Quite fancy a Garmin watch for route logging (instead of Strava on my phone) and connecting to my bike for monitoring battery level (since it lacks a display and I don't want more stuff on my bars).
Not interested in any of the sports or health stuff.
These ones I quite like the look of are the Enduro, Fenix 6 and Forerunner 255, which are all compatible with the Orbea RS Toolbox and seem reasonably priced on eBay for a refurb (£100-£150ish).
Any reason not to buy one of these models? I don't know anything about Garmins!
Cheers!
The thing I would be concerned about is battery life. I have a Fenix 6 and whilst I do like it the battery life is noticeable lower than in the past. The fenix is also big and heavy so if you dont want the features possibly not worth it.
If all you want is route and that Orbea app I would be looking at newer bottom of the line devices since tend to be lighter and dont have to worry about the battery.
I recently sold a Fenix 6 to a friend for £100. She is very happy with it and I thought £100 was good value. Her comment on opening the box was "it looks like new"!
My well used fenix 6 may look like new but the battery life getting towards the pants end of useful now. I believe the watch is 3 or 4 years old.
And doesn't look to be easy to replace in a useful fashion. Garmin don't want to know and offer a discount on a new model -butthe discounts only off the full price of course.
Id be wary of buying one used off eBay unseen.
Any reason not to buy one of these models? I don't know anything about Garmins
I just bought a forerunner 255 from Garmin for £168 using the single-track member discount.
Pleased with it. Does everything I need.
Appreciate the replies.
Maybe the Enduro would be worth a look then as it has bigger battery vs the Fenix 6, and less features.
Here's a list of all Garmin devices compatible with the Orbea app:
i bought a fenix 6 pro from these guys 'grade A refurbished ' for £150 last year
battery life is excellent and I couldn't be happier
I've had a number of secondhand Garmins over the years,.it's been a real mixed bag with battery life being the issue. As long as your saving enough money then try cex etc as they have pretty good warranties.
Here's a list of all Garmin devices compatible with the Orbea app:
I was debating replacing my one this year(as above its battery life is dropping a lot) but looking at that list it is putting me off. I know it has a bunch of bike computers on there but jesus how many bleeping versions do you need?
Given slackboys comment I would be looking at paying maybe a bit more for a new one. Either the 255 or looks like 165 also supports the orbea app and will be cheaper.
For any second hand one it is going to be highly dependant on how heavily used it has been as per mine and trail_rats experience and there is a good chance you will have wasted weight on your wrist. Better to buy something with "lower" battery life but has all of it left.
Some good food for thought, thanks all.
A new 255 with the STW discount is definitely a good option. I didn't realise that was a benefit.
@kimbers that's the seller I was looking at. Feedback seem to be mostly positive. I'd hope the grading takes battery life into consideration as well as physical condition. Sounds promising from your experience though.
Check CEX online. They offer ridiculously long warranties of up to 5 years.
I use a simple Garmin Vivoactive. Get HR, etc, use it for some riding, but mainly swimming, walking. Think I paid about £55 a year ago..
I bought a used Fenix 5 off eBay 2.5 years ago for about £100. I wear it everyday, the battery is still good for 6-7 days when not in GPS mode or about 10hours in GPS mode. It’s been knocked about, dragged across rocks, seen plenty of seawater and still looks good. Any problems charging were down to the charging cable and sticky pins.
After looking around a bit more I think the 255 with STW discount is going to be hard to beat. Cheaper than it is on CEX and just a bit more than on eBay. Way more features than I need, but maybe I'll find them useful, or just not use them... and it's brand new so no concerns about battery.
Yeah that 255 is a good price also with STW discount
Forerunner 55
£116.99
Instinct 2
£123.49
Yeah, i bought a 2nd Vivoactive 3 a couple of years ago for about £35 on ebay.
I'd imagine you could get a 4 for similar ish money now. It supports the app and would be a fairly risk free way to try it out.
My VA3 is still going strong now, battery wasn't too bad, although I upgraded anyway and gave it to my bro.
I’m not sure about the models you have, but I bought a used venu for £50 3 years ago.
