You'd need to watch a YT video review of the 530 to see it in action. Proper actual address routing, POI's, big memory, faster CPU.
Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
You'd need to watch a YT video review of the 530 to see it in action. Proper actual address routing, POI's, big memory, faster CPU.
Not entirely sure why but I ventured out in the heat Wednesday - 29c for most of the ride, put in over 70 miles and a good chunk of climbing, I was absolutely wrecked afterwards. Must have gone through 5 litres of drink, two gels, two cereal bars. The heat was bonkers, difficult to maintain usual power. Cruising at 210w soon became cruising at 180w.
Yeah but all this means nothing if it crashes on the regular which Garmin are quite good at
They've had years and years of experience to get their software right and it still seems buggy as hell. My 810 has turn by turn etc and when it worked it was good but then it started crashing regularly I had to turn it off.
I've also noticed since I hooked up Strava live segments the battery life is dreadful. Not even using the segments but the syncing must be killing the battery.
Soldato
Yeah but all this means nothing if it crashes on the regular which Garmin are quite good at
They've had years and years of experience to get their software right and it still seems buggy as hell. My 810 has turn by turn etc and when it worked it was good but then it started crashing regularly I had to turn it off.
I've also noticed since I hooked up Strava live segments the battery life is dreadful. Not even using the segments but the syncing must be killing the battery.
and that is the main reason I went with wahoo. Garmins software is carp and they know it and do nothing about it.
they'd rather release a new version than fix the current with update(130 and 130plus is a good example)
Seems I sparked an AMD vs NVIDIA style conversation.
The black unit came back in stock at Wahoo so have one arriving next week as seemed the better product based on my research and my use for a bike computer. My bike came with a cadence and speed sensor, is there any value in using a speed sensor with a GPS bike computer?
The black unit came back in stock at Wahoo so have one arriving next week as seemed the better product based on my research and my use for a bike computer. My bike came with a cadence and speed sensor, is there any value in using a speed sensor with a GPS bike computer?
Soldato
If you ride in areas with dense tree cover, or high cliff edge surrounds such as Cheddar Gorge etc. where GPS lock might fail (my only ride up Cheddar to date suffered that fate
), then a speed sensor will give you better real-time speed stats.I've got one of https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D4JGTC2 in my spares box and really must fit and test it, now I've got spare CR2032 batteries... I had to use the one from the speed sensor to power my hrm months ago!
Soldato
its one of those things where if you have it, use it!
I have ant+ sensors on and they work well and are reliable for data.GPS speedo etc can be a bit flaky sometimes, especially in built up areas.
/seconded. Next he'll be on about wearing short/no socks.
Fantastic reply, need I mention that becoming a father has really mellowed you out?! Hahaha
Welcome @PikeyPriest !
Flexing biceps is not for cyclists (because biceps are a waste of muscle).
Hahaha fantastic. Sure I've seen many more of these too. All gold!
I like Sportful gloves but the couple of pairs I have are quite thin and not really an every day/commuting glove. Very much a summer glove though. The Gore ones I have I found very tight fitting and not that comfortable around the thumbs so they're generally turbo gloves now. More recently got some Giro gloves and they're good, although a bit over priced the fit is very similar to Gore (ie quite small/tight), although not as tight on the thumbs so more comfortable. The mrs loves them so I notice they're in her helmet for commuting now!
I don't have manly hands in the slightest (probably on the smaller side for a man) but I'll always wear a medium in gloves. Rapha, Sportful and DHB fit me well. Gore, Giro and Santini are a little on the tight side. Gripgrab are slightly loose and although good, the 2 pairs I've had tend to stretch a little with age so become quite poor fitting. So did the Santini actually. Castelli size up slightly smaller than Sportful/Rapha but good gloves, just crazily overpriced for what they are. My day to day/commuter type glove is the Endura Humvee, great gloves, if you can get them for a good price, else a bit over-priced. Sizing and features are good.
I've been using an ELEMNT since the start of 2017. Couple of crashes and performance is a little sluggish at times but I know mine is totally overloaded with rides, flagged segments and routes. I had a Garmin Edge 810 before that and previously a 500. I will never own another Garmin GPS unit. They are junk. Expensive, unreliable and badly performing paperweights. I'd always prefer to spend less on a Wahoo unit, have 90% of the useful features, only 50% of the junk ones, an active fixer/releaser of updates and bug fixes. Alongside that get far more battery life, a really reliable unit and a bunch of stuff 'which just works'. My ELEMNT is so 'fit and forget' I hardly ever use/pair it with my phone app. It just sits there, happily uploads my activities on home & work Wifi so most of the time I'll forget to charge it. I try and remember to charge it before every saturday social (which is every 2 weeks for me) just so it doesn't go flat when I'm out and may need its mapping. If I miss one due to bad weather/other commitments then it quite often doesn't get charged... Still rarely runs out of juice even with a month of commuting on it.
^^^
And that's coming from someone who took several years away from regular cycling (after many years of high mileage & Garmin use) and has only been using his Bolt a couple of weeks.
Yup. I will frequently when riding sportives/planned rides, route them myself into ridewithgps so I get the cues on my ELEMNT. RWGPS is fantastic too, for me none of the other mapping sites come close so I'm happy to do it.
