I am a denizen of the Garmin universe, having purchased two Garmin running watches, track efforts on Garmin Connect, including cycling. Purchased Garmin 530 mainly for navigation for organized gravel rides and travel. Tried using GPS on my iphone and it was less than optimal primarily due to poor reception and poor battery life. Enter Garmin 530, so far have been very happy. There is a bit of a learning curve but am now pretty familiar with downloading and creating routes with Strava or Ride with GPS and loading onto Garmin. Very easy to use, like the push button controls rather than touchscreen, battery life and GPS reception are excellent. Use almost exclusively in navigation/map mode, like that the screen tells me where I am and what roads are coming up ahead, even if i am not following a set route. Bought a second 530 for riding with my wife, now we both have downloaded routes to follow, no more arguing over directions, no worries about one of us having to wait for another or one of us rushing ahead in the wrong direction. Garmin Connect is useful to track rides and syncs with Strava. There are many other bells and whistles that seem helpful but i dont really use anything other than navigation. Solid and functional, it just works.
The Edge 530 replaces my 5-yr. old Edge 820. I am much happier with the 530 because: 1, my screen would go haywire in the rain; 2, much faster processing with routes; 3, better looking screen that does not reminds me of my Palm Pilot; 4, much better battery life. The new firmware is also less buggy so, yeah, I am glad that Garmin (finally) up their game. I was seriously considering switching to a Wahoo Element or a Karoo Hammerhead. I would have given it 5 stars if the screen has better resolution and color-there is not excuse in 2021 to have a screen from a 20 yr. old flip phone!
I decided to upgrade to the 530 when it was on sale and I am glad I did. Battery lasts longer it connects sooner. No more waiting for the satellite connection. Display is good as I can scroll through the various screens easily though I have settled on the main display with heart rate and the usual metrics. All I know is Garmin. I compared other devices my friends had and they seemed fine but I stayed with what I know and what already fit my bikes. No regrets.
I received a Garmin 520 Explorer as a gift. On the first ride, the extremely short battery life caused the unit to shutdown after approximately 3.5 hours. Big surprise and quite annoying. I returned the device and upgraded to the 530. The battery life is significantly better--approximately 3 to 4 times longer between charges. The Garmin 530 does what it is supposed to do, so there's that. The illumination is good --especially when riding at night or in dim natural light. My main disappointment is the learning curve necessary to manage the various functions. It is anything but an intuitive process and the "get started" booklet is basically a waste of paper; entirely insufficient. Users who want to actually use the device will need to download the more detailed manual from the Garmin website. The GPS works fine although it takes me a few minutes to locate a satellite signal; better to wait before pedaling down the driveway. I find that the post-ride map/graphic of the route is very general; vague and not helpful. All in all, I believe that the 530 provides the best value for the money. For casual riders, a wireless cycle computer still may be a simpler way and less expensive way to go.
I received a Garmin 520 Explorer as a gift. On the first ride, the extremely short battery life caused the unit to shutdown after approximately 3.5 hours. Big surprise and quite annoying. I returned the device and upgraded to the 530. The battery life is significantly better--approximately 3 to 4 times longer between charges. The Garmin 530 does what it is supposed to do, so there's that. The illumination is good --especially when riding at night or in dim natural light. My main disappointment is the learning curve necessary to manage the various functions. It is anything but an intuitive process and the "get started" booklet is basically a waste of paper; entirely insufficient. Users who want to actually use the device will need to download the more detailed manual from the Garmin website. The GPS works fine although it takes me a few minutes to locate a satellite signal; better to wait before pedaling down the driveway. I find that the post-ride map/graphic of the route is very general; vague and not helpful. All in all, I believe that the 530 provides the best value for the money. For casual riders, a wireless cycle computer still may be a simpler way and less expensive way to go.
My bike computer for the last 5 or 6 years has been the Edge 520. LOVE that computer but the battery life had dropped dramatically in cold weather so... For Father's Day I received the Edge 530. Wow. This has all the mapping features I wanted, such as zooming in/out, and I didnt have to get the touchscreen 800 series. I ride in the rain and sweat a lot, so I WANT Buttons. The new metrics the 530 provides are great too! Heart Rate Variability, training value, etc. Most of my time is spent on a road bike but prefer mountain biking... I am still trying get the hang of the Grit and Flow scores, but the jump estimates are cool!
After using the Edge 530 for a month, I gave the 520 to a my father in law... The Edge 530 is AWESOME
This was kind of a "crime of opportunity". The 530 was on sale, and I wanted to see what extra features the 530 came with.
If you started out with the Edge 130, there is a bit of a learning curve:
-some of the buttons are in different places
-some of the functions work a bit differently
-you have to choose your type of ride (road, gravel, commuting, etc.) at the beginning of the ride rather than at when you save the ride at the end
Overall, I like the Edge 530. I moved my 130 to the commuter bike, and I'll probably get another 530 for my wife when she is ready for a new one.
