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Is anyone really happy with their Edge 530? Buttons? Sensors? Features?

giantrat
over 5 years ago

I know most happy customers just enjoy their device and don't bother coming to the forums so perhaps I won't get an answer from anyone who is happy.

But I just tried to replace the battery in my 520 and the screen started to delaminate so now a small part of it is hard to see (still usable) and I gave up putting the new battery in.

I'm more tempted now to grab a 530 but all the problems here are making me worry, I can't get a Wahoo instead as I want Varia support and I don't trust that will happen soon even though they have said it will. I wanted to hold off buying a 530 until the bugs are sorted if that ever happens, I hope I still can wait and put up with my 520, first ride with delaminated screen today will see how it goes. 


So has anyone got a 530 that has GOOD buttons? wondering how widespread the buttons issue really is.

Is anyone happy with the sensors? or is everyone having trouble with them dropping out?

What is the beep volume like compared to the 520? I hoped it would be louder but there is already one complaint that it is too quiet.

Are you happy with the new features and how they work?

The Jump feature sounds as crappy as I expected what were they on when they dreamt that up? 




  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to aweatherall

    I think the button issue existed on more than just "a few" early production units. "Many" may be a more appropriate description. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to sir_lambo

    Same here. There's been a few hiccups, but it's pretty much better than the 520 in every regard. In my opinion, Garmin has a good history of actually addressing issues, so I'm not super worried about the hiccups. Battery life is great, responsiveness is amazing, and the base map is very good. I haven't turned my 520 on once since I got the 530.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to mrswart

    Interestingly, I actually did not have much issues with my 520. Sure, occasionally the rides did not get uploaded and I had to kill the GC app to fix it, but in general, it's a much better device than the one that I downgraded to, the Edge 820. I sold my Edge 820 when I bought the 530. I still have the 520.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to sir_lambo

    Funny that you like a device with the following comment:

    "Sure would be better if also the new features would work and the related crashes are annoying. But I always only crashed in both device and app using new festures (jumbs, track navigation and climb pro).Never on the basics."

    Not exactly what I wanted to hear from a 'positive' review but after reading this forum over the last month before my possible purchase I believe this is basically what Garmin users expect!

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to DanielWeist

    Hi DanielWeist,

    honestly your last comment hit me personally as I perceived it as a fan-boy insult and It took me a while to decide how to handle it.

    The original request was for feedback if somebody is happy with his 530 not for a "positive" review. And there is shadow but there is also a lot of light and I tried to share both.

    And yes I am happy as the Edge delivers what I needed most: adding battery, memory (and responsiveness) to the fantastic 520 ( that I would still use if it would work for the type of race duration I participate in these days and had more memory for larger maps as the often needed map swapping was always a challenge) in a similar form factor. With the newly (for me better) placed USB I can now even charge while the device is in it's lock. So perfect for 90% of my use case even if my races will extend further or if I am on a bike tour.

    I personally never had problems with Garmin HW (this is my fourth device) and I do not have any with the 530 either (keep fingers crossed)

    Nevertheless I agree to the serious software and beta testing problems of Garmin. DC rainmaker did some interesting post on that recently which I recommend if not read already (use search as I am not clear on link usage in this forum).

    Me personally I suffered a similar "early bird" challenge with Garmin on the 920XT a while ago and from that experience I have some trust left that Garmin will get their act together and fix it like they did on the watch that is since then is the most reliable sport watch I ever owned. Don't get me wrong I do not like "banana" software as it's called in German meaning that it ripens at customer site. A FW should work reliable Day1! - features can be added later.

    But as I also wrote. I am personally not heavily hit by the existing 530 FW problems as I do only experience them on a "nice to have" features (ClimbPro). All I mandatory need and used in the last years on 520 does work for me reliable so far also on the 530 but longer, faster and with less hassle (map exchange no longer needed).

    Together the available and working features and my mentioned experience on the remaining challenges make ME happy with the 530 and this is what I shared as there is chance that some readers would be in a similar position.

