Garmin edge 510 or Bryton 50 ? advise needed

bing gordon

I'm finally looking at upgrading my PolarCS200CAD but I'm not sure which to go for. I looked at the Garmin 510 and the Bryton 50 on price and what they have to offer. I have started riding out into the country abit more so I was debating if I needed a GPS after getting lost or having to stop every few miles to check on my phone. I wouldn't mind uploading data to my PC after a ride just to keep tabs on performance and to see health improvements.

Out of the 2 which would be my best option (or if there's anymore brands out there) ? I normally use a cadence and HRM with my Polar so I would prefer them as well,

or

Should I sell the spare wheels in the loft plus Polar200CAD and dip into my hidden stash behind the soil pipe and go and treat myself to a Garmin 810 ?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

luv2ride

I'm a happy Bryton 50 owner, but suggest you also look at the Mio GPS bike computer range. They've just released a compact version and by all accounts it seems rather good. As well as the intuitive touch screen navigation, the stand out feature for me is the "Surprise Me" function where you tell the unit roughly how far you want to go and it automatically generates 3 random route to choose from. I could have done with this yesterday when I finally got my free pass from the Mrs then really couldn't decide where to ride :oops: Also could prove invaluable if taking the bike away somewhere different. Think I'll look at one when my Bryton packs up (although no sign of that happening soon)

EDIT: This one:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mio-cyclo-505-g ... -uk-map-1/

bing gordon

wow very nice that , I do like the "surprise me" only problem , I've got no one to shake my mio with but thanks for that

bing gordon

Luv2ride wrote:

I'm a happy Bryton 50 owner, but suggest you also look at the Mio GPS bike computer range.

So what's your opinion on the Bryton 50 ?

StillGoing

Garmin. Garmin and Strava now talk to each other so with the 510 there's no need to plug it into a computer anymore other than charging if that's how you choose to do it. The LiveTrack function is useful for those who want to be able to show others where they are or to monitor their performance remotely. The link will display your current location, speed, heart rate etc to the recipients and continuously update during the ride. You can send routes to it in order to follow a bread crumb trail but it doesn't do mapping.

DiscoBoy

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

StillGoing

DiscoBoy wrote:

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

Go on then, it may be cheaper, but in what way is it better?

dag_on_a_bike

What about the Bryton Rider 60? You can pick one up for around £250 with careful shopping.

danlikesbikes

philthy3 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

Go on then, it may be cheaper, but in what way is it better?

would be interested to hear too.

FWIW I have just purchased another Garmin (needed a smaller unit) and went with the 510 and does what I need.

See attached link for Garmins own comparison, personally I can't see how the 500 is better than the 510. The price and weight the first being the difference in what you get in the more expensive unit and the weight being negligable too me https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/catalog ... duct=36728

StillGoing

Garmin Edge 510 performance bundle from HandTec £226.68

http://www.handtec.co.uk/satnav-gps/cyc ... 64-03.html

DiscoBoy

philthy3 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

Go on then, it may be cheaper, but in what way is it better?

Smaller
Lighter
No touch screen to go wrong
Proper buttons instead of a touch screen
From what I gather from people I know with 510s, the 500s battery life is better

The way I see it, the only reason to get a 510 is if you want the live tracking feature.

StillGoing

DiscoBoy wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

Go on then, it may be cheaper, but in what way is it better?

Smaller
Lighter
No touch screen to go wrong
Proper buttons instead of a touch screen
From what I gather from people I know with 510s, the 500s battery life is better

The way I see it, the only reason to get a 510 is if you want the live tracking feature.

Smaller? They're roughly the same size so a claim of smaller is hardly relevant and the 510 will be slightly shallower if we want to be pedantic about it.
Lighter? By how many 1000ths of a gramme again?
The touch screen does not go wrong. Even in wet weather the touch screen works perfectly and arguably a touch screen is easier to work than buttons whilst riding.
A 510 will last much longer than most people ride. My 810 after a 6 hour ride was still over 50% battery life showing.