I charge it twice a week in normal use, it uses 50% battery on full gps mode in a day.
Any problems charging were down to the charging cable and sticky pins.
Incidentally for this I would recommend searching on your favourite tat site for garmin dust plugs/caps and maybe the model name. Should give some silicone/similar coverings which keeps the pins protected day to day.
I would only consider a watch like a Garmin- especially high price watches like the Fenix series; second hand. They're not watches as much as they are disposable electronics like your phone, and has about a 5-6 year life span As long as you're aware of that aspect of owning them, there's bargains out there.
Garmin may not want to do it (preferring to sell you a new watch) but battery replacement on the fenix series is actually pretty simple. Batteries are easily sourced and it’s a ten minute job.
I bought a "refurbished" Garmin Instinct Solar in 2022 from Garmin via Amazon, it was £95, rrp was £319!
Rather than refurbished I suspect it was just a customer return, it was as new and I've had no issues with it. Only slight annoyance was that it came without a charger cable.
I've had refurbished Vivoactive and Fenix 6s from Amazon. No problems at all
I purchased an Instinct Solar 2 from STW classifieds some years ago and it’s still going strong. Battery life is excellent backed up with sunshine - just charged it and showing 24 days. Obviously tracking activities uses more battery but still good.
Is there a knack to finding refurbished models on Amazon?
I see a "renewed" 255 for £145 but dispatch time is 1 to 2 months.
Garmin may not want to do it (preferring to sell you a new watch) but battery replacement on the fenix series is actually pretty simple. Batteries are easily sourced and it’s a ten minute job.
Any links to a how too for review because the ones I've looked at specifically for the 6pro don't make out it's anything like a 10 minute job.
Oh and a reliable source for quality batteries
My Apple Watch after two years had done 400+ battery charge cycles and was seriously degraded.
after nearly a year my enduro3 has done about 18 charge cycles so I’m working on the basis even it degrades a bit it will still have 10 days plus life..
I've just bought an Instinct 2s solar from that eBay seller. Was just over £100, described as very good condition but it's like new. Battery life is less than my old Instinct Solar at the moment but I'm hopeful it'll be just as good once the sun reappears.
battery replacement on the fenix series is actually pretty simple. Batteries are easily sourced and it’s a ten minute job.
Tried that with mine for £25 for the battery and fitting and £10 for postage it seemed like it would be worth it. It didn't work for me. I don't know why but the watch would power off, become very difficult to restart and recharge and get it going again, and then after a couple of days, the whole thing would repeat. V frustrating.
had an fr255 for a few years now. charge every 10 days or so, and that's gps pretty much every day.
I bought a Garmin XT920 secondhand.
Great watch and gps.
The strap is not that hard wearing so do replace it quite often.( From Garmin).
I bought the same for my wife and a used one as well she also loves it (for running mainly.)
My battery lasts almost 15 hours for a long days bike ride and will pick up power meter as well.
An indepth review is available by DC Rainmaker.
It's not fashionable to look at ,but has some great features.
For those concerned with battery life, you want something from the Instinct Range.
I charge mine about once every 3 weeks.
If you buy a solar, your charging potentially 'never', or 'never in summer' at least.
An Xt920 battery will last a few weeks in just watch mode.
I charge mine about once every 3 weeks.
exactly how the fenix 6 was when new.
now i seem to be charging it every 3-5 days dependant on activity - Example - it was fully charged on Friday afternoon , I did a 25 minute parkrun on saturday and its been a watch since - its at 50% currently.
I did 4 x 1 hour laps at the puffer and it ended up on battery saver mode. - a race its previously coped with 16 hours riding time a couple years back.
i dont grudge it - its been well used , it would just make me tread carefully with a used one.
It's not fashionable to look at ,but has some great features.
I could say the same thing about myself 😆
I'd likely only use the GPS when on the bike, so that would conserve battery.
I actually have a Huawei GT smart watch but GPS only works via Bluetooth connection to a phone, so it was always a bit pointless for cycling when I could just use Strava directly. As such it's just sat in a drawer since the novelty wore off.