    Others may see it different and I tried to provided my reasoning so they can make THEIR own mind based on both the light (that is often underrepresented in forums) and the existing shadow on the 530. For some it may just be the best to wait to see if the FW issues really get fixed or if they see a better fitting product for their individual needs without such FW problems to go for that.

    Despite my happiness on the 530 I do not rate myself a masochist fan-boy and we seem aligned that Garmin has some serious homework to do on FW, Software(App and Web) and last but not least integration over products (i.e. Tacx/Edge but also Forerunner/Edge...).

    For me the HW itself gets less and less important as it's the end2end solution and experience that counts more and more and if Garmin does not improve on this and fix Day1 performance this might have been my last Garmin if others will deliver a better end2end experience at the time of my next device replacement.

    But in the meantime I look ahead to hopefully many enjoyable rides with the imho very nice 530...

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Best Garmin bicycle device I have owned. Owned devices, edge 520, edge 520+, edge Explore (and Wahoo bolt,  gpsmap 64, fr 935)

    Why? It feels grown up. Great battery life, fast response, all rough edges from the 520 (plus) are ironed out. Didn't had any issues so far.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    You make a good point. As someone who was looking to purchase a dedicated bike computer (still love my Fenix 5x for my running, hiking, swimming, and skiing) and looking to the new Edge 530 as that computer, reading the forums really made me second guess my decision. Forums typically (and rightfully) focus on issues and assistance so aren’t probably the best place to ‘feel better’ about purchasing something. 

    All this said, you asked for positive experiences.  Here’s mine: My Edge 530 MTB bundle arrived yesterday from MEC (Canada)

    • It was preinatalled with firmware 3.20 which was nice
    • i plugged it into my computer and Garmin Express updated the maps on the device
    • My first attempt to pair to my iPhone XS hung on both Garmin Connect and the Edge.  I reset both devices and my second attempt was successful. 
    • Paired my TICKR HR, Precision 4iiii power meter, Varia RTL510 radar, and Edge remote. 
    • I went for my first ride with the Edge today: 65km for a bit over 2 hours. Power started at 99%. Finished with 87% (so 12% total battery burn with all devices paired - no drops, all ANT+ devices)
    • No issues whatsoever (knocking on wood) but heeded the forums and disabled WiFi sync instead using Bluetooth and my iPhone to sync to get my workout to the Internet. 
    • Stava segments worked perfectly
    • I also had my Fenix 5x tracking the activity as backup and the readings were almost identical. 
    • LiveTrack was set up to start automatically but didn’t start - but this happens on the Fenix 5x as well so pretty sure this is not an Edge 530 issue

    While one ride doesn’t make a trend, it definitely put my mind at ease.  Hopefully this adds an alternate data point for those considering this device!

    Dave

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to sir_lambo

    Hello sir_lambo,

    I appreciate your clarification and input into this forum as you sound like an advanced user.  I in no way wanted to suggest you are a fan boy , I like yourself have had a couple of Garmin's in the past. A nuvi Car GPS (which I recently put a trailforks map on just because I could) and and an Edge 25 which does not support power meters and does not have 1 second recording.  Hence I'd like to upgrade to the 530. I guess I was just frustrated and disappointed with Garmin and not yourself in any way.  I have used a Lyzene unit but switched back to my Edge 25 as I preferred the Garmin (so maybe I am a fan?)  When I first got my Edge 25 it was not until version 3.30 till everything was stable and I was happy with the Unit.  This took many months and lots for support calls (plus this forum helped). I did not want to go through this (banana) experience again with this unit but on the whole it looks like Garmin are actively working on fixing these issues a lot quicker this time. I was just dissapointed the unit was somewhat still in Beta for many features when released.  I did read the article DC Rainmaker had on garmin and I think it was spot on!

    Still have my sights set on the 530 (when their main upgrade/selling features are ironed out) and maybe it may track many of my enjoyable rides too!

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to David_Oh

    I think it is awesome.  I am so happy I upgraded.  It is still a little buggy but all the new features are a major upgrade over my 520.