Garmin Edge 810
 

Getting back into cycling and was wondering your thoughts on cycling computers. I like the Garmin Edge 810 Performance Edition but the price is pretty high. Other comparable brands out there? For me I would like the usual stats plus cadence, GPS, and RELIABLE heart monitor, maybe also ability to upload to Strata. Anything else is gravy. Your thoughts and opinions???

Hunt around on ebay. there are some good prices on the 810. That is what I am using and I am reasonably happy with it.

Seems like the 520 should do what you need. A little smaller and maybe less expensive than the 810

I have an 810 and I love it so far. I use probably 50% of what it is capable of, but so far it has worked flawlessly for me.

I've used an 810 since mid-April and other then 2 initial hiccups, I've over 50 rides with no issues. That's reliable enough in my book.

The 810 bundle is about the same price currently - $350, as the 520.

So a good deal for all the bells and whistles, plus you get superior mapping.

Ok thanks to all for the opinions/tips!

Buy a refurbished Edge 800 (new case and battery plus a warranty) for $170 if you need GPS for navigation. It's almost the same as the 810 apart from missing the limited bluetooth to phone interface, but has more reliable firmware that only crashes on long rides which you can work around by splitting them up and joining afterwards. The other meaningful difference is you get programmable odometers for each of several bike profiles, as opposed to just the computer value which starts at zero.

Use your choice of Open Street Map based maps. Buy an inexpensive USB to micro-SD adapter so you're not waiting eons downloading through the Edge 800/810's slow USB interface.

If you just want GPS to see where you've been and follow breadcrumb trails, a refurbished Edge 500 is an OK deal for $150. It's reliable, although you need a special cable to charge while riding which you should tape in place because the computer can reset when that cable falls out under its own weight. The 800/810/820 avoid that by having the

I upgraded from a 6 year old Edge 500 when I decided I wanted maps, and wore out the "lap" button (took about 20,000 miles).

I tried an ELEMNT because it's not made by Garmin with their software bugs, but returned it when it didn't accurately record and display power. I returned the 810 I replaced it with because it crashed a few times in the first week I got it, and picked up the 800 which works provided I split long rides.

Use your favorite cadence sensor (Garmin's magnetless can't be bumped) and heart rate strap with it (I'm using an ancient Cycleops that just won't die).

The ELEMNT is almost there (can't pan maps, no street names on them, won't switch to map screen 0.1 miles before a turn. no navigation but they now have turn-by-turn from ridewithgps and .tcx files) and should be a good choice by January 2017 - the screen is more readable, and Wahoo shouldn't be better than Garmin at writing software. Unfortunately it's a $320 computer before you buy sensors.

I am going to agree with most of [MENTION=192132]Drew Eckhardt[/MENTION]'s comments having owned both an Edge 800 and 810. The latest versions of firmware for the 810 have knocked out most of the bug. Some people still complain about TBT routing but it works okay for me using OpenStreetMaps. The only issue I have had recently was My 810 forgetting that my chainrings are 50/36 and not 53/39. But that issue has mysteriously gone away. With the 800/810 and the available uSD slot you can have as much map detail as you want, basically. If for example you want the entire continental United States loaded, you can. Just note that larger maps significantly increases boot up time for the 8x0 series.

Going to disagree now with you Drew, especially as you had no real long term experience with the 810, having returned it almost immediately.

My experience of 4 mos. now, with extensive routing, is that it's fine. I do TBT regularly and just for giggles, even when I know the route as I keep expecting the unit to crash, it doesn't. And I know you've stated that other users on group rides have theirs crash, but is that recent or 2 years and some updates ago.

I'm betting the 810's are now about as reliable as anything else from Garmin, and I know the moaning about the 810 has died down, so maybe they really are working much better now.

I wouldn't be recommending an 800 currently and rather then finding the BT "limited" find it to be one of the best and most valuable features as it seemless syncs to Connect via a phone to upload a finished ride, as well as can easily download a course to the devise. That means I don't have to remove the unit from the bike, bring it upstairs to the computer, cable connect to save a ride, and do the same to get a prepared course onto the unit. SO MUCH EASIER !, it a no brainer.

The programmable odometers per bike function is somewhat meaningless as its device only and doesn't port specific bike data up to Connect anyway. That's a puzzle as to why Garmin doesn't add that data in an upload, but you can log in Connect which gear was used on a ride and get reports that way. Probably more useful long term.

[MENTION=94341]Steve B.[/MENTION] I still find the automatic syncing to be problematic. I also find the 810 bluetooth implementation (don't know if it's hardware or firmware) to be less than 100% reliable.

I understand the 1000 has less issues with bluetooth than the 810 and from all first reports the 820 seems okay in this regard.

I count myself lucky no doubt. The Garmin BT connection is something that just works great with my iPhone and I have nothing but trouble with Apple BT on other devices, such as my car stereo and hearing aids, so go figure.

Thanks again to all re your thoughts/tips on this. I took the plunge and purchased the 810. Will post back here once I receive it and have had a good number of rides with it so that someone else looking to buy will have some additional info to go on.