I don't dismiss the 500 for those that have it or want it, but claiming it's better than the 510 is rubbish.

rolf_f

philthy3 wrote:

I don't dismiss the 500 for those that have it or want it, but claiming it's better than the 510 is rubbish.

Not really - if you are paying more for something that has no additional features you need and is bulkier to no useful purpose (it is bulkier - even the 500 is a bit of a lump though now the world has the Garmin 1000 even a laptop strapped to your handlebars is going to look compact) then it is reasonable to say that for some people it is the better device. And battery life can be significant - 50% after 6 hours? How would your 800 have fared after the 22 hour ride I did a couple of weeks ago? Just because 'most' people don't spend that long on a bike doesn't mean battery life is irrelevant.

For my commute, I use a Bryton 20 which is very small, very neat and very simple. For the commute it is rather better than the more sophisticated computers. Horses for courses and all that.

As to the OPs question. The Bryton 50 is a pretty straightforward, effective device. Not flashy, a bit bulky but it does what it is meant to do. The 800 (and Bryton 60) is a neater device but really it is down to how much you want to spend and what deals there are.

bing gordon

I like the idea of the Bryton with it's surprise me feature but the more I read and watch video's drawing comparisons between all the different bike computers I'm leaning more and more towards a Garmin.

I'm still debating if to go for a 510 or to spend my cash stash and go all in for a 810 and be done with it

rolf_f

bing gordon wrote:

I like the idea of the Bryton with it's surprise me feature but the more I read and watch video's drawing comparisons between all the different bike computers I'm leaning more and more towards a Garmin.

I'm still debating if to go for a 510 or to spend my cash stash and go all in for a 810 and be done with it

It's the Mio that does the surprise me thing - personally, I wouldn't lose any sleep about not having that. I can't imagine the computer having a better idea than I would of what a good route would be. Just plot the route carefully before you go out and you won't need to be surprised!

For mapping, I think the 800 is the best choice at the moment. There are good deals to be had and they have been well debugged. Can't see any reason to go for an 810 unless you really want that specific extra functionality or it costs no more than an 800 anyway.

If you can do without mapping, there are lots of non Garmin alternatives that are just as good for less money. The Bryton 40 is a nicer, neater and more compact design than either a 500 or a 510 and should be available for a good deal less money.

mechanism

There are days when my Edge 500 can't or won't maintain a GPS signal and if I happen to be using it to follow a course on unfamiliar roads this can be very frustrating. If the 510 (or 810 for that matter; I'd consider getting one with maps) has better GPS performance then that would be a worthwhile improvement for me.

StillGoing

Rolf F wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

I don't dismiss the 500 for those that have it or want it, but claiming it's better than the 510 is rubbish.

Not really - if you are paying more for something that has no additional features you need and is bulkier to no useful purpose (it is bulkier - even the 500 is a bit of a lump though now the world has the Garmin 1000 even a laptop strapped to your handlebars is going to look compact) then it is reasonable to say that for some people it is the better device. And battery life can be significant - 50% after 6 hours? How would your 800 have fared after the 22 hour ride I did a couple of weeks ago? Just because 'most' people don't spend that long on a bike doesn't mean battery life is irrelevant.

For my commute, I use a Bryton 20 which is very small, very neat and very simple. For the commute it is rather better than the more sophisticated computers. Horses for courses and all that.

As to the OPs question. The Bryton 50 is a pretty straightforward, effective device. Not flashy, a bit bulky but it does what it is meant to do. The 800 (and Bryton 60) is a neater device but really it is down to how much you want to spend and what deals there are.

I actually said over 50% not 50%. It was in the realms of mid 70% but without having the exact percentage from memory, I thought it fair to simply say over 50% to show it could easily last for 12 hours or more. The 810 has a battery life of 17 hours claimed and the 510 20 hours. Not everyone does rides of 22 hours and I assume the Op doesn't by their posts. If they did, there is a battery extension available but presumably they'd want something with mapping then anyway and wouldn't be considering a 500/510.

