Garmin 500 reliability vs other comparable devices

daxplusplus

Was wondering if anyone had views on the reliability of a Garmin 500 Edge (or similar GPS devices eg Bryton 40)

Basically Santa should be bringing me a Garmin 500 Edge with HRM and Cadence\Speed sensors this Christmas and I want to use it day in, day out on my commute. The only worry I have is whether it'll stand up to this through all kinds of weather and use on covering maybe 5000+ miles a year. I would have thought that this is exactly what these devices are designed to do but was just curious to peoples experiences.

So the question is not really which is better functionally - more whether they last.

Thanks.

jonginge

I've been using my 500 on the commute since I got it a couple of years ago. It's been perfect. I don't bother with the HRM on the commute though

junglist_matty

It wouldn't be much of a cycle computer if it didn't work in the rain would it?

Mine's still going strong and I use it daily for 30miles commuting and the occasional weekend ride (when I have time to weekend ride)... Longest ride I did was 126miles, it had no issues with a ride of that length that took us about 8 hours to complete (battery still had loads of life left)

Great computer by the way.... Although I don't have the speed/cadence sensor as I don't care for my speed reading to be that accurate and choosing a good cadence has never been an issue for me so don't see the point in monitoring it.

jonnyboy77

It's not the 500, but my old Garmin edge 205 is still going wince I bought it in May 2007 and has been out in all weathers and commutes almost every day!

Tricycleboy

Used to have a bryton rider 50- aside from the website interface being a load of dog plops, and their 'updates' crippling the device every few months, there is virtually no support in case of failure. Which is what happened to me when the plastic on the crap little rubber joystick broke, and there was no one to fix it, even through the UK distributor, and then while crossing the highest mountian pass on a wet day in Wales- the piece of junk died on me and i had to guess the 20 miles back to the B&B. Functionality was pretty good mind- if a bit basic.

Bought an Edge 800 to replace it and it has been 100% perfect (even the HRM and Cadence) in the 6 months i've been using it in all weathers. IMHO Santa has the right idea with a garmin.

jds_1981

Garmin 605. Had the rubber bit which plugs the usb connector hole snap off after about half a year. It very rarely turns itself off mid ride (every few months.) The bit that attaches it to the bike snaps every half year or so & they aren't cheap so that's bout £8 (I think) every so often.

notsoblue

I have a Garmin 800 that I use pretty much every day, all weathers, and its been working pretty much flawlessly for the two years I've had it.

pangolin

Etrex 20 for £90, not for long though

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00542NVDW/ref=gb1h_img_c-1_0267_A3L9RC1NQA5M4E?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1P9Z7BDWGKCDQSK7TBKG&pf_rd_i=350613011&pf_rd_p=344320267

daxplusplus

Cheers for all of the responses .. all sounds good for to go with the 500 then.

Canna wait for Christmas day ..

CarlosDSanchez

My garmin 705 has recorded over 23,500 miles since Jan 2010. It's survived rain, hail, mud, dust 30°c+ and -12°c and the speed/cadence sensor is still using it's original battery. It's outlasted 2 mobile phones so far, in fact I'm getting a bit worried it won't break and give me a reason to buy an 800...

Wrath Rob

Garmin 800 has done the daily commute for the last 2 years, no issues at all (touches wood).

As for monitoring HR on the commute, generally this is a little pointless. However, if you're doing a proper training plan and still want to ride on a rest day then this becomes pretty important. Also if you're using TRIMP to monitor your short/long term stress then its all useful data to add to the pile, especially if you get involved in some SCR on the way home and have a harder commute than expected.

daxplusplus

My commute offers me two 90-120 minute sessions a day, 3 days a week with absolutely no limits to how I spend those minutes except that I do have to actually get to work and home (obviously).

So far I've just mixed it up (hilly, v hilly, long, intervals, recovery, fast) but it's never been structured in any way what so ever. Come the new year (and an accurate measure of what I'm actually doing - hello Garmin 500) I want to put in place some goals and some structured training.

I've started thinking about my goals, I'm about to start plotting the structure to achieve them.

Getting very excited

daxplusplus

DaxPlusPlus wrote:

absolutely no limits to how I spend those minutes

Sorry that's not completely true - I can't draft motorcycles, there is no velodrome on the way to work and no peloton

But apart from that .. there's no limits.