Garmin 520
Author
Discussion

milu

Original Poster:

2,513 posts

295 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Should I buy one?
I'm primarily thinking about the strava live segments facility which I fancy.
At the moment I start the app with my Apple Watch which measures heart rate and mixes that info into the rest that my phone is recording I guess.
So presumably I would still do that with the 520 replacing my old school bike computer for added info.
I'm just wondering about tech overlap making the purchase a bit of a waste.....but it's the only way of getting live segments I suppose.
Anybody use one?

Gruffy

7,212 posts

288 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Live segments has just been rolled out to the phone app.

milu

Original Poster:

2,513 posts

295 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Oh right..I didn't know that. I'll have a look,cheers

FurryExocet

3,011 posts

210 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Gruffy said:
Live segments has just been rolled out to the phone app.
Is that for Strava premium?

CharlieCrocodile

1,227 posts

182 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
FurryExocet said:
Is that for Strava premium?
Yes.

milu

Original Poster:

2,513 posts

295 months

Wednesday 1st June 2016
quotequote all
Had a short ride this morning with mixed results. Obviously need the phone to stay awake,then I've got time,speed and distance but no average on display ( although my watch shows this)

I not sure how the segment pick up works but it did seem to miss some. I'm back out later so I'll give it another go.
Incidentally bought a quad lock phone mount which is great,if a little expensive.

milu

Original Poster:

2,513 posts

295 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
quotequote all
Went back out. Found some segments this time,was quite good chasing the 'crown' on screen and gradually falling back because I'm too slow lol!
Definitely gives an extra motivation though,showing my best plus current time and the all time leader too.
Seems I can nominate segments to be pulled up too.

tenohfive

6,276 posts

211 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
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Can you view Live Segments without actually recording a ride? I use a GPS watch for recording/HRM but wouldn't mind being able to see Live Segments - my phone sits in a handlebar cradle anyway.

LFC856

30 posts

232 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
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Does the 520 provide maps & turn-by-turn directions?

I'm keen on a GPS computer but would like to follow a pre-planned route or calculate a route if I go exploring - not sure if the Edge Touring versions are more suited to this?

DamienCBR

2,037 posts

252 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
quotequote all
LFC856 said:
Does the 520 provide maps & turn-by-turn directions?

I'm keen on a GPS computer but would like to follow a pre-planned route or calculate a route if I go exploring - not sure if the Edge Touring versions are more suited to this?
I have just got the 520 after upgrading from the 500. It is better than the 500 and i am very happy with it. I like it for the live tracking if i am out cycling on my own, the wife and kids can find me if they need to. Text messages and calls flash up on it, auto upload via bluetooth is a god send, no more plugging in. I dont have strava premium so not done the live segments. In terms of maps, it does have maps on it but they are not very big, you can install them for certain areas. I have not done turn by turn as i tend to go wherever and read the road signs if necessary or look at my phone. The 500 does do breadcrumb trail and depending on how this has been put together it does tell you when to turn etc, i would imagine the 520 will do the same.
D

Pachydermus

1,157 posts

141 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
quotequote all
DamienCBR said:
auto upload via bluetooth is a god send, no more plugging in.
you don't need to charge it?

DamienCBR

2,037 posts

252 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
quotequote all
Pachydermus said:
you don't need to charge it?
Good point biggrin

citizenmtb

1,495 posts

207 months

Thursday 2nd June 2016
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I've been considering the 520 too!

I currently have the Wahoo RFLKT+ and it's mostly ideal for my needs, except strava clearly don't have the time or inclination to make full use of it. So using it with the Wahoo app I it links fine to my ANT+ speed/cadence and then my HRM on BT links directly to the phone, but I can't have live segments without losing something in most cases.

If I get the 520 will it act as an ANT+ bridge to the phone? or if it operates standalone, will it connect to my BT HRM? or so I need to replace something?

If I must change something I would rather change the HRM as my S/C sensor is built into the bike frame. Hopefully once resolved I can actually have live segments and turn-by-turn.

CharlieCrocodile

1,227 posts

182 months

Friday 3rd June 2016
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It's ANT+ only, so you can't connect bluetooth sensors to it as I found out when purchasing mine. I wanted the basic unit as I had everything else, ended up going for their HR & sensor pack.

Pachydermus

1,157 posts

141 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
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DamienCBR said:
Pachydermus said:
you don't need to charge it?
Good point biggrin
joking aside, have they at least added a standby mode that works the way you'd expect it to (ie you don't need to push stop first)? There's nothing more frustrating than getting on the bike in the morning to find you forgot to switch off the night before and now you've got 30s of battery left.

SixPotBelly

1,925 posts

249 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
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Pachydermus said:
joking aside, have they at least added a standby mode that works the way you'd expect it to (ie you don't need to push stop first)? There's nothing more frustrating than getting on the bike in the morning to find you forgot to switch off the night before and now you've got 30s of battery left.
I'd expect it to not to auto-off whilst recording. Only after I'd pressed stop but forgotten to turn it off. Do I understand that you expect different behaviour? It'd bug the hell out of me if it auto-shutdown every 10 minutes during a ride confused

SixPotBelly

1,925 posts

249 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
quotequote all
OP, some people are happy with their smartphones, other prefer dedicated bike computers. It's a generalisation but the longer your rides, the more likely you are to prefer a dedicated computer. If only for the battery life with screen on.

Pachydermus

1,157 posts

141 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
quotequote all
SixPotBelly said:
Pachydermus said:
joking aside, have they at least added a standby mode that works the way you'd expect it to (ie you don't need to push stop first)? There's nothing more frustrating than getting on the bike in the morning to find you forgot to switch off the night before and now you've got 30s of battery left.
I'd expect it to not to auto-off whilst recording. Only after I'd pressed stop but forgotten to turn it off. Do I understand that you expect different behaviour? It'd bug the hell out of me if it auto-shutdown every 10 minutes during a ride confused
no, I want to have the option to auto-off when it hasn't moved for 30 minutes or <a configurable time period>. The current one is useless for me (I realise others like it) as I'm not going to forget to switch it off if I manage to remember to push stop.

SixPotBelly

1,925 posts

249 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
quotequote all
Pachydermus said:
no, I want to have the option to auto-off when it hasn't moved for 30 minutes or <a configurable time period>. The current one is useless for me (I realise others like it) as I'm not going to forget to switch it off if I manage to remember to push stop.
If I've told it to record I would expect it to record until I tell it to stop, even whilst I'm stationary. I suspect most people would expect the same.

phil-sti

2,975 posts

208 months

Saturday 4th June 2016
quotequote all
I use an edge 25. It's not as feature rich as the 520but it really is very good. Can auto upload to strava if needed and tells you if people are ringing or texting, also has live tracking which is nice.
You can can pick them up for £70 now.