Thinking about buying an Garmin 500 as they seem pretty cheap now…
Does a 500 automatically upload your ride to strava once you finish your ride?

When you plug it into a pc/mac, yes and the 500 is the best choice imo at the moment. Be prepared to become obsessed, get much fitter and loose a lot of weight!

Would an iphone/smartphone upload automatically?

Any smartphone will upload automatically as soon as you have a data connection. The only Garmin bike devices which do (via your phone) are the new 510/810, all the others you will have to physically plug into your computer. Some of the Garmin watches upload automatically too if you have an ANT+ stick plugged into your computer.

So is it better to just get a smart phone and the strava app or is the 500 edge a better bet, as some smart phones are pretty cheap now?

Yes, the Strava app for iPhones/androids logs your ride then uploads it. It also lets you see the feed of your and others rides, analyse your performance, search for other segments you should try. If you have a premium subscription the newest iphone version will even speak to you and tell you how well you’ve just done on a segment.

All of these eat battery however, and given it’s my primary emergency rescue tool I decide to use Garmin instead, just ride everything at 100% and then see how I did after I get home.

I wouldn’t personally buy a cheap smartphone specifically for Strava use – you might be disappointed if you get one with a crap GPS. If all you want it for is to record your ride then the Garmin 200 will do the job and is pretty cheap. 500 is better though, it has 1s recording for starters which the 200 lacks.

All of these eat battery however, and given it’s my primary emergency rescue tool I decide to use Garmin instead, just ride everything at 100% and then see how I did after I get home.

So Edge is better? Was also thinking that it might be nice to have a monitor in front of me displaying avg. speed time etc.

*finger hovers over wiggle add to basket button*

Garmin is also good for all your regular cycle computer stuff (hrm, navigation etc.) all readily available on your stem.

Much better if you train or into the numbers etc.

If it’s just Strava you’re interested in then a smartphone should be enough, it’s really not worth shelling out on a new device for on it’s own.

If it’s just Strava you’re interested in then a smartphone should be enough, it’s really not worth shelling out on a new device for on it’s own.

Don’t own a smart phone. Think I’ll just get it as it’ll last for a while (hopefully).

Fwiw I’m really happy with my 500, wouldn’t be without it 🙂

You have to plug the Edge 500 into a computer to upload to strava, but it’s a very straightforward process and means the battery gets a recharge whilst you’re poring over your KOMs.

I had some minor battery issues with Strava on a smartphone (mostly due to bad planning on my part) which was one of the things that drove me to get a Garmin.

I use a Forerunner 410 (£130 ish from Amazon with HRM). It’s spot in. Strave on an iPhone 5 doesn’t seem bad on the battery if I forget to pack the Garmin though.

Before you click on Wiggle have a look here:- http://pricespy.co.uk/product.php?p=548181

Id look at a Garmin, Ive found my iPhone GPS loses signal on a ride. Uploading to a PC is really easy, plug Garmin in, hit the upload button on strava done!

Me again…

I have probably recomended a smartphone on threads like this in the past, that’s before I got a garmin. Since then I’ve actually got rid of the fancy phones altogether, replacing it with a small, light weight, long lasting(cheap) Nokia which is much better at being a phone. ( another thread but people wandering around looking at their phone really annoys me)

The Garmin is better for training in several ways: its in front of you all the time saying your present and average speed, using doesn’t it consume the battery of your phone which you may need for phoning someone, you can create routes in garmin connect upload to your phone and follow them.

A smartphone in your pack with a downloaded map is maybe better for off road route finding but on roads the garmins are great especially suited to long B road routes, quick glance down to see a left/right turn ahead works very well no stopping required.

Try handtec for a deal.