The 530 is so, so better than the 520 and 520+. I was very impressed when I made the switch.

I don't know how it compares to the 520, but I also really like my 530.

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Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.

I'm sure it's covered much better elsewhere, but the 520 and 520+ were fairly clunky operating systems compared to the 530, much slower responsiveness, and their battery life got really bad in a hurry. I was getting about 4-5 hours within a year on the 520+ using the recommended max-battery settings which was a replacement for a dying 520 (I never got 10 hours on either one new connected to multiple sensors and using navigation). After getting a low battery warning crossing the line at Fat Bike Birkie this year in 2.5 hours, I ordered a 530 on the way home. I recently did a 250 mile ride on navigation and connected to my phone, HR, power, Varia taillight, and an Ion headlight on the 530 with 15 hours of moving time, 19 hours of 'awake' time and used the backlight for the last two hours of riding after dark and didn't run out of battery. I'm not a big Garmin fanboy outside of this and the Varia, I just think the 530 nails it for $300.

The ELEMNT ROAM would be a compelling argument at $300, but $380 is too much.

I love my 530 in combination with the Varia RL510 radar unit. Battery life of the 530 is great where the radar unit not is, yes I need to upgrade to the RL 515 for greater battery life. I was hit by a car in 2017and while T-∫Boned, not a rear crash. The radar gives me peace of mind knowing what is coming up behind me. I can say I live where its very rural so traffic is very light. I do believe the radar unit would drive me crazy if I lived where there was heavy traffic

Garmin 130, same waterproof rating as the 530, 830 and 1030. Pretty basic but still has more features than I need and less than $200. You can send your 520 back to Garmin and get 20% off a new Edge product as well.

Ditto the 530. It is awesome and a quantum leap forward from the 520. ClimbPro is fantastic. The Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT is the great economic option at $230 USD.

What does the 530 have that the 130 does not?

There are many differences, and Garmin has a very handy comparison feature on their website: https://buy.garmin.com/...ompareProduct=621224

Some of the highlights are:

• Mapping
  
• Varia radar compatibility
• More Ant+ & Bluetooth connectivity & control
• More FirstBeat metrics
• Larger, color screen
• Longer battery life
  

530. It is decades ahead of the 520 from a technology standpoint.

Not sure. But I have a 520 and a 130 and I don't have anything missing. But I use it in a pretty simplistic way (with Faveros)

Display is smaller of course.

Had a similar dilemma. Garmin 1000 died, bought the 820. It was horrible. Switched to Wahoo and bought the Bolt. It was nice but lacked the mapping features. So I switched back got Garmin and picked up the 830.

The 30 series basically solved all the clunky issues that the 20s had. A 530/830 would be a great upgrade. And if you do go Wahoo, the Roam is a far better option than the Bolt, so you get what you pay for

Went from 520 to 530 last year and it's a huge upgrade. Loads fast, long battery, fast maps, great GPS tracking (my 520 used to lose signal or drift under heavy trees).

It's all under the same Garmin umbrella and thus it can be hard to pry apart the history, but the 30-series is truly different from the 20-series. It's a pretty substantial update disguised under a 20->30 version bump.

I love my Wahoo Elemnt and wish i would have switched to it earlier. My garmin 520 was a joke after a year (the battery wouldn't get me through a 100 mile race anymore) and the 820 i replaced it with was even worse (not only a bad battery, but a terrible touch screen).

At the same time, I had 2 sets of Vector 3 pedals that barely worked. I heard great things about the garmin 530, but i had no interest in buying more Garmin products. 3 strikes (technically 4) and they were out.

I really like my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. Great battery life, easy to read, and the color LEDs show current power zone at a quick glance.

530 is a no brainer

Can you get/see all the various power metrics with the 130 that you can with the 520plus? I don’t care much about mapping, etc. Thanks again

I have the new Edge 130 Plus. It doesnt have the NP field but I downloaded it from the Garmin store and it shows now. It also wont show L/R power meter detail but I only have a 1 sided power meter anyways.