I've used CEX after I broke a Samsung watch. Bought another 'active' from CEX. That stopped working, so they warrantied it, but there were no "Actives" anymore so put the value against a full Galaxy watch. They don't come with straps, for hygiene reasons. Had the watch 2 years now, no problems and you get a long warranty.
Garmin may not want to do it (preferring to sell you a new watch) but battery replacement on the fenix series is actually pretty simple. Batteries are easily sourced and it’s a ten minute job.
I'm interested in a link to decent battery for a Fenix 6 Pro if you've got one.
Regular members may remember my thread where I got through 5 batteries bought from various internet sources, none of which were much good. I ended up backing the Dua watch on kickstarter which promised repair options and spare parts, but has yet to actually arrive.
I've bought from eBay GPSGadgets a couple of times.
Fenix 5 - £100 - lasted about 3 years. Now the on/off button doesn't work properly, albeit the battery remains fine.
Just bought a Fenix 7 solar. £230. Battery fine, and the solar feature means I'm not worrying about battery at all.
I had a Garmin upgrade discount, but couldn't see the benefit in a Fenix 8, even with hefty discount.
Be aware that if you buy a refurb one then because it's been opened up then they might put stipulations about water resistance on it. Can't remember the exact wording but I got a refurb Venu2 last year and it advised against submerging it in water. In the real world I don't worry about rain when exercising, but I do take it off for showering and wouldn't wear it to swim in - not that I swim much at all, but if you plan to then it might limit function.
I bought a used Fenix 3 five years ago for £80 and its still going, nothing wrong with it. However, I eventually persuaded myself it was time for an upgrade, so Mr Claus brought me a used Fenix 6.
Our local CEX has one in stock, it cost a little more than from marketplace, but the reassurance of the 5 year warranty made it a no-brainer.
There's an Fenix 7x Solar on Vinted for £80 in great condition. Seems like too good of a deal.
I used this video when I replaced the battery on an old Fenix 5. Process was pretty simple.
Don't know if the process has changed on later models but not sure why it would. I do note that lots of videos show the replacement being done by going in through the top of the watch but no idea why you would do this when the battery is stuck to the rear case.
Process is basically; undo the four screws holding the read case on (tiny torx if I remember correctly), disconnect the ribbon cable from the heartrate sensor (the only fiddly bit), unplug the battery, prise it off the rear case (stuck on with a sticky pad of some sort) and then reverse the process with a new battery (probably enough sticky stuff left on the case anyway).
Take a bit of care not to damage the little rubber seal on the case (maybe apply a bit of silicone grease) so it stays waterproof.
You can buy what claim to be genuine Garmin batteries online or any number of Chinese copies (no doubt of varying quality).
Just bought a used fenix 7x solar as an upgrade from a 5x. The battery life difference is immense. I’ve had it 3 weeks and used it for numerous rides as the tracking tool and it still says it has 8 days battery life
It will be interesting to see how that changes especially in the summer when the solar rays might be enough to supplement charging it
I’ve still got a F6 Solar, it’s 4 years old now, but the battery is smoked (24hrs with maybe a 10km run & a gym session left on my desk all the other time, it’s flat, or one decent 3/4 hour ride). I only wear it for actual activities now, but that covers quite a spectrum of things. Considering a replacement - like the looks of the Fenix with the silver bezel so it doesn’t show damage, but I don’t need 80% of what it does & the instinct looks like a children’s watch.
Id consider a refurb, as I don’t really value it as an item & have procrastinated for 12 months already. Do Garmin guarantee the battery in theirs?
Thanks - will revisit but the Fenix 6 pro procedure i looked at had you soldering wires and all sorts and then the reddit group had varying degrees of success with both waterproofing and battery longevity which put my off.... it still works in a fashion now - and currently lasts longer than i do - when that changes ill revisit.
I went with the 255 direct from Garmin using the STW discount.
