Garmin 510 or Garmin 810 or something else

michaelatkinson

Hi all,

I'm sure alot of you will say use your iPhone or you don't need one but I would like to get a cycle computer just to monitor my training and I am a stats geek. I like to compare between my previous rides to see how I am doing.

Anyway based on your experience with certain devices can you give me some idea to which ones you have liked and why as I have read a million reviews and some of them from people that just like to have a moan I think.

Thanks in advance

Mick

jasonbrim

If you have the money, get an 810. If you want to save some money, get a 500 (not 510).

You can of course go for a 200 or something else entirely, but if you want HR, cadence, speed, GPS, and the potential for other measurements, then get a 500, 510, 800, or 810. (The 200 can't take HR or cadence and uses the GPS for speed.)

The 800 and 810 have maps, so are really useful. But if you're not into that then choose between the 500 (older generation but means you can find it for reasonably cheap now) and the 510 (newer but doesn't add too much new).

There are other brands and ones without GPS, but you asked about Garmin and I've only used Garmins, so that's why I haven't included anything else.

CiB

The 810 seems to cause a lot of problems compared to the 800, and as a bonus every few weeks Amazon do the 800 with Performance Pack for prices between £210 & £240, which makes it a bit of a bargain. The deals seem to be flagged up on here as soon as they appear, of follow ScarletFire on Twitter & he'll let you know.

michaelatkinson

Thanks for that guys.

I like the 800 as a unit as a friend has one, he loves it but do you feel the wireless option & linking it to Garmin connect is worth the extra cash and getting the 810?

What do you chaps use, also if there are others on the market that do similar let me know!

rattyc5

i have the edge 800. its a great bit of kit but the calorie count is wrong.

gsvbagpuss

Calorie count is wrong for all Garmins (and probably most

It's simple enough - get the 810 if you want mapping and live track, 510 if you want live track and a 800 on deal if you don't want live track. I peronslaly find the live track great for letting my wife knwo where I am and when I'll be home, but if you have a computer and don't mind plugging in to sync with Strava then a 00 series would probably do just fine.

michaelatkinson

510 it is then!

It dont seem as though there is any other major differences between the 810 & 510... Is there?

Mico

No Mapping on 510

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/sports/ ... 12885.html

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/sports/ ... 12912.html

Depending which bundle you get. you will need to pay for sensors (on cheaper versions) You need your phone for live tracking.

Garmin 800 is better if you don't want live tracking and if you want maps

mrbrightside

michaelatkinson wrote:

Thanks for that guys.

I like the 800 as a unit as a friend has one, he loves it but do you feel the wireless option & linking it to Garmin connect is worth the extra cash and getting the 810?

What do you chaps use, also if there are others on the market that do similar let me know!

i've just purchased the 800 and wondered the same previously, however i can now confirm uploading is not an issue and certainly not worth paying £130+ extra for. You'll have to plug your garmin into charge and also you will be sitting at your computer presumably to review your stats. Its literally a one click split-second operation.

StillGoing

There is more to it than simply not having to plug in to upload your rides. The 510/810 use bluetooth to connect to your phone and the Garmin Connect ap. Whatever you do is automatically uploaded to your Garmin Connect page without the need to plug the device in to a PC or Mac. If you use Strava however, you will still need to plug the device in to upload your ride data to Strava. But the best feature of the 510/810 over the 500/800 is LiveTrack. This sends a link to whoever you choose allowing them to follow your ride live. For my wife it lets her know I'm safe and when I'm nearing home. If I have a mechanical I can't fix, it gives her a position on the map as to where I am for her to bring the car and collect me. For ride buddies, it lets them know when to set off to RV with me. The link stays live for the duration of the ride so whenever they want to check my progress, they just click on the link for an update. The link can also give them my speed and heart rate.

Mapping is a good feature especially for the sportive scene letting you download the route to the device so you don't miss any signage when on the ride. The audible bleep of the device tells you there is a turn coming up and prompts you with which way to turn.

I've encountered absolutely no problems with my 810 whereas my ride buddy has had numerous ones with his 800. Garmin sell millions of units so it would be inconceivable to believe that some units wouldn't be faulty. Garmin support are very good in my experience by changing my old 705 without quibble when a firmware upgrade killed it.

clembo

Hello all

I have been reading this post with interest since I am also looking to buy either the 510 or 800 which are both closely priced on Amazon.

I like the 510 for its Live Tracking feature which is great for letting loved ones know where you are. How does it do this? I assume via a smartphone which I guess is only ever as good if you have a good signal for data? I might be wrong?

