anybody made this upgrade? if so, was it worth it? my edge 520 plus is okay. edge 520 plus performance is sluggish on some stuff but not awful.
when will garmin come out with the next step up from edge 530? another couple of years?
Yes, the 530 is a huge upgrade from the 520. Tons of fun little features (like their Climb Pro), way better mapping, and a bigger screen.
The 530 was released 2 years ago, and they have historically had a 2-3 year release cycle on their bike computers.
I made the upgrade, but not for any of the features mentioned above. The battery on my 520 had crapped out and wouldn’t hold a charge for more than 2-3 hours of use, so I needed a new head unit. I had planned to do some longer gravel events, so upgraded to the 530 over replacing my 520 since the 520 never had great battery life.
Whether the new features are worth it can only be answered by you, and depend on just what you want the head unit to do for you. In my case, I have used the mapping once in over two years. The other features, never. YMMV
the slightly bigger screen is nice. I use the mapping quite a bit since with many gravel races courses are unmarked so you need navigation.
the slightly bigger screen is nice. I use the mapping quite a bit since with many gravel races courses are unmarked so you need navigation.
There’s your answer
Still using the 520 plus here and hoping to hold on until the 540 comes out. My battery life is down to 8 hours which is good enough, but just barely.
Rerouting on the 520 Plus is not really functional. they crammed all the mapping capability they had planed for the 530 onto a platform that used the 520 processor. When I need to make a detour I will pull out my phone and use Google maps. 5 minutes later the 520 Plus is either still recalculating or just telling me to do a u-turn. Even after I get back on the original route, it takes about 2-3 minutes before it is happy.
So I would like to upgrade, but the current unit still works. As I tell the kids, there is a difference between needs and wants.
Definitely a want. Agree the recalculating is a joke. My battery is still okay.
I’m in the same place as you but with a 520 that manages about two hours before dying - before paying out $400 for a new unit has anyone tried to swap out the battery on their 520 for some of the ebay options? Or sent it back to Garmin to get them to fit a new one?
… a 520 that manages about two hours before dying …
Have you tried draining the battery completely and recharging? My 520 was only lasting 90 minutes or so despite being only a few years old. I followed the ‘Internet advice’ and left it on until it turned itself off, then kept turning it back on and repeating the process until it was well and truly drained. After a full recharge the unit now has battery life about like it did when it was new.
My battery was draining pretty fast until I changed the screen brightness setting to 60%…lasts much longer now.
I upgraded from the 520+ to the 530, and am glad I did.
Mind you, my use case is long rides. I do a 200km ride with navigation once a month, plus some 300/400s 3-4 times per year. I found the battery life struggled, and calculation for those long rides took a while. Have subsequently discovered that my struggles with battery life were more likely due to my Varia radar triggering the backlight, which I wasn’t aware of in daylight. My ageing eyes also appreciated the increase in screen size in nice, but if you are really after screen size, the 1030/Plus is the place to go.
There is also a slight improvement in the training metrics offered.
There are rumors that a 1040 release may not be too far off, which might mean a 840/540 in 2022? All this is rumor built on speculation on a foundation of COVID supply chain uncertainty.
I did that just last week, although the replacement unit is only 600mAh instead of the original 700mAh, the battery life is a lot better than it was.
After about 4.5 years of use I could only last a little over 4h on one charge (with powermeter and speed sensor connected) while navigating. I did 3h and I still have 79% battery life left, usually by now that’s the charge I would have used… For 20 dollars including a tool set, not too bad.
I upgraded from the 520+ to the 530, and am glad I did.
Mind you, my use case is long rides. I do a 200km ride with navigation once a month, plus some 300/400s 3-4 times per year. I found the battery life struggled, and calculation for those long rides took a while. Have subsequently discovered that my struggles with battery life were more likely due to my Varia radar triggering the backlight, which I wasn’t aware of in daylight. My ageing eyes also appreciated the increase in screen size in nice, but if you are really after screen size, the 1030/Plus is the place to go.
There is also a slight improvement in the training metrics offered.
There are rumors that a 1040 release may not be too far off, which might mean a 840/540 in 2022? All this is rumor built on speculation on a foundation of COVID supply chain uncertainty.
screen size is not a super big deal so I think the slight increase would be nice. The battery life is nice. My 520+ was fine for Unbound but with an external batter pack. I ordered the 530 as it was on sale for $239. The 1030 is nice but I don’t want to spend that much. Maybe when I get older I’ll change my mind as my vision worsens. lol
I had a 520 then bought the 520+ on an Amazon deal that seemed like a great discount. Of course 6 months later the 530 came out 
I ended up buying a 530 for now great or specific reason but am glad that I did. It is so much faster at starting up and general operation than the 520+, wifi syncing is faster and seems more reliable, routing is faster and seems to mostly properly route and reroute.
Using TrainerRoad outside workouts is a little cleaner as there are a few better data field options (at least if I recall correctly they weren’t on the 520+).
Biggest complaint about the 530 is the buttons feel cheap and can get kind of stuck depending on usage and maybe your specific piece of hardware.
I’m curious if a 540 will come soon, it’s hard to say for certain. Solar Charging would be a nice add if it could gain notable more battery life.
Comparing just the 5xx series with DCRainmaker’s comparison tool for release dates;
500 - 9/2009
510 - 1/2013 (3.5 years)
520 - 7/2015 (2.5 years)
520+ - 4/2018 (3 years)
530 - 4/2019 (1 year)
Maybe we’re more due for a minor incremental update (530+) vs 540, but only time will tell.
Just make the leap to the HammerHead Karoo2. Stop faffing about with Garmin products.
Just make the leap to the HammerHead Karoo2. Stop faffing about with Garmin products.
Ha! I could do that. I like garmin stuff. But hear good things about Karoo
Just make the leap to the HammerHead Karoo2. Stop faffing about with Garmin products.
Ha! I could do that. I like garmin stuff. But hear good things about Karoo
I have it a gamble and switched after the power button on my 1000 broke and my wife’s 1030 is worse than my 1000 was. It’s a little heavy but that it’s weakest point that I can really find thus far. If you do care about color screens and maps, it’s still really hard to beat my 10-12 year old Garmin 500 once it acquires the satellites and is done “workingâ€. I’ll be sad when that thing finally dies.
I went 520 - 530 and am blown away by the upgrade. The mapping is far better, the climbpro is great and generally its a nicer looking unit than previous. My mum has the 520 plus, and although it was a step up from the 520, she’s already decided in the week I’ve had the 530 that she wishes she’d held off a little and got a 530.
I’m a Garmin and Apple fan boy. I do like my edge 530. The only compliant I have is the buttons have to be pushed way harder than hey should be to work. I know they won’t get accidentally bumped and wouldn’t with an easier button push. I’ve had all the 500 Series and never accidentally pushed a button. The other gripe I have if the Garmin app is not open on your phone the data does not automatically upload. it used to. Accurate and quick to find satellites, absolutely. Great easy to read screen, yep.