The 510 is bulky? Come on, really? It is 0.1 of an inch longer and just over 0.5" wider, but has a bigger screen display and better pixilation. Yes, if you don't need the additional features, there's little point in laying out an additional £20 for the 510, but not needing them doesn't mean the 500 is better than the 510. It just means the 500 suits your needs.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/catalog ... duct=36728

bernithebiker

If my 500 was to fail, I think I would buy a new 500 over a 510.

DiscoBoy

philthy3 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Don't get the 510, the 500 is cheaper and, in some ways, better.

Go on then, it may be cheaper, but in what way is it better?

Smaller
Lighter
No touch screen to go wrong
Proper buttons instead of a touch screen
From what I gather from people I know with 510s, the 500s battery life is better

The way I see it, the only reason to get a 510 is if you want the live tracking feature.

Smaller? They're roughly the same size so a claim of smaller is hardly relevant and the 510 will be slightly shallower if we want to be pedantic about it.
Lighter? By how many 1000ths of a gramme again?
The touch screen does not go wrong. Even in wet weather the touch screen works perfectly and arguably a touch screen is easier to work than buttons whilst riding.
A 510 will last much longer than most people ride. My 810 after a 6 hour ride was still over 50% battery life showing.

I don't dismiss the 500 for those that have it or want it, but claiming it's better than the 510 is rubbish.

It looks quite a bit bigger to me.
I don't know why you claim that the 510 is shallower, all of the quoted dimensions are less for the 500.
The weight difference is a little over 20g.
I didn't claim that the touch screen doesn't work, I stated that it is there, it is unnecessary and is more likely to go wrong than the screen on a 500.
The people that I know have issues with 510 battery life, whereas my 500 will last for more than two days cycling. I don't see how the battery life of your 810 is relevant to this discussion.

rolf_f

philthy3 wrote:

Yes, if you don't need the additional features, there's little point in laying out an additional £20 for the 510, but not needing them doesn't mean the 500 is better than the 510. It just means the 500 suits your needs.

Actually, the original comment was that it was in some ways better. You were given a list of reasons (some good, some not so good, some a matter of taste) and then you implied that the comment said that the 500 was better than the 510 which infact it didn't.

And yes, the 510 is bulky. My Bryton 35 is about the size of a 500 but the slightly smaller 40 is much neater looking on the stem. I just don't like oversized electronic tat stuck on the bike. It's necessary but the smaller the better. Garmin have a lamentable believe that it is progress to stick ever larger bits of plastic onto the front of your bike. I doubt that the 1000 will be the end of it!

bing gordon

Some good interesting thoughts there fella's , thankyou. On that note, battery life isn't really a issue as i'm never out more than 8 hrs on any one day. Lately though I have been going out into unknown roads just basically wandering till I feel the legs and head home so that's what got me thinking more on the lines of GPS rather than keep on having to stop to use the phones GPS.

It's a difficult choice trying to balance spending a fortune on a system that I'll probably never use 1/2 the stuff on it but getting something that has just what I need on it.
Out of the Garmins , which ( if any) have GPS problems ? and do you use a speed sensor ?

luv2ride

bing gordon wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

I'm a happy Bryton 50 owner, but suggest you also look at the Mio GPS bike computer range.

So what's your opinion on the Bryton 50 ?

Sorry, I'd missed this reply. For what it's worth I like my Bryton 50. Does everything I need and more besides, and has been very reliable. Also use it on the turbo trainer with combined cadence and speed sensor (and GPS turned off!) so pretty versatile. As RolfF says though, it's a little chunky but I don't mind that as the overall dimensions are fine on the bars.