Good to hear, luck of the draw or maybe they finally sorted out many of their engine/firmware/hardware problems. All very well documented over many, many years by thousands of users. It will take me many years to even consider trying another. I went through 2 expensive head units in <3 years. Now the ELEMNT has done 2.5 years without really a hiccup. It takes some beating.
Yup! I went out, it was glorious as quite a few breezes around. Was going to do an easy hour but had grabbed 2 bottles anyway. I punctured a few miles from home, in 32 degrees! My first puncture (with a tube) in 1.5 years! Had warmed up a bit by then, so when stopped was utterly melting! I had to backtrack to find some shade to change it, even then the sweat was pouring out of me, bent over trying to get tyre levers in while there's a monsoon pouring down my nose... 17 minute change, mostly due to the heat! Cheapy rubbishy old pump (crank brother gem) took a while to inflate... Really must get a new one soon.
Pretty much the numbers I found.
Once I got going again the loop I wanted to do (a friends loop which we're trying to complete in under an hour) was pretty much junked, especially as I came across 2 sets of traffic lights before I'd even gone 10 miles. The sun must have got to me at this point as I then thought I was close enough to ride the 'Leominster Social Distance TT' course for the week. Legs where feeling a little too good as went out far too hard, cooking myself and by the first little bump I knew it. Bit of an effort into the rolling part of the course at Mortimers Cross and my legs felt good again, before taking a wrong turn in Shobdon (which I've trimmed out). So I mostly rode the rest tempo. 29m 42s is a dreadful time, even without the wrong turn in there!
HR is about what I'd expect (compared to similar other efforts, mostly from Zwift), but power really not, I'd hope for another 20-30W at least for that effort. Heat got to me after competing it (again) and I ended up taking a long-cut home. 2 hours & 38 miles was probably 1 hour and 20 miles too much in that heat. Black/dark bottles = hot fluids, also probably not great for the dehydration! I ride well in the heat, but not that time.
Soldato
/seconded. Next he'll be on about wearing short/no socks.
Flexing biceps is not for cyclists (because biceps are a waste of muscle).
And that's coming from someone who took several years away from regular cycling (after many years of high mileage & Garmin us) and has only been using his Bolt a couple of weeks.
you guys wear socks? weirdos.
Just telling drivers that in case of rage I can fight back
oh my garmin did okay in the usual daily commute but any ride I took it out on with nav etc it crashed/froze and often wouldn't come back until something happened(some internal reset I guess don't know)
Maybe it's using the navigation/route that resulted in 800 crashing.
my brother has had same experience with his garmin, connection problems etc.
my 800 bit the dust recently when the power button stopped working.
Soldato
Garmin must have built a lot of Edge 800s on a Friday afternoon! I obviously got lucky as my Edge 800 is 8 years old in December and still going strong. That's the kiss of death for it now though!
Soldato
think they've must've sold a lot of them, for years there was no competition to garmin really..
Soldato
2nd day on the bounce out in this heat and it really took it out of me today. Had to have an old man nap when I got home haha! Even so, my average is up slightly. Beginner gains huh!
Soldato
First ride with my new garmin Varia light and I love it! Makes it much more relaxing and seemed to work really well! Very happy with the purchase.
If only you had a turbo....
Zwift today for me, 90 mins better than 0 mins. And a bit of DIY inside away from the storms.
Soldato
Stumbled across this site https://intervals.icu/ which displays data well. Found this after I’d paid £80 for TrainingPeaks - such is life
Soldato
I managed to get out yesterday at 7! Frustrating that the weather is pants now that I've got time to go for a ride!
If only you had a turbo....
Zwift today for me, 90 mins better than 0 mins. And a bit of DIY inside away from the storms.
Haha I still wouldn't have ridden it. I got wet but I was at no point cold or miserable. I actually had a fall whilst stood still trying to talk to someone. Couldn't stop laughing. Nice 170tss with some good sweetspot and hard efforts throughout the ride. Definitely getting more confident descending on the cx bike too!
Struggling to find a new road bike though, someone find me something around 4k with di2 and disc brakes that'll take a cycle2work scheme voucher.
Garmin Edge 500 4 lyfe.
Almost never fails me, perhaps 3-4 times in 7-8 years!
Forget about trying to use it for navigation.
As a computer for distance/time/speed/HR/power it’s fantastic.
It does have it’s quibbles (can’t calibrate a power meter without wearing HR strap once you’ve paired one).
When it eventually dies I think a Wahoo Element would be on my list, I’d like some basic maps as it’s easier to get lost around here on the lanes when little/no signs off the main roads.
Almost never fails me, perhaps 3-4 times in 7-8 years!
Forget about trying to use it for navigation.
As a computer for distance/time/speed/HR/power it’s fantastic.
It does have it’s quibbles (can’t calibrate a power meter without wearing HR strap once you’ve paired one).
When it eventually dies I think a Wahoo Element would be on my list, I’d like some basic maps as it’s easier to get lost around here on the lanes when little/no signs off the main roads.
Soldato
Looked at merlincycles? They usually have some good bikes for decent money