Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • Garmin edge 520 what's good what's bad?
  • rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    So my edge 200 battery lasts about 2 hours on a full charge now. I could replace the battery for about £20 but obviously it’s just a bike computer with a bread crumb trail for maps.
    So the 520, are the maps good? What are the drawbacks and good points if I’m spending £175 on one?

    euain
    Full Member

    Battery life seems good.. well over 10h anyway with various ANT+ and bluetooth bits going.

    Basic GPS stuff seems solid – not had it lose signal or anything in best part of a year’s use. Bluetooth sync works well :).

    I’ve not tried the maps or navigation features.

    Only frustration for me is I haven’t found a button to press that will bring the backlight on at night. On my previous 800, you can just touch the screen.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    Not that popular then? what are others using?

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    robgclarkson
    Free Member

    I’ve got one…. back light is an issue, everything else is spot on…

    I updated the maps too using that Dutch website…

    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    I’ve got a Garmin Touring+.

    It’s OK but the screen can be hard to make sense of.

    I used it for navigating around San Jose last week on a business trip (took the bike).

    It was a bit of a life saver after I found that the Guadaloupe river was flooded, blocking the cycle path, about two miles from the airport.

    But cycling through London, its idea of a good route between Paddington and King’s Cross was a bit weird.

    orena45
    Full Member

    Hey Rocketdog. Did a review of my 520 on my blog last year so have a read.

    Just to add to it ( I should update the review), I’ve not had the crashing issue since.

    onewheelgood
    Full Member

    I like mine. There are a lot of options, so it can take a while to get it set how you like it. I like the Bluetooth uploads, and the beacon feature is reassuring if you’re venturing into the wilds alone. There are a lot of buttons, it can be hard to press the right one in heavy winter gloves. Battery life is OK, if you can get the backlight to turn off :-). Haven’t tried the navigation yet. I paid the same for it as I paid for my old 500, so I reckon it’s a good deal.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    Ok cheers guys

    munkster
    Free Member

    It’s a bit more than the 520 (£220ish with discounts) but have you considered the Wahoo Elemnt? I am seriously considering “downgrading” from my 1000 to it. It just works, seems to be the consensus, unless I’m overlooking a rich vein of dissatisfied customers.

    Not trying to say you must not have a 520, just wondered if people are genuinely considering it in the same breath as a Garmin.

    petec
    Free Member

    i have a wahoo, and it’s excellent. The LEDs for turn by turn navigation is ace, especially when cycling at night.

    xc-steve
    Free Member

    Love my 520, other than not having power meter use everything else on it. Navigation is perfect for predefined routs. Have done many 100 milers using it as navigation especially after the ‘map hack’ which you’ll easily find online.

    Training mode is great with nice chart to keep your training goals to and the Bluetooth upload and call notification is pritty useful too means I don’t miss that important call and get to see texts on the display which is nice during long rides.

    mahalo
    Full Member

    i have one too. also DL’d the snide maps as per the DC rainmaker article.

    cant fault it, other than when trying to navigate at night an the backlight goes out! im sure there are settings i can fiddle with to sort that… love creating routes on strava to just drag/drop onto the unit! battery is great, always get 3 or 4 rides before i feel like charging it again, it has never died on me tho.

    xc-steve
    Free Member

    You can turn the backlight off? Mines on all the time…

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    Yeah it’s in the display setting on each activity profile.

    I like mine, it has thrown a couple of wobblers and junked a load of ride data / crashed but it’s easily reset and it’s only one ride you loose.

    Bream
    Free Member

    Had mine nearly a year now and like it, came from an old 705.

    Used it mainly to chase Strava segments and navigate long MTB tours following gpx files taken of Strava for areas I know nothing about.

    Great battery Life, not much I don’t like about it really so happy with the purchase.

    zerolight
    Free Member

    520 has been brilliant for me. Live segments are ace. Accuracy of gps has also been very good. Installing a custom map is a great feature.

    https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/download-garmin-705800810.html

    jamcorse
    Full Member

    I’m stuck between 820 and 520. I don’t use any power meters/HRM etc and use mapping but the 520 hack for mapping will be fine for me. I do like searching the map nearby though. can you pan the map on the 520? This is the key question for me, if you cant, I will have to shell out £££ more for the 820…

    wilburt
    Free Member

    There’s nothing better for sports riding, if your into the ctc standing around looking at maps thing maybe a full mapping one would be better.

    Segments etc usuful or not depending how much you’re in Strava but you can turn all that off if you want and its still the best cycling GPS there is.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    I sold mine in favour of a gps watch.

    Maps were ok, live Strava segments was a bit of a gimmick and pretty unreliable. Useful for finding the start and end points though.

    I found Bluetooth connectivity to be hit & miss

    ampthill
    Full Member

    I’m stuck between 820 and 520. I don’t use any power meters/HRM etc and use mapping but the 520 hack for mapping will be fine for me. I do like searching the map nearby though. can you pan the map on the 520? This is the key question for me, if you cant, I will have to shell out £££ more for the 820…

    You do know that the Edge Touring is a sort of 8xx with the connectivity removed but leaving the maps? Looks like its cheaper than the 520. The Touring plus has pressure and the Russian satellite thingy and is still less than the 520. From what I can see the in terms of navigation the downside of the Touring over the 8xx is that it will only do bike sat nav not car or walk

    jamcorse
    Full Member

    Thanks, yes, but I really like the connectivity. I hate having to find my phone to see who is calling or texted, a great bonus when I need to be in touch at all times for work.

Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)

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