I’ve been using my old Garmin Edge 500 for a while. I don’t have any complains. I recently bought powertap P1 pedal and it still great.
I was thinking about upgrading it to a newer model however not sure the benefits of it (i.e 520).
Can anyone help me decide if it is worth the investment?
Thanks!
here`s a good review in case you have not read it just yet.
The 520 has so many features, it’s definitely worth the extra money.
Many more features I can’t remember offhand.
I went through this exact thing about a year ago. I no longer own a 500 
If you have the disposable income, buy the 520 and sell the 500. Think I sold mine for $100? So, the 520 didn’t really cost me too much. And it’s Bluetooth which is awesome. No more manually uploading rides.
I am a huge fan of the Edge 500, but finally upgraded to the Edge 520 last year. Most of the improvements are tied into using it with Bluetooth and the GC cell phone app - uploads, text messages, Live Tracking, Strava Live Segments, etc. If you aren’t interested in using those features then it may not be a major upgrade.
Outside of the app connectivity features the one main difference I appreciate is the sensor pool. No more setting up individual bikes with individual sensors. You only link the sensors once. The other operational change is activities vs. bikes. So you choose from options such as training, racing, indoor trainer, etc. Each can have their own data field screen settings and all have access to the sensor pool.
Now that the Edge 820 is out, I would lean that direction over the 520 unless bottom line price is most important. The 820 will be “current” for a longer period of time going forward and will receive firmware updates for a longer period of time. Besides the touchscreen and Multiple Live Tracking option the one additional feature available with the 820 over the 520 is the Wi-Fi uploads. I really appreciate this feature in the Forerunner 920XT and wish the 520 had it.
I am a huge fan of the Edge 500, but finally upgraded to the Edge 520 last year. Most of the improvements are tied into using it with Bluetooth and the GC cell phone app - uploads, text messages, Live Tracking, Strava Live Segments, etc. If you aren’t interested in using those features then it may not be a major upgrade.
Outside of the app connectivity features the one main difference I appreciate is the sensor pool. No more setting up individual bikes with individual sensors. You only link the sensors once. The other operational change is activities vs. bikes. So you choose from options such as training, racing, indoor trainer, etc. Each can have their own data field screen settings and all have access to the sensor pool.
Now that the Edge 820 is out, I would lean that direction over the 520 unless bottom line price is most important. The 820 will be “current” for a longer period of time going forward and will receive firmware updates for a longer period of time. Besides the touchscreen and Multiple Live Tracking option the one additional feature available with the 820 over the 520 is the Wi-Fi uploads. I really appreciate this feature in the Forerunner 920XT and wish the 520 had it.
But I’ve heard the touchscreen on the 820 isn’t too nice when out riding.
The 520 has so many features, it’s definitely worth the extra money.
Many more features I can’t remember offhand.
Pretty much this. The GPS is much much better (GLONASS enhanced).
Also ConnectIQ may allow some useful additional data…
I loved my Garmin 500.
When I got Garmin vector pedals i feelt that I needed to uppgrade.
Partially so I could uppdate the pedals with it and to get out more info from the Vector pedals.
Except the pedals the benifits are:
Better GPS (atleast in Sweden Gloneass is way faster).
Differnt ride types, ex. indoor, road, mtb and presets for each ride.
Nicer looking screen.
And the best: Bluetooth sync with phone. Dont have to bring it to the computer to sync.
The bad part: I think battery time is worse. Need to charge it alot more.
I dont regreet going to 520.
Dont think it woth going to 510.
I still keept my 500. For its time probably the best bike gps device made.
Except the pedals the benifits are:
**Better GPS (atleast in Sweden Gloneass is way faster). **
Differnt ride types, ex. indoor, road, mtb and presets for each ride.
Nicer looking screen.
And the best: Bluetooth sync with phone. Dont have to bring it to the computer to sync.
.
Seriously, I used to spend upwards of over a 1-2 minutes trying to get a signal with my edge 500. The new GPS protocol for the edge 520 is much better. I can usually get a lock within 10-20 seconds if i had to guess. Regardless, I used to have to wait for the edge 500 GPS, I have never had to wait for the Edge 520 to find GPS.
Other things I really liked about the edge 520 upgrade:
Basemaps, particularly being able to upload custom basemaps for any area within 50miles of my typical riding areas. Bluetooth sync is really nice. I don’t have to worry about uploading anymore since it does it automatically. Used to have to plug my edge 500 in once a week and upload each file one at a time. training profiles are nice. I have profiles for “indoor”, “race”, “training (outside)”, and “riding auto lap”. This lets me set up displays relevant to each kind of training. For example when training indoor I don’t have a need for any speed or distance display so I can take those off. I also turned off GPS on the indoor profile. Livetracking. I can send it out easily to my SO to help put her at ease if she starts to wonder where I’m at.
ConnectIQ also was a consideration, though at the time indpendent apps hadn’t been fully developed yet. I haven’t checked recently but I’ve heard some new changes with connectIQ so there might be more apps out there. Particularly since I believe connectIQ apps can now record to the .fit file and then that data isn’t lost.
