Hi all,

I currently use Strava on my Android phone to record my rides, I’m thinking of getting a Garmin either a 500 or 510 for my birthday but unsure whether I would gain anything over Strava?

The one thing the Garmin 510 does that Strava doesn’t is Live Tracking, however this would still require my Android Phone to be taken with me. I ride solo quite a lot so someone knowing where I am would be useful.

Are there any other benefits of the Garmin over Strava that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

Endomondo does live tracking – when your logged into your account or Endo friends can follow if you wish. I think there are other live tracking options for Android phones. Endomondo seems to be the most straight forward and simple to use. You can then upload the gpx file to Strava – so no need to drop that.

I think a dedicated gps would prove more accurate with regard to tracking Strava segments etc – also the option of heart rate and cadence – if that’s your thing. Plus the altitude and temp readings will be more accurate.

Just got a 510 with cadence + hrm – the other week – to replace my Polar hrm and all the associated sensors etc plus keep from running my phone down when using Strava/Endomondo.

510 is defo proving a lot more accurate with the gps – not dropped a signal or missed any parts of a route yet or missed any Strava segments. With the phone it was a regular thing when deep in the forest. Tracking is proving good also – the wife can even see if my heart is still beating.

If you don’t want or need HRM or cadence get the 200. If you want maps and everything else get the 800. The 510 and 810 are full of bugs at the moment in particular the 510.

Stravas a joke without one. Just look at some of the ridiculous segment time posted from poor quality phone based GPS units… Get a garmin more accurate and saves you phone battery for making calls and facebooking…LOL

Didn’t find too much of an issue using my iPhone for Strava on the road, other than killing the battery. Offload, it works well in open and smooth areas, but in wooded and/or very undulating trails, I found it quite inaccurate.

Would say my Garmin Edge 500 is quite a bit more accurate, and the battery life is way better than I can imagine ever needing. May not quite get a full 24hr solo out of one, but I’m sure you’d get most of it!

Not even seen a 510 or 810 yet, really keen to try one, but for me almost all of the additional features over the 500 would be redundant. And surely using a 510/810 connected via Bluetooth to your phone giving live updates to the Internet on your progress is going to cane your phone battery almost as quickly as using your phone on its own? Will have to wait and see I suppose, but I won’t be paying to be a beta tester… The 500 is tried and tested and does all I could ask from it.

TBH, the Forerunner 310 does just the same as a 500 (the 510 has fancy iGubbins) – just not as much data on screen.

Decent handlebar mount and you’re away.

Can pick them up nice and cheap and use it for running too if that’s your bag.

Cheers

Danny B

510 has been good for me on the last 20 road/mtb rides – tracking has worked fine also. No bugs for me so far – just my own experience. Blutooth on my phone after a 4 hour ride seems to use less battery than when using it for gps tracking – had over 50% left.

Might be worth adding that the 510 comes with an out front mount plus 2 standard mounts.

I’ve been using strava on Android for some time and have recently purchased a Garmin 800.

Having recorded some rides on both devices, i find that distance-wise accuracy on the Android is pretty good (+/- 100 meters on a 30km ride), with segment times very much inline. There can be a significant difference in elevation readings though.

You can store ‘courses’ on your garmin, which are akin to strava segments + timing data, and once loaded, use the virtual partner feature on garmin to show your deficit / lead over that ‘course’ in real time. I have found that feature quite useful to target PRs. I believe its also available on the 500.

Also useful:
*have the dashboard data on display in real time.
*Seeing your segment times stacked up with HR data (gets me thinking about how i might use the target HR zones to train better)
*Accurate weather readings over the course of the ride
*doesn’t drain your battery as already mentioned

Its early days yet (I’ve only had the unit 2 weeks) but on balance definitely happy with the purchase, even without having started to use some other available features on the 800.

Regards,
Sam

Hmmm my garmins had me going over the dee twice goin o work

It miss reads all the time…..

Iphone works waaaay better than my 205 or forerunner 305 . Just bought a 500 so will see how fhat fairs

Not to say android phones are any good at it though seen some wild results from cheapo phones with terrible chips