Forerunner 945 & edge 530 best of both worlds data possible?

1. The simplest way would be to use your 945 to log your ride, and use the Extended Display functionality to send that info to the 530 out in front (4 fields maximum). you will need to pair your 530 to your 945 for this, and turn on Extended Display on the 530 for each ride. The downside of this is that it is not getting the most out of the 530 in terms of viewing additional datafields, and mapping (complex displays such as mapping are not sent over Extended Display).

2. If you want to get the most out of each device, you can use your watch for running, etc, and the 530 for cycling, and enable Physio True Up (through the General settings for each device on the Garmin Connect app) to intergrate the stats from both devices. Training Load, etc are intergated, although the Load Focus graphs in Garmin Connect are per devices. You can see intergrated Load Focus on the device itself.

3. The belt-and-braces approach would be to record on both devices. To avoid duplicate activities, either discard rather than saving at the end of the ride from the 530, or have the 530 syncing to a different account.

Personally I use method 2 on a daily basis and would recommend it. I used to use method 3 until Physio True Up came along. I only use method 1 for explicit multisport events (eg. triathlon, or a brick session).

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I have had the same question (Not having bought the edge yet)

With your option 2, that means you don't have heart rate unless your wearing a belt or broadcasting it from the watch? This renders the watch pretty much useless for other stuff right? Eg no watchface, no widgets, no messages ec...

hmm, I use a chest strap as a matter of routine, so I hadn't encountered this. I checked it out, and you are right, broadcasting heart rate (not in an activity) does prevent access to some watch functions. Broadcasting WITHIN an activity gets around these problems (and I would recommend broadcasting WITHIN an activity anyway, as the HR sensor polls more frequently and is more accurate).

Edit: I forgot the new Virtual Run functionality, which is explicitly designed for broadcasting heart rate. Still allows access to watch face and widgets.

So, with the pair yesterday I tried the Broadcast HR from 945 (not extended display and didn't wear the chest strap) to the Edge as I wanted all the data in front of me for the ride, which is really what I plan to do. As I've only had the 945 for a week and the Edge for a day, I'm still trying to figure out what all they can do, but most of the information about my ride specifically was recorded the way I wanted. Not sure all the health information from the watch will sync perfectly, but being so new with these things I'm not 100% sure what I'm missing or getting at this point. I'll try to keep a running tab of testing as I go over the next few weeks and see what happens. Thank you McAlista for the help and suggestions!

I'm having this issue too.

Finally broke down, after being in the VA3 and then 945 "family" now, for a couple of years, and got a 1030, with some outdoor-gift-certs I'd saved up, when it went on sale last week.

Nothing but frustration though, True-up doesn't seem to work, say if I go out and spin-off 45mi, fast, it will record whatever the 945 read, on my cold wrist (it's still pretty chilly in the WA state, and my 945 struggles with my skin/veins, when it's chilly).

I have BOTH connected to the HR strap, which did work with dual-point fine (I used to use a VA3/945 and my old Ambit3, never an issue with both tracking HR from my strap), until I got the 1030.

My 945 AND 1030 are set up for True-Up, but when I finish a ride, it pulls my "Active Minutes" from my 945, and the ride from my 1030 (I never start the activity on my 945, I want to use the 1030, for my rides, exclusively for the obvious reasons).

Surely Garmin thought of some sort of exercise-unit-order-precedence here???

Is there a way to file a s/w bug, an actual bug (I'm a long-time s/w engineer myself, so I can write a detailed/accurate bug)?

Thanks for any insight here, I'm just about ready to send this stupid thing back (the 1030); I was literally better off, tracking-wise, before the 1030, except for the up-front maps, which is nice for some rides, it's perhaps the one thing making me keep it, for now...

For reference, I went for a quick 22.x (mi) ride last night, 134 average (mostly a recovery ride, although my training plan right now isn't so much), and got a whopping 23 "Intensity Minutes" from it, so yeah...

I have the exact same setup.   530 and 945.  What I have done is use the 530 for rides since it has the bigger screen, and navigation is easier to read.   I also run the 945 at the same time and its mounted to the stem using the quick connect kit.  The 945 displays the stats i always want to see, power, speed, cadence and HR.    The edge has the maps, grade etc.    Gives you bit more data fields.    When i am done, i sync the edge, and discard the 945 activity before i save it.  Unless there is fail.. i'll sync the other.   That way there is no duplicates. 

The extended display is great for tri's or if you are doing a bike/run.  Otherwise its a waste of the features of the edge.   Just my 2 cents.   Enjoy them 

Just noticed the reply, thanks.

Do you find that when you record/discard, on the 945, that it still tracks your "Active Minutes", accordingly?

If I use Move I/O, it falls WAY short this way, picking up maybe 50-75%, probably mostly because it seems to disconnect/reconnect from the HR strap, for whatever reason.

I'll give this a try, this weekend, and see how it turns out, worst-case I just lost a rides' worth of minutes, or whatever, but I can do a quick-calc, and see how close it was, it sure would be nice to get of all those dupes.

Thanks again, good idea, and I'll report back...

I still wish there was some sort of (really should be fairly simple, from a s/w perspective, assuming all-Garmin devices) built-in sync, between the two, that's really "make the ecosystem look slick and polished", IMO/IME.  Reviewers notice/note this kind of stuff, and sometimes really make a big deal about it, depending on how spiffy the feature is...

i agree.. there should be a better way this is handled.. You would think that Garmin would want people to have an edge and a watch.        

As for the Active mins.. i just noticed that its no longer on my phone app it hasn't been displaying it.  I rarely use that but i don't see a huge change in the stats since i got the 530.   But i might be doubling them.  If that is the case that would be an onion in the ointment.  :)

Good luck.