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Edge 130 battery life

I did my first ~3.5 hour ride with the Edge 130. I started with full battery and it was at 50% afterwards. Promised are 15h. Doesn't add up for me!

Are there any settings that could save battery consumption? I switched on GPS only. Anything else that would help?
  • Garmin, or Garmin Shawn are not going to help you. (you reply to a message dating 2 years ago)
    From the way things look, they used to small a battery in the production of the 130.
    djbahool opened up his 130 and discovered there is only a small battery inside.
    There is room for a bigger battery !
    He ordered a bigger one and intalled it. As you can read he can now make rides in -10C.
    I ordered a bigger battery as well, have not recieved it yet, so no personal experience yet.
    I'll keep you informed.
    The capacity of the bigger battery is claimed to be twice the capacity of the battery Garmin used.
    Under normal conditions (summer), this will give you a double liftime.

    In cold conditions, this can make the difference between 10 minutes or 4 hours.

  • Yes, I replied on a two year-old post (to make a point) as well as making a new post of my own previously. I’m frustrated! I look forward to seeing how well the bigger battery transplant goes for you. If it goes well and if I can get detailed info on how to do it as well, I’ll certainly give it a try. Keep us posted!

  • Does anybody know if newer units (if you buy one now) perform better? Maybe they upgraded the battery?!

  • Be aware that batteries swell as they age.  This is possibly why the battery compartment looks bigger than it needs to be. There's a risk that the battery hack, putting bigger one in, may work for a while but then will put pressure on the inside of the case so that it lets in water.

    If you're doing longer rides or a more advanced user, my advice is still not to use an entry-level device but get a 530, which is rated for 20 hours and seems to cope with additional sensors etc much better due to the newer SOC. 

  • They could easily made the 130 case 5% bigger and accommodate for a realistic battery.

    OR

    Don't claim fictional battery life.

    This is no excuse, sorry. 

  • Be aware that batteries swell as they age.  This is possibly why the battery compartment looks bigger than it needs to be. There's a risk that the battery hack, putting bigger one in, may work for a while but then will put pressure on the inside of the case so that it lets in water.

    If you're doing longer rides or a more advanced user, my advice is still not to use an entry-level device but get a 530, which is rated for 20 hours and seems to cope with additional sensors etc much better due to the newer SOC.

    We'll see.
    Build in a bigger battery and my battery life is now  > 14h.
    Maybe the 130 explodes, I'll charge it in the chimenee ;) Was useless the way it was, now it is useable again.

    Don't agree with you about getting another, more expensive unit.
    Garmin claims 15h.
    I can understand that this will be a little less, depending on settings and circomstances.
    Not 10h shorter.
    As for the 530 or bigger, I've got an Etrex 30 with topographic maps for more serious trips.
    I wanted a smaller unit for my normal rides, that somedays happen to be over 5h. (but never over 15h)
    Garmin f3cked us in the 2ss.
    Nice to hear you like that.

  • Garmin f3cked us in the 2ss.
    Nice to hear you like that.

    Charming. I'm not defending Garmin. As I've said below, I think they've mis-sold the 530. They question is whether the solution is a home-hack or a different unit. Or simply the same device with a non-duff battery. 

    I was putting my comment as a warning to others that the hack may be appropriate for everybody and may shorten the life of the unit. 

    BTW I did a 110 mile ride yesterday and the Edge 130 died at about 7.5 hours with a phone connection, navigation, two sensors and GPS only. That's similar to the OP and outside the spec of the unit so it's going back to Garmin as it's still in guarantee. 

    As per a more expensive unit, again for others who might be considering your hack, there is the cost of time, tools if you don't already have them and the risk you might mess it up, total the unit and still have to buy a new one just without the old one to sell on eBay.  Overall, for me, it's cheaper for me to get a better device. 

    I agree with you that Garmin seems to have missed some market segments, where you can have small but basic or large and complex but you can't have small and moderately powerful (for people like you) or large but basic (e.g. for people who prefer a larger screen but don't need every bell and whistle). They seem to be stuck in the same paradigm as 1970s car makers where small cars were rubbish and big cars cool. Small, cool cars didn't exist. 

  • For me the 130 is a cool small car, but Garmin lied about the miles per gallon ;)
    Maybe I also should have send the unit back, maybe we all should have done that.
    But I like the 130 to much...
    Done 3 trips in a row without recharging now. Happy with the bigger battery.

  • Hi , can you tell us what type of bigger batery have you install ?  can you give us a link ?

  • Read the other topic:

    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/cycling/f/edge-130/155946/edge-130-cold-weather-performance/

    (
    browse about 2 months back)

    Walter said:

    Good to hear djbahool !
    Thanks for sharing.

    So you used this glue?
    https://bevasarlas.tesco.hu/groceries/en-GB/products/2004010473661

    And this battery?
    https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/33022971789.html
    (original is 180mAh, this one is 370mAh, that's a big upgrade)

    Djbahool answered:

    Correct.

    Anyway, I think you can use any flexible glue, that is liquid, and will seal the device from water after curing.

    Or, you can use 3M VHB 2 sided adhesive, but that is very hard to cut in this very think layer.

    Yes, original battery is 180mAh, and the new one is claim at 360mAh, but to tell the truth I don't believe, that is double than the original, due to the size is not doubled.



    (Note, in fact the volume is doubled, and so is the capacity (energy) of the battery.)