I’ve been a long-time user of Garmin products. The best cycling-centric unit Garmin produced was the 705 in my opinion. But things went south after that. Pervasive bugs, frequent crashes, corrupt FIT files, you name it. I swore I wouldn’t buy another Garmin unit after so many problems with my 520 and 1000. But reviews looked ok for the 530, and I was digging the improved battery life. So I capitulated and picked up the 530.
Now I have buyer’s remorse. First I learned both the unit and GPS chipset firmware were woefully out of date and full of bugs. So I had to install software on my computer I didn’t need to download the latest code to even begin using the unit. I’ve come to expect this from Garmin. Why does the Garmin user community put up with this? I have a Suunto unit I use for running and backcountry skiing. It performed flawlessly ever since I took it out of the box. Garmin continues to ship buggy products, relying on the user community to find and report flaws in the product. Then a cycle of firmware updates ensues, sometimes only to introduce new bugs.
I live in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. Nearly all of my activities are between 10,000 and 14,000ft. The 530 elevation accuracy is completely unreliable. Some rides it starts out 1500-2000ft too high. Other rides it starts about right but then instantly jumps 1700ft during the ride. Sometimes it slides 1000-2000ft to a completely wrong elevation. I use the 530 for hiking too, and unreliable elevation data is dangerous in the backcountry. So what really put me over the edge was this. I crossed paths with another Garmin 530 user in the high country this weekend. Later on Strava I found his track, and to my dismay, he was riding at over 15,000ft! Bet you didn’t know Colorado had trails that high, did you? He did not go above 13k. So my unit is not an isolated case. It is sad that most activities I use the 530 for require elevation correction in Strava so the profile doesn’t look ridiculous. I might as well be using my iPhone.
So anyway, the unit is being shipped back for refund. Not sure what I’ll try next. I’m done with Garmin.