Really like the larger screen & is much faster than the 520 Edge. Also, the ability to load proper maps is a big plus. Battery life seems to be quite good as well.
Better screen resolution, faster, much better battery and more capabilities as compared to my 2 year old Garmin 520+!!
My first Garmin was the 810, later the 820, and now the 830. I used them all for road and MTB. The 810 got the ring and sold it. The 820 I was so disappointed on the battery life on a 8 hours ride that I sold it. The 830 has a better battery life. The screen is a great improvement since it doesn't move when is raining, my 820 used to go all over the place under the rain. The touch screen has the right sensitivity with all the familiar features of the 800 series. Even though it contains a lot of things I don't use, it doesn't glitch or discard my rides as its predecessor.
Use the Edge 530 for gravel and road rides. Creating a course on Garmin Connect is a bit of a chore but is easy to follow once uploaded to the 530. My eyes are not working so well now and I really appreciate the easy to read data screen. I was using a Wahoo Bolt but just could not see the screen. I passed it on to my daughter and purchased the 530. The 530 is a huge step up in the display over the Wahoo.
After a month of use I dropped the 530 from a height of about 2 feet. No visible damage but the screen no longer worked. Garmin did send a refurbished device for a $130 charge. The 530 is quite fragile - certainly not a robust as a Wahoo device. I now have a silicon sleeve that, hopefully, will preclude damage should the 530 be dropped. My experience with the 530 is really great; with exception of the fragility. a silicon protective case is, in my view, an absolute necessity.
Very happy with this computer. Great battery life. Impressive graphics. Big upgrade from my 520.
Easy upgrade from my old 520, automatically carried over my settings in a minute or two. Love the grit and flow ratings for MTB. Road features are excellent too - reminders to eat and drink if you want them. Overall, a great upgrade with improved battery life.
I use this computer when I ride during the weekdays. I like that it does not have a touch screen, as my 830 has. Sometimes on my 830 I accidentally touch the screen and I can not get back to the original screen. What I do not like about the 530 is that when initially entering data, it is more difficult to enter and save data without a touch screen. Since my 530 was a replacement for my 820, I wish I could have transferred the data from my 820 to my 530.
I replaced my Garmin Edge 820 with the 830. The 830 is quite an improvement over the 820. It finds sensors much, much quicker. Satellite acquisition is a whole lot better. Screen is bigger. There's just too many improvements to mention them all. The only thing I wished Garmin would do for all the Edge models is to be able to "program" the Edged pages, configurations and options from a web page which then could be uploaded directly to the Edge. This would be much simpler for the end user and an obvious feature to employ. Bur that doesn't take away from the Edge 830. The Edge 830 is a nice product.
Upgraded from Edge 130 and very happy.
Able to move seamlessly from my trainer to my road bike with different profiles. (Original edge 130 does not allow this).
Screen much larger than 130.
Love that it uploads my ride via WiFi on trainer rides. When I get home from a ride it seems I have to link via phone to Garmin Connect instead.
Haven't taken advantage of climb pro yet because I typically don't download routes.
Still wonder whether touch screen would be better, but I wear full finger gloves much of the year, so that might be problematic with touchscreen.
I did buy a silicone cover on Amazon in case I drop it as the glass is otherwise unprotected. The Garmin cover is about double the cost of others.
I was an avid phone user for my cycling "computer" until a friend talked me into the 830. At purchase it was a cool toy that enable Ant+ pairing with my various sensors so things connected very easily and quickly. I have been very impressed by the cycling dynamics feature (power meter pedal integration), map rerouting, favorite Strava routes (you can star someone else's route on Strava and download that route to the 830 for mapping), and the Strava segments. Really like the real time segment popup that shows how you are doing against the KOM and/or your PR. Battery seems to last a really long time too. Highly recommended.
This was an upgrade from an old Edge 500 and I have to say that the difference is like night and day. The unit is so much more customizable, has many more features and color graphics. Like the 500 you can add screens and format them as you wish, but it also has modes for a road bike, a trainer or a mountain bike right out of the box. Pair it with a set of power meter pedals and you'll be overloaded with data during and after your ride. Then when you're done with your ride the 530 provides you an evaluation of your effort and provides a summary. Brilliant!
Very stylish. Loaded with lots of stuff I'll probably never use. I believe that Garmin is phasing out support for 500 so I decided to upgrade to the 530. I had great success with the Garmin 500. It had just the right amount of basic functions. The 530 has all the 500 has and lots more, more than I really need. I can link the 530 to my IPhone and get my ride results immediately. That I like. It's a little bigger and heavier, but it has a very nice look on the bike.
I've had a Garmin 500 for some time, about 5 years, which has worked just fine with no issues. But... the 530 gives me so much more, especially nice is the routing. Yet then there are the other stats, training options and status updates which are great too. And simply put, I don't mind the setup even though it takes a little time to figure out. I've even configured the Activity Profiles individually by bike (4) as well as for the specific activities such as Indoor Training, so I can break out the data more easily.
