Garmin Edge 520 Plu...
 

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[Closed] Garmin Edge 520 Plus, any good?

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I have a Garmin Edge 200 which I have been happy with but I am looking at getting something new.

Does anyone use the Garmin Edge 520 Plus? Pro's and cons.

Cheers.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 2:33 pm
Posts: 2006
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I have one. Really like it. Maps are pretty good, battery life is decent. Other than maybe a slightly larger screen, can't really say it is missing any major features. Personally I'm not interested in touchscreens et al.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 2:42 pm
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This is quite a good review:

I ended up going for the 530 as I didnt need/want touch screen and they were on sale.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 2:57 pm
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I've got the 520 plus MTB bundle sitting on my desk. I got as a present from my GF.
I only tried to use it once. I found it complicated to use and the lack of a touch screen frustrating.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:04 pm
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I have one. Really like it. Maps are pretty good, battery life is decent. Other than maybe a slightly larger screen, can’t really say it is missing any major features.

However, I'd have preferred a touch screen as easier to navigate when in map mode


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:10 pm
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Never used the Mapping function, but it records my rides fine.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:12 pm
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The mapping on the 520 plus is the topo active, which is surprisingly useful.

Real world, battery life is no good for anything over 4-5 hours of having features actually switched on.

Rerouting / take me home feature is pretty good.

It doesn't have the MTB flow / gnar recording if that's important to you.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:20 pm
Posts: 172
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I bought an Edge 520 Plus in the Xmas sales, I wouldn't recommend it and glad I got it cheap.

It's a step backwards compared to my nearly 8 year old Edge 500. My main gripe is that it seems much more common than not that 520 Plus' always 20-25% underrecord elevation during a ride. Mine suffers from this so I have to use the Strava elevation correction function for every ride I upload.

I'd score the 520 Plus 2 out of 5, it really shouldn't be a step backwards on a Garmin Edge 500 from a generation before.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:26 pm
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Hardware is good. Battery life easy 8hrs plus if you turn down the brightness. Connection with the crappy garmin app is poor.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:36 pm
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Having had a touchscreen 1000 series and now a non touchscreen 530 I wouldn't buy a touchscreen model again. It was incredibly unintuitive & clunky. Also, the screen would register random presses every time it rained and the screen was extremely sensitive to touches when in a pocket or bag. So much so in fact that options deep in multiple menus would commonly be changed after a couple of minutes in a pocket. Eventually I found the button combination to lock the screen but it always felt like an afterthought.
I get on well with the 530 but do always have the Garmin fear that every update that comes might be the one that renders the device unusable. I had to abandon the 1000 after it got stuck in the restarting loop.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 3:42 pm
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Stealthadd, I picked up a Edge 530 to replace my edge 130, not liking the size of it and am looking to sell it, PM me if interested.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 4:00 pm
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Also happy to sell my 520 plus MTB bundle!


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 4:08 pm
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I find the 520 Plus a great improvement on my old 500. Mapping is better, connectivity seems better, it generally just works.


 
Posted : 12/02/2021 6:27 pm

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