Overall, I loved my edge 500 but the edge 520 has been great. If you can afford the upgrade, then I’d recommend doing it. Edge 500’s sell easily on the 2nd market, but if you have an edge 500 that is damaged or you don’t want to hassle with selling then Garmin has a trade in program which gives you a $50 credit towards a new device. Note that the edge 500 sells for more than that used. I personally traded in my edge 500 because I was seeing some issues with it that did not make me feel comfortable selling it to someone else. I didn’t want to sell them a device that was on the verge of crapping out.
I traded up to the 520 and sold my 500. I don’t think anyone has mentioned the ant+ trainer control. Works really well so far with my Tacx Neo (2 weeks in).
Also syncs via bluetooth to my phone and out to Garmin Connect as soon as I push save which is nice.
Is the 820 worth it over the 520? Why or why not?
Its been a while since I had a 500 but. The biggest thing for me was that the sensors are separate from the profiles in the 520. The 500 only allowed 2 profiles (maybe 3?) and the sensors where stored in the profile. If you have multiple bikes with power this could be an issue.
BT is nice. The 520 has a ton of features, I probably don’t utilized enough of them.
I used a bryton 310 for a few weeks during the last time I had to warranty my 520. Functionally it was on par or slightly above the 500 and was only $90.
The two big improvements for me are 1) bluetooth and 2) you can have peripherals configured but not present. On the 500, if you have let say a HR monitor configured but not detected, powermeter zeroing will take forever or not work at all. Not so on the 520, it still works normally even if peripherals are missing.
What I don’t like about the 520 is it does strange things when it’s connected for a recharge. Sometimes it will stay shutdown, which is good, but most of the time it will power on completely and beep constantly because it can’t find GPS. You have to go and put it to sleep manually. Minor annoyance but I don’t understand how this doesn’t get addressed… I mean who needs GPS while recharging.
Upgrading to at least a 520 will be a huge step up from a 500. If all you want to do is record your rides and don’t mind plugging into the computer to upload rides, the 500 is a great computer still. Now that you have power, you may want some of the new metrics that the 520 now records (see DCR’s review posted above about metrics recorded). You will also be able to have more data fields and the ability to upload and review rides after completing them on your phone is a plus. See if someone will let you test ride a 520 out so you can better decide if it is worth it. I personally went with the 820, but as others have said the touch screen is a bit finicky on rides. I liked it due to the incident detection and mapping as I sometimes like to adjust rides on longer days for more/less miles if necessary.
Thank you all for the answers.
I really don’t mind the connectivity at all, like strava segments and notifications (actually I even prefer this way)
About the GPS this could be a bonus. Here in brazil the GPS signal works well (not as my Ambit 2), but sometimes it takes a while to lock it up. Don’t know about the GLONASS.
Another thing is the intervals, this may be nice, but I’m thinking getting the garmin 920 for it (love suunto, but DCR destroyed the spartan in the review. Will continue to use the Ambit it in my climbs and skiing).
So I think I may stick with it a little longer.
I’m very happy with my Edge 520. It’s not much bigger than the Edge 500 I used to have, but the screen is larger and much easier to read. Contrast is much better, and text is crisper. No downside from the 500 whatsoever.
You will save a lot of money if the Lezyne Super GPS meets your needs. Aftef a lot of research i bought the Lezyne to replace a dead Garmin 500 last week and am very happy so far. No fancy colours but it syncs with your phone so you will never need to curse at GarminConnect again.
good luck with whatever you choose.
John
The 520, et al are loaded with tons of crazy features. Anything under the sun. The two biggest things I appreciate are the ability to have an actual basemap, and the sensor pool.
All that said, I really miss my 500. I only ditched it because the battery life died after 5+ years of use. It was, and is, still the perfect computer for racing. It does everything you need, nothing you don’t, and just worked. The 520 has a lot of whiz-bang stuff but I really do miss the simplicity of the older model. Also, buttons on the bottom edge blow when you’re using an out-front mount.
I mean who needs GPS while recharging.
There are people that do long cycle tours or ultra length events that will want to connect their garmin to a battery while they are riding, since the normal charge will not last long enough for the event. I would assume this ability if for them.
Is the 820 worth it over the 520? Why or why not?
Same question for me. I’ve been with the 500 for some time and to be honest, don’t need anything new as it’s still working perfectly (except for that pesky need to have the HRM hooked up before zeroing my powermeter). Also just got some p1 pedals. Looking to upgrade the head unit as a Christmas present from the wife and family. I actually know someone who may be selling a very gently used 520. But I want to get something that is going to last me for a few years. So is an 820 worth it?
I’ve heard of features like seeing other riders in your general area which would be great for catching up with a group ride. And bike incident notifications seem like a good thing to have. At the very least, I want a blue tooth connection for the wife to see where I’m at. Just wondering if the additional benefits of the 820 make it worth the upgrade.