Which Garmin for Bike

Josh Church

Im looking for a garmin dedicated to just cycling. I have been using my 910 for everything and the elevation is screwed up on it. Which garmin do you all recommend? i have seen a thread on what data screens people use in the past, if you know where that is send the link. Thanks in advance.

scott dinhofer

@Josh - if your barometer is screwed, call Garmin, they'll offer you a replacement for a fee (nice racket that they know these things will fail)
depending on what's availalbe, they will also offer you a deal to move into another unit...
I have the 520, no mapping, an ok route following tool, will try to post a pic of screens later.
(check the power forum, or the race day set up threads)

Shaughn Simmons

810 seems to be a good value given the 820 came out not long ago.....check into that one.....

Francis Picard

I am using for training & racing the 520.

During races I still use the 920xt so I can keep track of the whole time and all my alerts to remind me to drink/eat are programmed in the 920

Mike Westover

520 here also. With up to 10 data fields I don't have to switch during the race. It's still new enough to get the latest updates (like Connect IQ 2.0, which even the 920XT and fenix3 aren't getting).

Compared to the 820, you do lose some navigation capabilities. I can still upload a route to the 520, and get a map and turn by turn directions. But it can't update the route if I get off course, or decide to change destinations mid-ride.

For racing, I use the 520 for bike metrics and keep the watch on my wrist. Just start the ride on the 520 while setting up transition, with auto-pause on, and it will start up as soon as you get on the bike.

If you can wait, you might look for sales in the next couple of months. Last year, Strava had a deal around Thanksgiving with a 520 and a year of Strava premium for $250.

Jay Lakamp

I've done well with just the Garmin Edge 500 on the bike for training and racing and just got a 920xt for the wrist. Both work well together on Garmin Connect. The price is also down on the 500 from what it use to be listed.

Coach Rich

I raced Kona with:

• Garmin 235 in broadcast HR mode, so it was ready to talk to the 520 when I got on the bike. I didn't start the timer or anything for the swim, I just swam, got my swim time after the race.
• Race and train with the 520, works great. The 235 was broadcasting HR to the 520.
• A couple miles out from T2 I turned off broadcast and put it in run mode. Hit start as I ran out of T2. For total race time I just look at the time of day and did the math from a 6:55 start. 
• For mapping I've lately had good success using RidewithGPS.com's iPhone app. I plan the route in RwGPS.com and it shows up on the phone. Put the earbud in my ear and I get turn by turn. 

Tom Glynn

Take a look at the Wahoo Elemnt. I recently purchased one and I love it. It's a little bigger than the Garmins, but easy to read and tons of data if you want it. Bluetooth and ANT+ technology. Works seamlessly with Wahoo Kickr.

Josh Church

Thanks for all the help guys. Much appreciated

John Withrow

The Garmin 500 was always a workhorse for me. It is super cheap now because it is 2 vintages old. If $$$ is the most important parameter, this will work fine for you.

The Garmin 510 is better. It can have 2 extra cells displayed, will talk to your phone, etc... It is also reasonably priced now that the 520 came out.

The Garmin 520 is better yet. It has the same number of cells as the 510, but in a smaller form factor. It seems to find satellites quicker and also seems to have better battery life. You can also do real time Strava segments with that if you care about that (I think maybe you can also do that with the 510 now as well). With GPS technology, newer is almost always better...

If it were me, I'd pay up and get the 520. But if you're trying to save some money, I will say that the step up in functionality between the 500 and the 510 is quite large. The step up from the 510 to the 520 is smaller.

Phil Mills

Withrow pretty much nailed it, as usual. If cost is a guiding factor then there are plenty of used options, from those upgrading to the latest devices.

That said, this weekend I'll be putting up an Edge 810 for sale. It adds navigation that the 5xx series doesn't have. It has a larger screed which is good and not so good, as it has a longer form factor.