1-2 weeks dispatch time, but worth the wait to save a bit of coin🙂
It's annoying that Garmin don't make it easier to swap batteries. Plenty of perfectly good watches being junked just because the battery life has dropped and owners don't feel confident in changing the battery. I can see why Garmin want you to just buy a new watch but they should do that by bringing out new features that users want not by trying to stop them doing something as simple as changing a battery 🤯
It's annoying that Garmin don't make it easier to swap batteries. Plenty of perfectly good watches being junked just because the battery life has dropped and owners don't feel confident in changing the battery. I can see why Garmin want you to just buy a new watch but they should do that by bringing out new features that users want not by trying to stop them doing something as simple as changing a battery
Battery replacements are absolutely possible, I went through something related in this Thread from 6 months ago.
A battery replacement on my (relatively old V1 Instinct Solar) only cost me £35, obviously not from Garmin. Watch is good was re-sealed and is working a treat again.
Interestingly (DC Rainmaker/Des noted it too IIRC) the most recent Edge computers are now apparently designed to accommodate battery replacement (screws and a gasket so you can open the units rather than being glued shut) to comply with recent EU legislation/Right to repair. I would hope this extends to the next lot of watches they release.
Battery replacements are absolutely possible,
Yes, I agree and I posted above how simple the process was on a Fenix 5. It's probably just as easy on the newer Fenix watches too, but that doesn't change the fact that people are avoiding (and upgrading from) perfectly good watches because they "think" it is hard to replace the battery and the fact that even Garmin wont attempt it probably plays into that perception.
It's annoying that Garmin don't make it easier to swap batteries. Plenty of perfectly good watches being junked just because the battery life has dropped and owners don't feel confident in changing the battery.
To be fair to them, at least in my Fenix 6 Pro, it's seven screws, reusable o-ring seals and a plug-in battery. It could only really be easier if there was a flap to stick AA cells in. Anyone not confident to take fiddly electronics apart could almost certainly go to a jeweller or any high-street phone repair shop.
I still find the main problem the fact that Garmin won't supply a replacement for a consumable part. So you're left with a crapshoot of repurposed ones stripped from unsold units or taking a chance on a third-party battery from Amazon / eBay / AliExpress. Having gone through 5 replacements, the "good enough" one has certainly degraded faster than the original. For all their empty talk of sustainability, they've made something even less repairable than an Apple product.
Plus, of course the modern attitude that electronics are knackered and destined for landfill after a few years, and a general reluctance to repair anything.
They're not the only ones of course limiting access to spare parts (you'll probably end up taking a similar punt on a battery for a mainstream 5-year old laptop, for example), but it's really not something that makes me look on their brand well.
I went with the 255 direct from Garmin using the STW discount.
1-2 weeks dispatch time, but worth the wait to save a bit of coin🙂
So much for their 1-2 weeks dispatch estimate, it's just been delivered 😀
but that doesn't change the fact that people are avoiding (and upgrading from) perfectly good watches because they "think" it is hard to replace the battery and the fact that even Garmin wont attempt it probably plays into that perception.
I wholeheartedly agree. But I suppose it’s important to understand that Garmin are a business and while they’ve had the “technology” for a long while, to make a robust, weathertight watch with GPS and HR that can go 14+ days between charges, and that, with a couple of battery replacements, would probably last the owner a decade, actually doing that would probably be commercial suicide for them.
The expectation has been set now, new gadget watch every 2-3 years, ever increasing price points, new features you probably don’t really need or want but are wowed by when you get them… Could be worse though, you could get into apple watches 😉
Quite fancy a Garmin watch for route logging (instead of Strava on my phone) and connecting to my bike for monitoring battery level (since it lacks a display and I don't want more stuff on my bars).
Not interested in any of the sports or health stuff.
These ones I quite like the look of are the Enduro, Fenix 6 and Forerunner 255, which are all compatible with the Orbea RS Toolbox and seem reasonably priced on eBay for a refurb (£100-£150ish).
Any reason not to buy one of these models? I don't know anything about Garmins!
Cheers!
I am still using a fenix 6, I don't notice any major problems with the battery but then I only charge it a little bit at a time. I tend to just put it on the charge when I jump in the shower to give it a little bit of juice and it sits permanently at about 70%
I'm really happy with mine and I suppose at some point I will upgrade to an 8 but for the moment the 6 does everything I wanted to do