I haven't used the mapping function for a while though, mainly as I'm doing local training routes which I piece together from memory. Maybe I should use some of the previous stored rides a bit more, but I think the fact that the relatively small screen means you can only get a couple of bits of data up without obscuring the map mean that I prefer the screen with all the training data. One thing I have have found useful though is a "get me home" function for when I've been out exploring and got a bit lost. That reassurance that I can head back without riding on, possibly in the wrong direction, is worth having (but I suspect that most units would do that).

As Ive already got the combined cadence and speed sensors on a few bikes I think I'd probably go with the new Bryton Rider 60 if I needed to change.

DiscoBoy

bing gordon wrote:

Some good interesting thoughts there fella's , thankyou. On that note, battery life isn't really a issue as i'm never out more than 8 hrs on any one day. Lately though I have been going out into unknown roads just basically wandering till I feel the legs and head home so that's what got me thinking more on the lines of GPS rather than keep on having to stop to use the phones GPS.

It's a difficult choice trying to balance spending a fortune on a system that I'll probably never use 1/2 the stuff on it but getting something that has just what I need on it.
Out of the Garmins , which ( if any) have GPS problems ? and do you use a speed sensor ?

I have friends with 510s with batteries that don't last that long.

In any case, a 510 isn't what you want for navigation. I would recommend a garmin 800 or a mio 305.

StillGoing

bing gordon wrote:

Some good interesting thoughts there fella's , thankyou. On that note, battery life isn't really a issue as i'm never out more than 8 hrs on any one day. Lately though I have been going out into unknown roads just basically wandering till I feel the legs and head home so that's what got me thinking more on the lines of GPS rather than keep on having to stop to use the phones GPS.

It's a difficult choice trying to balance spending a fortune on a system that I'll probably never use 1/2 the stuff on it but getting something that has just what I need on it.
Out of the Garmins , which ( if any) have GPS problems ? and do you use a speed sensor ?

Garmins have no issues with GPS. Any device can be susceptible to cloud cover or densely overhanging trees momentarily blocking out the GPS signal, but in over 4 years of Garmin ownership I have never encountered a problem.

If you go down the Garmin route, I have no doubt you will begin using all the functions. Remember as well that Garmin sell millions of units year on year. Keyboard warriors are more likely to take to the interweb to voice their displeasure than someone that is totally happy with their purchase. A good number of the complainers will have done something wrong with the device to cause the failure or just not followed the procedure correctly. Garmin do have some culpability by not providing a thorough user manual, but all the information as to how to operate the devices correctly can be found out there.

dag_on_a_bike

The only real problem I had with my Garmin (705) was with altitude/gradient. My Bryton Rider 60 also has similar issues but I would say less so.

Both units would occasionally be wildly out on altitude and/or gradient, reporting that I was at a different to true altitude. The Garmin, more than the Bryton, often gave wrong gradients too - once I recall it showing -35% when I know it was a steady +8%.

I believe that is down to both units using barometric altimeters. Why can't they synchronise with GPS data?

danlikesbikes

DAG on a bike wrote:

The only real problem I had with my Garmin (705) was with altitude/gradient. My Bryton Rider 60 also has similar issues but I would say less so.

Both units would occasionally be wildly out on altitude and/or gradient, reporting that I was at a different to true altitude. The Garmin, more than the Bryton, often gave wrong gradients too - once I recall it showing -35% when I know it was a steady +8%.

I believe that is down to both units using barometric altimeters. Why can't they synchronise with GPS data?

In garmin connect you have the option of changing how the altitude is calculated, not that it's much use live whilst out riding your bike though but is handy for reviewing if your a numbers geek

StillGoing

Does it matter while you're actually riding? It's enough for me to see the road goes up to gauge how steep it is.

gmehje

Not sure if its of interest...
If you need the Mio Cyclo 505 its 33% off if you order it direct:
See this post in Horsham Cycling forum.
http://www.horshamcycling.co.uk/forum/i ... pic=1181.0
The reductions works - I used it last week and saved £150