I just got my 530 today and from being excited have become quite disappointed with the product. I initially had an edge 130 and was very impressed with it so wanted more features like mapping etc. The main bug bearer I have is that coming from the 130 the screen is bad, really bad. In 2021 this is not acceptable I’m amazed how this got past QA!? Yes it has colour but it’s like using a Nokia from the 90’s. Really not good enough for the money especially when compared to the competition like wahoo etc. Sort it out Garmin! I really wanted to love it but the screen is just so bad.
If the 130 had proper navigation it would be perfect. It’s small compact well priced and good looking. This is a great product. However not the 530. The other areas I wasn’t impressed with on the 530 are the feel of the contact points (buttons). Again the 130 has better feel and the buttons are more precise. Finally the materials seem to be of higher quality on the 130 the plastic casing is less shiny and cheap looking and even the garmin logo the way it’s embossed into the plastic front looks better. At this stage I will be going to look at a wahoo or maybe a 130 plus and continue to use my iPhone for mapping and navigation. If Apple make a bike computer Garmin will be dead in the water if this is the best of their efforts. Poor show guys! I’m sure a lot of people are satisfied with this sub standard quality but for £260 personally I don’t think it’s acceptable. Certainly if I worked in your QA I would be throwing it at the person who signed it off and telling them to address those fundament flaws (contacts points and screen very important).
