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I did a 100-mile mountain bike race over the weekend with the 830. It was a disaster.

lytleric
over 4 years ago

Some of this post is me venting but also to bring continued attention for the folks at Garmin to the litany of issues that continue to plague this device.

TL;DR:  This device is unreliable for mountain biking, particularly in a race situation where basic reliability is paramount.

First issue:  My 830 completely locked up somewhere around mile 50.  Not sure how long it was frozen, but looking at the timing results, there is a difference of about 14 minutes between my official time and what the Garmin showed.  I absolutely needed to see my stats (HR, distance, navigation, etc.) in order to execute this race.  The only way to get it back was to hold the power button for about 30 seconds -- which I had to do on the fly DURING A RACE.  Eventually it booted back up, took about 5 minutes to reacquire satellites (why so long?), and I reloaded the course.  This was detrimental to my race performance.  (I had previously posted about this issue here.  Clearly I'm not the only one.)

Second issue:  The touchscreen is unresponsive with sweaty, dirty fingers.  This was a huge issue.  I wanted to be able to quickly switch from the map to a data screen and back.  It rarely worked.  At one point it was stuck on the text message notifications screen (no idea how it got on that screen) and no matter how many times swiped in any direction, I couldn't get the screen to change.  I even stopped riding to carefully try to clean it and swipe.  I had to ride for several miles to the next aid station to get a clean paper towel and wipe the screen clean before it would work again.  This problem existed both with the screen locked and unlocked (by pushing the side button).  I'm not sure if mine is defective, or if it just doesn't work when the screen gets covered in moisture.  I am starting to wonder if I shouldn't have bought the 830 and instead opted for the 530.

Third issue:  Navigation is a joke.  I had preloaded the race course to follow along and know when turns were coming.  At times it would show "0 ft" for extended periods.  At one point it showed "0.3 mi" with a left turn arrow for at least five miles.  I kept waiting for that turn that never came.  

Long story short, this thing causes more problems than it's worth and should not be relied upon in a competitive event. 

Garmin:  When are we going to have a reliable device?

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    When you change to WahooSpeak no evil

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I have (only) used various Garmins over the years: Etrex Vista, Edge series 800 and 820, still own Edge 25, 1030 and 830, so I can not comment on other brands, but regarding your issues:

    1st issue: with most recent firmware I have not experienced this (also not during 100 km+ road bike rides with navigation), but other users have reported some issues, so results may vary depending on settings / firmware version.

    2nd issue: I find the 830 touch screen the best of all the Edge GPS's I have used, and perfectly fine in use, although the 800 was also good (different tech, not capacitive), as is the 1030. For using multiple pages reliably in adverse conditions, perhaps the Edge remote can help.

    3rd issue: I have never found navigation to be 100% reliable during MTB rides (map/course interaction) and would not dare to use it in racing conditions - would I be a racer. The best course of action IMO is to have your track/course permanently displayed on the map. You can access this through the course settings. Compared to the Edge 800, alas the newer units then do display the track somewhat thinner (due to high-res screen).

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to M4SL

    The locking issue actually started with the most recent firmware (v4.10).  It never happened to me prior to this version.  Related?  Can't be sure but it seems to be.

    Edge remote -- that's a good suggestion.  I've actually got one but haven't used it as I like to keep an uncluttered handlebar.  But could be worth it in this case.  My previous bike computer was a Polar V650 and the touchscreen was flawless in the two years I used it.  

    Difficulty with the navigation wasn't a major issue (the course was well enough marked) but it was nice to know how long I'd be on the current trail and when to start looking for a turn.  It's just comical how ineffective it is.  With my Polar I did exactly what you suggested -- loaded the GPX route which then displayed the path on screen.  It had no TBT though, which is the primary reason I switched to the Garmin Edge.  Turns out it's not much better.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I have been using the 830 since mid-May. With the 4.10 update, I have had 1 total unit lock up. The sensors go through a full reset every 25 miles or so. Usually 3 times per ride. 

    For the screen, if you happen to have DI2 the buttons under the hood caps are handy for controlling the screen.