Hesitation about purchase due to lots of negative comments in various locations

I've used the 1030 for about 9 months. In that time I have not had the problems others have had. I recently tried the Live Track feature and it does have problems but that is not a critical feature for me. I have no idea why there are so many comments about issues with the 1030. I have no connection problems with my Iphone. The remote had a issue but that has been totally resolved. I have never had a corrupted file. One time it did shut down during a ride but I turned it back on and the ride data was still there and it performed fine for the rest of the ride. The Cycling club I ride with has five other members with 1030's. One had a faulty unit that had to be replaced. The rest of them have had no problems. Perhaps it was the early production units that have problems and remember the device is fairly complicated and some owners simply have not followed directions on how to set them.  All I know is that I'm very pleased with the performance of the 1030.

Keep in mind that nobody complains about a product that works well.

I've had various Edge bike computers (500, 810, 1000, & 1030) and have liked them all. Yes, some had glitches ... but they all did what they are supposed to do.

I especially like the 1030 because of its large display and fantastic battery life.

It works fine with the Varia radar & light system and all the other accessories I have (Wahoo sensors and Stages power meter).

My only real gripe is the live track functionality only works on occasion. It's not a major deal, because the people who count (my wife) can track me on my phone.

I love the 1030. Great display. Good battery life. Tons of features. I use it a ton for all kind of riding And I am invested in the Garmin ecosystem. Forums are filled by people with issues. Some are real bugs that affect some users. But often time it is just that they do something wrong and they don't know it. As somebody else said, people that have a device that runs smoothly and use it to their satisfaction usually don't take the time to write on these forums.

That being said it is true the Garmin software platform is not the best in the world and have issues. But read Wahoo forums and others and you will find the picture is not much different. 

In short if the Edge 1030 offers the features you need then go for it. If another device is better suited for your needs go for that. 

I also love my Garmin 1030 and wouldn’t be put off by comments on the forums. I think that most users use about 50% of the features that are contained on the 1030 but if you understand some of the Firstbeat features on the 1030 and actually use them you can actually improve your training. This is something that competitors do not offer on their products AFAIK. I did have the blue halo issue on my 1030 but the replacement of the device was done no questions asked and I haven’t seen a repeat after the device was replaced in January. The screen is big and you can fill it up with a lot of information from various sensors if that is what you want, conversely for people that are blind (like me) you can put only what you need on the screen and see it with ease. The battery is awesome - I rarely get below 70% for hours of riding and whilst there are some software issues, it is relatively stable at the moment. I do hope they add the new features on the 530 and 830 soon though! In summary, I don’t think you have anything to worry about investing in the device and I do believe it’s the best cycling computer on the market at the moment.