I also like the 800 for its mapping feature which for someone with no sense of direction would be very useful

Is the mapping on the 800 that good or can you get away with the breadcrumb setup on the 510?

Both units from what I have read within this post appear to indicate you need to upload your ride data to Strava via a USB cable.

wongataa

clembo wrote:

like the 510 for its Live Tracking feature which is great for letting loved ones know where you are. How does it do this? I assume via a smartphone which I guess is only ever as good if you have a good signal for data? I might be wrong?

The live tracking requires a smartphone with Bluetooth and a data connection. If you go out of network coverage it won't work.

clembo wrote:

I also like the 800 for its mapping feature which for someone with no sense of direction would be very useful

Is the mapping on the 800 that good or can you get away with the breadcrumb setup on the 510?.

The Garmin mapping is identical to the maps in their car sat navs. You can also use free Open Street Map based mapping which I have found to be very good around where I live. I can also fix errors in the map myself.

sparklehedgehog

i had the garmin 200 and upgraded to the 510 after a lot of similar deliberation to you.

I love it, i love the wireless connectivity and don't regret the purchase at all although with the 800 coming down to about £230 i would've considered that but as i say, no regrets

IanRCarter

I have the 800, the 810 was a bit too pricey in comparison - I read that live tracking was unreliable (my cousin proved that on a 3 day charity ride he did and his position updated about once every hour), you need to plug in the Garmin to charge and upload to Strava so automatic upload is a bit pointless and the weather data it pulls from the phone is a bit stupid - tells you the weather for where you at that time which, being out on a bike, should be pretty obvious to you (would be useful if it told you the predicted weather further along the route you've planned).

My advice is avoid the 510 and 810 unless you really want the live tracking, but it might not work as well as they say. If you're happy printing route sheets off and carrying those around, know your way around well or enjoy getting lost and finding the way home then get the 500. If you want to be able to plan a route before and have it on the screen in front of you to follow, get the 800.

If you get the 800, you'll also have to consider which maps to use. The base maps are useless, it's only very major roads, so you'll either need the package with official UK maps or download the free Open Street Maps. The official ones are obviously supporting, and sat-nav style routing works with them, so if you do get lost you can set the destination as home and it'll direct you home. You can get routable OSM, but I haven't managed to get them to route along roads.

freezing77

You need to switch turn guidance on for the course to get turn by turn directions.

In what way do they not route along roads? how are you putting the course into the garmin.

wongataa

IanRCarter wrote:

You can get routable OSM, but I haven't managed to get them to route along roads.

They work fine in my 800.

freezing77

wongataa wrote:

IanRCarter wrote:

You can get routable OSM, but I haven't managed to get them to route along roads.

They work fine in my 800.

Same here and the many people in my cycling club who have followed my advice and are using openstreetmap. Probably in the region of 15 people that I know of so statistically not insignificant.

duckson

You can plot a route and load it to the 500 and it gives you turn warnings.

Plot using ridewithgps.com, check the turnings (cuesheet entires) are correct as some can be slightly off...i use the streetview option to help with this, save as TCX, upload to bikehike.co.uk and check the cuesheet prompt arrows on the map then save it as TCX with the turn warning set at 300ft.
Copy this TCX into the newfiles folder on the Garmin and then in the Garmin menu (well in the 500 at least) pick Training -> Courses and pick the course and then 'Do Course' option.
It will then bleep and the turn direction will come up when you are close to a turn (if you didnt set a turn warning then you would be on top or slightly past the turn before the bleep).

frazered

I have a mio cyclo 505 - works great. Got it for 195 all in with price matches plus british cycling discounts, does everything apart from the live tracking. Also has the 'surprise me' feature that generates routes for you, good in unfamiliar areas or if you want to mix it up.

maltloaf_df

I have a 510 which has been brilliant. I love the Bluetooth uploading, means a quick and easy upload even when away from home and the live tracking is useful to let the missus know where I am and that I'm not lying in a ditch somewhere !

I am now wishing I had sprung the extra cash for the 810 as I've started riding longer routes and exploring more of my local area and mapping would be very useful.

