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530 experiences so far, deciding between 530 and 830

mtsarpilot
over 5 years ago

I'm a long time Edge 520 user that is needing to replace the unit due it failing.  The 530 seems the logical choice.  The 520 is a royal pain to setup / configure many pages on each profile due to having only buttons on what is clearly designed to be a touchscreen interface.  Once it is setup, using it on a ride was reasonably straight forward to navigate through all the screen once but still a bit of a pain if you want to enable/disable a screen, change a data field, etc..  As I look at the 530 and all it's new functionality and additional screen (things like ClimbPro, maps that you'd actually want to zoom, etc.) I'm wondering if it is even more of a pain to use it beyond simply stepping page to page while riding due to having to use buttons only for a touch intended UI design.

Thus I'm debating if I should go to an 830 to get the touchscreen, although that is $100 more.  

What have 530 users found so far with the device.
  - Is the UI a real pain to navigate with the buttons or does it work well to get to all the features and functions while on a ride
  - I've read about a lot of problems with quality of the buttons themselves.  That there has been poor quality control in manufacturing of the buttons, they often don't work well.  Are you experiencing this or do the buttons all work well for you?

Thanks for any input to help decide between the 530 and the 830.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    - no issue with the buttons. I think this was a problem for the very first batch.

    - everything works well. i prefer physical buttons to a touchscreen. Maybe a touchscreen has a slight advantage for zooming/panning or configuration of the datascreens but it works sufficiently well on the 530. If you really need to check the map thoroughly, take out the phone. its for sure faster and nicer to look at (higher resolution). but during the ride its fine on the 530.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    No issues with the buttons for me. I think if you're coming from a 520, the buttons are the same and the transition and navigation should be seamless. For me, I was coming from a 500. I spent over an hour when I first got it getting used to the navigation as well as setting up the fields/settings I wanted to see for the different navigation choices. The maps are flawless (on 4.10), I use it when mountain biking and it works well. When it auto pauses, it shows the map and lets me zoom in/out by default with the side buttons. Panning is just as easy. I don't need to waste time taking my phone out or take my gloves off with the buttons.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago

    I had button issues w/ my pre-ordered 530 device. But no problems with the 2nd device Garmin sent me as a replacement. 

    I’d like to have a touch-screen, the 830, but didn’t have complete faith it would work as well in the rain as advertised, since I ride in the rain somewhat often. Also, I often ride in cold temps and was concerned about how well gloves would work on the touchscreen, and didn’t want to be forced to only buy gloves that are touchscreen-friendly. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    The setup of the 530 is much easier than the 520. You can easily add additional data fields, swap places with them on the page and also swap them out for other data fields with a couple of clicks in most instances.

    Previously on the 520 if you went from 8 to 7 data fields you'd lose the last field and it would be a pain to re-add that field should it have been the one you wanted to keep, likewise for re-ordering where the fields sit on the page. This is now a much better process (double click to change the field, single click and then move/highlight a field to go from position #1 to position #4 on the page) - it's not perfect (e.g. phone based setup), but it's a step in the right direction from Garmin.

    They've also added a "popular fields" category, so you don't need to scroll through 20 categories to find the basic things like speed/power/cadence/hr etc as they are all under the one category.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I have the 830 and having a touchscreen is great.  I can do things so much faster with a touchscreen.  I came from a 520.  Sometimes when I use the 520 the pressure of pressing the buttons causes the device to unlock from the mount.  This isn't an issue on the 830.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    The two units are very similar in terms of underlying hardware and functionality.

    The 830 has the ability to route to a specific address, and a touchscreen. The touchscreen may not always be an advantage when riding with winter gloves.

    There was an issue with the back button with very early production 530's - I think most have these have worked their way through the inventory pipeline (and Garmin will immediately replace any that surface). Certainly the 530 I purchased this week is fine.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I got the 530 in the beginning of july. Had an issue with the down button. I sent it back to garmin an got a new one. With the same isue. I sent it back to garmin and got a new one. Without issues, buttons are working great! 

    Support works very!! fast! 

    But i think,  if i would buy again, i would buy the 830. I think it's more easy with the touchscreen.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Heikoo

    I agree. I have a 820 and the touch is ok. With that said I to take out my phone if Im lost. The screen way to small on my 820 to find where Im at and how to get back. If I was to get a new unit it would be a 530. The touch screen is not worth the extra money IMHO.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago

    quite an old topic already nevertheless my 50 cents for new buyers in doubt:

    Contrary to review-sites like https://www.mantel.com/blog/en/garmin-edge-buyers-guide, some nuance to manage expectations:

    the Edge 530 can also create/ change routes in a basic way.  Compared to the Edge830, this is functionally limited on the 530 to a destination position (change) by pinpointing it on its map or choosing an already saved location under Saved Locations. No street name- nor POI search options on the 530. But that’s fine since most of us share/ create a gpx route pre-workout. 

    In the rare case you really need to deviate from your intended route while riding it, you can OK-ish navigate the map on the 530 with a few button presses to pin-point the via-point as new destination and when arrived at your unplanned via you simply switch back to your original route and select ‘navigate back to route’. This lat/lon position-based routing works fine with the 530 its buttons when you get the hang of it and when not needed too often. Else I would rather use my waterproof smartphone to (re-)plan my route on-the-fly than fiddle around/ on the tiny 530/830 screens.

    FYI via Strava or Komoot a new/ changed route is quickly made and transferred back to the 830/530 via bluetooth.

    Second, for mixed or off-road XC use, with the installed routable trail-map, where street names/POI are mostly absent anyways, both devices are imo functionally on par.

    Thirdly, the biggest drawback of any capacitive touchscreen, like the 830 has, is its impaired tactile response under moist conditions.

    In other words: if it rains and/or you have sweaty hands the screen response to your finger will become inconsistent or worse (contrary to the more bulky resistance based touchscreens, like Garmin its Zumo line-up).

    Rain and sweat also tend to smudge the screen when you continuously touch/ swipe the screen making it less readable and if mud/ sand is even added to the mix scratching your screen is inevitable.

    For these reasons and mix-usage I like the rugged buttons of the 530 better.

    Although the 830’s touchscreen -under ideal conditions- is indeed a faster interface.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Additionally, I rarely operate my Edge during riding. Occasionally I swop screens via my Edge 1000 Remote Control. This way better control since no need to take my hands of the handlebars and easier to concentrate when on the twisties or when traffic is heavy.