. The touch screen actually makes this less valuable than the 530. It is terrible with gloves, and their software is terrible at dealing with it. I am constantly pulling down something when a want to slide, and so on. It is just annoying. I heard the touch screen was improved, but my 810 did better.
Everything else is fine. I still can't find the compass, the menus are huge disorganized messes, but they are trying to deal with a small space and few controls, I will cut them some slack.
Get the 530. Save $100 AND get a better unit.
I love the 530! I had an old 500 and it was time to upgrade. Love the larger screen and the mapping capability. Very easy to use and much easier to read.
Decided to go with this one vs the 830 because I thought the extra price for really just the touch screen was a bit much. I have not regretted not having the tough screen.
Would definitely recommend!
I had first purchased 530 and used for the summer and was happy with it very much. But did not like the pushing buttons so much while riding. So went ahead and upgraded to the touchscreen 830 and have been very happy that I did a big improvement and to me worth the money. Even in cold weather riding with gloves screen was easy to use.
My Garmin 820 battery has lost its ability to hold a charge for more than two hours. So I ordered an 830 as a replacement.
I am very pleased so far. I love how it switched from my data screen to the map screen to warn me of an upcoming turn in my course. After the turn the 830 returned to the data screen. That feature is really helpful.
Setup was a little easier than my 820 but still took about an hour to pair my existing sensors and customize the data screens. No where in the manual did it tell me how to change the front and rear gear values but I did finally figured it out. (I have Etap so the 830 will display current gears and battery life).
The one caveat I had with my 520 Plus was a horrible time pairing and synch-ing when I first got it. I almost returned it to BTD, but then, mysteriously, I got a half dozen updates from Android and Garmin and Garmin Connect started talking properly to Strava & RWGPS and I was in LOVE.
My wife paid for half of the cost as she wanted to know where I was if I needed rescue and LiveTrack does just that. (so do free phone apps, but I don't like relying on my phone for everything, I like a backup) I haven't used GroupTrack, but my local bike group does, and it's great if riding with another rider who has different skills or a different fitness level.
I went back to my Edge 305 last week because my 520 Plus was doing an hour map update, and it felt like I was going back to the stone ages. I love the way the new Garmins works flawlessly with my cell, but doesn't depend on it working for anything critical. I also wanted a color screen, so, in the end, I decided against the Wahoo. I seldom use the mapping of the Plus, but when I need it I'm extremely thankful I have it. We have a lot of roads that curve back around on themselves here, as well as paved roads that suddenly turn into dirt. Good maps are a god-sent.
I got mine here at BTD, but with a bunch of discounts, so about $50 less after watching prices on the Wahoo for over 6 months that wouldn't budge. In the end the mapping features of the Plus, and color screen, were exactly what I was holding out for and am very happy with my purchase.
Im new to Garmin GPS units and reading the history on them the new 520 Puls seemed to be a good place to jump in. Pretty decent tech for the rapidly falling price. The data and screen are great, more than I know what to do with. The Garmin Connect App is pretty basic, seems you need Strava and other third party apps to get more value out of the GPS data. Uploading routes is still clunky having to plug your device into a laptop but its pretty solid once you get it in the device. All and all its a cool toy, we arent totally there yet with GPS cycling computers but its cheaper than ever to try it out.
I came from being a long time 520 user and I really love the 530. I upgraded primarily because my 520 was about 4-5 years old and the battery was really bad. I do gravel events and use the gps course mapping feature a lot in those events as well as in cold temperatures. This is a battery destroyer typically but the 530 has held up very very well on 6-7 hour elasped time for gps mapping, colder weather (30-40F), power meter, bluetooth phone, and brightness dimmed to 20%, and GPS enabled. Looking beyond the extended battery life are features that go above and beyond the 520.
Road cycling is my preferred use. I would suggest anyone using this to download the manual. It was very well done in explaining the functions through the various menus. A few minor things were missed, but definitely not a deal breaker. The various data screens can be customized nicely to your preferences of what is important to you to see for each type of activity (type of riding). From the Connect store many addons can be installed so you would be hard pressed not to make this computer personalized. Pairing a Bluetooth ear piece is nice as it will give you periodic stats as you ride along with info on in-coming calls, etc. , too. The navigation map is really done well giving you detailed turn-by-turn directions with uploaded courses. When paired with a Bluetooth ear piece, you'll get audio on directions.
First off, Ive been using Garmin since the beginning and always loved their products. I bought the 530 with confidence (my old 820 was well used and failing) but was immediately disappointed. The GPS isnt very accurate so I ride with a wheel sensor to correct the nearly .2 of a mile I lose on every 10 miles. Nit picky? Perhaps but my 820 was accurate. Secondly, it crashes, wont power on at times (even with a fully charged battery). I had to send my first one back and get a replacement. It, too, has the same issues. I feel like Garmin didnt product test and customers are working out their flaws.
The good, when its working, its awesome. The battery lasts, realistically, 13-15hrs. The data it has the ability to collect is crazy.
If I had to do it over I wouldnt get it. I no longer race so all that data isnt something I pay too much attention to anymore and the headaches of dealing with customer service (very nice and helpful as they are) is annoying. Just my 2 cents.
You will want this product if you have the Di2 system. Easy to setup and view your gearing and if you have the auto mode on a tri bike it will beep when you reach the last gear before a front ring change. Battery status and copious amounts of data fields to display.
Terrific GPS cycling computer. This is an exponential improvement over my prevous Garmin Edge 500. Highly customizable color screens, all the cycling metrics you could want, fast GPS signal acquiring, and great large screen. Pre-loaded mapscourses and live strava segments are also a nice feature.
Replaced my very old Garmin 500 with the 520 Plus. Got it on sale and I couldn't pass it up. Huge improvement over the 500. Finds the satellite very quickly, the 500 took for ever. Ton more features and I love that your able to load in route and it provide directions with visual and audio alters. I ride 3000 miles per year but not competitively. I was also able to use my old upfront mount from the 500 with the 520 Plus. Just purchased the Garmin tail light with radar which will Bluetooth to the 520 Plus. Got that on sales too and saved $. Love doing business with BTD.
As in every new product there are always kinks to work out. There were several bugs in the software which were fixed in a beta release that tech support provided. A newer release was issued which I am sure corrected other problems and did not reintroduce my previous issues.
There are so many features and menu pages that requires a fairly steep learning curve. My primary interest is in downloading routes that I create in RideWithGPS which works very smoothly. Only missing feature is the ability to set the Odometer to a specific value but can be done with a ConnectIQ app that allows you to add a new field and supply a starting value.