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Garmin Edge 530 - Is it worth it?

Former Member
Former Member over 4 years ago

So my Garmin Edge 520 battery appears to be kaput after 3 and a bit years. Would anyone here recommend the Edge 530, or am I better spending my money on a different model (830/1030) or another brand (Wahoo)?

I am very reluctant to send any more of my money to Garmin, given the terrible experience with the Vector 3s (and still continuing), but unfortunately I am stuck with the Vector 3, and I am a bit nervous about getting a Wahoo computer encase they have compatibility issues. The Edge 520 has for the most part, been fault free (apart from a few software update issues). 

Anyone have good/bad experiences with the Edge 530, or can anyone comment on using a Wahoo computer with Garmin Vector 3?

Much appreciated!

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Yes, I would recommend the 530. The color display is very good, battery runtime is very good (yesterday: with Spd+Cad+HR sensors, Varia radar tail light, backlight in auto mode, but w/o routing: still 41% capacity remaining after 7.5h - I started the ride at 95% battery). And the 530 has all functions I need. I really like climb-pro and the smart notifications, e.g. from the Rain Alarm app or WhatsApp notifications.

    Before the 530 I used the 820, 1000 and 520: 
    - The 520 was too limited with storage (<100MB?), I always had to swap maps for the region I went cycling.
    - The 820 and 1000 had to little battery runtime and I did not like the touch screens.
    I was considering the 830, but chose the 530, because I do not like a touch screen on my Edge.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to ArminMW

    @Jimbo171, I feel your pain on the Vector 3 pedals. Along with suffering through the battery fiasco, I've had to return mine as the body started to separate.

    Regarding the 530, I'd agree with @ArminMW. Coming from the 520, not having to constantly swap maps on the 530 is great. Battery life is far superior to the 520.

    Most of the bugs seem to have been fixed and you'll wonder how you ever survived without ClimbPro - really helpful in pacing yourself. 

    My criticisms are:

    1. Courses and Route Recalculation do not play nicely. If you briefly stray from your course, it recalculates a completely new route, ignoring your course (for this reason I turn recalculation off)

    2. The pop-up navigation prompts are sometimes misleading as they are super-zoomed (see separate forum discussion)

    3. Bluetooth connection to my phone can be a bit hit-and-miss. Most of the time it's fine but occasionally I need to cycle Bluetooth OFF/ON.

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

    Thanks for the feedback 

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

    Thanks for the feedback Kevin. As much as I hate the thought of spending more money with Garmin, I am certainly leaning towards the 530 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Garmin Edge 530 is the worst device ever!  It's a total piece of crap!  I've never been able to use it - it simply doesn't work.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 6987379

    Please be more specific otherwise you just come across as a troll.  If it's that bad why not return it?

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I've come from an Edge 500 which is close to 10 years old and apart from lacking features, has been a solid and reliable device.

    Recently I've been wondering if my money would have been better spent on a Wahoo...

    Things which frustrate me about the 530:

    - Power meter (and therefore cadence) dropouts multiple times every ride. Have not tested 6.00 as I'm scared of x.00 software releases

    - Non-intuitive display options. I dont like how segments work, mapping isnt super clear and I hate the menu layout.

    - Cant easily reply to phone notifications.

    - Buttons are annoying and not easy to use.

    - Strava integration changes on a daily basis. Its supported, its not, sync, resync. I just use the garmin site for routes now and pray segments will download.

    - Manual sync's dont always pull down the latest info, and actually, often just fails. Ride and sync is normally rock solid though...

    Part of me wishes I'd bought the 830 for the touchscreen as it would solve a few of the software and display issues, and similarly bought a wahoo to resolve the dropouts (common garmin complaint). I hope that Garmin's software recent development push is in the right direction, because I like:

    - The 530 battery life, auto-upload (remember I had a 500 previously) and screen layout is nice once setup

    - Fast to boot, find satellites and navigate a route

    - Colour screen is generally nice to look at

    - Garmin Connect app has come ahead leaps and bounds

    I feel that Garmin (in general) are let down by software development, because the 530/830/1030 are much faster to use than previous iterations, just that some things are not intuitive, could benefit from some simple logic, or be resolved with a companion app on a phone (like the Wahoo). All these things could work with the garmin's and the power they contain, just that they dont take advantage of it and want people to move up to the next model.

    I hope that the latest software fixes my my problems (power meter dropout) and are a sign of things to come (it feels like they are listening to peoples common complaints) as I like the hardware Garmin makes, and generally have driven health and fitness forward as a company.