Also as regards Strava syncing, you don't need to connect up to a pc for that. http://www.copymysports.com/ will seamlessly and automatically copy your activities from Garmin connect.

steve6690

I bought the 510 last year and with the latest 2.9 firmware it's a great bit of kit. It won't display a map, but it will show a "breadcrumb trail" and it will give turn notifications. There are websites you can use that allow you to create a course and put in your own prompts at junctions etc.
I'd read a few reviews of the Garmin heart rate sensor and speed/cadence sensor being unreliable so I bought the Wahoo ones instead. They've been perfect so far.

mrbrightside

philthy3 wrote:

There is more to it than simply not having to plug in to upload your rides. The 510/810 use bluetooth to connect to your phone and the Garmin Connect ap. Whatever you do is automatically uploaded to your Garmin Connect page without the need to plug the device in to a PC or Mac. If you use Strava however, you will still need to plug the device in to upload your ride data to Strava. But the best feature of the 510/810 over the 500/800 is LiveTrack. This sends a link to whoever you choose allowing them to follow your ride live. For my wife it lets her know I'm safe and when I'm nearing home. If I have a mechanical I can't fix, it gives her a position on the map as to where I am for her to bring the car and collect me. For ride buddies, it lets them know when to set off to RV with me. The link stays live for the duration of the ride so whenever they want to check my progress, they just click on the link for an update. The link can also give them my speed and heart rate.

.

We'll I guess that convinced no one... Your wife going to sit there watching the laptop waiting for you to have a machincal, or are you just going to give a quick call and tell her where you are?

maltloaf_df

You're not going to give a quick call if you've come off and are lying in the ditch in a country lane.

My missus carries on with whatever she's doing and just has the iPad propped up beside her with my route on

sparklehedgehog

you don't need to plug it in to upload to strava at all!

you can export the file from garmin connect and import the file in seconds to strava

no cables necessary

socistep

I have an 810 and very happy with it, often follow rides from the course turn by turn function and generally by being able to access rides

Really like the bluetooth transfer of courses and activities, I also use 'copymysports' which means I don't need to do anything to transfer into strava

The one feature discussed so far that I've never really used is live track, not really sure why, probably because not that many people interested about where I'm going :-)

Mikey23

Aww... I feel for you

StillGoing

MrBrightside wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

There is more to it than simply not having to plug in to upload your rides. The 510/810 use bluetooth to connect to your phone and the Garmin Connect ap. Whatever you do is automatically uploaded to your Garmin Connect page without the need to plug the device in to a PC or Mac. If you use Strava however, you will still need to plug the device in to upload your ride data to Strava. But the best feature of the 510/810 over the 500/800 is LiveTrack. This sends a link to whoever you choose allowing them to follow your ride live. For my wife it lets her know I'm safe and when I'm nearing home. If I have a mechanical I can't fix, it gives her a position on the map as to where I am for her to bring the car and collect me. For ride buddies, it lets them know when to set off to RV with me. The link stays live for the duration of the ride so whenever they want to check my progress, they just click on the link for an update. The link can also give them my speed and heart rate.

.

We'll I guess that convinced no one... Your wife going to sit there watching the laptop waiting for you to have a machincal, or are you just going to give a quick call and tell her where you are?

You clearly didn't bother to pay attention to the bit in bold did you. Of course she doesn't sit there all day watching a lap top. She checks periodically to give herself peace of mind that I'm safe. What ever a machincal is I have no idea but if I'm out and have a mechanical I can't fix at the road side, I'll give her a call for the broom wagon. However, I venture out on long rides and to some areas where there is no phone signal. The Live Track route trace gives her an idea where I am.

alanholden

MrBrightside wrote:

michaelatkinson wrote:

Thanks for that guys.

I like the 800 as a unit as a friend has one, he loves it but do you feel the wireless option & linking it to Garmin connect is worth the extra cash and getting the 810?

What do you chaps use, also if there are others on the market that do similar let me know!

i've just purchased the 800 and wondered the same previously, however i can now confirm uploading is not an issue and certainly not worth paying £130+ extra for. You'll have to plug your garmin into charge and also you will be sitting at your computer presumably to review your stats. Its literally a one click split-second operation.

+1
I also don't find not having Live Track an issue, as now both iPhone and Android have apps where you can check location on the internet. I know my parents use Find my iPhone to locate me on a ride, and this seems to give precise and regular locations, all shown on a computer screen.

StillGoing

Those apps are not accurate. They rely on triangulation to give a rough location whereas LiveTrack shows your intended course if you've loaded one and where you are on it. If you've never had LiveTrack, you can't really say you miss it.

wongataa

philthy3 wrote:

Those apps are not accurate. They rely on triangulation to give a rough location whereas LiveTrack shows your intended course if you've loaded one and where you are on it. If you've never had LiveTrack, you can't really say you miss it.

They should be pretty accuarate if the phone GPS is turned on. If it isn't then you only get the position based on cell triangulation.

rolf_f

philthy3 wrote:

If you've never had LiveTrack, you can't really say you miss it.

No, but you can say that you don't feel your life is somehow empty for the lack of it!

I wonder how long it will be before it is normal for it to be considered scary to leave the house without a tracking device.........