Hi All

Been looking at purchasing a Garmin for the gravel bike.
I currently record rides to Strava via my forerunner 245 watch.

I am looking to get an bike unit. I would like to stay with Garmin, as I currently have an account, so I can integrate any runs on my watch to my Garmin/Strava account.

I am also wanting to use the unit for Audax and touring navigation (I think bread crumb would be ok?) – if I need a map, generally look at my phone.

I am looking to edge 130 or 130plus (I am not sure the 130plus is worth the extra cash)
I am also budget conscious, so prefer the lower priced units.

Any ideas or opinions on the edge 130 130plus units?

There was a thread on here not that long ago? I haven’t got one but have been looking at similar.

I couldn’t navigate of a breadcrumb trail. It’s tricky in an area you don’t know. I’d probably want something a little better. I’ve also heard the 130 isn’t all that great battery life wise. The 520 isn’t much more and has full colour maps. But it is limited by memory so you’d have to keep playing with it if you regularly ride in different areas. I ended up thinking the wahoo element bolt was a good buy (stopped only by having a garmin mount on every bike for me!). The black and white maps seem good for navigation – adequate for the road at least. The battery life is also excellent. Last time I checked they weren’t much more than the 130 plus.

I picked up the edge 130, only issue with it is the battery life is no where near as advertised, I was getting 4 hours-ish hours with no sensors! I have now picked up the Edge 130plus as the battery is advertised as less but in the real world will outlast the OG 130, waiting to get the first ride in with the new unit.

Edge 130/130 plus are a great size, I did look at 520/520plus/530 but they are huge!

but in the real world will outlast the OG 130, waiting to get the first ride in with the new unit.

What makes you think that?

130 is a great device for data and ride recording. Pretty much hopeless for navigation.

When I noticed the battery life was awful I checked the comments on the DC rainmaker review and official Garmin 130 forum and lots of people were also having battery issues, eventually Garmin announced that the advertised 15hours was achievable if not using GPS!

The 130 plus came out with real world testing from Garmin and reviewers showing run times longer then the 130 in the real world when being used like for like.

Maybe have a look at the Explorer range if its more for navigation

I find the 130 fine for navigation, if coupled with a phone to help when you reach the limits of breadcrumbs. I prefer having a smaller and cheaper head unit against the occasional inconvenience of stopping to check the phone.

I managed to snag one of the PSA’d edge explores which cost about the same as a 130 at the time, it’s definitely a better tool for navigation, but also doesn’t have stunning battery life, easily addressed with a powerbank, but now everyone is going to like that solution…

I had a 130, and yeah battery life was a bit crap. Not completely useless, but when you hooked it up to a couple of ANT+ sensors it would suffer quite a bit. Breadcrumb navigation is a bit crap off road, too – as soon as the trail forks it’s time to toss a coin to see which one to go down. And 50% of the time you’ll be turning round a few hundred metres later when it becomes clear you’ve gone wrong 🙂

That said, it was a nice little unit, with a lovely clear screen, and easy to use.