Originally Posted by
Gyrine
I don't meet your experience requirement but nevertheless I'm going through the same thing right now and also have done a lot of reading. I think (?) I've decided to go with the most Garmin that I can afford. Garmin is a very innovative, classy, and financially sound company and they dominate the GPS field in every market. For example, they make the most sophisticated aircraft GPS-driven avionics suite for aircraft that has ever been commercialized (approved by the FAA). I have no doubt that whatever bugs might be in their cycle computers will get ironed out - if they really exist and are not rider error.
A quick dive into the Garmin Edge forums will set you straight. Garmin may be all those things but don't pretend for a second that their consumer devices get the same level of hardware and software quality control as their avionics or other ultra-spec packages deserve and require, for financial reasons and also for safety and reliability reasons.
That said, Garmin is the Goliath in the cycling GPS market and their devices mostly work as advertised, if not always intuitively or in a polished manner.