I’m considering a new bike computer, currently amusing a 4 year old Wahoo ELEMNT and can get a good offer a Garmin.
Which would you recommend and why?
TIA.
I have a 530 on my TT bike and a 1030 on my road bike. Each is optimized for its primary use. The 530 is smaller and fits between my extensions. I decided to skip the touchscreen and go with the hard buttons for race use. The 1030 is the ultimate computer. It is fantastic. If I were to choose only one for both bikes, I would get that 830. The 830 is compact and has the advanced UI of the 1030.
I decided to skip the touchscreen and go with the hard buttons for race use…
I am glad to see that I am not the only one who demands actual hard buttons on a device that’s handled with wet/sweaty/gloved/etc. hands. What a crazy trend that EVERYTHING goes touchscreen.
NEVER GET TOUCHSCREEN!! Gloves… sweat… rain… this isn’t iPhone quality. Feel like it’s 2002 PDA technology.
I absolutely love the 530. Coming from an 820. Would never go touch again - I’ll hold out for buttons until it goes full telepathy and I can just think what I want it to do.
I had an old 510 and moved to a 530 - I really miss the touchscreen on that. I’m just not finding the 530 intuitive at all. Added to that when I try to press the side button more often than not i’ll accidentally press the button on the other side when I hold it to ‘squeeze’.
However, the 530 has all the features and a better screen than the 510. Battery life is a bit poorer, but absolutely fine for any ride you’ll ever do - just means I can’t get a month of rides out of it like I did the 510.
It’s more computer than I need - does a lot of things I don’t /won’t use. But at same time, I’m happy with what I do use for the money I paid.
Although my biggest frustration is turning it off. Takes 4 button presses. I just want you to turn off, not have a long discussion over alternatives…
The Touchscreen on the 820 is garbage compared to the 830. The 830 is as good as my cellphone telephone.
I’m considering a new bike computer, currently amusing a 4 year old Wahoo ELEMNT and can get a good offer a Garmin.
Which would you recommend and why?
TIA.
We have all 3 plus a regular 1030. All are great. For racing, when there is racing again, the form factor of the 530/830 works best for aero bar setups. I was a big fan of buttons on our past 500/520s. But comparing the 530 to 830 I really don’t like the buttons anymore. The 830 touchscreen is flawless and inputs are much faster than working thru menus with the buttons.
For road bikes, mountain bikes and fat bikes, where the computer size isn’t an issue, the 1030/1030+ is fantastic.
The 830 display is a bit crisper and vibrant vs. the 1030+.
My experience has been the same as Duncan’s. I went from a touchscreen 510 to the buttoned 530. I miss the touchscreen, even if just for swiping left and right. That said, based on the cost difference, if buying again I’d still by the 530, but currently I don’t use a bike computer that much, so couldn’t justify the extra.
I used the mapping features a lot this week, never really did it with the 810 or 820. It worked pretty well.
Set up a route in Garmin Connect, upload to computer. If not at the route already I just hit the navigate to start option. Touch screen makes it so much easier.
My vision requires the 1030. Touchscreen works great!
NEVER GET TOUCHSCREEN!! Gloves… sweat… rain… this isn’t iPhone quality. Feel like it’s 2002 PDA technology.
I absolutely love the 530. Coming from an 820. Would never go touch again - I’ll hold out for buttons until it goes full telepathy and I can just think what I want it to do.
The touch screen of the 820 had a well deserved reputation for performing poorly in the rain. And for this reason, like you, I went for the push button 530. Although from reports I’ve since had from mates, the 830 does way, way better in the rain than the 820 ever did.
In hindsight, I might have preferred the 830, although switching screens with the hidden di2 button does address some of the advantages of touch screen.
NEVER GET TOUCHSCREEN!! Gloves… sweat… rain… this isn’t iPhone quality.Ditto the aboves… Garmin perfected the touchscreen with the 830 and 1030. No issues at all. Works great with gloves, sweat, rain, etc.
That’s good to know.
Wife just got their touchscreen watch - forget which variant. Still crap - not responsive, again feels like an early 2000’s PDA. Glad it’s not my watch!
So sounds like 830 is improved (and that’s good to know) but I still wouldn’t - not based off any touchscreen garmin I’ve ever gotten my hands on.
Yes setup is more annoying - but so is pushing screens that aren’t responsive.
I don’t have any issue accessing/ pushing buttons.
Turning off the 530 is extremely silly like someone stated above but not sure it’s different on the other devices.
So sounds like 830 is improved (and that’s good to know) but I still wouldn’t - not based off any touchscreen garmin I’ve ever gotten my hands on.Yes, the 820 was worthy of its reputation as worst touch screen ever. And yes, the 530’s silly turn-off sequence is the same on all the devices. (Touch screen watches all still suck as fitness devices. The Apple Watch is a joke.)
I have the 530 for my TT bike, and prefer the hard buttons and small size there. But, every now and then, I wish that I had the 830.
I’ve always used Garmin. Started with a Forerunner 305, Then an Edge 500, 510, 520 and now a Garmin 530. It has acted up when Apple has done an update a few time until Garmin came up with a software update to fix the glitch. The buttons are way harder to push than other models and I never had a problem accidentally bumping a button on the previous models I have owned. The 530 gets a bit thumbs up for battery life. I’ve been tempted my the Bolt but compared to the Garmin its fugly.
For now its a keeper but I could be swayed to look at something different since I like it but don’t love it.
If you’re over 40 like me, then go for the 1030+ 
Your eyes will thank you!
Thanks. That is a concern for me. I just wish there wasn’t a $200 premium for the larger screen I know, more features also, but how many use them enough to justify the price?
You could also go the other way-the 130-gets great reviews. Simple and functional.
Thanks. That is a concern for me. I just wish there wasn’t a $200 premium for the larger screen I know, more features also, but how many use them enough to justify the price?
Well you could always pick up the 1030 at $120 less than the 1030 plus (current Amazon pricing). There isn’t a lot of difference between the two. Only downside might be when Garmin decides to quit rolling out new firmware enhancements. So far, everything brought out for the 530/830 has been available for the 1030 too.
You could also go the other way-the 130-gets great reviews. Simple and functional.
130 battery life is less impressive and you lose a lot of features. Specifically Normalised Power which was a deal breaker for me.