Garmin 520 deals

keith_freel

Im on the hunt for a Garmin 520 if anyone has spotted any deals. Amazon.es were selling them for 180 euros the other day but I just missed out

Is it likely they will be any post xmas sales?

okgo

Its actually not a very good unit IMO.

smoggysteve

Go to Halfords. They had them for 180 plus if you have a British Cycling membership you get discount on top

gethinceri

It's actually a very good unit IMO.

okgo

Has enough space for about 2 counties of maps. Beyond that, and bluetooth, struggle to see why I bothered to change my 500, think I'll get the 820. All of the other stuff is gimicky, recovery time, all that stuff, crap.

kingstongraham

okgo wrote:

Has enough space for about 2 counties of maps.

This was the reason I went for the 820 - can't be arsed loading different maps. But that is an extra £100 ish.

Man Of Lard

okgo wrote:

Beyond that, and bluetooth, struggle to see why I bothered to change my 500, think I'll get the 820. All of the other stuff is gimicky, recovery time, all that stuff, crap.

All of the aforementioned "crap" is on the 820 too of course... Perhaps a sextant, chronometer, ledger and quill pen would be more appropriate?

okgo

Ha, of course yes, but it at least has upgradeable memory - I cannot even begin to fathom why the 520 does not. And even more perplexing than that is why I bought it knowing full well.

meesterbond

okgo wrote:

Ha, of course yes, but it at least has upgradeable memory - I cannot even begin to fathom why the 520 does not. And even more perplexing than that is why I bought it knowing full well.

So people will spend the extra on the more expensive models?

For my uses the 520 is perfect and a big improvement on the 800 it replaced but I very rarely use the maps and I doubt I'll ever need more than one country on it at a time.

Man Of Lard

okgo wrote:

Ha, of course yes, but it at least has upgradeable memory - I cannot even begin to fathom why the 520 does not. And even more perplexing than that is why I bought it knowing full well.

Nope the 820 doesn't have upgradable memory either. No memory card slots of any description.

dinyull

The 810 with performance pack was available on the Canyon website for £185 t'other day.

kingstongraham

Man Of Lard wrote:

okgo wrote:

Ha, of course yes, but it at least has upgradeable memory - I cannot even begin to fathom why the 520 does not. And even more perplexing than that is why I bought it knowing full well.

Nope the 820 doesn't have upgradable memory either. No memory card slots of any description.

True, but it has enough memory in the first place.

antfly

Just wondering, in what way is the 520 better than the 800 ?

guy.spartacus

With the 520 there is approx 90MB of space for maps once you remove the standard maps loaded on there

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/dow ... 00810.html

Using the site linked on here you can click on regions and see what size your map file will be before clicking the button.

I just got the whole of Kent/Sussex and it was only 16MB

Man Of Lard

antfly wrote:

Just wondering, in what way is the 520 better than the 800 ?

Apart from being 5 years newer in design

Bluetooth, ANT+ Light support, ANT+ Smart Trainer Support, LiveTracking support,...

antfly

OK, but in what other ways ...?

None of these things are really any use to me at all so I may as well stick with my 800 which works perfectly and has several maps of the whole country on it.

banditvic

The best thing over the 800 is the size.
800's are great have had a 1000 ,520 and now got the 820 and happy with it.

StillGoing

okgo wrote:

Its actually not a very good unit IMO.

Couldn't agree more. Push buttons is archaic and the memory is pathetic. But, re the 820; I changed from an 810 to the 820 and after use think the 810 is the better unit. Sure the 820 has some nice features like connecting to your smart trainer with workouts etc, but on the road, the slightly larger 810 screen I found much better.

shmooster

The 1000 replacement will be coming in early 2017, that should result in some price cuts in the lower models. I'm holding out for the bigger screen over the 820, and hopefully better performance and longer battery life from the bigger form factor.

MBCaad8

Won't be as good as the Wahoo Elmnt

paulmon

The 820 is the worst device I have ever had the unfortunate pleasure to come across. I ordered one in July and sent it back last week and received a full refund. I'm a pretty patient person when it comes to technology but this device is garbage. The straw that broke the camels back was when it refused to detect any sensors yet my 500, 510 and Kickr would find them OK. Other issues included:

Sensors not connecting
Sensors connecting and then losing connection
Sweat/Rain sends the screen into a fit and threatens to discard your ride
Mapping is dreadfully slow to zoom in and out off
Courses take ages to load
Incoming text messages causes the screen to freeze
Screen doesn't work with full finger gloves

Garmin are rolling out updates but they seem to create more problems than they solve (check the Garmin forums).

I'd love a device with mapping but I'm going to stick with my 510 that hasn't missed a beat in 3 years.

Man Of Lard

MBCaad8 wrote:

Won't be as good as the Wahoo Elmnt

But will be around a third of the size

keith_freel

Very mixed reactions here to Garmin in general! Mapping isn't really an issue for me in Northern Ireland I'm sure 90mb would be enough to cover me so don't really see the need to go for the 820.

I seen the 810 on canyon but it gets very indifferent reviews and seems to have had quite a few problems.

Hopefully there will be some sales soon.

charlie_potatoes

Sent two 820's back as the touch screen was very poor wearing mitts and useless with gloves. Got a refund in the end and am still using an 800. Shame as it could/should be the perfect unit for me.

londoncommuter

I can forgive them the software bugs as these are always going to slip through but how did they ship the 520 without anyone noticing the barometric sensor for measuring altitude is completely rubbish in any damp weather?

I've done the exact same loop the last four weekends with elevation gains apparently of 879m, 1031m, 385m, 604m!

antfly

Have you got your home elevation set ?

londoncommuter

antfly wrote:

Have you got your home elevation set ?

No, does that make a difference?

Looking at the elevation chart from the rides, whole hills just disappear in the damp.

I've seen posts about putting sellotape across the hole for the sensor but really we shouldn't have to.

I still like the unit although next "upgrade" will seriously look at other brands as I was a bit daft slavishly going for Garmin.

mamba80

londoncommuter wrote:

I can forgive them the software bugs as these are always going to slip through but how did they ship the 520 without anyone noticing the barometric sensor for measuring altitude is completely rubbish in any damp weather?

I've done the exact same loop the last four weekends with elevation gains apparently of 879m, 1031m, 385m, 604m!

rel 10.0 f/w has sorted this for me on todays ride, in cloudy and damp conditions, early days but rideing same with club tomo, so will see.

antfly

londoncommuter wrote:

antfly wrote:

Have you got your home elevation set ?

No, does that make a difference?

Looking at the elevation chart from the rides, whole hills just disappear in the damp.

I've seen posts about putting sellotape across the hole for the sensor but really we shouldn't have to.

I still like the unit although next "upgrade" will seriously look at other brands as I was a bit daft slavishly going for Garmin.

Yes, it makes a big difference with the 800 anyway, the elevation on mine is very consistent. The 520 may have other issues but you should set your elevation and press start at home before your rides so it resets itself.

stevie63

londoncommuter wrote:

antfly wrote:

Have you got your home elevation set ?

No, does that make a difference?

.

No unfortunately it doesn't. As soon as it's damp the elevation data is meaningless. However I've just got a wahoo ELEMNT and that said I was riding at -55 foot below sea level today so it doesn't seem any better for this.

antfly

Oh well, that's another reason to stick with my 800.