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.
Received within a couple days. Best price I found. Works as expected. Screen/ button navigation takes a bit of getting used to, but it�s a top notch computer.
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!
road and gravel use. Computer boots up much quicker and has much longer battery life per charge than my garmin 520.
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.
Believe it or not, I had still been using my trusty old 500 because I so disliked the 820. It was difficult to read in bright sunlight and it constantly changed pages and settings when I dripped sweat on it no matter how I tried to tweak the settings! A friend implored me to get a new 830, assuring me that it was vastly improved over the old 820. I took his advice and must admit that he was right. Not only is the screen noticeably larger, it is also easier to read in bright sunlight. The touchscreen is way more usable and it boots up three times faster. The sweat-dripping thing is still a problem, however. I'm either going to have to quit working so hard, or reposition the unit so it is more out of the way.
The Edge 530 has been excellent--it provides really usable data, the ability to customize screens to give me just what I want to see while I'm riding, and easy connectivity with HR strap and my trainer when I use it indoors. It has been an excellent training tool and a way to log my workouts, let my family know where I am on the trail, and more. The bundle gave me everything I needed to outfit three bikes--my mountain bike (with the MTB-specific mount) as well as a road bike and my tri bike.
I had an 820 and really liked it. It was 8 years old when the battery died. One of the electronics specialists at work replaced the battery for me, but he broke a connection and the top third of the touch screen no longer worked. I wish that Garmin would repair devices, it worked fine until the battery needed replacement
Replaced my 10 year old Garmin 800 Edge with this unit. works fine! I do miss the swipe and touch capability of the 800....but not the 800 price. Does all you expect a Garmin head unit to do. the bluetooth link up to the Iphone is nice - no more running to the laptop to upload data. comes with the incident notification feature - which does work, based on personal experience. A good value if you want a Garmin unit and are willing to use some slightly older tech.
I have used a Garmin 820 for years and the 830 is a huge upgrade. The screen is much more responsive, the battery life is so much better and the screen is sharper. If you like the 820 you will love the 830.
As winter falls upon Wisconsin, I have been training (biking & running) indoors more often. The profiles allow me to set certain data fields for indoor biking vs ones I want for the open road. I used to use my Garmin watch for the bike, but having a head unit is a great improvement. Being cheap I utilize Garmin Segments, creating ones to mimic Strava segments, which then allows me to race against them. This feature alone makes the purchase worth it for me. I had been trying to take the crown on particular segment all summer and with the real time feedback, I smashed it by 20 seconds. We don't have many "climbs" in Wisconsin, but I could see how that new feature would be very useful after using it just two times. I had a couple issues with losing connection to my Garmin Vector pedals, but since the latest update, that has improved. Connects well with other sensors: heart rate strap, speed/cadence sensors on my other bikes. Nice to have decent mapping as well. I find the menu arrangements slightly different than other Garmin products. I also sometimes wish I had spent more for the touch screen model.
I have a road profile for my road bike and another profile for my gravel bike. The unit came with two mounts and I have one on my road bike and one on my gravel bike.
The road profile includes average speed in addition to distance, time, and speed. The gravel profile adds temperature and time of day to the parameters. My only concern is that with my sunglasses prescription I don't have a reading lens and I have to limit the number of parameters displayed so they are large enough to read. Not a complaint since there is flexibility in the number of parameters and size of the boxes for the information displayed.
All in all, very pleased with the product. Now that I am wearing winter gloves, I can say that the buttons are really easy to use!
I have owned a Garmin 520 for several years. One too many mtn bike crashes probably did it in. Anyway, my biggest complaint with the old 520 was battery life, especially in cold temps. I didn't want a bigger computer, so I took a gamble with the 520 plus. Battery life is exceptional (8-12 hours average) and am really enjoying the navigation features. I have it synced with my wife's cellphone number so she can track my riding, thus giving her peace of mind that I'm not dying on the side of a road or trail somewhere. All in all, I am very pleased with the features and the price was the lower than anyone else offered.
A great feature set for riding. I've been using this on road, gravel and mtb with specific and customizable profiles for each discipline. The maps are great, and I was impressed at how accurate the trail maps have been. This is my first bike computer having relied on my garmin watches in the past. I've since added a cadence sensor and hrm, both of which provide good info when connected to the 530. One feature I thought was goofy, but have had fun with after riding with it for a while, is the 'jump' recording in the MTB profile. Measures distance and hang time, which of course has translated to passing this around to see who can go the biggest. I was skeptical, but jumped during the sale and glad I did.
My Garmin Edge 530 was easy to set up, sync with Garmin connect which syncs with MapMyRide. It is easy to read under clouds or direct sunlight. The battery lasts a long time--should be no problem for a 100 mile ride. I can see text messages coming in through phone pairing. Interesting to see the grade % on those tough climbs--although it does lag by a few yards. There are certainly more features than I have used so far. Mount is solid as well.
Been a fan of the Garmin's 500 series for quite sometime. I bought the Garmin Edge 530 to replace my aging 500. The screen is bigger and brighter than its predecessor. The new features such as turn by turn map, live strava segment, and MTB tracking (air time, ft) if you're into that sort of things.
One thing is taken out and i wish Garmin leaves it, the bike profile which tracks each bike odometer (up to 3 bikes). On 530 you can set your bike profile as eitber road or mtb.
Been a fan of the Garmin's 500 series for quite sometime. I bought the Garmin Edge 530 to replace my aging 500. The screen is bigger and brighter than its predecessor. The new features such as turn by turn map, live strava segment, and MTB tracking (air time, ft) if you're into that sort of things.
One thing is taken out and i wish Garmin leaves it, the bike profile which tracks each bike odometer (up to 3 bikes). On 530 you can set your bike profile as eitber road or mtb.
I use the 830 to guide me through Oregon's forestry roads, out of cell phone coverage. It shines when the road on the map doesn't exist or is washed out by a landslide. It's clear and easy to read while rattling downhill and offers a wide array of features (if you take the time to learn the details.) I tried a Wahoo and am much happier with the Garmin.
