Garmin Edge 520

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Ville
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:14 pm

by Ville

I picked mine up last friday for a nice price !

First garmin ever, but I'm impressed so far.
Only disappointment was that it was delivered with an extended frontmount (like for the edge 1000).

Ordered a barfly2.0 now and will sell the original one.

dmulligan
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:16 pm

by dmulligan

Mine arrived approximately 2.5 weeks ago as I pre-ordered from Clever Training fairly early. I was replacing my 500 that suffered a broken screen, not the case but the LCD itself, only a week after the 520 was announced.
So far so good, I've not encountered any of the bugs reported in the Garmin forums. My 500 ate about 1 ride per year and would lock up while starting up about as often too. So it wasn't bug free either. The UI isn't awesome, there are a few things that are not obvious such as changing activity profiles mid ride. I preferred the power calibration notification and I miss the per bike odometer on the 500.
It is compatible with both my Barfly 1 and my Barfly 2.0. On the later it fits best on the further out mount due to the two buttons facing the rider.
I found that the 500 usually got GPS lock fairly quickly in open areas but downtown where I work it could be very very slow. I find the 520 isn't noticeably faster but it is never as slow. I've not measured but I think it locks as fast as the faster half of the time range the 500 would take. I wish Garmin could use AGPS with my phone using Bluetooth as my phone gets good GPS lock very quickly.
I too was looking forward to SMS notifications on the 520. I was a little disappointed in this feature at first. It only shows who the message is from and the notification disappears quite quickly. I'm guessing 5 or 10 seconds. I would like to see Garmin make that timeout configurable. However I've grown to accept only seeing who it is from. I only really need it to know if it is about my son and that would only be from one of two people. If I want to see the message I can drill in a couple menus deep after pulling over. That is easier than getting my phone out. Also on android there is no distinction between SMS and Hangouts messages. I can't turn the latter off.
I really do love the Bluetooth activity uploading. I still bring my 520 in every few rides to recharge it which works with my commute quite well. I leave it on on my garage at home but bring it in to work with me during the day.
The shorter battery life is noticeable as the battery level reads lower than my 500 did after 6 or so hours of riding on the weekend is how I notice that. I never ride for more than 7 or 8 hours in a day so I don't foresee any problems there.
I find that the headlight I use on my handlebar beside my 520 presses buttons on it way easier than the 500 did. I need to move the Barfly 1 over a little on rainy days or live with it off centre.
The 500 has rounded corners and durable feeling plastic and rubber edges. The 520 like and feels nicer but I'm afraid that it well get damaged easier.
That's about it for now. Overall I'm happy with my Edge 520.
David

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Last edited by dmulligan on Tue Aug 25, 2015 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Timujin
Posts: 347
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 5:43 pm

by Timujin

[quote="dmulligan"
too was looking forward to SMS notifications on the 520. I was a little disappointed in this feature at first. It only shows who the message is from and the notification disappears pottery quickly. I'm guessing 5 or 10 seconds. I would like to see Garmin make that timeout configurable. However I've grown to accept only seeing who it is from. I only really need it to know if it is about my son and that would only be from one of two people. If I want to see the message I can drill in a couple menus deep after pulling over. That is easier than getting my phone out. Also on android there is no distinction between SMS and Hangouts messages.

Sent from my Oneplus One using Tapatalk[/quote]

Hey mate. I can't get the smart notification to work (indoor) as not taken it out yet....


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tabmaster
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:38 pm
Location: England, occiasionally Flanders.

by tabmaster

I'm pretty annoyed about the lack of a 'per bike odometer', due to the lack of any individual bike profiles. A 'deal breaker' as they say. I'll be staying with my faithfull 500.

Paul.
If the grand tours are like classical music, kermesse racing is punkrock, Belgian style.
Colnago C50, Campag SR11

sethjs
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:02 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

by sethjs

I've had a 500, 510 and now a 520.

The 510 is probably the "worst". Updates always introduced bugs. Ate rides now and again. etc.

The 520, so far, is a big big improvement. Not super buggy. Nice screen. Glad they did away with the touchsceen and went with buttons. Smaller yet same screen real estate.

Only issue I'm having is I seem to need to repair with my iPhone with every ride. The phone thinks it's connected but the Garmin doesn't.

goodboyr
Posts: 1483
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:56 pm
Location: Canada

by goodboyr

tabmaster wrote:I'm pretty annoyed about the lack of a 'per bike odometer', due to the lack of any individual bike profiles. A 'deal breaker' as they say. I'll be staying with my faithfull 500.

Paul.


This has been covered multiple times. There are ride profiles now, which you can rename to anything, and each has its own odometer. So, you get what you want.

wolfesquire
Posts: 339
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:03 am

by wolfesquire

Use to have a Garmin 500 before it was stolen at a cafe. Is the 520 worth the cost difference between the 500 and the 520?

dmulligan
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:16 pm

by dmulligan

wolfesquire wrote:Use to have a Garmin 500 before it was stolen at a cafe. Is the 520 worth the cost difference between the 500 and the 520?

Go read the first impression article at dcrainmaker.com as it comes down to whether the 520 has anything that you'll want. Ray does a good jib of comparing all three models. I found myself in a similar situation which you can read a few messages ago.
David

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User avatar
tabmaster
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:38 pm
Location: England, occiasionally Flanders.

by tabmaster

goodboyr wrote:
tabmaster wrote:I'm pretty annoyed about the lack of a 'per bike odometer', due to the lack of any individual bike profiles. A 'deal breaker' as they say. I'll be staying with my faithfull 500.

Paul.


This has been covered multiple times. There are ride profiles now, which you can rename to anything, and each has its own odometer. So, you get what you want.


Ah, cheers for that :) I had done a fairly extensive google search but hadn't managed to find what I wanted so I assumed that per bike odometers were out. Can you tell me if I can add my current distance covered so far on bike x,y or z? Or does one have to start from zero?
I'm no fan of the 'sensor pool' idea for the computer 'knowing' which bike is being used. I have five bikes & only my TT bike has sensors - why would I clutter every bike I have with what are, let's be honest, some pretty ugly sensors?

Thanks,


Paul
If the grand tours are like classical music, kermesse racing is punkrock, Belgian style.
Colnago C50, Campag SR11

bungis
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:59 pm

by bungis

I actually like the touchscreen on the 510 and would have much preferred they kept that and reduced the bezel for more use-able screen size.

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